Stan Lee and the Rise and Fall of the American Comic Book

From Publishers Weekly
Stan Lee, the cocreator of pop cultural icons like Spider-Man, the Hulk and the X-Men, has long been the subject of debate within the comics community, and Raphael and Spurgeon aim to set the record straight in this well-researched and entertaining book. In the late 1960s, Lee elevated himself into the public eye as the face of Marvel Comics, adopting a colorful persona along the way. Left behind were his c-creators, artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, who never received the credit they deserved. At age 17, in 19TK, Lee (n‚ Stanley Lieber) took a job as an all-purpose assistant at his cousin Martin Goodman's comic book company, Timely. A frustrated novelist, Lee remained at Timely, shielded by Goodman from the industry's mid-century tumults, and eventually he transformed the company into Marvel Comics, steering it and himself into pop culture history. The authors portray Lee as a constantly enthusiastic, slightly daffy figure who turned a Depression-era work ethic and real bursts of creativity into something special. For all of his faults, the authors give Lee proper credit for being a fast and exciting creator who gave superheroes real-world problems and anxieties and used this realism for its maximum potential. Raphael and Spurgeon also chronicle Lee's decades in the wilderness of Hollywood, trying and failing to get decent films made from Marvel properties. Writer Raphael and cartoonist Spurgeon have put together a solid narrative well interwoven with the history of comics. As they demonstrate well, Lee's story is the story of mainstream comic books and one that is important reading. 12 pages of b&w photos not seen by PW. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From School Library Journal
Adult/High School-Raphael and Spurgeon march readers through Lee's first 80 years, taking many compelling byroads along the way to observe the history of American comic-book development, distribution, and readership. Lee created a dynamic and somewhat charismatic persona for himself early in life, and was able to move from technical grunt work to a certain level of co-creativity with more sophisticated artists, and from errand boy to publisher to media mogul. He is, indeed, a part of popular culture with high name recognition. The authors use a variety of resources, including interviews with field specialists and unpublished writings, to substantiate their views of both the man and the medium's evolution. While there are source notes for each chapter, they appear in alphabetical order, making it impossible to find the specific reference to which some controversial declarations are attributed. This will frustrate those doing higher-level research but won't impede casual readers' enjoyment of a colorful man's story told through well-described vignettes.Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CACopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Booklist
Stan Lee is probably the world's most visible comic-book creator, though he has retired from comics writing. His career in the industry dates from 1940, but he toiled anonymously until vitalizing the field in the early 1960s with Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and the other, groundbreaking Marvel Comics superheroes. As Marvel's line grew, Lee turned to overseeing the expanding roster of titles and was gradually eased into being company figurehead, traveling the country to shill for the firm. Recently his reputation has been tarnished by accusations that he tried to hog credit for creating Marvel's iconic characters by minimizing the contributions of the artists who worked with him. This well-researched biography usefully corrects Lee's self-serving memoir Excelsior! (2002) and also serves as a critical history of Marvel Comics as well as an overview of the rise and fall of the entire comics industry, now at a commercial nadir, selling a fraction of the number of copies it once did and existing largely, it seems, to develop fodder for blockbuster movies. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
"Raphael and Spurgeon's celebration of [Stan Lee's] career is a pleasure to read and an inspiration for would-be superheroes everywhere." —Gregroy McNamee, Hollywood Reporter

"Stan Lee and the Rise and Fall of American Comic Book is an insightful examination of a publishing phenomenon that has become an integral part of pop culture. It offers keen insights on how the industry has risen, fallen, survived, and teetered on the edge of extinction. And it illuminates the role Lee played in a long-running drama every bit as compelling as those depicted between the garish covers of Marvel Comics." —L.D. Meagher, CNN.com

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Based on interviews with Stan Lee and dozens of his colleagues and contemporaries, as well as extensive archival research, this book provides a professional history, an appreciation, and a critical exploration of the face of Marvel Comics. Recognized as a dazzling writer, a skilled editor, a relentless self-promoter, a credit hog, and a huckster, Stan Lee rose from his humble beginnings to ride the wave of the 1940s comics books boom and witness the current motion picture madness and comic industry woes. Included is a complete examination of the rise of Marvel Comics, Lee's work in the years of postwar prosperity, and his efforts in the 1960s to revitalize the medium after it had grown stale.

