“A lively, fact-studded, we-dare-you-to-pull-your-eyeballs-away account of a man who—like it or not, America—has shaped your culture more than Mother Theresa, Susan Sontag, and the League of Women Voters combined.” —Bob Levin, author, The Pirates and the Mouse: Disney's War Against the Underground
“Well-researched biography.” —Booklist
“Stan Lee and the Rise and Fall of the American Comic Book is an insightful examination of a publishing phenomenon that has become an integral part of pop culture. It offers keen insights on how the industry has risen, fallen, survived, and teetered on the edge of extinction. And it illuminates the role Lee played in a long-running drama every bit as compelling as those depicted between the garish covers of Marvel Comics.” —CNN.com
“A solid narrative well interwoven with the history of comics.” —Publishers Weekly
“Raphael and Spurgeon trace how Lee revamped an outdated genre.” —Book News
“The beauty of this book is that it puts Stan’s life into sequence and tries to make sense of the man” —The Republican
“[A] nearly perfect new biography.” —National Post
“An in-depth, journalistic look at the life and career of Stan Lee.” —Comic Book Galaxy
“Evenhanded and readable biography . . . the definitive history of this particular slice of American popular culture.” —Kirkus Reviews
“A colorful man's story told through well-described vignettes.” —School Library Journal
Based on interviews with Stan Lee and dozens of his colleagues and contemporaries, as well as extensive archival research, this book provides a professional history, an appreciation, and a critical exploration of the face of Marvel Comics. Recognized as a dazzling writer, a skilled editor, a relentless self-promoter, a credit hog, and a huckster, Stan Lee rose from his humble beginnings to ride the wave of the 1940s comics books boom and witness the current motion picture madness and comic industry woes. Included is a complete examination of the rise of Marvel Comics, Lee’s work in the years of postwar prosperity, and his efforts in the 1960s to revitalize the medium after it had grown stale.
Read more about Stan Lee and the Rise and Fall of the American Comic Book at www.stanleebook.com.
Jordan Raphael has written for numerous publications, including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and The Globe and Mail. Tom Spurgeon edited The Comics Journal and has written for Seattle's The Stranger. His syndicated newspaper comic strip, Wildwood, appeared in more than 12 million homes daily.
View interior graphics from this book.
Introducing Spiderman (61K)
Biography, Graphic Novels
306 pages, Cloth, 6 x 9
30 B/W Photos
Distribution Rights: WOR
$24.95 (CAN $37.95)
9781556525063 (1556525060) Pub Date: September 2003
Chicago Review Press