Stanley Martin Lieber (Stan Lee) was born in 1922 in New York. He's the creative mind behind characters like The Fantastic Four, Spiderman, Hulk, Iron Man, Daredevil, X-Men, and more. When he finished his studies, Stan Lee began to work in Marvel. He was cousin of Martin Goodman's wife, the publisher of Marvel Comics. After a year of working there, he did his first work as a writer of comic stories. It was a short story starring by Captain America. But Stan Lee dreamed of creating his own characters, and being an important fiction author. That first work was signed with the name "Stan Lee", the name with which he's known worldwide. During the following years, Stan Lee was editor, artistic director, writer-director, and made up to 5 comic books per week. Stan Lee was a big fan of Errol Flynn movies, giving that touch of arrogant and brave hero to his own characters. Other people that inspired Stan Lee were the historical figures of Franklin D. Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill, that were leaders in times of war. For Lee, Roosevelt was the perfect President, responsible and protective. He admired the tenacity and strength of Churchill. One of the most strongest support of Stan Lee was his mother, who always had a big faith in her son's projects. Between the writers that Stan Lee admired most there were Mark Twain, H.G. Wells, Charles Dickens, Edgar Allan Poe, Shakespeare... These writers were another source of inspiration for Lee. Stan Lee, with the drawers Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko took Marvel Comics to a golden age, being the most best-seller comics in USA during decades. But Stan Lee not only thought up great comic heroes, but also he did scripts for radio, TV and movies. One of Lee's great ideas was to bring Spiderman to the newspapers as a comic strip. Spiderman was published as a comic strip in thousands of newspapers all over the world. In the 80s, Stan Lee moved to Los Angeles, and became the creative director of the TV series of his characters. Years later, his super-heroes will appear on movies too. His charismatic personality made him do short appearances in the movies based on his characters, reminding us the legendary director Alfred Hitchcock. The success of Lee's heroes is based in that they have weaknesses, fears, some kind of vulnerability... but strength and thirst of justice. Without doubt, Stan Lee is the Midas King of Marvel Comics, that mixes talent and inventive with a strong commercial sense.

Iron Man is a character of Marvel Comics. Like all the super-heroes, he is the alter ego of Anthony Stark, a wealthy and successful businessman. His creators were Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. The first appearance of Iron Man was in 1963, in the number 39 of the comic Tales Of Suspense. The character of Tony Stark was born in New York, and inherited, when he was 21 years old, Stark Industries, after his parents died. No one suspects that Tony Stark is Iron Man, because he pretends to be frivolous and arrogant. The super-hero suit of Iron Man is an armor that gives him a super-human strength. He can handle different weapons with it. It also has the ability of flying. The powers of the armor change in time, as well as his appearance, as the armor evolves in technology level. In the beginning the armor was gray, later it was golden, red... The armor of Iron Man is flexible and resistant. Between the enemies of Iron Man there are: Iron Morger, Justin Hammer, Mandarin... Iron Man is the supporter of The Avengers, a super-heroes group that includes Thor, Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man himself... After having a run of bad luck, he becomes alcoholic, so Iron Man gives the armor to Rhodes, that will be Iron Man during some time. As a curiosity, Black Sabbath has a song that is called Iron Man. In one of the comics it is said that this song was one of the favorites of Tony Stark. That is the origin of the name of Iron Man. The character of Iron Man has appeared in comics, TV series, animation movies, video games... and in a short time, the Iron Man movie will be shown in cinemas. Its director is John Favreau, and the Iron Man character will be played by Robert Downey. Gwyneth Paltrow will also appear as Pepper Potts, a worker in Stark Industries.

The Pink Panther as a cartoon appeared by chance. There was a movie called "The Pink Panther", by Blake Edwards, released March 20 1963. They needed an animation for illustrating the credits at the beginning of the film. So Edwards called Friz Freleng (the creator of Bugs Bunny) for making a cartoon that may be fun, that doesn't speak, and be of pink color. The character that was created for that opening sequence was so eye-catching that appeared in "The Times" cover. The Pink Panther, with some aristocratic look and some pop-art style, had great possibilities. So the producers thought in doing a cartoon movie, independently from the movie. So they did an animation short film. Its star was the Pink Panther, and that same year it won an Oscar for the best animation short. With this short film started the series of the Pink Panther. Movies were done, comics, merchandising of all kinds... that is still alive even nowadays. The music of the Pink Panther was done by Henry Mancini (the composer of "Moon River" of "Breakdast at Tiffany's"), and he won a Grammy with this. Curiosities: The name of the Pink Panther comes from the name of the diamond that was stolen in the film, where Peter Sellers played the role of Inspector Clouseau. Clouseau also appears in the Pink Panther cartoons. The Pink Panther also has its footprints in the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. Its star was given in 1999. Although the character is mute, it talks in two chapters of the series. The secret of the success of the Pink Panther character is due to the aristocratic and elegant personality, associated with the 60s and the pop-art style. The Pink Panther is a British gentleman. Intelligent, methodical, smart, fun, sometimes similar to the Charles Chaplin's Charlotte, and without a doubt, these characteristics have captivated the public for decades. The chic pink of the Pink Panther is a trend from time to time.

