Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir

by Stan Lee, Peter David, Colleen Doran

Overview

In this gorgeously illustrated, full-color graphic memoir, Stan Lee—comic book legend and cocreator of Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Avengers, the Incredible Hulk, and a legion of other Marvel superheroes—shares his iconic legacy and the story of how modern comics came to be.

Stan Lee is a man who needs no introduction. The most legendary name in the history of comic books, he has been the leading creative force behind Marvel Comics, and has brought to life—and into the mainstream—some of the world’s best-known heroes and most infamous villains throughout his career. His stories—filled with superheroes struggling with personal hang-ups and bad guys who possessed previously unseen psychological complexity—added wit and subtlety to a field previously locked into flat portrayals of good vs. evil. Lee put the human in superhuman and in doing so, created a new mythology for the twentieth century.

In this beautifully illustrated graphic memoir—illustrated by celebrated artist Colleen Doran—Lee tells the story of his life with the same inimitable wit, energy, and offbeat spirit that he brought to the world of comics. Moving from his impoverished childhood in Manhattan to his early days writing comics, through his military training films during World War II and the rise of the Marvel empire in the 1960s to the current resurgence in movies, Amazing Fantastic Incredible documents the life of a man and the legacy of an industry and career.

This funny, moving, and incredibly honest memoir is a must-have for collectors and fans of comic books and graphic novels of every age.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780594698876
Publisher:	Touchstone
Publication date:	11/03/2015
Pages:	192
Product dimensions:	10.50(w) x 7.00(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Stan Lee (1922–2018) began his career with wartime Timely Comics, and staying the course throughout the Atlas era, Stan the Man made comic book history with Fantastic Four #1, harbinger of a bold new perspective in story writing that endures to this day. With some of the industry’s greatest artists, he introduced hero after hero in Incredible Hulk, Amazing Spider-Man, X-Men, and more, forming a shared universe for rival publishers to measure themselves against. After an almost literal lifetime of writing and editing, Lee was involved in movies and television via his company POV! Entertainment. He was Marvel’s chairman emeritus and best-known public representative.

Editorial Reviews

★ 11/15/2015
Lee, the genial, outsized personality at the heart of Marvel Comics for most of its first three decades, has lived the American Dream. His immense creativity, aided by a knack for humorous self-promotion and a work ethic forged during his Depression-era youth, has brought him from poverty to a National Medal of Arts and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. With much hilarity and charm, he narrates his life story here, aided by comics veteran David and lovely, accomplished artwork by Doran. From his 60-plus-year marriage to the Marvel glory years when he cocreated Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four and the Hulk to his ambassadorial work for Marvel on college campuses and in Hollywood, the book includes many of the same anecdotes as the 2010 Lee documentary film With Great Power and adds others, such as the time he met Paul McCartney and the time George W. Bush didn't kiss him. VERDICT One could wish for more detail—how, for instance, could he have left out the Silver Surfer? But this is a lovable account of a lovable character.—S.R.

Library Journal

2015-08-17
Comic book legend Lee offers fans a graphic autobiography in his inimitably jaunty style. There's no denying Lee's place in the pop-culture pantheon. As the writer and co-creator of Spider-Man, Iron Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, the Incredible Hulk, and numerous other spandex-clad superheroes, he not only influenced subsequent generations of writers and artists, but also laid the foundation for the multibillion-dollar movie franchises those characters have since spawned. Along with co-writer David (Artful: A Novel, 2014, etc.) and artist Doran (The Vampire Diaries, 2014, etc.)—whose detailed linework is superb—Lee recounts his hardscrabble youth in Manhattan; his entry into a nascent comic-book industry still dominated by horror, Westerns, and romances; military service in World War II, during which he was responsible for the creation of a particularly memorable poster reminding soldiers to do their duty to get treated for venereal disease; and rise from intern to icon as superheroes came to dominate the comics landscape (in large part due to Lee's efforts). After years of being accused of perhaps claiming too much credit for his creations, Lee casts ample spotlight on artists like Jack "King" Kirby (X-Men, Fantastic Four) and Steve Ditko (Spider-Man), who played equally important roles in developing the heroes that are so ubiquitous today, but he makes sure the light shines brightest on himself. The author's influence on the comics industry cannot be overstated; even if he sometimes gets too much credit for creating characters and stories, he doesn't get enough recognition for being the driving force behind connecting those characters to an audience hungry for flawed human heroes. One might argue, however, that among his myriad creations, one of his most impressive—and persuasive—may very well be the legendary Stan Lee himself. A worthwhile primer for adoring acolytes, but too much P.T. Barnum and not enough behind-the-scenes insights for a broader audience.

Kirkus Reviews

Read More