Report: Stan Lee's Stolen Blood Was Used to Sign Marvel Comics Sold in Las Vegas

Stan Lee, the legendary comics figure who helped bring many ofMarvel』s most iconic characters to life, has been in the newslately for reasons beyond his comics legacy. Over the last month,several reports about Lee』s personal life have uncovered bizarreattempts to capitalize on the 95-year-old』s fortunes... and a newtwist in the tale makes the saga even stranger.

In the wake of the Daily Beast』s reporting that Lee』s financeshave allegedly been drained (in part) by ongoing disputes with aformer business partner associated with Hands of Respect, afor-profit charitable organization that both Lee and his daughterJC were formerly involved with, this week celebrity news site TMZreported that this former business associate allegedly forgedmedical documents last October to instruct Lee』s personal nurse todrain several vials of blood from Lee.

Originally, TMZ reported that people close to Lee were concernedthe blood itself was going to be sold off in the form of actualpens, containing it as an ink substitute, but an updated claimtoday from the site alleges that the blood has instead been used tostamp Lee』s signature onto several recent Marvel Comics—The MightyThor #700, and a variant cover of Rise of the Black Panther #1.[Full disclosure: Rise of the Black Panther writer Evan Narcisse isalso a senior writer here at io9 and Gizmodo.]

According to TMZ, the comics are being sold at the Las VegasMarvel Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N., an officially licensed exhibitionand retail store based on Disney and Marvel Studios』 Avengersmovies currently operating at Treasure Island Las Vegas. The siteobtained a certificate of authenticity included with one of thestamped comics—retailing for up to $500—claiming that the signatureon the book has been 「hand-stamped with Stan Lee』s Solvent DNAInk.」 One of the many curious things about certificate is that itties the comics and Lee』s purportedly stolen blood back to Hands ofRespect, whose logo is printed at the bottom of the document.

Cursory searches online about the ink turn up little beyondmentions on social media, going as far back as last December, offans receiving other Marvel comics stamped with Lee』s signaturestamped with Solvent DNA Ink. Additionally, a thread posted on theforums of the third-party comic book grading service CGC Comicsfrom February inquiring about the comics on sale at Marvel AvengersS.T.A.T.I.O.N. with Lee』s signature on them includes a postclaiming to represent the exhibition』s retail store, stating thatthe comics, stamped with Solvent DNA Ink infused with Lee』s blood,were donated with Lee』s consent in the wake of the Las Vegas massshooting that claimed the lives of 58 people while leaving 851injured last October.

Dear Consumers,

Marvel』s Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. is a global touring interactiveexhibition, in association and produced under the license of MarvelEntertainment, LLC, which is also owned by The Walt DisneyCompany.

Following the October 1, 2017 tragedy in Las Vegas, Nevada, StanLee』s Hands of Respect was moved by the community response of blooddonations to help the victims.  In response, Stan Lee』s Handsof Respect chose to dedicate the introduction of the Stan Lee』sSolvent DNA Ink made with the actual blood of Stan Lee to the LasVegas community.

Due to this commitment & passion, Stan Lee donated his bloodto create the Stan Lee』s Solvent DNA Ink.

Stan Lee』s Solvent DNA Ink was created with the highest of careand standards.  Blood was drawn from Stan Lee by ahand-selected nurse and under the direction of Dr. Ram Dandillaya,M.D., FACC, FACP, Clinical Chief of Cardiology, Beverly Hills,California and Stan Lee』s Hands of Respect Medical Ambassador.Following the strictest of protocols, Stan Lee』s blood wasdelivered to Cleansnap, one of the country』s leading manufacturersof ink products, where a team of chemists developed and uniquelycustomized in composition specifically for Stan Lee』s Hands ofRespect.  Hand-stamped signatures utilizing Stan Lee』s SolventDNA Ink are certified, authenticated and numbered with Certificatesof Authenticity.

This product is sold exclusively at the Marvel』s AvengersS.T.A.T.I.O.N. and quantities per comic book hand stamped with StanLee』s DNA Ink is limited edition.

We are located at the Treasure Island Hotel & Casino in LasVegas Nevada and we look forward to welcoming you to visit ussoon.

Thank you,

Marvel』s Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N.

The purported statement claims Cleansnap is behind the ink,however that appears to be a mistake: Cleansnap doesn』t exist(except as a data aggregation service for the constructionindustry), but Clearsnap, an ink pad manufacturer based inWashington, does.

When we reached out to Victory Hill Exhibitions, the MarvelAvengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N.』s parent company, their legal counselresponded with a succinct statement confirming that the comics hadbeen previously sold at the location, but that they no longer wouldbe:

「We』re a retail store which purchased product from Hands ofRespect LLC and DLK Brand Consulting LLC that appeared certifiedand obtained with authorization. The books were removed from ourshelves immediately.」