10 Mind-Blowing Facts You Didn't Know About Stan Lee
6. The 1960s Counter Culture Seemed To Completely Pass Him By
You could be forgiven for looking at a vast chunk of what Marvel released during the sixties and wonder what they were smoking, but according to Lee himself (via Playboy), there was nothing untoward going on.
When he was straight up asked about the influence of outside substances in the Marvel bullpen he replied:
"I'm not aware that any of the artists took drugs. It would shock me to learn that Kirby, for instance, was taking drugs. Or John Romita or Gil Kane. These guys were family men, hardworking guys, and they were simply that talented. Almost any of them could have been major movie directors. When an artist draws a panel, he has the widest choice. He can make it a close-up shot, a long shot, an overhead shot, a strange angle, a head-on shot. And they would make these creative decisions quickly and under major deadline pressure. Drugs? I don't think they would have survived. They certainly never came into the office in a different mood, looking a little spaced out or whatever. And I definitely wasn't doing drugs. I was never into them, and I know nothing about them."