Stan Lee with his "super-powered children" at a recent promotion for Marvel Mania, a comic-themed restaurant.

Another problem, Lee says, is that since comic books are now mass produced, characterization and consistency are going by the wayside. "Many titles, both ours and the competition, take it for granted that you know everything about the character and his background," he explains. "If you aren't a regular reader, it is almost impossible to pick one up and know what is going on. The books have become hard for the transient reader to pick up and enjoy, and as a result, it is harder to lure in new readers. They tend to cater to the hardcore reader and forget that it is important to bring new readers into the fold. I've talked with our people in New York about fixing this with Marvel, but it is an industry-wide problem."

Whatever the future holds for his beloved "super powered children," Lee couldn't be happier about his past and present. He credits the support of his wife of 50 years, Joan, the hard work and talent of colleagues he has worked with, especially fellow comic book legends Kirby, Steve Ditko, John Romita, John Buscema, Gil Kane, Gene Colan and Don Heck, among many others, and a lot of luck with helping him get to the top of the comic heap. "I've been lucky all my life," he says. "I've always worked with people I liked and respected, and who were extremely talented. I'm also lucky in other ways. I'm lucky I answered that ad all those years ago. I'm lucky Marvel decided to concentrate on super hero books, and I'm lucky the readers liked what we were putting out there. I'm sure guys like Chuck Jones don't regret they went into the animation business, and in my case, I certainly don't regret going into the comic book business. I would advise writers or artists to go into comics or animation, but only if they really love doing it. That's the only reason I've been in it so long: I love doing it. I don't know what I would be doing today if I hadn't gotten into this business, but I'm sure it wouldn't have been nearly as much fun."

Michael Goldman is a Los Angeles-based writer and editor for a variety of publications, who has super-powers and fights for justice in his spare time.