ستان لي: كيف غيرت مارفل العالم

by Adrian Mackinder, عبد الرحمن فتحي (Translator)

ستان لي: كيف غيرت مارفل العالم
“إن الكتاب الذي بين يديك “”ستان لي: كيف غيّرت مارفل العالم”” ليس محض سيرة ذاتية تقليدية، وإنما رحلة إلى أمريكا القرن العشرين، بعيون رجل جسّد الحلم الأمريكي بتمامه.
إنه كتابٌ يرينا كيف عكست حياة ستان لي تطوّر التسلية الأمريكية والثقافة الشعبية خلال القرن الماضي وما تلاه. سيطرح الكتاب -كلما سنحت الفرصة- أسئلة جريئة وجديدة. كأن نتساءل مثلا، أكان ستان لي نفسه بطلًا خارقًا في لَبوس إنسان يخفي هويته الحقة المعقدة عن الناس؟ فيصبح الأمر حينها مماثلا لقصصه المصوّرة النابضة بالحياة، مع اختلاف بسيط، فحياة ستان لم تكن يوما بالأبيض والأسوَد!

ويستمد الكتاب مصادره من كلمات قيلت على لسان ستان لي نفسه. كما يتضمن مقابلات جديدة وحصرية مع صناع مارفل للقصص المصورة، والتي ثَبُت بمطالعة أعمال ستان لي أنها كنت مصدرًا للإلهام لا يقدّر بثمن. إنه كتاب متفائل وسَهل الفَهم وماتع، نسرده بالتماعة في العين ومُسحة من الاستعراض المسرحي الذي كان ليُسعد لي ويشعره بالفخر.

إننا أمام احتفالٍ جريء بقوة السرد القصصي، وإنا لنحسبه تكريمًا مناسبًا لإرث ستان لي الباقي مهما تعاقبت الأزمان.
”إلى المجد يا رفاق!”

Genres: Nonfiction, Superheroes, History

352 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2023

Reviews

[Bandit · Rating 4 out of 5]

There has been a plethora of Stan Lee’s bios to choose from since his passing. The main reason I selected this was its brevity. I figured 192 pages should tell me just enough about The Man and Marvel. And it actually did just that. It was very informative, accessible and fun, obviously well researched and fascinating, but…biased. Granted I’m not a frequent biography readers, but the ones I’ve read have all been either neutral or very fond of their subjects. Not the case here. In fact, from the beginning the author seems downright contemptuous of his subject and frequently throughout the book he chose to go with the worst possible explanation of a situation or a behavior.
It didn’t color my opinion of Stan Lee overall, because I’m a huge fan and have a tremendous amount of respect for The man, his talent, his legend and his legacy. Just wasn’t sure the author shared that. At any rate, it didn’t preclude him from being able to present facts of life and doing so in a fun and engaging manner…second reason I chose this bio was Mackinder’s past comedic career, figured it’d be a fun read. It was. Also, opinionated.
Jack Kirby, another Marvel luminary, was presented in a surprisingly kind light, considering the amount of nastiness he has spewed Lee’s way over the years. In fact, it’s kind of amazing the two have ever managed to work together, let alone for so long. Toward the end of his life Kirby has bitterly accused Lee of all sorts of things, Trumpstyle blatant untruths about easily verifiable facts. But anyway…Lee was in business for ages, has been essential in making Marvel the powerhouse it became, however that trajectory has ebbed and flowed over the years. The two are inseparable with Stan Lee having been the face and image of the company for decades. You don’t get to a place like that without stepping on some toes, without resorting to some shameless self promotion (something the author of this book seems especially begrudging about).
And the thing is it doesn’t really matter, not in the grand scheme of things. Spoken like a fan? Sure. Why wouldn’t you be one? Stan Lee was the embodiment of the American Dream, a son of impoverish Eastern European Jewish immigrants who attainted success in every possible measure. A talented writer, a wily promoter, an intuitive businessman, an imaginative luminary, a devoted family man and eventually a very, very wealthy one. Stan Lee created legends and in the end became one.
Nothing in the book has made me admire The Man any less, despite the author’s occasionally snippy tone. Plus I learned a bunch of things about Lee and Marvel and the comic industry in general, from bitter rivalries to grand successes. These days Marvel Cinematic Universe has made the entire world aware of Lee’s (and others’) creations. I’m not actually a huge fan of traditional superhero comics, but some things are just impossible not to appreciate, if only for their tremendous entertainment value. And so In loved the behind the scenes look at the origin stories of some of the greatest, greenest, grandiose, gravity defying and grooviest gangbusters out there. That attempt at grandiloquence was to honor Stan Lee, the alliteration king par excellence.
Overall, this was a very enjoyable read. The infusion of author’s personality might work to a different degree for different readers, but the stories within these book are too great to fail, irrespective of perspectives. Recommended. Thanks Netgalley.

