7 Weird Facts You Didn't Know About Comic Books
3. The Person Who Most Impacted The History Of Superheroes Never Worked A Day In Comics
She never penciled a page, nor wrote dialogue for a single word balloon, but without this lady comics would look vastly different today. Come to think of it, so would movies.
This incredible mystery woman is the former Joan Clayton Boocock. Although she initially modeled under the name Joan Clayton, she has more recently performed as a voice actress in two Marvel animated television series, The Fantastic Four (1994) and Spider-Man (1996-1998). She also has a cameo in the recent movie X-Men: Apocalypse. But these associations with Marvel Comics pale next to her greatest contribution.
Boocook married Stan Lee in 1947, creating a partnership that has endured to this day. Later, as Joan B. Lee, she did something in 1961 that shaped the history of comics.
After two decades of writing comics, her husband Stan Lee had grown tired of the monotony of formulaic storytelling. Lee had always intended to stay in comics for a few years only, and then leave to write his "Great American Novel"; so when his publisher Martin Goodman handed him yet another, dubious assignment, Lee figured the time was right to quit comics.
Goodman wanted to capitalize on the success of DC's recently launched comic The Justice League of America, so he asked Lee to create a knockoff team of superheroes. Lee was a little disgusted: he'd written his share of two-dimensional good guys, and he'd had his fill of Goodman's business practices. Lee once stated, "I felt that we were a company of copycats." Lee wanted to do something different, and he felt he'd never be able to do it in comics.
Enter wife Joan. She encouraged Stan Lee to write just one more comic before he quit, but "do the book the way you'd like to do it." Stan took her advice and created the first three-dimensional, flawed heroes, the Fantastic Four. The book was a hit, leading Stan to stay in comics and create other unconventional heroes, such as Thor and the Hulk - ushering in the Marvel Age of Comics and changing the face of the industry.
Today, the popularity of comics is greater than ever, thanks to Joan's encouragement and sound advice.