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Essential Lives
Stan Lee: Comic Book Superhero
Examines the life and career of the creator of such famous comic-book characters as Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, and the Fantastic Four.
112 pages, Library Binding
First published September 1, 2009
14 people want to read
About the author
Martin "Marty" Gitlin
298 books13 followersMARTIN (MARTY) GITLIN is a freelance book writer and journalist based in Cleveland, Ohio. In addition to Diana, Princess of Wales (Greenwood 2008), he has written several history books for students, including works on the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case, Battle of The Little Bighorn, and Stock Market Crash of 1929. He has also written biographies of NASCAR drivers Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon.
Gitlin worked for two decades as a sportswriter, during which time he won more than 45 awards, including first place for general excellence from Associated Press. That organization also selected him as one of the top four feature writers in Ohio.
Gitlin worked for two decades as a sportswriter, during which time he won more than 45 awards, including first place for general excellence from Associated Press. That organization also selected him as one of the top four feature writers in Ohio.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 27, 2018
Braden Boudreau
Ms. O’Brien-Yetto
English 9H
3/27/18
For my quarter three good reads book, I read Stan Lee Comic Book Superhero by Martin Gitlin. It is a biography on Stan Lee, a comic book writer and one of the creators of Marvel. In my opinion, I liked the book considering I’m a big Marvel and superhero fan but putting aside my bias, it was a solid good and that is why I gave it a three out of five stars.
The book is structured into chapters and is chronological, detailing Stan Lee’s life from childhood to more recently except for the beginning chapter which is right in the middle of his career. One of the quotes I enjoyed was “By 1962, Lee had created a teenager named Peter Parker to be his new sticky superhero.” Whether intentional or not, the author uses alliteration to best capture the essence of this creation. Another quote comes from chapter five when the book is talking about Lee versus his boss, “Goodman hated the idea. Lee can still remember Goodman’s reaction, “He said I was crazy. He said people hate spiders. He said “You want him to be a teenager? Teenagers can only be sidekicks! And you want him to have problems?” I told him I wanted Spider-Man to worry about money and pimples.” This quote really struck a chord with me, in a time where superheroes were dominated by those like Superman and Wonder Woman who were basically invincible, Stan Lee wanted to create this normal person that we can really relate to and that creativity is a massive part of his success. The book also did a good job establishing the setting, it used great language to describe New York City, where Lee grew up and also the site of many of his comics. However the book was also lacking at times, there were sometimes paragraphs of side information that were honestly boring and not engaging.
Overall, Stan Lee Comic Book Superhero by Martin Gitlin was a decent read. While I did enjoy it, those who are not a fan of superheroes or anything like them, I wouldn’t recommend it. For those die-hard fans, I would suggest the book for them to read and that is why I gave this book three stars.
Ms. O’Brien-Yetto
English 9H
3/27/18
For my quarter three good reads book, I read Stan Lee Comic Book Superhero by Martin Gitlin. It is a biography on Stan Lee, a comic book writer and one of the creators of Marvel. In my opinion, I liked the book considering I’m a big Marvel and superhero fan but putting aside my bias, it was a solid good and that is why I gave it a three out of five stars.
The book is structured into chapters and is chronological, detailing Stan Lee’s life from childhood to more recently except for the beginning chapter which is right in the middle of his career. One of the quotes I enjoyed was “By 1962, Lee had created a teenager named Peter Parker to be his new sticky superhero.” Whether intentional or not, the author uses alliteration to best capture the essence of this creation. Another quote comes from chapter five when the book is talking about Lee versus his boss, “Goodman hated the idea. Lee can still remember Goodman’s reaction, “He said I was crazy. He said people hate spiders. He said “You want him to be a teenager? Teenagers can only be sidekicks! And you want him to have problems?” I told him I wanted Spider-Man to worry about money and pimples.” This quote really struck a chord with me, in a time where superheroes were dominated by those like Superman and Wonder Woman who were basically invincible, Stan Lee wanted to create this normal person that we can really relate to and that creativity is a massive part of his success. The book also did a good job establishing the setting, it used great language to describe New York City, where Lee grew up and also the site of many of his comics. However the book was also lacking at times, there were sometimes paragraphs of side information that were honestly boring and not engaging.
Overall, Stan Lee Comic Book Superhero by Martin Gitlin was a decent read. While I did enjoy it, those who are not a fan of superheroes or anything like them, I wouldn’t recommend it. For those die-hard fans, I would suggest the book for them to read and that is why I gave this book three stars.
July 25, 2011
In order to get BINGO in the adult summer reading program at the Utica Library, I had to read a biography, and I didn't really want to. AFter deciding that I probably was going to take a longer route to Bingo, I found this book staring at me on display in the children's area, and I thought I may check it out for my son who aspires to get his rudimentary comic books published for reals some day. Next thing I know, I'm fully engaged in the text (drawing outlines and graphic organizers on scrap paper in order to really solidify what I was learning), and I realized that I was not only bringing a great book home to my son, but I was going to get BINGO! I learned a great deal about the comic book industry, which was an excellent follow-up to the superheroes exhibit at the Strong Museum of Play in Rochester. My son (11) DID end up reading the whole book and enjoying (and understanding!) it, so it's indeed a good fit for, I'd say, grades 5-8. Simply written and well-illustrated (with a few carefully selected photographs), the format was attractive & easy to navigate. However, the sidebars on every page were annoying and disruptive, so I wouldn't say this is the greatest biography series for this age group, but the content & visual appeal overall made up for it. For adults who really aren't into comic books but would like to know enough to keep up with your kids or friends who ARE, this is an easy and worthwhile read.
March 5, 2015
Stan Lee: Comic Book Superhero by Martin Gitlin is a great book about the amazing Stanley Martin Lieber, AKA Stan Lee. Stan Lee is a comic book maker born in New York, New York who works in Marvel Comics and made famous comic books like Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, Hulk, and many more. This book goes through his life in every step of the way, form birth to Marvels movie years. On the way Stan Lee meets amazing people like Jack Kirby, Steve Dikto , co-creators, and Joan Clayton Boocock, his wife.Stan Lee is very inspirational and he is a very hard working character through the book. One of his many famous quotes, which he said in his first Spider-man comic, is ,"With great power comes great responsibility." He goes by that a lot and makes fans all around the world happy with his work, like me. Overall, this book was a great way of knowing a lot more about Stan Lee and his adventure through comic book making.
July 26, 2011
Who was the creator of Marvel comics? What was he like? Well, they have it all in here! I recommend it to any Marvel fan. You will learn the way Marvel has changed over the years.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews