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Includes Petite Filet, antipasto plate, side of pasta,
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58

November 22 • 2018

jn

THE PASSING OF A LEGEND
I could easily write five columns about
comic book “king” Stan Lee, who passed
away on Nov. 12, age 95. He was born
Stanley Martin Lieber in Manhattan, the
son of poor Romanian Jewish immigrants.
“I changed it,” Lee has said, “because
I felt someday I’d be writing the Great
American Novel and I didn’t want to use
my real name on these silly little comics.”
He had one sibling, Larry Lieber, now 87,
an important comic-book artist and comic
creator in his own right.
Stan, who was always
interested in writing, got a
fairly menial job with Timely
Comics (later Marvel) in 1939
(the publisher’s wife was
a cousin of Lee’s). By the
time he went into the Army,
in 1942, he was an interim
editor and had created sev-
eral comic characters. He
somewhat coasted through
Stan Lee
the ’50s, writing comic
books in all genres (Western,
romance, etc.). Then, in 1961,
his publisher wanted to move
back strongly into superhero
characters and Lee decided
to “go for broke” and create
a whole universe of new
comic characters that were
more like ordinary people.
He and his creative partner,
Jack Kirby (1917-1994),
John Monash
began what has been called
the “Marvel Revolution” with
the “Fantastic Four.” This
was quickly followed by the
creation of the Hulk, Thor,
Iron Man, Spiderman, Captain
America and Black Panther.
Black Panther was the first
black superhero character
and throughout the “Marvel
Universe” there was a strong
ethos emphasizing the equali-
Dean Phillips
ty and dignity of all people.
Lee became publisher of
Marvel in 1971. He was never
a great businessman and in the late ’70s
he was “kicked upstairs” and became the
public-relations face of Marvel. Literally
billions came to know Lee’s face from his
cameos in the many recent films featuring
Marvel characters. Many of the stars of

those films posted tributes to Lee as his
death became known. Hugh Jackman
(“Wolverine” in X-Men) said: “He’s a cre-
ative genius, he thought outside the box,
he created a whole universe, he changed
the lives of many people, mine included.”

VETERANS’ DAY NOTES
This past Veterans’ Day marked the
100th anniversary of the end of WWI. I
happened to read that Australia had just
opened a center in France to honor the
Australian/New Zealand troops (called
“ANZACs”) who fought in WWI. It’s called
the John Monash (1865-1931) Center.
Here is a brief Monash bio: The son of
German Jewish immigrants,
he served in the Aussie
army, part time, until war in
1914; he became head of all
ANZAC troops in 1917; he
brilliantly led them to major
victories using innovative
tactics; he became the first
general knighted on the bat-
tlefield in 200 years in 1918.
If you want more, watch,
on YouTube, the very good
Aussie TV film: The Forgotten
ANZAC: John Monash. Weird
film sidelight: The father of
Rupert Murdoch, Aussie jour-
nalist Keith Murdoch, was an
enemy of Monash. Keith lost
that battle.
Two Jewish Democrats,
who are also veterans, were
just elected to Congress.
They both “flipped” a dis-
trict. Max Rose, 31, of
Staten Island, N.Y. (an Army
soldier, he saw combat in
Afghanistan and received
the Bronze medal and Purple
Heart) and Elaine Luria,
43, of Norfolk, Va. (Navy
Commander). Also worthy
of note: Democrat Dean
Phillips, 49, of Deephaven,
Minn., who also flipped a
House seat. His (Jewish)
Army captain father died in
combat in Vietnam when
he was a baby. His Jewish
mother re-married a wealthy Jewish
distiller, who adopted him. His adoptive
grandma was columnist Pauline Phillips
(aka “Dear Abby”). Dean worked for his
adopted father until his death, then struck
out on his own and now, with Talenti, is
the biggest gelato-maker in America. ■