The list of people who’ve influenced my work is long. Maybe endless. But somewhere in the top 10, you’d find Stan Lee.

It’s been said that Stan Lee’s greatest creation wasn’t Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, The Hulk or any of the other Marvel characters. It was Stan Lee himself.

The things he said and wrote about the Marvel Universe (and himself) were as entertaining as any of his characters. His hype was so over the top, irreverent and good-natured that you knew he wasn’t taking himself seriously.

As a kid, I was firmly hooked on the heroics and drama of the Marvel Characters. But it was Stan’s sense of humor that—without me even realizing it—probably influenced me the most.

Apparently, with great power comes great humor…if you’re Stan Lee.

Original art from First Kiss #40 (1965) minus the Stan Lee head by John Romita, Sr. This gag first appeared in Comics Buyer’s Guide—where Last Kiss appears every month.