About the Author:Jordan Raphael has written for numerous publications, including The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and The Globe and Mail. He lives in Los Angeles. Tom Spurgeon edited The Comics Journal and has written for Seattle's The Stranger. His syndicated newspaper comic strip, Wildwood, appeared in more than 12 million homes daily. He lives in Silver City, New Mexico.

SYNOPSIS

Newspaper writers Raphael and Spurgeon trace how Lee revamped an outdated genre and drew talented but often irascible illustrators along on the project. They draw on interviews with Himself and his former associates, archival material including letters and unpublished scripts, and analysis of his comics oeuvre. Distributed in the US by Independent Publishers Group. Annotation ©2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

Stan Lee, the cocreator of pop cultural icons like Spider-Man, the Hulk and the X-Men, has long been the subject of debate within the comics community, and Raphael and Spurgeon aim to set the record straight in this well-researched and entertaining book. In the late 1960s, Lee elevated himself into the public eye as the face of Marvel Comics, adopting a colorful persona along the way. Left behind were his c-creators, artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, who never received the credit they deserved. At age 17, in 19TK, Lee (n Stanley Lieber) took a job as an all-purpose assistant at his cousin Martin Goodman's comic book company, Timely. A frustrated novelist, Lee remained at Timely, shielded by Goodman from the industry's mid-century tumults, and eventually he transformed the company into Marvel Comics, steering it and himself into pop culture history. The authors portray Lee as a constantly enthusiastic, slightly daffy figure who turned a Depression-era work ethic and real bursts of creativity into something special. For all of his faults, the authors give Lee proper credit for being a fast and exciting creatorwho gave superheroes real-world problems and anxieties and used this realism for its maximum potential. Raphael and Spurgeon also chronicle Lee's decades in the wilderness of Hollywood, trying and failing to get decent films made from Marvel properties. Writer Raphael and cartoonist Spurgeon have put together a solid narrative well interwoven with the history of comics. As they demonstrate well, Lee's story is the story of mainstream comic books and one that is important reading. 12 pages of b&w photos not seen by PW. (Sept.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

One of the architects of the modern superhero comic, Lee was head writer and editor at Marvel Comics from 1945 to 1972 and has served as a public frontman for the company ever since. This book, detailing Marvel's history and Lee's work inside and outside of the company, acts as a companion to Lee's 2002 autobiography, Excelsior! (and sports a similar cover). Lee is known largely as the creator of many of Marvel's famous characters, including Spider-Man, the X-Men, and the Hulk. But Raphael and Spurgeon (along with many others) argue that the creative contributions of the artists Lee collaborated with were as important as Lee's own, and the two instead locate Lee's greatest contributions in his dialog writing and his excellent work as editor. The authors expose a few factual inaccuracies that Lee has promulgated about himself over the years and recount the sometimes harsh criticism of Lee as a glory-hog from some artists and industry pundits, but they also show affection for their subject. (Their contention that comics are now a marginal art form, however, is insupportable given the current interest in and success of graphic novels.) Recommended for all libraries. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Adult/High School-Raphael and Spurgeon march readers through Lee's first 80 years, taking many compelling byroads along the way to observe the history of American comic-book development, distribution, and readership. Lee created a dynamic and somewhat charismatic persona for himself early in life, and was able to move from technical grunt work to a certain level of co-creativity with more sophisticated artists, and from errand boy to publisher to media mogul. He is, indeed, a part of popular culture with high name recognition. The authors use a variety of resources, including interviews with field specialists and unpublished writings, to substantiate their views of both the man and the medium's evolution. While there are source notes for each chapter, they appear in alphabetical order, making it impossible to find the specific reference to which some controversial declarations are attributed. This will frustrate those doing higher-level research but won't impede casual readers' enjoyment of a colorful man's story told through well-described vignettes.-Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Booklist

Well-researched biography.

The Bloomsbury Review