Quotessence
Home / Authors / Stan Lee
Stan Lee

Stan Lee Quotes

Comic Book Writer

Filter quotes by topic

AllIfsPeopleStoriesThinkingBookComicComic BookWritingWaySuperhero

Famous Stan Lee Quotes

“What did Doctor Doom really want? He wanted to rule the world. Now, think about this. You could walk across the street against a traffic light and get a summons for jaywalking, but you could walk up to a police officer and say "I want to rule the world," and there's nothing he can do about it, that is not a crime. Anybody can want to rule the world. So, even though he was the Fantastic Four's greatest menace, in my mind, he was never a criminal!”

ThinkingWorldWantMindLightWantedCan DoWalksFourStreetsCrimeDoctorsPoliceCriminalsFantasticOfficersTrafficDoomPolice OfficerMenaceTraffic LightFantastic Four
Author:Stan Lee
Create image

“I've written so many things over the years that I don't want to go back to being just a scriptwriter. I'm in what I consider to be the enviable position of all I have to do is come up with the idea and write an outline that makes it seem like it's a viable idea that will interest people, and then other people write the scripts -- and I become the executive producer or the producer, depending on how much involvement I have, and I get a creative credit and then move on to the next project.”

PeopleWantWritingYearsIdeasSeemsMovingNextInterestCreativeWrittenPositionProjectsScriptsCome UpCreditProducersExecutivesInvolvementOutlines
Author:Stan Lee
Create image

“I used to be embarrassed because I was just a comic-book writer while other people were building bridges or going on to medical careers. And then I began to realize: entertainment is one of the most important things in people's lives. Without it they might go off the deep end. I feel that if you're able to entertain people, you're doing a good thing.”

PeopleIfsFeelsImportantBookEndsMightAbleUsedRealizingCareersBuildingImportant ThingsGood ThingsEntertainmentMedicalUsed To BeComicBridgesComic BookEmbarrassedMedical CareBuilding Bridges
Author:Stan Lee
Create image

“Once, I'd written a Western story, and one of the panels was just a hand holding a six-shooter, and there was a puff of smoke coming out of the barrel, and a straight horizontal line, indicating the trajectory of the bullet. So that page was sent back to me from the Code office, saying that the particular panel was too violent. I asked them what they meant, and they told me--I swear--"The puff of smoke is too big." Well, of course. So I had the artist make the smoke a little smaller, and the youth of America was saved.”

WellsLittlesStoriesHandsBigsAmericaArtistCoursesLinesWrittenYouthParticularOfficeSixPagesWesternSavedViolentSmokeCodeComing OutSwearBulletsBarrelsTrajectoryPuffHorizontalShooterHand HoldingHorizontal Lines
Author:Stan Lee
Create image

“When you can sit down with a plain sheet of paper in front of you and make some notes, and, little by little, you see it take shape and become a concept for a movie or a TV show. That's a real thrill. You watch it go from notes on a paper to a meeting with writers and directors and actors. I can't think of anything that's more exciting.”

ThinkingLittlesI CanRealShowsActorsWatchesFrontsTvsShapesDirectorsPaperConceptsExcitingMeetingsNotesTv ShowsThrillSheets
Author:Stan Lee
Create image

“Some artists, such as Jack Kirby, need no plot at all. I mean I'll just say to Jack, "Let's let the next villain be Dr. Doom" ... or I may not even say that. He may tell me. And then he goes home and does it. He's so good at plots, I'm sure he's a thousand times better than I. He just makes up the plots for these stories. All I do is a little editing ... I may tell him that he's gone too far in one direction or another. Of course, occasionally I'll give him a plot, but we're practically both the writers on the things.”

NeedsGivingMayMeanLittlesDoeStoriesHomeArtistCoursesNextGoneThousandPlotVillainDrsEditingDoomOne Direction
Book:Stan Lee: conversations
Create image

“The "problem" is that Comic-Con is so damned successful. People who are there seem to have a wonderful time. The very size of it makes it exciting. Wherever you look, there's something exciting. The attendees are always looking around for a familiar face. It's either 'There's a movie star!' Or, 'There's a TV star!' Or, 'There's the guy who drew the Green Lantern!' It means so much to the fans. It makes them feel like they're where it's happening. It's like Woodstock.”

PeopleFeelsLooksMeanProblemSeemsFacesGuyStarsSuccessfulWonderfulFansTvsHappeningsExcitingGreenSizeFamiliarComicSuccessful PeopleMovie StarLanternsWonderful TimesComic ConWoodstockGreen LanternFamiliar Faces
Author:Stan Lee
Create image

“Jack [Kirby] and Joe [Simon] wrote and drew the stories themselves in the beginning and I was just, like, the office boy. But after a while they had more writing than they could handle and I was the only guy around, so they said, "Hey Stan, you think you can write this?" When you're seventeen years old, what do you know? I said, "Sure, I can do it!" And that was it.”

ThinkingKnowsWritingYearsSaidI CanStoriesGuyCan DoBoysOfficeHandleHeyDo You KnowThey SaidI Can Do ItSeventeenSeventeen Years Old
Author:Stan Lee
Create image

“... And we talk it out. Lately, I've had Roy Thomas come in, and he sits and makes notes while we discuss it. Then he types them up, which gives us a written synopsis. Originally - I have a little tape recorder - I had tried taping it, but then I found no one on staff has time to listen to the tape again later. But this way he makes notes, types it quickly, I get a carbon, the artist gets a carbon ... so we don't have to worry that we'll forget what we've said.”

WayGivingLittlesSaidBookArtistFoundForgetWorryWrittenTypeNotesComicTapeStaffComic BookCarbonRecordersSynopsis
Author:Stan Lee
Create image