To put this in the proper context, there is no higher achievement for a comic fan today than to meet Stan Lee. It is the Holy Grail.

The only comparable experience would have been to meet Superman’s creators, Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, but they passed away in 1992 and 1996, respectively. Bob Kane (who passed away in 1998) ranks up there too, but with NO disrespect, I’d argue he’s second chair to Stan the Man. Kane created Batman, but Stan Lee created hundreds of famous characters, including Spider-man, Iron Man, the Fantastic Four, the Hulk, and Thor among them. He’s the father of the Marvel Universe. It is impossible to imagine what the world would have been like without Stan Lee.

I once told a friend I’d give my left arm to meet Stan Lee, but I got off cheap. When WizardCon came to town, I bought a ticket to a Stan Lee Meet & Greet on March 8 for a mere $200. That may seem expensive, but remember the context. Meeting Stan Lee was, for me, Bucket List Item #2. (Meeting Roger Waters is #1 if you’re curious).

I had to wait ten weeks for the event, and I spent that entire time terrified. It was flu season, and I was certain I’d catch the flu and not be able to go. Then I decided I’d risk throwing up on Stan Lee if I had to, but the flu wouldn't stop me. Then I worried about Stan catching the flu. What if someone at another convention got their cooties on him? Stan was 92 years old—for all I knew, a bad case of the flu might kill the man.

I painstakingly counted down the days until March 8 finally arrived, and with me in perfect health. Unfortunately, the other nightmare did come true. Stan had indeed caught the flu. He hadn’t cancelled anything… yet, but he hadn’t left southern California yet either. No one knew what was going to happen, but the prevailing opinion was that Stan wouldn’t disappoint his fans.

I spent the day chewing my nails and thinking about going to Louisville, where Stan would be appearing next month, until, hallelujah! Stan was in the building.

He still wasn’t in top form, so the event was rescheduled to Sunday. I set two alarms and arrived at the meet & greet two hours early. I was second in line. As others arrived, you’d have thought we were kids in line to meet Santa. The anticipation mounted steadily until, right on time, the doors opened and we were ushered in. We all took our seats, me in front with my back to the door, and filled the room with excited whispers.

Then, from behind me came a greeting.

“Hello, true believers!”

That voice. As a kid, I’d watched my share of Spiderman cartoons on Saturday mornings, all narrated by Stan Lee. When that steely voice boomed into the room, it was a time warp. It was eyes-open-wide. It was, “OMG, he’s really here!”

The room exploded into applause and cheers as Stan walked in and sat down three feet in front of me. Like every legend, he was shorter than I expected, and while he walked like he was 92, he smiled, cracked wise, and showed a glint in his eyes that was no more than 25.

He spent a few minutes thanking everyone for coming, and announced he wasn’t there to give a lecture – he wanted to hear from us.

For the next half hour, he entertained us all with answers to questions he’s probably heard a million times, but acted like he’d never been asked before. He had a little trouble hearing, but he was quick with the one-liners, playfully refusing to say who his favorite characters were, which were most powerful, or who’d win in a fight.

At one point he even winked at a questioner and said, “You know, I hate to tell you guys this, but these are all fictional characters…”

Someone couldn't resist asking who his favorite DC character was, to which he waived his hand and said,” Oh, I don’t think too much about DC characters,” as we all chuckled. He followed that with, “Seriously, look at the Superman comics. Here you have a guy who takes his glasses off and suddenly everyone wonders, ‘Where did Clark Kent go?’”

After the Q&A, we each got to sit with Stan one-on-one, get an autograph and a picture, and try to play it cool. I’d brought Amazing Spiderman #90 (which Stan wrote) for his autograph, and a copy of my own book about a real-life hero.

“Oh, what’s this?” he asked as I sat and handed him my book. I told him it was a gift, from one writer to another. He thanked me graciously and signed my comic as I asked him if he thought there would ever be new superheroes as iconic as characters like Spiderman, Iron Man, Captain America and DC’s big three.

He didn't hesitate. “Yes, I do.” he said. “As long as people are willing to keep imagining, creating, and dreaming up new characters, there will always be room for more superheroes.”

He handed me my autographed comic with a warm “here ya go!” and we both mugged for the camera. The moment thus captured forever, I told him it’d been a real pleasure to meet him, which he reciprocated, and that was it.

The pictures went on Facebook immediately, and I left the room with an exhausted, but satisfied sigh.

I've often heard the phrase, “Never meet your heroes, because they’ll always disappoint you.” That’s usually true. Meeting Stan Lee was an exception. He’s never forgotten it’s the fans who've have made him what he is, and he’s genuinely grateful for it. That’s why he cameos in movies about his characters, and why, even with the flu, he puts the interests of others—his fans—above his own. That’s what heroes do.