Move over, Prince Harry! Stan Lee's giving your candid photos a run for your money with this retro centerfold spread:
Taken in 1983 by Eliot R. Brown, the photo can be found on the Tumblr for Sean Howe's upcoming book "Marvel Comics: The Untold Story." Howe recounts the origin of the cheeky pic, which appears to be modeled after Burt Reynolds' famous nude from Cosmopolitan (both Reynolds and Lee possess the impressive facial hair emblematic of the time):
"When Stan Lee visited New York in January 1983, the editorial staff was at the peak of its yuk-yuk, hand-buzzer giddiness. They’d been shooting photos of each other in superhero costumes for some of the covers—several staff members appeared on the cover of the last issue of SPIDER-WOMAN—and now they were putting together a comic that consisted wholly of photos of intra-office hijinks. They wanted to include Stan the Man. Lee, the original ringmaster, jumped at the chance to pose for a nude centerfold. Marvel staffers photographed Lee with an oversize comic book covering his private parts; soon after, they received a call from his assistant in L.A. “Stan is wild,” said the assistant. “He should not have been naked for your centerfold. Please. Don’t.” (A Hulk costume was later superimposed over Lee’s body in postproduction.)"
Notice how they had to use a treasury edition to keep the photo tasteful. That's why he's called "The Man."
Author Howe's Tumblr is a treasure-trove of Marvel Comics nostalgia, and we recommend you check it and his book (hitting stores in October) out! From what I hear, there's no Jim Shooter nudes (sorry).
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