mrs. simone, i realize this is a rather odd question, but have you ever met with/talked to stan lee? if so, what's he like in person?

I have met him several times, and he is always very much just the Stan Lee you always hope he would be. I don’t know what he’s REALLY like or anything, we’re not best buddies, but he’s always been really charming and genuinely warm and funny in person.

One of my favorite stories ever, I mean, this happened and I almost freaked out.  I’m going to tell it but I may have to keep a couple details secret so as not to make anyone feel bad.

I was on a panel at a big convention, a gays in comics panel. It was lovely, great discussion.  Suddenly, in walks the wonderful Perry Moore, writer of the lgbtq superhero YA novel, HERO, and also producer of the Narnia films.

If you’ve ever met Perry, he’s so ridiculously handsome and charismatic that people turn to look even if they don’t know his resume. Sadly, Perry is gone from us, now, but at the time, he was a huge fan of my work and a big supporter.

And a moment later, we see that he’s brought Stan Lee with him. Stan is all smiles, he’s crashing the panel and we all couldn’t be happier. He whispers something to Perry, Perry whispers something back, we can’t hear it. The room is going nuts.

Stan makes a beeline right for me, out of everyone, and gives me a big hug, and says, “You’re Gail, right?” And I’m flipping out. He asks why I’m on the panel, and I said, “I’m just a comic book writer.”

It’s Stan Lee, I got a little tongue tied, so sue me!

He gave me a big grin but he was suddenly serious, and said, “Never say that you’re JUST a comic book writer, Gail.”

Good advice, I never do anymore!

Anyway, he was announcing an adaptation of HERO, not sure if it’s still in the process. But he said some very progressive things about gay characters…I didn’t get the feeling he was exactly up on the latest discussions on the topic, but I DID get the feeling that it didn’t really matter to him whether the character was gay or not, pretty cool for a guy raised in a much different time in an industry that hasn’t always been progressive, to say the least.

He was lovely.

I asked Perry after why Stan came right to me, and Perry said, “Stan asked me who the best writer on the dais was, and I said you.”

This is a special enough memory that for a long time, I didn’t share it with anyone, it felt too personal. Stan didn’t have a clue who I was, I have met him a couple more times and I’m positive he didn’t remember me at all. But Perry’s kindness and Stan’s generosity really stuck with me. And eventually I felt people should know about what these two guys are like.

Stan in person is charming, energetic, and FLIRTS WITH EVERY GIRL. It’s all harmless, you can’t possibly be offended, he’s not on the prowl, he just…he just has a way of making you feel good about yourself.

When he does signings, he does everything he can to make sure everyone gets a personal comment, a little smile, a little joke. It must be exhausting and he’s not a young man. But he clearly cares that everyone feels happy.

I love the guy, can’t help it.