Breaking News: Stan Lee's Indy Appearance CANCELED

Attendees who signed up for ExactTarget‘s upcoming Indianapolis conference hoping to see pop-culture icon Stan Lee are in for a big disappointment, Circle Citizen has learned.
 
Last month, the interactive marketing company, headquartered next door to Circle Citizen’s 40 Monument Circle offices, announced in a splashy press release that it had added the Spider-Man co-creator to its Connections 2011 conference lineup as the headlining keynote speaker. The conference, held at the JW Marriott, is scheduled to begin tomorrow.
 
While reporting on previously breaking comic-related news, Circle Citizen heard rumors that Lee, in addition to his official appearance at the conference, would be making a private appearance for ExactTarget employees at the company’s Monument Circle headquarters. And so this correspondent (at the risk of becoming typecast and lampooned as the blog’s “comic book guy”) started calling around to see if there was any truth to the gossip.
 
Oddly, numerous calls and emails to ExactTarget went unanswered. So, just this morning, Circle Citizen called Stan Lee’s office in California. A man who would identify himself only as “Mike at Stan Lee’s office” informed Circle Citizen that, as of late last week, Mr. Lee will not, in fact, be coming to Indianapolis, for unspecified “business reasons.” When pressed for more details, “Mike” said, in something of a huff, “you’re not going to make a story out of this,” then hung up the phone.
 
No wonder ExactTarget wouldn’t return Circle Citizen’s calls.
 

(Photo of Stan Lee via Stan Lee Facebook page)