This and more at https://advancetheplot.weebly.com/

[Dave Morris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A welcome and refreshing change from Liel Leibovitz's ridiculous biography from 2020. Mackinder really captures the spirit of what it was like to be a Marvel fan in the '60s with what felt like a direct line to Mt Olympus, aka the Bullpen. It's not a hagiography -- he shows us Lee's flaws as well as his strengths (they're often the same thing).

Martin Goodman comes across as a twit, as usual. He would tell Lee to stay out of business decisions as he wouldn't understand them, but failed to see he equally had no clue about the creative side. He told Lee not to create Spider-Man because teens could only be sidekicks, people hate spiders, and you can't have a hero who isn't popular with girls. Lee smuggled the character into the last issue of Amazing Fantasy because he was planning to quit anyway. After that, you'd think Goodman would have just let Lee do what he thought best -- as Lee knew to do with the artists he worked with -- but who knows what great ideas were smothered at birth by Goodman thinking he knew best?

[Tony S · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fascinating read that takes you through the birth of Marvel and interweaves its story with others like DC. The author obviously has a great interest in the genre.
The book shows the development of Marvel its problems along the way and how Stan Lee made himself the face of the comic.
This really is a great read if you are into the genre or not.

[Isabella Mineo · Rating 3 out of 5]

To begin I enjoyed this book. While I know I rated it a 3/5 stars the biggest critique was the name of the title. I know you should never judge a book by its cover, but the title is what ruins the concept behind this book. I understand this book is about Stan Lee, but putting as a subtitle "How Marvel Changed the World" ruined the concept for readers trying to get a first understanding of who Stan Lee is. The book does a good job diving deep into his early childhood history, but due to it's 170 page length this book feels unfinished and rushed when finally getting into his career as the icon and face of Marvel. I believed this book is for a person who has no understanding of Stan Lee and understand how he played a role in the Marvel Universe, however even with that there is still a lot of iconic partners of Marvel and Stan that are thrown into the story. Sadly for a Marvel reader this book could have dived much deeper to grasp a better understanding of Stan Lee and who played an important role of "How Marvel Changed the World", but the lack thereout of this makes this a 3/5.

[Becky · Rating 5 out of 5]

First sentence (from the prologue): Face Front, True Believer! Of all Stan Lee’s many catchphrases, this one is perhaps the most revealing. During his time as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics, back in the 1960s, he used it wherever he could. Be it in a caption within the pages of a comic book story itself, or as part of regular editorial feature ‘Stan’s Soapbox’; ‘face front, true believer’ was a rallying cry for the ages.

First sentence from chapter one: To understand what makes a person tick, you need to wind back the clock. Our past informs our present, and what came before illuminates who we really are. Ask any storyteller. To relate to a character, you need to understand where they’ve been. There’s a reason we talk about life’s ‘defining moments’. There’s a reason we think the struggles and challenges we’ve endured in life ‘build character’. One of the reasons the recent Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise has proved so successful is because the filmmakers took their time introducing their central characters before they became who they were destined to be.

Premise/plot: This book is a biography of Stan Lee. It focuses a bit more on his career than on his personal, private life. (But I don't have a problem with that.) The subtitle really says all you need to know: How Marvel Changed the World.

It is one part biography of Stan Lee. And probably two parts the history of comic books, super heroes, and the translation of comic book super heroes onto television, film, and product lines (toys, etc.) It isn't just Stan Lee's story. It is the story of multiple publishing companies--including DC--over DECADES. It is the story of writers and illustrators. It is a story of collaborations and disagreements. It is a story of the fans--the readers and collectors. It is a story about public relations. Stan Lee marketing himself from a very young age as the face (and sometimes voice) of MARVEL. The last few chapters do focus on the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It is a story of ups and downs. It wasn't only happy-happy-good times behind the scenes. Mackinder does a good job (in my opinion) of presenting multiple sides of an issue.

