Media: Spider-Man Creator Stan Lee Records Comic Book for Students with Disabilities

Stan Lee is accustomed to writing comic books, but on this day at the Hollywood studios of Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic, he helped record one for students who struggle with reading.

Stan Lee, world-famous creator of Spider-Man, Iron Man, X-Men and The Incredible Hulk, is accustomed to writing comic books, but on this day at the Hollywood studios of Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D), he helped record one for students who struggle with reading because of a visual impairment or learning disability such as dyslexia.

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Stan Lee and Feedback together again.

For 60 years, RFB&D has been the nation’s largest educational audiobook library serving people who cannot read standard print because of a print disability.

Lee was joined by Matthew Atherton, better known as the superhero Feedback, and winner of the first season of Sci-Fi Channel’s Who Wants to Be a Superhero? Lee immortalized the Feedback character, created by Atherton, on the pages of the comic book, which is now accessible to the more than 185,000 students served by RFB&D.

When not donning his Feedback costume, Inland Empire resident Atherton also regularly donates his time and resources as a volunteer reader and donor for RFB&D. “With RFB&D, reading is a superpower anyone can have,” he says. Lee agreed with the importance of having access to reading materials. "As a youth, I read just about anything and everything I could get my hands on," he asserted. "I was a voracious reader."

"With more and more comic books being made into movies, including the upcoming Iron Man movie, we wanted to celebrate the excitement of the action/adventure genre that comic books have inspired over the years, using our unique facilities,” said Mike Davis, Executive Director of RFB&D’s Inland Empire/Orange County Unit. "Although it is a departure from the educational books we normally record, it's a wonderful way to have our students develop the joy of reading."

RFB&D, headquartered in Princeton, NJ, serves more than 185,000 students from kindergarten through graduate school and beyond with its one-of-a-kind collection of more than 40,000 recorded educational titles. RFB&D's AudioPlus digitally recorded textbooks on CD provide unprecedented navigation, ease of use and proven effectiveness as learning tools for students with print disabilities. Students rely on RFB&D's unique accommodation to access the printed page and to achieve educational success. All of RFB&D's accessible titles are recorded by volunteers working in 29 RFB&D recording studios nationwide.

RFB&D is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Membership fees cover approximately 20 percent of the actual cost of providing services, and the organization relies on the philanthropic support of corporations, foundations and individuals to help provide the unique service so vital to RFB&D members' lives.

For membership, volunteer or donation information, contact www.rfbd.org, or call RFB&D at 866-RFBD-585.

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