Stan Lee & Mark Waid talk shared universe & inclusive stories at Boom

News

Stan Lee and Mark Waid talked about the broader scope and impact of his 3 new projects, Starborn, The Traveler, and Soldier Zero, for Boom Studios.

What was heard:

After hearing about each of the books, one member of the audience asked if these three titles would take place in a shared universe.

“Why, in fact, the answer to that would be: yes they will,” answered Waid. “As somebody who has been on the ground floor of more than one truly cripplingly failed shared universe concepts, I know how to do it right and how to do it wrong.”

Waid was telling the audience how reading all three books would not be required to understand any one of them when the long awaited lost panelist showed up, inciting a roaring response.

“Sorry I’m late,” said Lee, telling the assembled audience about how a tooth had fallen out after biting into something earlier in the morning. “After the drill and the Novocaine, it’s a real pleasure to be here.”

The other panelists were quick to heap praise upon Lee for his involvement in the creative process of their projects, but Lee would have none of it.

“These guys do the heavy work,” said Lee. “They come up with the ideas, they do the writing, they do the drawing and I say, ‘I think maybe you ought to change that word, or maybe his arm should be this way instead of that way,’ and I get the credit for this thing. How can you do better than that?”

“How can you do better than that? You get the money too,” Waid joked.

As much as Lee downplayed his role, the other creators continued to emphasize how much he is contributing to the project.

“Sitting there with you in these meetings, talking with you about these concepts, rocking ideas back and forth – you have more ideas in five minutes than most of us have in a week,” said Waid.

“We’re working with the Stan Lee of 2010 who is still sharp, still has ideas, who is still clever, who still knows how to focus on characters, who knows how to get the most drama out of a situation. We’re also working with the Stan that wrote the comics we grew up reading,” continued Waid. “You taught us that a story is not so much about what happens, but who it happens to, what they want, and what they need.”

“Was I really that profound? I’m so impressed! Keep going!” joked Lee. “If I had known I was that good I’d have asked for a raise.”

Unfortunately for the audience and the panelists, Lee’s time at the panel was limited and his visit was short lived. He soon had to leave, presumably to recover from the dental work he had just received.

Source: CBR

John is a long-time pop culture fan, comics historian, and blogger. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief at Comics Nexus. Prior to being EIC he has produced several column series including DEMYTHIFY, NEAR MINT MEMORIES and the ONE FAN'S TRIALS at the Nexus plus a stint at Bleeding Cool producing the COMICS REALISM column. As BabosScribe, John is active on his twitter account, his facebook page, his instagram feed and welcomes any and all feedback. Bring it on!