Industry community worried for Stan Lee’s current predicament

Stan Lee is a fighter, and at the age of 95, I feel that we are blessed to still have him be as active as he is with his fans and at events. However, his current condition dealing with pneumonia has led to canceling upcoming appearances. It has also led to some drama involving people close to him being cut off from contact since last month and raised questions for Max Anderson as Lee’s manager. Well, notable figures in the community have opened up in defense of Anderson including artists Neal Adams and J. Scott Campbell and cosplayer Ivy Doomkitty.

Adams asks Bleeding Cool:

“Can somebody tell me what’s going on with Stan Lee?

Max Anderson has taken care of Stan Lee like a mother all through his senior years. Some people don’t like Max because Max protects Stan just like a mother, but that’s his job. Some people don’t like that Stan treats Max well financially and so Max has money. Well, dammit folks, Max is supposed to have money. That’s Stan Lee’s decision.

Somebody is keeping Max from Stan and I know Stan must be the worse for it and so I’m worried very much for Stan Lee. I wasn’t worried when Max took care of him. So what the hell is going on?”

Here’s what artist J. Scott Campbell had to say:

“I wanted to strongly echo the words Neal Adams expressed regarding his concern about Stan Lee’s wellbeing, and this bizarre smear campaign against his friend and manager of the past years Max Anderson, apparently instigated by these new mysterious “caretakers” of his. I’ve known Max for years and I completely agree with Neal, Max always looked after Stan and his wife Joan like the doting son they never had. He adores Stan and Stan adores Max.

Besides almost single-handedly architecting Stan’s tremendous financial turnaround this past decade through aggressively negotiating appearances all around the world, I happen to have personal knowledge that Max has also quietly looked after him by accompanying him to the sets for all his cameos in the Marvel films, regularly took him to his medical appointments, would often just visit Stan when he’d get lonely, the list goes on and on. In fact, Max and Stan have been very visible and regularly in public together for a decade, practically inseparable.

Forcibly cutting Max out of Stan’s life, and so soon after his wife Joanie has passed seems particularly cruel to the both of them and has caused a lot of us in our industry to talk, much of it about our collective concern about the mystery of who exactly is taking care of Stan now and why is he being kept out of sight and in his home, especially given these reports that he’s been battling pneumonia. I mean, think about it, instead of being taken to a hospital, this ill 95-year-old man is being kept hidden away in his house, the only glimpse of him filmed for exploitive TMZ videos?

Max took much better care of Stan than this. I have great concern for Stan and I do hope more in our industry start speaking up, start asking more questions and start shining more of a bright light on this situation to find out what’s exactly going on here before it’s too late.”

From cosplayer Ivy Doomkitty:

“First, we hear from Neal Adams about how concerned he and others are concerned for Stan Lee, and now J Scott Campbell is speaking out. Both Adams and Campbell are 100% correct. Things are not right in the house of Lee right now. I’ve been good friends with Max and Stan for years, and in all that time, I have not once seen Max harm or abuse Stan in any way.

Stan is truly a father figure to Max, and a son to Stan. They’ve had intimate conversations together where Stan is emotional and tells Max how much he cares for him, how much he loves his fans, loves to be out there traveling to see them, and appreciates everything he’s done for him. In return, I’ve seen Stan give advice to Max, like a father would do to a son.

Is Max very protective of Stan? Absolutely. Wouldn’t you be? Max has always been concerned for Stan’s well being and has been by his side with any health scares in the past. There is a lot of effort going into discrediting Max and pushing him out, to seize control over Stan, and Stan is not being cared for. Everyone that was close to Stan Lee in any way has been removed from having any sort of contact with Stan. You have to start asking yourself why?

I’ve traveled the world with them and everything I’m saying I’ve experienced first hand. It breaks my heart to see how terrible Stan’s health and drive have deteriorated in these inferior conditions vs Max taking care of Stan, making sure he goes to the doctor, takes his medication, spends time with him, and gets out of the house to be with fans. Stan and Max are best friends. Stan Lee thrives at conventions and meeting fans. He feeds off the energy that is given to him by his fans by seeing their excitement and love for what he does. Stan is always asking, ‘How is it that these kids know of me?’

Max always replies, ‘Stan, it’s because you impacted the lives of their parents, in the stories they read that you wrote, when they were growing up. One man can make a difference, and that’s you (Stan).’

The man is practically asking for fan mail in his recent video! He’s isolated and something is not right. At this rate, and under his current care, I honestly don’t know how much longer Stan Lee will be around.”

With that said, I also want to speak up about my experience with Max and Stan. I’ve had the opportunity to do an interview with Stan last year, and Max was accommodating, patient, and friendly. Watching the two made me think of them as a father and son, and as close friends. He was always there to keep Stan updated about current events. I’ve personally seen Max do everything in his power to make sure Stan is okay, so hearing that Lee is isolated sounds troubling.

Hearing about his current situation is truly sad to hear. You can check out the video below of the comic book legend talking about his fight with pneumonia.