LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Latest on a public memorial for Marvel Comics' Stan Lee (all times local):
10:30 p.m.
At a Hollywood memorial, Stan Lee was called a mythmaker and a dream dad. He was compared to the pope, Jesus and the burning sun.
This was no night to hold back for the friends, co-creators and super-fans of the Marvel Comics mastermind who died last month at age 95.
Lee-lovers like filmmaker Kevin Smith and actor Mark Hammill told tales of their hero worship Wednesday at the TCL Chinese Theatre next the hand and footprints of Lee, whose characters included Spider-Man and Wolverine.
A U.S. Army trumpeter and bagpipers played songs of mourning for Lee, a World War II veteran, surrounded by Lee fans in their own impeccable uniforms — dressed as X-Men and Avengers.
Inside the theater, entertainers told stories of reading Lee's comics as children then getting to work with him later in life.
———
12:50 a.m.
Among comics lovers, Stan Lee was as much a superhero as the characters he helped create.
Those fans, along with Lee's friends and colleagues, will get to pay their final respects at a Los Angeles memorial Wednesday night for the Marvel Comics mastermind who helped bring the world Spider-Man, Black Panther and The Incredible Hulk.
Filmmaker and Lee super-fan Kevin Smith, actor Mark Hamill and Lee's daughter J.C. Lee will be among those at a public remembrance and celebration at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
The evening will include speakers, musical performances, an art exhibit, and costumes and props from Lee's creations and Marvel-movie cameos.
The night is being called, "Excelsior! A Celebration of the Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible & Uncanny Life of Stan Lee."
