Flo Steinberg, 'the heart of Marvel,' has died

Oliver Gettell
Updated
Marvel Comics fixture Flo Steinberg dies

Florence “Flo” Steinberg, the Marvel Comics fixture who served as Stan Lee’s secretary during the Silver Age of the 1960s and helped establish the company as a pop-culture powerhouse, has died.

Marvel confirmed the news Sunday, releasing a statement that said, “We are incredibly saddened to hear of Flo Steinberg’s passing and send our deepest condolences to her friends and family. Flo has always been the heart of Marvel and a legend in her own right. She will be forever missed and always loved by all of us here at Marvel.”

In the early days of Marvel, Steinberg — often lovingly referred to as “Fabulous Flo” — was the company’s only other staffer alongside editor-in-chief Lee, and she was instrumental in managing day-to-day affairs and responding to fan mail. She left the company in 1968, went on to publish the early independent comic book Big Apple Comix in 1975, and returned to Marvel as a proofreader in the 1990s (a duty she occasionally performed even in her later days).

Steinberg’s death was mourned by many friends and colleagues on social media. Amazing Spider-Man and Silver Surfer comic book scribe Dan Slott wrote, “Flo was sweet and kind, but wouldn’t hold back her thoughts on any subject, and always had a few choice words about the state of Marvel, good or ill. I’m going to miss her so much. Comics has lost one of its most genuine and caring people today.”

See more tributes below.

My friend, the amazing and, of course, "Fabulous" Flo Steinberg has passed away. She was full of life, fun, snark and just plain intelligence. And I am devastated. She gave me so many amazing physical things over the years -- all of which I cherish because they were hers. I literally think of her every day because an original 1939 World's Fair felt banner she gave me hangs in my room and it's one of the last things I see before I head off to Marvel for work. But the one thing she gave me, her friendship, is something so important to me. As the movie poster she's standing next to her states, "I'll never forget you." I just wish I could hear her exiting my office with her standard, "To be continued..." one more time. I love you so much, Flo. (Photo from Wikipedia)

A post shared by John D. Cerilli (@cerilli) on Jul 23, 2017 at 11:43am PDT