116 Stan Lee

readx;? Stan Lee lives on the outskirts of New York, and if you're lucky enough to be in the middle of the city and get stuck in no traffic jams, you'll be at the old cartoonist's home in about an hour. Pen, fun, and www.biquge.info

And Meng Qi set off from the airport, and the journey was even farther.

Before leaving Los Angeles, Meng Qi had already inquired about Stan Lee's contact information through his connections with Comic Frontier, and got in touch with him to inform him of his intentions.

The veteran cartoonist was intrigued by Frank Miller's visit and gave him a warm welcome on the phone.

After a six-hour flight and more than an hour of driving, Meng Qi finally found Stan Lee's home at the address he had known in advance.

This is a small single-family cottage in the traditional style of the American Federation, and the green lawn in front of the house is just right.

An old man with gray hair sat on a white chair, drinking coffee while leisurely flipping through the book in his hand.

There was a sturdy husky lying at the feet of the old man, and when he saw Meng Qi get out of the car and walk straight towards the yard, Erha stood up vigilantly, moved his ears, and screamed loudly.

"Be quiet, popcorn ......" Stan Lee turned the book upside down and placed it on the round table beside him.

Erha, who was named "popcorn", whined a few times and fell back at the old man's feet.

"Mr. Stan Lee?"

When Meng Qi approached, he asked the old man.

Stan Lee stood up, and since he had spoken on the phone just a few hours earlier, the familiar voice made him immediately tell who it was.

"Welcome, father of superheroes!" Stan Lee did not show any surprise that Frank Miller was Chinese, after all, with his experience and heart, he could already accept many things calmly.

"Hello, Mr. Stan Lee. Meng Qi responded with a smile.

"You look tired, I just made a pot of coffee, would you like one?" Stan Lee's tone was natural and familiar, as if he had been friends with Meng Qi for many years.

"I can't ask for it. ā€

Meng Qi sat down on another chair next to the round table, Erha stared at him a few times, tugged at his ears, and then was attracted by a butterfly.

After Stan Lee poured Meng Qi a cup of coffee, he said straight to the point, "I don't think you came here specifically to discuss comics with me......"

"Yes, I'm here for the nationwide boycott of superhero comics...... "Monchi is very comfortable with Stan Lee's direct way of talking.

"Hah...... If you want me to say that the people involved in these events are a bunch of idiots who have no idea that they are destroying the comics industry......" Stan Lee pointed his finger at the cover of the book and said, "To put it bluntly, this is the ......"

Meng Qi followed Stan Lee's beating fingers and couldn't help but laugh dumbly when he saw the name of the book, "The Rabble."

However, even if it is a rabble, it is a rabble that swept like a wave, with more than 10 million people participating, the largest demonstrations have exceeded 10,000 people, countless acts of book burning and boycotting, and many bookstores and comic shops have also taken down a large number of superhero comics to show their ambition.

According to the company's latest financial statements, the sales of Meng Qi's comics have dropped by an average of 30 percentage points, and the most has even exceeded 35 percentage points.

With the exception of "Justice League" and "Superman and Batman", other comics have fallen below one million sales.

"Although this is the case, it is still almost overwhelming...... Meng Qi said with a wry smile, "I came here this time to ask for your help......

"I—I'm old, do you want me to help you fight those crazy people blinded by distorted logic and values?" Stan Lee's eyes widened.

"No, no, Mr. Stan Lee, you misunderstood, I just need the rich knowledge of American comic history in your head, after all, there are not many cartoonists like you in the American Federation nowadays...... "Meng Qi said.

"But even if I know the history of American comics very well, wouldn't that help solve this problem?" Stan Lee said, puzzled.

"Mr. Stan Lee, I think you know that American comics have gone through those stages of development......," Meng Qi said.

"That's right. To put it simply, the history of American comics can basically be divided into five periods, the first is before 1957, which can be said to be an era of a hundred flowers, and most of the major genres of traditional American comics began to sprout at that time......"

"Then came the golden age that began in 1958 and lasted for two decades, and it was around the mid-1960s that I published my first comic ......."

"In the early 1980s, the Golden Age ended and American comics fell into a slump. Because of the aftermath of the Vietnam War, because of the deep-rooted Cold War mentality, and because of those strange hippies, some cartoonists began to express their views in their works without restraint: against the Vietnam War, civil rights, anarchism, women's rights, gay rights...... As well as drugs and psychedelics, and even unscrupulous sex scenes--to be honest, today's superhero comics are really nothing compared to the comics of the downturn - people nowadays are really too selfish, too sensitive, and too glassy......"

Stan Lee sighed, took a sip of his coffee, and continued, "Actually, comics with those themes started out as underground comics, but eventually took the comics world by storm...... At that time, the territory of mainstream comics was little by little, and finally became a children's book...... Until the end of the Cold War......"

"The end of the Cold War changed a lot of thinking, and so did cartoonists. They began to gradually return to the essence of comics, and they gradually joined forces and began to revive our comic industry...... It's just that no matter how hard we try, we can't bring American comics back to the prosperity of the golden age until you and your Superman show up......"

Meng Qi listened quietly to Stan Lee's words and did not interject.

Stan Lee still had a look of nostalgia for the past on his face, smiled, and said, "When people are old, they like to remember the old times, even those unbearable times......"

Meng Qi nodded, expressing understanding, and then asked, "Mr. Stan Lee, with your knowledge of American comics, hasn't there ever been a boycott of superhero comics in history?"

Stan Lee affirmed, "I don't know why you're asking such a question, but I'm afraid my answer will disappoint you, and I'm sure you're telling you that nothing like this has ever happened...... This is definitely the first time this has happened!"

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