The Catwoman character started as a thieve and enemy of Batman in DC Comics. Her real name is Selina Kyle, and her first appearance was in Batman nº1 in 1940. Her creators are Bob Kane and Bill Finger. The personality of Catwoman is ambiguous and has her own code of honor. She never takes part in a murder, for example. As time passes, Batman and Catwoman will felt a big attraction for each other. Even more, their alter egos Selina Kyle and Bruce Wayne (Batman) also went on a date. In Batman nº62 ("The Secret Life Of Catwoman"), Catwoman suffers a blow in the head while Batman is chasing her, so Batman takes her to the Batcave. There, Selina tells him her origin. She worked as a flight attendant, and one day the plane in which she worked crashed. She survived, but her personality was altered, and she became a thieve. The blow in the head made her recover her memories, and she reformed and opened a pet shop in Gotham, getting away from the crime world. But in Detective Comics 203 (year 1954), Edmund Hamilton and Sheldon Morloff made Catwoman go back to her criminal origins. In one of the later comics ("The Brave And The Bold nº197") Catwoman married Batman and they had a daughter called Helena. She became The Huntress in Earth-Two after the death of her parents. There's another version on Catwoman's origin, in which Selina Kyle is born in a problematic family, with an alcoholic father. Her mother was a cat lover obsessed with a life of luxury and wealth that she will never have. The mother died while Selina was a child. Her father also died years later, so both Selina and her sister Megan had to live in a orphanage. Then, Selina escaped from the orphanage and her only way to survive in the streets was doing small robberies and prostituting herself. Surrounded by miseries, she began to felt the desire for wealth that consumed her mother, and she turned into a skilled thieve: Catwoman. Her dexterity as a fighter was trained by her master Ted Grant (known as Wildcat). The appeal of Catwoman's character made her appear in many movies, animated series on TV, etc. Without doubt, Catwoman is a controversial character full of mystery and beauty.

Robert E. Howard was the creator of Conan. The first time that Conan appeared was in 1932, and Howard was writing for a magazine called "Weird Tales". Those were a series of stories about a barbarian hero and the plot was located in the Hyborian Age. It was a fantastic age, with never found mythical places. Howard's stories were compiled in a series of books. Howard was a big friend of Lovecraft. So it's not strange that the creatures of Lovecraft can be found in some of the stories of Howard, and vice versa. After the tragic suicide of Howard, there were many authors that, feeling a big enthusiasm for the figure of Conan, wanted to continue with his stories. In 1970 Conan becomes a Marvel hero. His scriptwriter was Roy Thomas, and his drawer was Barry Windsor Smith, who was later substituted by the famous John Buscema. Later, followed Ernie Chan, and others. Conan not only had the success of public, but also the critics', obtaining numerous awards. Conan is a brave warrior, very tied to material, to the Earth. The only thing that he fears is what is intangible, the magic. He is a conqueror of kingdoms, surrounded by a mythical aura, and gorgeous women. Conan's women are princesses, warriors, thieves, pirates... Maybe this aura of mythical places and situations, having something to fight for, to conquer, is what has made many readers to feel enthusiasm for the character. Conan takes you away from the urban and the politically correct. In 1982 Conan appeared in a movie directed by John Milius, and starred by a young and unknown actor called Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was winer of Mr. Olimpia award many times. So it was easy for Schwarzenegger to play the part of Conan. The movie was a great success, although it was not exempt of controversy. Not so successful, there was a TV series called "Conan the Adventurer", starring by Ralf Moeller, in 1997. Nowadays, the mythical warrior triumphs in the videogames industry. It seems that Conan still has many adventures and battles to fight.

