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Stan Lee's Master Class: Lessons in Drawing, World-Building, Storytelling, Manga, and Digital Comics fromthe Legendary Co-creator of Spider-Man, The Avengers, and The Incredible Hulk
From the co-creator of the Mighty Marvel Universe and some of the most popular comic book characters of all time comes an in-depth comics drawing instruction book revealing the tools, styles, and techniques of today's top comics artists.Focusing on topics like anatomy, perspective, and character design, as well as brand new topics like manga art styles, digital art, and more, Stan Lee's Master Class is the next step for those looking to perfect their superhero rendering and create fantastic worlds perfect for today's modern comic book audience. With examples from his classic collaborations at Marvel Comics and from today's top comics artists, Lee builds on concepts only touched upon in his previous instructional offerings and provides a pathway for aspiring artists to bring their comic book artwork to professional-quality levels.Advance praise for Stan Lee’s Master Class“Stan Lee dedicated his life to perfecting the art and craft of comic book storytelling. Stan Lee’s Master Class distills his decades of experience into practical and clearly explained lessons to help you make the best comics you can. It’s like having Stan looking over your shoulder.”—Danny Fingeroth, longtime colleague of Stan Lee, and author of A Marvelous The Amazing Story of Stan Lee
- GenresNonfictionArt
220 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 26, 2019
41 people are currently reading
65 people want to read
About the author
Stan Lee
7,564 books2,348 followersStan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber) was an American writer, editor, creator of comic book superheroes, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.
With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.
With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 1, 2022
The short version: don't buy this, unless you really need to have old, random covers owned by Stan Lee.
Maybe this would be an interesting mediocre book. Only it is not. It's a branded product. Sold to suckers with big dreams. It has that obscene old man that has to be in every Marvel movie.
The volume doesn't start about how to charm people to give you all rights because you scribbled less than one page as ”plot” for the whole book. It does not start with how you make imbecile characters like the Ant Man, that can magically shrink or expand as ”science” without having a basic grasp of physics.
The volume starts with how you need a pen. And although these are the first pages, the writer, who is probably once more somebody else that has to fill the pages for the obscene decrepit, the writer will start making predictions of how you would choose different pencils. And here is another page on mechanical pencils. It says nothing, but it covers the space. And you might be unable to draw anything more elaborate than a stick figure, but let me tell you about the erasers. Indeed. Erasers are going to make you a Michelangelo. Just you would have to choose the right one. Never mind that every other crap book on drawing wastes about the same amount of space telling the same idiocies you might find out from your local stationary shop, from the person at the counter.
There follows the less usual ad to software. Illustrator? What's wrong with Inkscape? Oh, they don't pay the old man. Yea, Illustrator.
And for all his IP, the following is not a panel from a Stan Lee ”work”, but from someone else.
Later, let's recap another book from the obscene old man. 11x17in pages. Smart. Such a secret. Assuming your work is decent, the secretive cult of Comics editors won't tell you they trash your work if it doesn't fit the magic formula.
And what's with Manga on the cover? Did Stan Lee captured the IP of Japanese artists with his one page ”gimme all” ”plots”?
What's with the pointless cover of Vampirella, not authored by the obscene old man, with the glossary? Without knowing what is a colorist one can't achieve such quality, but now that you know what ”Sound Effects” mean on paper the rest of your work will look like that cover, no effort required?
The whole book is a crappy promise that ends up flat. Take this quote:
> Is it Ben Urich or Lois Lane at their desk in the middle of the night banging
That sounds interesting. But not
> ...banging out a story to make a midnight deadline for the morning paper?
Middle of the night and midnight is the same thing, the deadline has passed. And they are not banging, they are typing.
Why in the world do they have to teach one point, two point perspective? And they are not even teaching, they are simply listing crap. And the illustrations don't help. That is an entirely different book.
The old senile, or the guy who wrote the pages at a discount, is a moron.
> What kind of scenery -- city, rural, or otherwise -- are you depicting?
What other? The rural city vs the city rural? City, rural, and what else can it be, when rural is defined as ”the area outside the city”?
Maybe this would be an interesting mediocre book. Only it is not. It's a branded product. Sold to suckers with big dreams. It has that obscene old man that has to be in every Marvel movie.
The volume doesn't start about how to charm people to give you all rights because you scribbled less than one page as ”plot” for the whole book. It does not start with how you make imbecile characters like the Ant Man, that can magically shrink or expand as ”science” without having a basic grasp of physics.
The volume starts with how you need a pen. And although these are the first pages, the writer, who is probably once more somebody else that has to fill the pages for the obscene decrepit, the writer will start making predictions of how you would choose different pencils. And here is another page on mechanical pencils. It says nothing, but it covers the space. And you might be unable to draw anything more elaborate than a stick figure, but let me tell you about the erasers. Indeed. Erasers are going to make you a Michelangelo. Just you would have to choose the right one. Never mind that every other crap book on drawing wastes about the same amount of space telling the same idiocies you might find out from your local stationary shop, from the person at the counter.
