Stan Lee unexpectedly drops out of Comic Con Palm Springs

Representatives for Comic Con Palm Springs say legendary comic writer Stan Lee, 94, has cancelled his appearance at the 2017 convention.

In a Sunday morning post to the convention’s Facebook page, a statement read:

“Due to personal reasons the Marvel Legend himself, Stan Lee will not be able to attend the convention floor today, CCPS wishes him well and we know the CCPS fan base does as well. Don’t miss out on your chance to see the Stan Lee museum with hundreds of items from his illustrious career!”

An organizer, Rob Simmons, for CCPS told KESQ and CBS Local 2 reporter Lauren Coronado that they were respecting Lee’s decision and would not elaborate further on the reason for his absence.

“We just wish him the very, very best, and we just really hope that he recovers quickly,” Simmons said.

When asked if Lee was ill, Simmons said, “Right now they haven’t given us anything beyond his personal details and as a good friend of ours, we really just want to respect his wishes. And he’s really sorry he can’t be here”.

While the heart of comic con wasn’t present, characters, like The Bionic Woman, also known as Lindsay Wagner, were hitting it off with their biggest fans.

“Everybody that comes up to my table grew up. They were little kids when they were watching me, so what I get to see when someone comes up and asks for an autograph is their inner child. Whoever they are, whether they’re a big gnarly biker or a serious business man or a housewife, whatever, they all of a sudden become 6 or 10 years old and that’s super fun for me, and i really love their stories,” Wagner said.

Meanwhile a raffle at our sister station’s CW5 booth drew in a crowd. Dozens were hoping to walk home with a free prize, but there was only one lucky winner.

“The collectors set of X Files, A Supergirl mini action figure and some posters,” Ricky Cruz, the raffle winner, said.

Simmons says the three day convention has grown tremendously since it’s first debut last year.

“No matter where you’re from or what your beliefs or political…whatever else this world is doing right now, all that gets left outside. We all come here. We’re having a good time. We couldn’t be happier with the turnout and we couldn’t be happier with our fans,” Simmons said.

For a behind the scenes look at the Stan Lee Museum, click here.