Beowulf is an epic poem, of unknown author. The poem had no title, until the XIX century, when it is called Beowulf. This poem mixes real elements with fictitious. It's written in England, but it's about Scandinavian. Was diffused through oral tradition. And as a curiosity, Tolkien liked this epic poem very much. The epic poem is about the adventures of Beowulf, a brave warrior. Beowulf was nephew of the king Hygelac. Amongst other heroic actions, he showed a big bravery in the battles against the Swedish. His first great feat was in a fight against Breka, a noble from the Hygelac court. Breka and Beowulf were fighting for five days in the sea, until the sea separated them. Breca could arrive to the coast, but Beowulf hadn't the same luck, and was fighting with marine monsters. But he was victorious. When he went to see the king, Hygelac gave him a present: the sword Nageling. Another heroic action was to defeat the terrible monster Grendel. Grendel was a terrible threat for his village. In a first confrontation, Beowulf managed to cut Grendel's arm. But the mother of Grendel went to recover the arm when everyone was sleeping. Grendel's mother was also a menace for them all, so Beowulf followed the tracks of the blood of Grendel's arm. Finally, Beowulf killed both. When Beowulf had an advanced age, he also defeat a dragon helped by his friend Wiglaf. But in this fight he was seriously wounded and died. But it was said that he died with satisfaction. Because they discovered the treasures that the dragon was caring. So the death of Beowulf brought wealth and security to his country. He was buried in a barrow that was called as him: Beowulf. Between 1975 and 1976 DC Comics published 6 comics based in the epic poem. Its authors were Michael Usan and Ricardo Villamonte. There were other adaptations to the character of Beowulf in comics books. Authors like: Gareth Hinds, Jerry Bingham, Mike Weller, Alexis E. Fajardo, Astrid Anand and Bill Carroll gave life to the mythic warrior. Lately, Beowulf has been brought to the cinema. The director Robert Zemeckis has directed the latest adaptation of the epic poem, starring by Ray Winstone, Antony Hopkins, Angelina Jolie and John Malkovich amongst others.

Movies based in comic heroes begin to be a genre. Fans of Marvel or DC Comics can feel pleased. Many of these movies are authentic tributes. With others, one goes out the cinema saying "It isn't like in the comic". Sometimes people that doesn't know about these comics begin to be interested in them after they have seen the films. After this, a list of the best comic heroes movies. 1- Batman Begins 2- Superman 3- Spiderman 4- Conan 5- Dick Tracy 6- Flash Gordon 7- Blade 8- Hellboy 9- Fantastic Four and Silver Surfer 10- X-Men All of them are entertaining movies, full of action, adventures and especial effects. Batman Begins, there are some films based in the character of Batman, but maybe this is the best adaptation of the personality of the Batman from the comics. Bruce Wayne gets transformed slowly into Batman. Outstanding performance by Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Liam Neeson. Very good actors and a very good quality in general in this film. Superman, was an authentic revolution in its time. T-shirts, merchandising, disguises... were used during a lot of years. Christopher Reeve has been for everybody the true superman. Nobody has been able to play the part of Superman better than him. The story is following: Kripton planet goes to its destruction. So the baby Ka-el is sent to the Earth. He's cared by a married couple. In a future, Clark Kent (Superman) will be working as a reporter for the Daily Planet. But he is a superhero secretly, and will help every time the humanity needs his powers. He is in love with Lois Lane. She is in love with Superman, and doesn't like Clark Kent although both are the same person. Spiderman, the shy Peter Parker, in a visit to a genetic laboratory is bitten by a radioactive spider who turns Peter in a superhero with incredible powers. He uses these powers to fight crime. But, can he have a normal life and be a superhero? Conan, Arnold Schwarzenegger is Conan. With this role Schwarzenegger gets to be known as an actor. The soundtrack is absolutely excellent. Its author, Basil Poledouris made a really good work, being this soundtrack one of the most famous and best sold of the world. Dick Tracy, Warren Beatty is Dick Tracy, an inspector who fights against crime. In this movie Madonna won an Oscar with the song "Sooner or Later". With the presence of so good actors like Al Pacino, Dick Van Dyke or Dustin Hoffman. A movie in a Chicago 30s style. Flash Gordon, a rugby player called Flash Gordon travels in the spacecraft of Zarkov, a crazy scientific fired by the NASA. They go to a planet called Mongo with a reporter called Dale Arden. The three will have to save the Earth from Ming, the Emperor of Mongo. The main song of the movie is "Flash" and is by the mythical band Queen. Blade,Wesley Snipes is Blade, half man and half vampire. His mission is to save the people of the terrible vampires that lurk in the Earth. A curiosity: Blade appears in the number 10 of the Marvel comic "Tomb of Dracula". Hellboy, Guillermo del Toro directed Hellboy, which is a devil that was brought up by a scientist. Hellboy appeared in the Earth as a result of a Nazi experiment. But he chooses to serve the Good and help humanity. Fantastic Four and Silver Surfer, Reed Richards and Sue Storm, two of the Fantastic Four, want to marry, but in the middle of the wedding appears Silver Surfer. This movie introduces this way the character of Silver Surfer, who I talked about in another post. X-Men, the humanity is divided into two types: normal people and mutants. The mutants have incredible powers, some use them for the Good (the X-Men) and some for the Bad (as Magneto). Anyway, they both can't avoid that normal people fear them. Professor Xavier has a special school to help the mutants from all over the world to control their powers.