Do you need to be a super-dedicated fan to enjoy reading this biography? I wouldn't say SUPER fan as a requirement. But I think some interest in the Marvel Universe probably is a must.

It is detailed. But it is not as detailed as it might have been. It isn't marketing itself as an encyclopedia. I thought it gave enough information and detail to always provide context for understanding the bigger picture.

My thoughts: I definitely found this a compelling read. It isn't a traditional biography perhaps. I would say at least two-thirds of the book focuses on MARVEL--those who worked there, the characters created both heroes and villains, the story arcs, etc--and Marvel's place within the world. It seeks to provide not only an origin story for Stan Lee himself (Stanley Martin Lieber), but to provide an origin story for COMIC BOOKS and their place in publishing history. It is hard to imagine a world without super heroes--whether Marvel or DC.

I didn't find it dry. As I mentioned earlier, I found it compelling. I wouldn't be surprised if some chapters held more interest than others for readers. But overall, I do like this one! I learned so much!

[Christopher Owens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Subtitle: How Marvel Changed the World

I received an advance reader copy of this book from the publisher through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.

While it is ostensibly a biography of Stan Lee, this book can also be seen as a biography of sorts for Marvel Comics from its earliest days as a pulp publisher to its current existence as a multimedia empire and dominant player in the entertainment industry.


I have read at least one other Stan Lee biography, so a lot of the biographical material about him wasn’t new to me. One thing that did stick out though, was that during World War II he was assigned to the Signal Corp, the group assigned with writing scripts for and producing training films and writing and designing posters and training manuals. Besides Lee, there were only eight other men in the entire military who had the same occupational specialty classification – they included Oscar-winning director Frank Capra, Pulitzer Prize winning playwright William Saroyan, the screenwriters who eventually went on the create Charlies’ Angels, cartoonist and creator of The Addams Family Charles Addams, and Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel. Many of these same people spent much of their time working in the same location in Astoria, New York. After reading this, I’m still wondering how nobody has made a movie about this yet. The last half of the book spent much more time examining the many trials and triumphs of Marvel as they experienced bankruptcy and failed television/film efforts in the 1990s on their way to creating the Marvel Cinematic Universe of today.

I gave Stan Lee five stars on Goodreads. The book points out that much of what we know about Stan Lee came from Stan Lee himself, and others who worked with him (i.e. Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko) told versions of various events that differed greatly from Lee’s version. This book was honest enough to point out those differences and examine both sides of those issues.

[AnnieM · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adrian Mackinder's book examines the question - Who is Stan Lee -- the enigmatic yet larger-than-life persona who shows up in Marvel movies like cameos by Alfred Hitchcock. Did Stan Lee get more credit for the Marvel empire than was deserved? What I liked about this book, is it allowed for multiple explanations and gave Stan Lee credit while also highlighting other key people who were overlooked or left Marvel disenchanted, who helped build Marvel through the years. He starts with Stan's origin story like any superhero story and this was helpful as a foundation. He ends with some of the scandal and lawsuits up to the time of Stan's death at age 96.

I appreciated the author's cheeky asides which brought levity to this subject. This is not your typical biography and as a reader of many biographies, I appreciated a different approach. as many biographies start to feel very dry and formulaic -- which this was not.

I am a more recent fan of Marvel (I collected comics as a kid) -- which he talks about like the Beanie Baby Craze. We had pristine copies in wrappers that ended up losing value. I more recently became a huge fan of MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) with my son and always looked forward to the aforementioned cameo by Stan in each of the movies.

Definitely an enjoyable read! I recommend this book.

[Dan]

My thanks to both NetGalley and Pen & Sword for an advanced copy of this biography.

The Stan Lee as presented in Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed The World by Adrian Mackinder is as complex, interesting and retconned as most of the characters Stan created in his 70 plus years as the center of the Marvel Universe. What truly comes across in any biography of the Marvel Master is that the role of Stan Lee was the greatest origin story he ever created. Always bigger, brighter, and stronger than anyone around him. Not that he was a bad man, but a man who demanded the most from himself, even if it cost him professional and personal relationships to fall to the wayside.

