By Allison Watkinson
TLL Reporter
Kartoon Studios has developed a Comic-Con Museum exhibit for Stan Lee as part of his centennial birthday celebration.
The upcoming Comic-Con Museum exhibit called Excelsior! The Life and Legacy of Stan Lee is intended to follow Stan Lee’s extensive career in the entertainment industry.
The exhibit will include numerous rare comic books, art pieces, and more that were created between 1941 to the present day.
The global licensing rights to the Stan Lee Universe brand is owned and managed by Kartoon Studios through a joint venture with POW! Entertainment.
The Stan Lee Universe brand includes the rights to Stan Lee’s name, physical likeness, voice, signature, and extensive portfolio of entertainment IPs.
The upcoming Stan Lee Comic-Con exhibit was jointly curated by Kartoon Studios’ Stan Lee Universe consultants Michael Uslan and David Uslan with the Comic-Con Museum.
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“It has been our privilege to manage the rights of the Stan Lee brand and to ensure that we honor the legacy of one of the most creative forces of our generation, as we grow it into an ongoing robust business,” said Kartoon Studios’ CEO, Andy Heyward. “As we celebrate what would have been Stan’s 100th birthday year, we are grateful to have the Comic-Con Museum and the talents of Michael Uslan and David Uslan to curate this unprecedented exhibit, and to continue to develop initiatives that pay tribute to the man responsible for creating some of the most memorable and successful characters and stories of all time!”
Excelsior! The Life and Legacy of Stan Lee will feature items donated by both auction houses and private collectors that have never been seen by the general public.
The auction houses and private collectors that provided items include Heritage Auctions, DC Comics, Metropolis Comics, Gary Stiffelman, Dr. Michael Vassallo, Michael E. Uslan, Rob Prior, Danny Fingeroff, Benjamin LeClear, Mark Yturralde, Mark Ditko, Patrick Ditko, and Funko.
The artworks for the exhibit include a series of Stan Lee paintings by Rob Prior, newly-released paintings by the fantasy artist Greg Hildebrandt, original art and comics by Stan Lee, several original artworks from the co-creators of the Marvel Universe, and more.
The Marvel Universe co-creators include Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Don Heck, Gene Colan, Johnny Romita, John Buscema, Marie Severin, Jim Steranko, and more.
“We are incredibly honored and proud to work with the Comic-Con Museum to pay tribute to our ultimate hero with this one-of-a-kind exhibit devoted to the man who was the co-creator of the pantheon of Marvel super-heroes, and considered to be the PT Barnum of the comic book industry, as well as featuring some of the most talented people to ever work in the comic book industry!,” said Michael and David Uslan. “We are tremendously appreciative of the generosity of those who donated to make this a spectacular experience for Stan’s many fans. We truly believe he would have declared this exhibit to be ‘Amazing! Fantastic! Incredible! Uncanny!”
Excelsior! The Life and Legacy of Stan Lee will officially open on July 18, 2023 and will continue to run for eight months.
The exhibit will take place at the Comic-Con Museum in San Diego’s Balboa Park. The Comic-Con Museum is a division of the nonprofit public benefit corporation, the San Diego Comic Convention (SDCC).
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