PROVIDENCE -- Attorney General Patrick C. Lynch said his press secretary was a little worried when he first proposed putting a Spider-Man quote on the building. When the former attorney general, Sheldon Whitehouse, took office in 1999, he installed a bronze plaque outside 150 S. Main St. declaring: "I will not cease from mental fight. Nor shall my sword sleep in my hand..." The words are from one of Whitehouse's favorite poems -- written by the noted early 19th-century English poet William Blake.
Lynch, who took office last year, is now preparing to install a new plaque that declares: "With great power comes great responsibility." The words are from Stan Lee, the 20th-century American comic book pioneer who created Spider-Man. Lynch said he was inspired by his 6-year-old son, Graham -- an avid Spider-Man fan who tugged on his father's pants and said those words moments before Lynch's inauguration in January 2003.
JB,
That is strange that Stan hadn't heard about it. In the article they quoted Lynch as saying he called Marvel about it and spoke with a lawyer. Here is what Lynch said about the conversation.
" After deciding to go ahead with the Spider-Man plaque, Lynch hit the speakerphone, and as Healey and Lopes looked on, he called Marvel Comics. He said the discussion went something like this:
"Hi, I'm Patrick Lynch. I'm the attorney general of Rhode Island, and I have two questions probably best suited for your legal department."
"OK, hold a minute." Over the next 20 minutes, he said, he talked to six people before reaching a top lawyer in the company.
"Attorney General Lynch?"
"Yes."
"You really are the attorney general of Rhode Island?"
"Yes."
"Sir, I'm sorry but we have people call all day long saying they're the mayor of Metropolis or Gotham City." She said she'd done some checking while he was on hold to confirm his identity.
Lynch explained about his son and the challenges of his office and said he was hoping to get Marvel Comics' permission to use the quote. "To be candid," he said, "I'm going to do it anyway."
"Hold on, I'll check with Mr. Lee." When she came back on, she said, "Mr. Lee said that would be great."
Lynch's second question was who he should attribute the quote to -- Spider-Man? Stan Lee? Uncle Ben?
"Mr. Lee would like 'Stan Lee.' "
"Tell him 'Thank you' and, absolutely, that's what we'll put on the sign."
The plaque rests against a chair in Lynch's office. He said he hopes to unveil it in June. That's when Spider-Man 2 will be opening.
"
The lawyer must not have really spoken to Stan. Anyways I hope Stan can attend when it is unveiled.
Be seeing you,
Brian
This message has been edited by bpeck on Mar 31, 2004 4:30 PM
Sitting here in utter amazement at JB's e-mail addy book & his real addy book!
******
More impressive to a civilian than it is to me -- tho there are three or four names (Stan Lee, Joe Kubert, Joe Sinnott to name but 3) that give even me a thrill!
More impressive to a civilian than it is to me -- tho there are three or four names (Stan Lee, Joe Kubert, Joe Sinnott to name but 3) that give even me a thrill!
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JB,
That's EXACTLY how I feel being able to actually converse with you here. It's a thrill! I sat back the other day and thought, "I'm actually discussing the plot holes of a movie I just saw with John Byrne!"
Thanks!
-Mark McKay
[edited for typo]
This message has been edited by mmckay on Mar 31, 2004 6:50 PM
One time some moron at a comic store was saying something about JB, I don't remember what it was, but I set him straight. The guy responds with a flustered "well, how do YOU know", and I say "because I asked him". He didn't make another peep.
"I'm actually discussing the plot holes of a movie I just saw with John Byrne!"
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You saw a movie with John Byrne. You lucky dog! My question: who paid?
It's one of the things that consistently blows my mind about coming here. That I'm actually talking to John Byrne, who I've been reading since I was five. Utterly amazing. Added to that the fact that I'm on the other side of the world and it's even more of a trip.
I know people like Kurt Busiek and Jeph Loeb have been by the DC boards, and I've seen a few others on other boards, but I can always come here and JB himself will be here. It's incredible, and I can't express my gratitude for his accessibility.
And while the thrill of that address book may have lost it's edge, I'll bet that back in the early days it was a blast for you, JB!
____________________________________________
You are a god among insects. Never let anyone tell you different.
Added to that the fact that I'm on the other side of the world and it's even more of a trip.
*******
Today, Optimum Online was misbehaving, and I was having trouble accessing my usual round of sites, as well as sending email with graphics attached. But as I sat her grumbling to myself a little voice in my head was constantly reminding me that barely more than a decade ago this kind of communication was virtually unheard of. Back another decade, and the whole computer revolution was in its infancy. Another decade, and the closest thing I had to my Mac was an Etch-a-Sketch!
I watched "Continental Divide", a favourite movie of mine, with John Belushi and Blair Brown (I think thats her name). Well, Belushi plays a tough Chicago newspaper man and uses (at the time) a state of the art computer!
Well, of course, seeing that yesterday was quite a trip as that thing wouldn't TOUCH any computer being used to access this forum. I hope.
