<p>This Saturday, the heroes are coming to UCLA. Well, at least the man who created them. <br/>On Dec. 2, director Kevin Smith will host ?Marvel: Then & Now ? a Night with Stan Lee and Joe Quesada.? <br/>The event will benefit the Hero Initiative, a non-profit organization which raises money for comic book veterans in need of financial assistance. <br/>It will be Lee?s second appearance in as many years at Ackerman Grand Ballroom, where he spoke in last November. <br/>The creator of Spider-Man, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, among others, Lee is arguably the most influential creator in comics alive today. <br/>Lee?s four-colored, spandex-clad stories of teens battling monsters have shaped not only the comic book industry, but also the film industry and popular culture. Through the recent explosion in superhero films, his stories and characters have been both incredibly entertaining and extremely profitable. <br/>But while Lee has found success and financial security in doing what he loves, artists and writers Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, co-creators of Superman, weren?t so lucky. They spent years trying to secure fair royalties for creating one of the most popular icons of American culture. The success of the Superman comics ushered in the medium?s Golden Age, and yet Siegel and Shuster barely saw a dime. <br/>?There are so many people who have been in the comic book business for a long time and some of them are down on their luck, and they need some financial help,? Lee said. <br/>Many comic creators and professionals have fallen on hard times in recent years, and the Hero Initiative, along with Lee, Smith and Quesada, hopes Saturday will not only be a night of animated comic discussion, but also a chance to raise awareness of an important problem in the industry. <br/>?It seems only fitting those that are doing better and can afford to should try and help the people who really started the comic book business from the beginning,? Lee said. <br/>This Saturday, he will be joined in his efforts by two other prominent movers and shakers in the comic industry. <br/>Along for the ride is Smith, a filmmaker and moonlighting comic book writer, who will moderate the discussion between Lee and Quesada. Quesada is the current editor in chief at Marvel Comics, the home of Lee?s hall of heroes, and is responsible for the direction that the beloved characters he created are headed today. <br/>?Here are the two men responsible for the Marvel universe now and then. (Lee) created ... my favorite character, Spider-Man, and as a comic book fan and a nerd I respect him greatly,? said Chris Velasquez, a fourth-year political science student. <br/>For students who didn?t get a chance to see Lee last year, Saturday could be a golden opportunity to talk with a living legend. <br/>?Last time he was here, I was too intimidated to ask any questions, but I?m not going to pass up my chance this time.? Velasquez said.</p><br><br><a href='; target='_blank'>;