This is a good overview, not too in depth, and not with the sadness that seemed to underlie Abraham Reisman's True Believer biography. The stories are there, but so is the fact that Stan brought so much joy and happiness with his stories, not matter who created what or designed who. I am a proud Marvel Zombie from when I first began to read and enjoyed this book, especially the overview of the comic market from Stan Lee's start to career and life end. Stan Lee might not have been the man he portrayed, but I owe him many thanks for the for what he had a hand in creating.

[J Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World, by Adrian Mackinder, was a pleasant surprise for me. I was afraid this was going to be another sensationalized account of Lee's life and career. While the things that get sensationalized are unavoidable Mackinder treats them as part of both Lee's and Marvel's stories rather than as the focus of the book. All of which is to say that this biography does as well of a job of contextualizing both stories with respect to each other and to the society in which they came of age.

If you're not too familiar with Lee's life I would recommend this biography before reading most other treatments. I found this to be both balanced and fair while also not sugar-coating any less than positive aspects. If you have read some accounts of either Lee's life or the Marvel story, I would suggest that this will serve to help put things in a more balanced perspective. By that, I mean that many other books and even articles emphasize either an outsized talent or a controlling self-serving personality. Mackinder doesn't ignore either talent or personality but gives the reader more context to understand and appreciate what went on.

Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.

[Susan Johnston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Princess Fuzzypants here: Written by an unabashed fan of the Marvel Universe both printed and filmed, this biography is an honest but loving look at the man who, more than anyone else, was at the heart of this world. He was a man who could be simple and complex at the same time. He had a driving force that at times steamrollered over his co-creators but he could also be generous and kind. In the dichotomy that was Stan Lee one thing never wavered- his passion and his vision for what would change the world of comics.

You would not need to be a fan of Marvel to enjoy the story of his life, filled with ups and downs. No matter how far down he went, he could bounce back. It makes some of the problems he had at the end of his life even more tragic. But he should be remembered for what he achieved. He took the superhero and made him human with all the angst and issues of regular folk. He put witty dialogue into their mouths and he made something that once had been for children only into something young and old alike could love.

While he did not invent any remarkable life saving drug or solve the problems of the world, he did something equally fine. He entertained. “Nuff said.”.

Five purrs and two paws up.

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a free eARC from the author/publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I found this to be a well-balanced biography of a man who had a great impact on the world of comics, entertainment, and cinema in the 20th and early 21st century.

This biography looks not only at Stan Lee's life, but also at the history of Marvel and DC comics, as well as the broader socio-cultural context in which they thrived. Lee is often seen as being some sort of super genius, existing in a vacuum, and this biography doesn't fall into that trap. It presents Stan Lee as a man in his time, with both positive and negative qualities, existing alongside other people who had just as much of an impact of the development of superhero comics as him. Mackinder presents other viewpoints and opinions to key moments in Stan Lee's story, providing the reader with a more balanced view of what happened, even when the objective 'truth' will forever remain out of our reach.

Overall I thought this was a well researched, easy to read biography, although I felt like the tangents that were taken at times were not entirely necessary (especially the detail in which DC comics was discussed.) Still, a fascinating read.

[Vitória Fernandes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley and White Owl for the digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I am not an avid comics reader, but I am familiar with some of Marvel's characters, because of cartoons and, of course, the MCU. I didn't know much about Stan Lee before reading this, besides the fact that he played a very important part in creating many famous characters. Thus, I decided to read this book to learn more about his life.

It is a perfect book for casual fans or curious people like me, it is short, and it shows a lot of Marvel and comic books history, focusing on Stan Lee. Going in I thought it would focus more on his life in general, not necessarily so much on his work only, but it was fine by me. It covers briefly his early life, how he got to Marvel, and what happen to Marvel from then to today, including comic books, cartoons and movies. If you are already know a lot about comic book history, this might not bring a lot of new information, but it is a fun read.

I would love to see some pictures in the book, but otherwise I definitely recommend the read if you are interested in comic books and Stan Lee.

