Ranking the Departed

Jack Kirby (1994)

The comic book industry produced only one king, his name was Jack Kirby. The visions he translated to art boards transcended the medium and the very fabric of reality. The industry, and the entire planet, were much richer having Jack Kirby educate and entertain in the 20th Century. A true creative genius.

James Dean (1955)

Greatest actor who ever lived, defines screen presence. You cannot keep your eyes off him. His androgynous quality makes him equally compelling no matter a viewers' sexuality or gender. Camille Paglia writes eloquently about this in Sexual Personae. In Hollywood films there is for me, before James Dean and after James Dean. The first James Dean movie I watched was "Rebel Without a Cause", a beautifully shot film. Most iconic scene has James Dean drinking milk. Then "East of Eden" you can see how through everyone's performances, he was literally changing the game. He brought out incredible performances with actors who would meet the challenge, like Sal Mineo & Jo Van Fleet. Other actors look stiff and inauthentic in scenes with him like from another era. I know he owes a lot to Marlon Brando, but my unpopular opinion is that he was better. We were robbed by his early death, but also left with three pristine examples of his craft.

Alfred Hitchcock (1980)

Undoubtedly a brilliant filmmaker, Psycho (1960) is probably the best representation of his innovative vision. Unforgiveable is the fashion in which he sexually harassed and destroyed the career of actress Tippi Hedren. Thankfully, Grace Kelly escaped his clutches by getting married to a European prince.

Bob Newhart (2024)

Newhart, an all-time dry guy...deadpanned me to death.

Jerry West (2024)

He would've been good in an any era

Joe Strummer (2002)

Two words sufficiently sums up the life of Joe Strummer: The Clash. Initially full of defiance and a disdain for the "traditional" style of rock, The Clash spit in the face of established expectations and gradually melded the melodies of several different emerging flavors of music on the sonic spectrum. Strummer was the face of The Clash, but it was a collaborative effort, becoming less than that when Strummer emphasized his leadership role, and everything became his sole vision. The final release of The Clash was in 1985, closely followed by the disintegration of the band. Fully cognizant of fellow ex-bandmate Mick Jones' success, a man he personally fired in 1983, Strummer spent the remainder of his life learning some uncomfortable truths about music, and himself. He didn't realize he had bottled lightning until it shattered at his feet.

Stan Lee (2018)

Stan Lee was in the business of selling comic books. His specialty was utilizing his writing talents in a bombastic style to make his product appealing in an innovative style that the targeted audience didn't immediately realize that Lee was in the process of separating them from their money. Lee was the czar of self-promotion in an era when creators were faceless, anonymous figures. Even though The Man adapted the pseudonym Stan Lee at the beginning of his career in the 1940s, the legendary personality didn't emerge until Lee donned a toupee and sideburns in the mid-1960s, instantly becoming a legend. Many of his collaborators became estranged from Lee, as he grew into a larger than life comic book god, who hogged the media spotlight, and claimed credit for things he did not do. But ultimately, Stan Lee was mold-breaking, rule defying, paradigm destroyer who changed the super-hero genre forever. Stan Lee was Marvel Comics, and when he died, so did Marvel Comics. What remains in its place is a corporate shell that can only mimic The Man known as Stan Lee. Accept no substitutes.

Gil Kane (2000)

One of the great artists, characters, and scoundrels of comic books

Alan Greenspan (2026)

Sucking Ayn Rand's toes. Gross!