If Jack Kirby were alive today, would he be proud of the writers & artists of X-Men?

[ProfeZZor X]

Seeing that X-Men has had it's fair share of ups and downs in the industry, and actually being taken off the market in it's earlier years... Do you think Kirby and Lee would actually appreciate where this franchise is going now?

Aside movie deals, and merchandise, I'm talking about the true artistry of writing and illustrating...

Who do you think has contributed to it's uprising, and who do you think has contributed to it's downfall over the years?

[ibrakeforchinwe]

Yes, I think so. I think he'd be proud that everything is still going strong.

[Canemacar]

I thnik they'd approve of most of, but not too much from the mid 90's up til recently(and even some of the current stuff)

[Joe Acro]

I've often wondered what Stan thinks of what his characters have become. I'd like to think he, and Kirby (if he were still alive), wouldn't approve of the darkness of the stories and constant death/resurrection and time travel that has occurred (or at least the nonsensical kind). And considering that Stan is Chairman Emeritus, (and I would assume Kirby was, too), I wonder if he could do anything about it.

[Canemacar]

Stan's title is purely hororary from what I understand.

[Metallurgique]

Hard to say. It's very different from what he did back then, and he really didn't work on the X-men for very long. I have half of the original Kirby/Lee issues and honestly they're really not my style. I grew up on Claremont/Simonson, Byrne, Windsor-Smith, Silvestri, et. al.

I'd like to hear Windsor-Smith's take on it, since his first major work was UXM #56, which helped keep the title going, and he was a frequent artist in the 80's on the title. No doubt he'd have interesting things to say about the transition from those old titles to the modern era.

Claremont, Simonson, and Nocenti made it great. Too many books and too many creative directions made it not so great anymore.

[JKCarrier]

I'm sure Stan thinks it's great, as long as it sells. He's always about the bottom line. Jack was reportedly not crazy about the idea of other people doing his characters and "riding his coattails" -- he thought creators should come up with their own concepts. But he might admire the many new characters that Wein, Claremont, et. al. added to the mix.

[fishtaco]

I hope not.

[Michael P]

I think he wouldn't give too much of a crap, myself.

[Crimson]

I've often wondered what Stan thinks of what his characters have become. I'd like to think he, and Kirby (if he were still alive), wouldn't approve of the darkness of the stories and constant death/resurrection and time travel that has occurred (or at least the nonsensical kind). And considering that Stan is Chairman Emeritus, (and I would assume Kirby was, too), I wonder if he could do anything about it.

Stan Lee's stories where quiet dark for their time.

Mutants were hated and hunted. Spider-Man's biggest worry was his Aunt was going to drop dead any minute... and she usually did drop. He had a supporting character addicted to drugs. He killed Captain Stacy.

Even when he wasn't writing and just in charge of the books he helped kill Gwen Stacy.

While they seem tame now (And relate more to Spider-Man due to the length of his run… he didn’t have time to do stuff like that to X-Men) his reign as writer and eventually editor was filled with darkness.

[Joe Acro]

He had darkness we could relate to. People know frail people. The mutants were always a symbol of the past, a representation of unhappier times, but the concept had an optimistic feel. It didn't feel dark. And he wanted to do the drugs story not because it's dark but because of its message. These days, mags aren't necessarily dark for a point. Many times, they are dark just to be dark. (Ghost Rider, I believe, is a fine example.)

[Zombienorthstar]

I cant speak for Kirby...but Stan's always been nothing but positive. I love how psyched he still is about Marvel...hes totally unashamed to be their biggest booster.

[Mystique's Rogue]

Yeah, whenever there's movie based on Marvel Comics, he seems to be positive and happy. I think he likes what X-Men has become now, otherwise he wouldn't agree to doing cameos in the movies. The fact that he did appears shows he's proud of X-Men.

