When you stop to realize that Stan Lee became famous for his work with comic books and comic book characters, it's perhaps surprising that no one thought of â or at least acted on â the concept of doing his biography as a comic book / graphic novel until he hit his 90s!
âAmazing Fantastic Incredibleâ captures the larger-than-life public persona of Stan Lee. There's no attempt to pretend that the 4th wall even exists, although much of the book involves Mr. Lee revealing his life story to a pre-teen Stanley Lieber â before he adopted the pen name of (and eventually legally changed it to) âLeeâ.
The Stan Lee in this book does admit to having made some errors â I'd heard the tale of the Iron Man mask with a bolted-on nose, but others stories were new to me. He makes no secret that his relationship with collaborating authors, especially Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby, soured after their success; one has to wonder if Mr. Lee is as innocent / ignorant of the circumstances and emotions as he describes.
The book also reviews the origins of some of the early Marvel comics - not the origins of the characters, but the stories behind the scenes as to what spurred the creation and publication of âFantastic Fourâ, âThe Incredible Hulkâ, and even âSgt. Fury and His Howling Commandosâ.
I'm glad I read it. I'm only surprised it took until 2015 to produce it.
RATING: 5 stars.
Aside: Wondering ⦠This is a graphic novel. How can there be a frickin' AUDIO version available??
âAmazing Fantastic Incredibleâ captures the larger-than-life public persona of Stan Lee. There's no attempt to pretend that the 4th wall even exists, although much of the book involves Mr. Lee revealing his life story to a pre-teen Stanley Lieber â before he adopted the pen name of (and eventually legally changed it to) âLeeâ.
The Stan Lee in this book does admit to having made some errors â I'd heard the tale of the Iron Man mask with a bolted-on nose, but others stories were new to me. He makes no secret that his relationship with collaborating authors, especially Steve Ditko and Jack Kirby, soured after their success; one has to wonder if Mr. Lee is as innocent / ignorant of the circumstances and emotions as he describes.
The book also reviews the origins of some of the early Marvel comics - not the origins of the characters, but the stories behind the scenes as to what spurred the creation and publication of âFantastic Fourâ, âThe Incredible Hulkâ, and even âSgt. Fury and His Howling Commandosâ.
I'm glad I read it. I'm only surprised it took until 2015 to produce it.
RATING: 5 stars.
Aside: Wondering ⦠This is a graphic novel. How can there be a frickin' AUDIO version available??