[Vishal Shah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I still remember picking up my first Avengers comic book in a WHSmith’s store in Hounslow as I was waiting for M&S to finish their delivery of packed bread to come on to the shop floor on a Saturday afternoon and that is how I got into comics Marvel, DC, Warhammer, Vertigo to loaning them out of my local libraries, lounging through Forbidden Planet - https://forbiddenplanet.com/ looking at X-Men, Deadpool, Avengers, and other Marvel Comics to even missing the chance of meeting Stan Lee at London Film & Comic-Con.

Everyone remembers the Marvel legend from his cameo’s in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) but no one knew his life before Marvel Comics directly from Excelsior himself, which also includes a list of artists he has worked with such as Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko. Thank you so much Netgalley for sharing this biography of a legend. To everyone including you all Marvel fans out there please do check this book out.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a die-hard Marvel fan and absolutely love Stan Lee. However, I struggled with this book. It really didn’t give me anymore information about Stan and Marvel that the other books give. The author wrote this book in a fun, chatty way and at times it was very hard for me to follow. I would have to reread sections just to understand what was being told. It was almost written like my 12 year old son would tell a story. Wordy, too much detail, randomness, and ongoing. Don’t get me wrong, I liked this book but didn’t love it. It was interesting and a very detailed look at Stan Lee and his role in pop culture. If you have read other Stan Lee books and want to read something new, then this would be perfect. But, to pick this up as a fan without any context, I think would bring confusion.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC to facilitate my unbiased review.

[Zuzana · Rating 4 out of 5]

For me Stan Lee's been this always smiling funny old dude making brief cameos in Marvel inspired comicbook movies. I knew he was one of the creators of the most well-known Marvel superheroes, but that was it.

I picked up this book to learn more about this interesting man. And I was not disappointed. If anything I learned more than I expected. About the comicbook publishing industry, its history and the importance of self-promotion..

If you're Stan Lee's stan and comicbooks are your obsession, this book might not be for you because you probably won't learn anything new. But if you're someone like me, a casual MCU fan who once in a blue moon reads a comicbook, you'll most find it an informative and satisfying read.

Disclaimer: I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

[Vicky · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book definitely was out of my wheelhouse, but I have watched all the Marvel cartoons not only with my son, but my husband as well! I personally have grown to love the movies and love the women characters.
The women are no longer put off to the side as just damsels in distress, but Stan Lee made them be actual SuperHeroes!
The book is full of facts of who came up with what concept and who penciled what drawing, but the basic fact is that Stan Lee was the face of Marvel and he did do some of the writing and drawing.

I thought at first I wasn’t going to make it through the book, but stick with it because it gets more interesting and I wanted to know more about what drove him to be that face!

I received a free advanced copy from NetGalley and these are my willingly given thoughts and opinions.

[Britt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC!

This Stan Lee biography is rightly titled Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World. The author tells the interconnected story of Stan Lee's life and the story of Marvel. As a reader, you can tell Mackinder's affinity with comics.

Personally, I became familiar with Stan Lee while watching the MCU movies. Other than the Kamala Khan Ms Marvel comics by G. Willow Wilson, I haven't picked up any Marvel comics. It was an interesting read to learn more about the man behind the cameos. As a fan of the MCU, I especially enjoyed the chapter on the movies.

I would recommend Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World to more avid comics fans and the Stan Lee completists.

[Ashleigh Miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really struggled with this book as it seemed to always go off on tangents and with other information which I felt wasn't neccessary for this book. Not only this but it seemed more like I was reading about DC Comics for most of this rather than Marvel and I think as a general overview of comics this would be a good book but it just wasn't what I signed up for.

Some parts of this though I did find really interesting though and really enjoyed the poem by Stan Lee at the back which I think is really sweet.

[Jammin Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this look at Stan Lee's life and history, including the development of Marvel Comics and its rival DC Comics. It was fun to read about the history of those early Action comics, Crime comics, etc. and how those grew into multi-million dollar operations. And I loved learning Stan Lee's birth name was Stan Leiber.

I received an e-ARC of this book by the author and publishing via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

[Sean · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was okay but it really didn't offer me as much as what I wanted. I think he was an interesting person but the story that this book told just didn't show enough of what I wanted

I wanted more about his abilities and what made him so special. As a former comic book addict especially if Marvel I wanted to hear stories about him and other greats of the industry.

