Rest In Peace, Stan Taylor

JackRozKirby-StanTaylor_600h-2
Jack & Roz Kirby with a beaming Stan Taylor in Thousand Oaks, California, 1989.

I recently learned of the 18th December passing of avid Jack Kirby fan and scholar Stan Taylor. Stan was an active participant in the email discussion groups devoted to Kirby that started up in the late 1990s. He contributed articles and letters to TwoMorrows’ Jack Kirby Collector and data to its Jack Kirby Checklist. He’d also been published in the Jack Kirby Quarterly. While his most known work may be the essay “Spider-Man: The Case For Kirby”, where he analyzes the early Spider-Man comics, Stan’s magnum opus is certainly his 900+ page biography of Jack Kirby. He and I made a few attempts at serializing it here on the Kirby Museum’s web site, but we were foiled by the logistics of doing so. Some excerpts were eventually published on Rob Steibel’s Kirby Dynamics blog. I’m glad I was able to spend some time with Stan in person – the last time was in 2007, visiting a comic shop and sharing a meal with Rob Steibel in Orlando, Florida. It’s a laugh-filled memory I’ll cherish. Stan is survived by his wife of 42 years, Annabelle. Rest in Peace.

– Rand Hoppe

Jack Kirby with Annabelle & Stan Taylor  Thousand Oaks, California, 1989.
Jack Kirby with Annabelle & Stan Taylor Thousand Oaks, California, 1989.

 

16 Replies to “Rest In Peace, Stan Taylor”

  1. Stan’s great research will be missed. i was just citing his Spider-Man document today on the Ditkomania group. I proofread a couple of chapters of his Kirby bio; I hope to read the whole thing some day.

  2. I remember Stan as being articulate, well versed in the subject matter of what ever he was discussing out on the net. He looks very familiar and am sure I met him at say San Diego Comicon back in the day. May he Rest In Peace.

  3. Ah jeez. That’s very sad news. Stan had dropped off the usual online haunts over the years but we went back together to the earliest days of Kirby-L. I met him down in Florida back in 1999 and spent the day with him at Disneyworld with my family. I know I have some photos of that I have to locate. Stan was a sweetheart and a great Kirby scholar. I’ll miss him a great deal. My condolences to his family.

  4. We will not only miss his insights and knowledge, but more importantly his sincere friendliness. what a nice guy! Very sad & sorry!

  5. Stan was without a doubt one of the main reasons I stayed on Kirby-l for so long. He was insightful and informative, always took the time to answer my questions with careful and thoughtful consideration. He was a real gentlemen and didn’t let his feathers get ruffled when others would have. His essay on the origins of Spider-Man in particular is a standout piece of comics scholarship. I also enjoyed discussing Louis Armstrong with him. When he found out I was doing a book on Satchmo he sent me a program autographed by Armstrong and the band members. When I called to thank him I asked, “Are you sure you want to give this away?” He replied, “I’m not giving you my Duke Ellington.” A great guy, I am saddened to learn of his passing and sorry we never met face to face. Heartfelt condolences to the family.

  6. Very sad to hear the news about this wonderful gentle guy. He had the rare gift of being extremely passionate on a subject while remaining open-minded and patient with those who might express a disagreement on his stance. Good night, Stan.

  7. Just heard the sad news about Stan Taylor. He was a legendary Kirby-L contributor, and his Spiderman essay was required reading, chatting (& arguing!) with him on Kirby-L was always a highlight, even when our opinions clashed, he was always very nice about it, a gentleman and one of the good guys, he’ll be sadly missed.

  8. Stan Taylor was a true gentleman and will be greatly missed. It was a memorable moment when I met him for the first (and sadly, only) time when he visited New York in 2006 . We met up with Rand Hoppe and Harry Mendryk, who set up a visit to Joe Simon’s studio. Stan was not only knowledgeable about comics history and Kirby in particular, but had a wonderful sense of humor. A very warm and human member of the comics community.

  9. Sad to here about Stan. He always had interesting things to say about Jack Kirby. I only met him once, but it was a blast.

  10. A terrible surprise! As others have said, Stan was one of the guys whose
    comments on Kirby-l were always insightful and worth pondering, and always
    given in a respectful way, whether he agreed with you or not.
    Folks have mentioned his analysis of Spiderman’s origins, where he was
    convinced that Kirby had a far greater input than most believe, (and a great
    piece it is too) but my favourite piece of his was his unfinished analysis of how he perceived
    Kirby’s thinking behind the Fourth World/New Gods. It had more depth and
    credibility than most I’ve read. I tried at least twice to get him to write it up
    properly, but he never did!
    I never met him personally but he seemed a great guy!

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