Stan Lee 's comic book and entertainment career has so far spanned 71 years . The first appearance of the character was in a story called " Tales to Astonish " published by Marvel Comics on April 16, 1938, which introduced readers to the world of super heroes as seen through Lee thoroughly enjoys playing cameo parts in all movies based on his comic book characters . `` Inject a little bit of philosophy or a little bit of something to think about when the reader reads the stories . '' Lee pronounces his catchphrase , `` Excelsior ! '' egg-cel-see-or .
Stan Lee 's comic book and entertainment career has so far spanned 71 years . The first appearance of the character was in a story called " Tales to Astonish " published by Marvel Comics on April 16, 1938, which introduced readers to the world of super heroes as seen through Lee thoroughly enjoys playing cameo parts in all movies based on his comic book characters . Lee pronounces his catchphrase , `` Excelsior ! '' egg-cel-see-or .