Todd wrote:
How do you get away with stealing Stan Lee's real name?
(honest question)
1.) Stan Lee doesn't use the name "Stanley Lieber" professionally.
1.a.) There is (at least) a New York trial lawyer and a guy who breeds ponies who share my birth name. I haven't considered suing them.
2.) I am not successful and so nobody cares. I've been using this name for over ten years.
2.a.) Only comic book fans seem to have a problem understanding the humor. I use this name for prose fiction, music and fine arts as well, where people seem to "get" the joke and aren't putt off by it. Almost without fail, every time I use this name in a comic book context, people freak out. Even Warren Ellis and Ed Brubaker acted put off. People seem to honestly believe I'm trying to sew confusion about my identity, and trick people into thinking I'm Stan Lee. That's just silly.
3.) "Stan Lee" isn't his real name, either. "Jack Kirby" wasn't Jack's real name, either. In the entertainment industry, fake names are the norm. "Stan Lee" wasn't the first "Stan Lee" in the entertainment industry. Granted, in a comic book context, it may seem like a cheap shot. But I didn't start doing comics under this name until just a year or two ago. Yes, the name is a tribute to Mr. Lee, but I really didn't even consider the overlap until I'd already done it.
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