SCRANTON, Pa. -- Comic book fans came out to Comics on the Green in downtown Scranton to buy up mementos to honor the late Stan Lee, who passed away Monday morning.
The 95-year-old comic book writer, editor, and publisher became world famous after he founded Marvel Comics.
In the early 1960s, Lee co-created well-known superheroes, including Spider-Man, the Hulk, Iron Man, Thor, the X-Men, and many other characters.
“It's pretty sad to see a legend go like that, so we're here honoring the legend and grabbing some books today,” said Lewis Febbo from Old Forge.
Store manager Matt Mang says Lee revolutionized the world of modern comics, with many of his characters transitioning onto the big screen.
It's now a booming industry in Hollywood.
Many of those movies continue to be produced in sequels and reboots, creating a whole new level of fans.
“It's something that was our big secret in comic book world that there's actually good stories out there that people enjoy reading, and then being developed into TV shows and then movies that now everybody else is finding out,” said Mang.
“It's amazing,” said Febbo. “It transcends all time, and it really just continues on and the same stories will be going on.”
Fans say the fact those now iconic superheroes that Stan Lee created some 60 years ago still have staying power is a testament to the genius that he was.
“We're collecting Amazing Spider-Man here today,” said Febbo. “They've been going since the early '60s, and here we are in 2018, still going, new ones just coming out.”
PJ Calaboro from Clarks Summit is a young comic book reader who says seeing how popular Lee's characters are has him thinking of becoming a collector.
“And when I grow up, I'm going to have a million bucks,” said Calaboro.