POW! Entertainment Inc. (fka POWN)

[rickn23]

Amid LAPD elder abuse probe, El Segundo company selling Stan Lee-branded goods goes dark

https://www.ocregister.com/2018/06/18/amid-lapd-elder-abuse-probe-el-segundo-company-selling-stan-lee-branded-goods-goes-dark/

https://firenewsfeed.com/finance/1691497

Legal wrangling over the financial empire and personal welfare of comic book legend Stan Lee — first apparent when he fired his business manager in February and then bursting open with allegations of elder abuse against his new manager — has spilled into Lee’s memorabilia market affecting his most avid fans.

An El Segundo company has gone dark after failing to deliver to subscribers its monthly $50 Stan Lee Box, including special editions of comics, toys based on Marvel characters, clothing, tote bags and postcards branded with Lee’s likeness or personal catchphrases.

Outraged fans of Lee, who created Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, Iron Man and other major Marvel characters that have evolved into blockbusters on the movie screen, have been blasting the company, Box Boulevard, online since it stopped shipping out monthly boxes in December or processing refunds.

The actual subscription box website is gone, with only a note saying it will be “reopening soon.”

“How about stop telling people what you’re going to deliver and simply make good on your promises. Stop proselytizing Stan Lee and his name and make good on the business end,” San Diego resident Lewis Thompson wrote in response to a post from the company in February. “We all love Stan Lee, but what we don’t love is the dysfunction of whoever is in charge of this operation. It’s a disaster and the fact no one on the customer service end returns requests is very telling.”

Box Boulevard’s Facebook post — which was the company’s last posting on social media — promised more loot boxes would be coming soon, and offered a coupon code good for 10 percent off customers’ first box.

“I cancelled my subscription. I am still waiting for the December box and February box. I was told they would fulfill both. Of course it is the end of March and I have received nothing!” West Virginia resident Mark Van Steenberg wrote in response to the Facebook post. “They have a no-refund policy so it looks like I will just have to count this as a lesson learned. I will NEVER recommend this product or service to anyone.”

Thirty-two complaints against Stan Lee Box have been filed with the Better Business Bureau. Although a phone number for Box Boulevard appears to be disconnected, the company’s LinkedIn page lists three employees. One of them, Jacob Desjarlais, who worked on the company’s marketing, said he has not worked for Box Boulevard in 18 months. Neither of the other two responded to requests for comment.

Lee created or co-created Spider-Man, the X-Men, Black Panther, Daredevil, Iron Man and many more characters when he served as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics in the 1960s. In his later years, Lee has seen comic books go mainstream, with movies starring the Marvel characters he helped create go on to be some of the most commercially successful films of all time.

As a mainstream celebrity, Lee has been allowed to license his brand, putting his name on reality television shows, comic conventions and the monthly subscription boxes.
Stan Lee's L.A. Comic Con logo

Stan Lee lent his name and presence to a comic convention known variously as Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo and Stan Lee’s L.A. Comic Con, rebranded in April 2018, taking his name off the convention. which will now be known as Beyond Fest Expo LA.

The comic convention that formerly bore his name, Stan Lee’s L.A. Comic Con, formerly known as Comikaze Expo, officially rebranded as Beyond Fest Expo LA in April. Attempts to reach someone connected with the convention were unsuccessful.

After April’s Silicon Valley Comic Con, fans expressed concern over the health and mood of the 95-year-old Lee. Two days after the convention ended, The Hollywood Reporter published a long piece, titled “Stan Lee Needs a Hero,” detailing alleged elder abuse against the comic book icon.

Lee responded with a video shared with TMZ, denying the charges, but some fans began calling for comic book conventions to stop booking Lee, which they see as exploiting an elderly and vulnerable man.

In theory, Lee doesn’t need the money: According to The Hollywood Reporter, Lee’s estate is worth $50 million to $70 million and he receives $1 million a year from Marvel. Lee also reportedly earns $250,000 a year from Pow! Entertainment, a company he co-founded in 2001.

In May, Lee sued Pow! for $1 billion in damages, alleging the company tricked him into signing away the rights to use his name and likeness. Representatives for Pow! did not return a request for comment. Today, the POW! Entertainment website is just a blank page, with links to TheRealStanLee.com web page and social media accounts.

The past week has been an ugly whirlwind for Lee:

On June 10, Lee posted a video to his Twitter account, in which he said Keya Morgan was his partner and only business manager.

The next day, Morgan was arrested for filing a false police report after he reportedly called 911, claiming burglars were in his house when two detectives and a social worker came by to conduct a welfare check on Lee. Morgan had taken over Lee’s business dealings after Lee’s daughter, J.C. Lee, ousted Lee’s manager of 14 years, Max Anderson, in February.

“I wouldn’t let questionable people around Stan. Keya always kept bringing business proposals up to Stan and presenting paperwork to Stan,” Anderson said in an interview. “A couple times I’ve been there and said, ‘Look, Stan, I’m not a lawyer, send that to your lawyer.’ Keya would turn around and say, ‘This is between (Stan) and me.’ “

Despite her involvement in his ouster, Anderson said he bears no ill will toward Lee.

“Every person around J.C. has their hand out,” Anderson said. “In reality, she’s a victim, just like Stan.”
Stan Lee arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of "Spider-Man: Homecoming" at the TCL Chinese Theatre on Wednesday, June 28, 2017. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Stan Lee arrives at the Los Angeles premiere of “Spider-Man: Homecoming” at the TCL Chinese Theatre on Wednesday, June 28, 2017. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

On Wednesday, a restraining order was granted ordering Morgan to stay away from Lee while elder abuse allegations are investigated. The order claimed Morgan has insinuated himself into Lee’s life, taking advantage of Lee’s impaired hearing, vision and judgment, moving him away from his longtime home and cutting off contact between Lee and his family and associates.

Joan, Lee’s wife of 69 years, died last July.

“The minute that Joanie died, it was like a feeding frenzy,” Anderson said. “Sharks were everywhere.”

Longtime comics writer Peter David, who’s known Lee since the early 1980s and who co-wrote Lee’s 2015 autobiography, agreed.

“Joanie was the guardian of the gate. Her mental faculties were 100 percent,” David said. “She remembered everything and she watched out to make sure that Stan didn’t get caught up in something because Stan tended to trust everyone. If Joanie was still alive, Keya would not be in the picture.”

The Los Angeles Police Department has been investigating allegations of elder abuse against Lee since at least February, according to the restraining order.

“It’s just been appalling. I think I can speak for the whole community when I say we were horrified for the shenanigans of the last six months,” said veteran comics writer Mark Waid, who’s currently writing the Stan Lee co-created “Doctor Strange” comic for Marvel. “It’s heartbreaking for us all, because we want to do something, but when you cut a lot of the other stuff away, it’s largely a family matter between him and J.C.”

Anderson said the tug-of-war over Lee has been painful to watch.

“He’s my best friend. It hurts a lot seeing this guy going through what he’s going through. All this guy wants is to make people happy.”