Comic lovers mourn icon's passing

By: Anantha Narayanan K

KOCHI : Until yesterday, the most shocking moment for a hardcore Marvel Comic fan was that when the comic supervillan Thanos wiped out half of the universe and its favourite superheroes with a mere snap of finger in the latest Avengers movie, Infinity War. But now, what pains the fans even more is the demise of Stan Lee, who created many of those superheroes - from Hulk to Black Panther- who rule the comic world today. As comic lovers worldwide mourn for Stan Lee, the fans in the state too remember their most favourite comic creator ever.

"A photo with Stan Lee was the ultimate dream for almost every comic lover, and it will remain an unfulfilled one for many including me. No comic lover will ever forget Stan Lee and how he made Indian audience to love English comics," said Tony Davis, creator of Comic Collective, Kerala's first comic library. Comic Collective is also planning to pay a tribute to Stan Lee at its next monthly event.

Stan Lee became a familiar face for most movie buffs through his cameo appearances in Marvel movies. "Through his cameo roles, some even in post-credit scenes, he became an inevitable part of Marvel movies. I can never forget the loud cheer and applause in theatres whenever he appeared on-screen with his witty dialogues. Marvel fans will definitely miss them," said, Aldrin Benjamin Cabral, a hardcore Marvel fan.

Stan Lee was also known for his Indian

superhero

Chakra launched in 2011. "He wanted comics to entertain people irrespective of language and culture. It was Stan Lee who created the superboy Chakra who uses a special suit to fight villains and protect the city of Mumbai. Stan Lee even supported the creation of 'Spider Man: India', an Indian version of his comic character Spider Man," Tony said.

For many young fans, Stan Lee was the

real-life superhero

, a time-traveller, who was full of energy and passion for comics even at the age of 95.

"He was a man-of-all-age who inspired people to follow their hearts, just like he followed his passion of entertaining the world with never-boring comics. We can see his characters in real life -the righteous ones like Captain America, men full of pride like Tony Stark and outcasts like

X-Men

," said Aswin Kumar S, another comic lover from Kochi.

Facebook communities also paid tribute to Stan Lee by posting memes and video clips of his cameo appearances. Kerala Comic Brotherhood, which is one of the most followed English comic Facebook groups in Kerala, has been flooded with Stan Lee posts ever since his demise.