There follows the less usual ad to software. Illustrator? What's wrong with Inkscape? Oh, they don't pay the old man. Yea, Illustrator.
And for all his IP, the following is not a panel from a Stan Lee ”work”, but from someone else.
Later, let's recap another book from the obscene old man. 11x17in pages. Smart. Such a secret. Assuming your work is decent, the secretive cult of Comics editors won't tell you they trash your work if it doesn't fit the magic formula.
And what's with Manga on the cover? Did Stan Lee captured the IP of Japanese artists with his one page ”gimme all” ”plots”?
What's with the pointless cover of Vampirella, not authored by the obscene old man, with the glossary? Without knowing what is a colorist one can't achieve such quality, but now that you know what ”Sound Effects” mean on paper the rest of your work will look like that cover, no effort required?
The whole book is a crappy promise that ends up flat. Take this quote:
> Is it Ben Urich or Lois Lane at their desk in the middle of the night banging
That sounds interesting. But not
> ...banging out a story to make a midnight deadline for the morning paper?
Middle of the night and midnight is the same thing, the deadline has passed. And they are not banging, they are typing.
Why in the world do they have to teach one point, two point perspective? And they are not even teaching, they are simply listing crap. And the illustrations don't help. That is an entirely different book.
The old senile, or the guy who wrote the pages at a discount, is a moron.
> What kind of scenery -- city, rural, or otherwise -- are you depicting?
What other? The rural city vs the city rural? City, rural, and what else can it be, when rural is defined as ”the area outside the city”?
March 28, 2020
This is the fourth and final book in Stan Lee's instructions and guidance for aspiring artists (with some information of use to writers as well). It should be essential for artists, but provides enough insights into the industry, terminology, and story-telling techniques to remain of interest to anyone curious as to how modern comic books are assembled.
When I saw five industry vets (Danny Fingeroth, Keith Dallas, Robert Sodaro, David Roach and Robert Greenberger) listed as co-writers I became suspicious, assuming that this volume was mostly ghost-written and Stan Lee slapped his name on it for better marketability. That is not the case. This is written with Lee's trademark humor and as I read the various sections I could hear his voice in my head. I'm guessing he wrote the scripts and consulted with the experts on the details. Here's to you, Stan!
Numerous art examples are included to make Stan's points, and they are fantastic choices. Stan keeps it simple and easy to follow, even for a novice. I especially liked the section on manga, which helped to enhance my limited knowledge of this art form. There's an update in the latter sections of the books that detail how digital technology and various apps are making life easier for artists.
When I saw five industry vets (Danny Fingeroth, Keith Dallas, Robert Sodaro, David Roach and Robert Greenberger) listed as co-writers I became suspicious, assuming that this volume was mostly ghost-written and Stan Lee slapped his name on it for better marketability. That is not the case. This is written with Lee's trademark humor and as I read the various sections I could hear his voice in my head. I'm guessing he wrote the scripts and consulted with the experts on the details. Here's to you, Stan!
Numerous art examples are included to make Stan's points, and they are fantastic choices. Stan keeps it simple and easy to follow, even for a novice. I especially liked the section on manga, which helped to enhance my limited knowledge of this art form. There's an update in the latter sections of the books that detail how digital technology and various apps are making life easier for artists.
December 23, 2019
Stan Lee worked in the comic book industry since the late 1930s and was integral to the evolution of Marvel Comics and the “Marvel Style.” For seventy years, he was a writer and editor who co-created the Mighty Marvel Universe, including fan favorites Spider-Man, The Avengers, and the Incredible Hulk. Lee worked with many rising stars and established creators over the decades, endowing him with invaluable knowledge about the industry. As a veteran and legend, Lee shared his experience in a series of books that includes Stan Lee’s How to Draw Comics, Stan Lee’s How to Write Comics, and Stan Lee’s How to Draw Superheroes. And, last month, the fourth book of the series, Stan Lee’s Master Class, was released by Watson-Guptill (Penguin Random House).
In this fourth instructional book, Lee advises in his preface that this book is targeted for experienced artists who have honed their skills prior to working through this guide.
Read my full review at Fanbase Press:
https://www.fanbasepress.com/index.ph...
In this fourth instructional book, Lee advises in his preface that this book is targeted for experienced artists who have honed their skills prior to working through this guide.
Read my full review at Fanbase Press:
https://www.fanbasepress.com/index.ph...
August 26, 2020
Awesome! A very good resource.
September 21, 2024
just for fun, most of it was obvious stuff but whatever still decent
November 22, 2025
not terrible but does feature one of my biggest pet peeves in art: same face syndrome
was hoping for a little more🥲
was hoping for a little more🥲
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews