Stan Lee created so much of the Marvel comics that I loved growing up, and continue to love watching in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the Marvel animated shows. As sad is it is to hear of his passing at the age of 95, I know he's merely ascended to the state of a cosmic being who transcends space and time to appear in cameos and hang out with all our favorite superheroes across the cosmos.
I consider it a great honor to have had the opportunity to work with and with a legend whose characters were such a huge part of my childhood, from buying my first Spider-Man comic, to watching Spider-Man and X-men animated shows.
I first encountered Stan at the first Geekie Awards in 2013 when he accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award, and even walked out to my music! For his speech (which you can watch below), he wrote an "Ode to Geeks", set to the tune of Yankee Doodle (which he begins at 8:59 in the video).
I loved how he gave this song to us geeks, but I felt it needed to be a stirring anthem, so I set out on my own to turn it into an epic song with choir and orchestra. With much gratitude to Yuka Kobayashi, who worked for Stan at Pow Entertainment, I pitched the idea to make a video, and with many fans chiming in with their voices, we created a video with a virtual choir that resounds with Stan's stirring words!
How many composers can say they've co-written a song with a legend like Stan Lee! I asked Stan what if he had ever written song lyrics before, I believe he said the only other time he had was with writing the theme songs from some of the early Marvel animated shows, so I think it's pretty cool to be on such a short list of composers with that honor. It truly was a spectacular experience for me, and today, I share the song "Ode to Geeks" as a tribute to the incredible stories and characters he created in a lifetime.
Here's ode to you Stan, from all of us geeks. Excelsior!
What's really struck me about how Stan lives his life, and in my brief encounters with Stan, is how he wakes up everyday and is excited to create. It's inspiring to have something to get you going in the morning, and I hope to live a similarly creatively fulfilling life where I can also still be composing in my 90s! When I met him at the age of 92, he still had such sharp wit, so there must be something about staying busy doing what you love that obviously keep his mind and body in good health.
Been playing Spider-Man on PS4 for the last few weeks. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man gives his regards!