Jim Davis is the creator of Garfield. Davis grew up in a farm. His mother loved cats, she had 25. So it's not strange that Davis knows so well the behavior of these little felines. As Jim Davis was asthmatic, he spent long periods of time in bed. And during his convalescence he used to draw. In the beginning he didn't do it too well, but with time he improved. He noticed that his drawing were more fun, and added text to them. This way, he started his passion as a comic drawer. In College, he met his wife Carolyn. He worked for 2 years in an advertisement agency. He also was assistant of Tom Ryan (Tumbleweeds). But he wanted to make his own comic strip, and created "Gnorm Gnat". It was a comic strip about insects. After 5 years of failure, one day Jim Davis, in desperation, took some newspapers. Looking at the comic strips, he realized that most of the main characters were dogs: Snoopy, Marmaduke, Fred Basset... No cats at all. So he started to draw cats, since he got the plump orange cat that we know: Garfield. To create Garfield he was inspired in his grandfather's personality: James Garfield Davis, who had a very acid humor, and a cheeky smile always in his face. Nowadays garfield has 220 million reader, and is published in more than 2500 newspapers in the whole world. This is because Garfield has captivated everyone. He is egoist, greedy, tender, and absolutely lovely. Amongst the protagonists of Garfield there is: Jon, his owner, shy and a bit clumsy; Odie, the silly dog, victim of Garfield's jokes; and Pooky the teddy bear, that Garfield found in one of Jon's drawers, and he liked it so much that he decided to keep it. These days, Garfield is protagonist of merchandising, TV programs, movies, newspapers... he even has an official website. With Garfield, Jim Davis won several Emmy Awards. Jim Davis is not only a sucessful man, he is also a great activist of ecologism. He won a Good Steward Award for his efforts for reforestation. The success of Garfield resides in that Davis reflects as no one did the personality of cats. Those of us who have cats smile, because you may like cats or not, but they are lovely creatures. Although sometimes they make you want to... Loving, fun, wit, prideful, and always looking at you with superiority, like saying "Hey you, ya must know ya'r in this world to please me!!!".

It's not strange to see in any shop of the world an object with the image of Betty Boop. She is synonym of glamour. Her sexy and retro image captivates many people. Betty Boop was born in 1929. In the beginning, she wasn't like is known today. Grim Natwich, the creator of Betty, draw 2 dogs. One of them was Bimbo (that stayed as a dog forever), the other was Bimbo's girlfriend, a french poodle (in the future will be Betty) . Natwitch, not pleased with the result of the Bimbo girlfriend (he thought that was quite ugly) , made some changes. The dog ears were replaced for a hoop earrings and her poodle fur became a bob haircut and her body was changed to a sexy woman. The Betty surname came from "Boop oop a Doop" a film who converted Betty in a star. Max Fleyser saw in Betty a real gold mine. Her innocence and sensuality turned Betty in one of the first characters of a sexy woman in cartoons. Betty was an independent and sexy woman, and that was a novelty. Before Betty, when a sexy woman appeared in a cartoon, it was in reality a man in disguise. The sensual voice of Betty was of the actress Mae Quest. Betty Boop cartoons included big stars of Jazz as the bands of Louis Armstrong or Rudy Vallee. In 1940 the members of USA armed forces used to read her cartoons, and watched her films in their barracks. There were a big amount of planes with the name and face of Betty Boop painted over them. So Betty Boop became the bride of America. Betty Boop is the origin of many sexy stereotypes like the waitress, baby-sitter, teacher... But the best of Betty is her wit and tenderness, that makes her to be remembered until our days.

With this post, I inaugurate a new section of this blog. A section about "comics & cartoons". The movie of this summer is "Fantastic four and Silver Surfer". But Who is Silver Surfer? Silver Surfer is a super hero of Marvel, created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. But what is the history of Silver Surfer? Norrin Radd (Silver Surfer) is from the Zenn-La planet. A planet where peace reigns and a pacifism spirit predominate. Norrin Radd will work for Galactus, the planet eater, to avoid that Zenn-la is destroyed by Galactus. Norrin Radd will get planets to feed Galactus. In the beginning, planets without life; but these planets don't have enough energy, so Radd will get planets with primal life. This matter will give to him a big sorrow so Galactus handles telepathically Norrin Rad so Radd doesn't have conscience problems. Galactus will give superpowers to Norrin Radd, a silver appearance and a surfboard as vehicle. Norrin Radd will be Silver Surfer. Silver surfer will arrive to Earth planet. Here he discovered that he was fooled by Galactus. He will met the Fantastic Four, who convinced Silver Surfer to protect the Earth. Galactus enraged, and sentenced Silver Surfer to stay in the Earth forever. But thanks to Fantastic Four who broke the barrier of Galactus, Silver Surfer will be able to leave the Earth and discovers that Galactus has destroyed his planet. That happening will be a hard load in his heart forever. And Silver Surfer will be the protector of the Universe.