Also, I think he's open-minded. There was an article about X-Men TAS which I read somewhere in the net. The Saban producers of the show said that Bob Harras was their contact at Marvel but they also sought the input of Jim Lee, Fabian Nicieza, Scott Lobdell and Stan Lee. Talking to Stan Lee, this is what they said:

"It was an interesting relationship with Stan because he wanted to be involved, but he hadn't been involved in the comics for about 10 years. His input was valuable, but it wasn't coming from the same place as what everyone else was saying. He'd want to do stuff that would play out really nicely over five or six pages, with all the introspection you could put on the page, the motivations and dialogue, and we'd say 'Stan, that scene will take three minutes, during which nothing is happening on the screen, and we need to keep the jeopardy at a high pitch.' I think that given $20 million and a free hand, Stan would have made a different show, but I think ultimately he accepted what we did with a sort of mutual respect, as not what he would have done, but a worthwhile show based on his creations."

http://members.aol.com/drg4/xarticles.html

They obviously worked it out since you can see in the XTAS credits that Stan Lee is one of the executive producers of the show. ;)

[Dizzy D]

He had darkness we could relate to. People know frail people. The mutants were always a symbol of the past, a representation of unhappier times, but the concept had an optimistic feel. It didn't feel dark. And he wanted to do the drugs story not because it's dark but because of its message. These days, mags aren't necessarily dark for a point. Many times, they are dark just to be dark. (Ghost Rider, I believe, is a fine example.)

I believe in interviews that Stan has said that he likes DC's Lobo and Image's Spawn, so those are pretty dark too (though in Lobo's case it's more the over-the-top humor version of dark).

[Brian M.]

Stan and Jack were all about change. Every title they had went through a lot of changes I think they would like the direction it's going in currently.

[Joe Acro]

Yeah, whenever there's movie based on Marvel Comics, he seems to be positive and happy. I think he likes what X-Men has become now, otherwise he wouldn't agree to doing cameos in the movies. The fact that he did appears shows he's proud of X-Men.

Did you ever think that he might be in the movies for other reasons? Not only is he an executive producer on most Marvel movies, he also is the creator of many of the portrayed characters. I always he assumed he was doing it out of respect for his characters, not his love for current comics. (I still can't figure out how X3 slipped past him.)


I believe in interviews that Stan has said that he likes DC's Lobo and Image's Spawn, so those are pretty dark too (though in Lobo's case it's more the over-the-top humor version of dark).But Spawn is concept originating and run by dark themes. And for all we know, that statement may mean he likes the character, his personality, his backstory, and his powers, and doesn't really have an opinion of the comic itself.

[Crimson]

Did you ever think that he might be in the movies for other reasons? Not only is he an executive producer on most Marvel movies, he also is the creator of many of the portrayed characters. I always he assumed he was doing it out of respect for his characters, not his love for current comics. (I still can't figure out how X3 slipped past him.)

But Spawn is concept originating and run by dark themes. And for all we know, that statement may mean he likes the character, his personality, his backstory, and his powers, and doesn't really have an opinion of the comic itself.

Stan doesn't do anything with the production of the movies as far as I'm away. The executive producer is just a title, basically, sort of like (and sorry for the wrestling reference) Vince McMahon got executive producer rights in The Rock's first few bunch of films even though he had zippo to do with the production.

[ProfeZZor X]

Stan doesn't do anything with the production of the movies as far as I'm away. The executive producer is just a title, basically, sort of like (and sorry for the wrestling reference) Vince McMahon got executive producer rights in The Rock's first few bunch of films even though he had zippo to do with the production.

That's what he said during most of his DVD interviews. These days, I think he mainly serves as a consultant of sorts.

[Omega Alpha]

Stan Lee is Marvel's Queen of England nowdays, just there as a symbol to show off, doesn't have any power.

[Citizen V]

There would be no doubt that Stan or Jack would be proud of what Claremont did with the X-Men in the 1980`s,that was the era of the X-Men.As for X-Men past 1995,well...

[spoon_jenkins]

And considering that Stan is Chairman Emeritus, (and I would assume Kirby was, too), I wonder if he could do anything about it.
Kirby wasn't a Chairman Emeritus. He was actually dissatisfied with Marvel treatment of him (e.g. not getting plotting credits), which is why he left.

I'm not sure if Kirby would have that big of an emotional attachment to X-Men since he didn't work on it all that long. It's hard to speak about the thoughts of someone I never met. If I had to take a guess maybe he'd like the epic space adventure in Uncanny.

[Joe Acro]

Yes, I'm sure Stan and Jack would love the work done by The Old Guard. They need to do more things.

[ProfeZZor X]

Stan Lee is Marvel's Queen of England nowdays, just there as a symbol to show off, doesn't have any power.

His Babies, "The X-Men" have come a long way since his hay day. It really is a shame that he's reduced to a shell of what he use to be, and resorts to brief roles in films of his characters.