[Lizz (Beer, Books and Boos)]

I really wanted to like this book because I do love Stan Lee. I had a hard time reading this but I think it has to do with the format I was reading. I will have to pick it up again once I get a physical copy. Hopefully I can pick it up again very very soon

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quirky, topical history of the Stan Lee legend. An excellent easy to read, very informative insight to the True Believer

[Elysa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The information in this book was fascinating, and it was well-written and researched. However, based on the title and summary, I expected more about how the movie franchise changed the shape of the movie world and the fandom and comic book worlds. This book is actually a history of Marvel, and the MCU is summed up in one chapter. It was a good read, and I definitely recommend it for comic/Marvel fans.* It's just not exactly what it seems from the title and summary.

*If you don't like non-fiction that includes a lot of the author's personal opinion, steer clear.

[Vansa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not a fan of MCU movies, I find a lot of their plots leave me absolutely cold. I really like comics though, and more than that, I like books that are about the origin stories of those comics-most of them have fascinating backstories. 'The amazing adventures of Kavalier and Clay', for instance, is a book I absolutely love for its fictional setting in the Gold Age of comics. This was a fascinating non-fictional account, tracing not just Stan Lee, but the context he started in, right from the Golden Age of comics, and the origins of DC Comics, apart from Stan Lee's illustrious co-creators, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. Stan Lee has been accused of overstating his role in the creation of Marvel's iconic characters, and this book attempts o present an objective view, with competing perspectives. For a work as collaborative as a comic, that requires an entire team to bring it to life, assigning credit is very difficult-a writer might have the idea, but is his contribution more valuable than the artist's, who actually brings it to life, and adds in his contributions as well? The obvious solution is to list all the contributors, but Stan Lee seems to have been the only one who realized the importance of getting your name on a byline! It's not a hagiographical account by any means, but it's not entirely cynical either-Stan Lee played a part in the foundations of a comic empire that to this day holds sway over the imaginations of millions. Stan Lee seems to have worked tirelessly to promote ( also self-promote) Marvel, going on the lecture circuit and fan conventions long before they were huge showcase events, all contributing to his myth as founding father. I really liked the book for focussing on the comic book business, and how Marvel has sustained as a company, and as a medium of entertainment, despite the competing avenues of entertainment coming up every generation: radio, television, the Internet-people are still buying and reading comics. It's not always been smooth sailing for Marvel, but they've managed to sustain through multiple changes of ownership and even bankruptcy at one point Stan Lee, however, has always been retained as an employee and 'The Face of Marvel' ( I'm not entirely sure how he managed to stay so relevant well into the 21st Century).
As i said, I may not like most of the cinematic output of Marvel ( apart from Sam Raimi's Spiderman and Black Panther) , it's astonishing to see how popular the movies are, given that they're just tweaked a bit from comics written nearly 4 decades ago. This is a fun, insightful read into a cultural behemoth, and I would recommend it even for people who aren't comics fans.

[Michael Mills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note: I received an ARC of this book via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

There have been no shortage of biographies of Stan Lee since his death in 2018; as Adrian Mackinder here notes, the man's ego and influence mean there's plenty of source material. Mackinder tries to make his stand out by putting Lee's life and work in a broader cultural context.

The result is a breezy, informative little book covers the major events of Lee's life, the broad sweep of Marvel's successes and failures, and the socio-cultural-economic waves that carried them both along. Mackinder does a good job of sifting the various controversies (if he often fails to draw a conclusion, he at least lays out the parties' cases and identifies any obvious untruths) and explaining why Lee and Marvel were so successful.

Stan Lee: How Marvel Changed the World is good little precis, written in an open, informed and light manner that should exclude no one. How fitting.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a highly readable account of Stan Lee's involvement in the rise of comic books in the 20th century to superhero movies in the 21st century. Stan Lee lived from 1922 to 2018, carving out a highly visible role in comic book mythology. I am casually interested in Marvel and Stan Lee. The various heroes have been part of pop culture throughout my life. In other words, I'm not a trivia expert, a collector, a die-hard-see every movie person. I recommend this as a really interesting overview of the various industry giants, how artists were treated, how the industry evolved, and why Marvel (as of now) has triumphed in movies produced since 2008. If you have already read a lot on the topic, I would still recommend this as a fairly concise and interesting read. It gathers a lot of information without being boring.

[Kenzie Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review
Stan Lee is a fascinating person. He created a world that has enjoyed a long history and still continues to thrive.