Stan Lee papers stored in Laramie

Laramie, Wyoming, holds the largest physical archive of comic book creator Stan Lee's personal and professional papers.

The American Heritage Center on the University of Wyoming campus maintains the only archival collection of materials created by Lee. The facility has stored these documents since 1977. The collection now occupies about 125 cubic feet of space. This volume contains more than 200 boxes of comic book history.

Rhiannon Skye McLean, who oversees the collection, stated that the archive contains more than just published comics. It includes unpublished scripts, personal writings, and early renditions of Lee's signature. The papers show the progression of Lee's career from his early work to his role as publisher of Marvel Comics in the 1970s and his film development work in the 1980s. McLean described the collection as showing the comic before the comic.

The relationship between Lee and the center began around 1972. Gene Gressley, the center's longtime former director, became friends with Lee after building a connection through comedian Jack Benny. Gressley cultivated relationships with many Hollywood figures to build the center's holdings. Lee signed a donation contract with the center in 1979 to transfer ownership of his papers. He joked that the archive was a way to clean out his files and noted that the University of Wyoming might need a new campus to fit the materials.

A fire in 1984 at Marvel Productions' executive offices accelerated the donation process. The fire damaged some materials Lee intended to give to the center. Flesher said this event spooked Lee, prompting him to send packages to Laramie more frequently. For the next 30 years, Lee sent one or two packages annually. This resulted in hundreds of thousands of pages of work being stored in Wyoming.

Paul Flesher, the current director of the Heritage Center, said dozens of fans visit the archives each year. The center keeps a section of the collection permanently available in the reading room due to high demand. McLean noted that a new patron often requests materials immediately after a previous visitor leaves. The center is one of the 10 largest nongovernmental archives in the United States, holding nearly 100,000 cubic feet of materials overall.

Lee visited the center a few times in the 1990s. He was among the first major guests to speak at the building after it moved to its current location. During a visit in 1994, he brought a Spider-Man costume and signed autographs for fans. He wrote in a letter that he considered the University of Wyoming his alma mater. In 2015, Lee spoke by telephone with Hazel Homer-Wambeam, who was 13 years old at the time. She later became Miss Wyoming 2022 and now works as the brand manager for the Stan Lee Universe at Kartoon Studios.

The collection is open to the public for research free of charge. McLean recommends calling ahead so staff can curate materials for specific topics. Those who cannot visit in person can use the Remote Research and Discovery program to explore the collection online with a staffer.