Excelsior!: The Amazing Life of Stan Lee - Softcover

Lee, Stan

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0684873052 ISBN 13: 9780684873053

Publisher: Touchstone, 2002

Synopsis

The man behind Spider-Man, The X-Men, The Incredible Hulk, and a legion of other superheroes tells his own amazing story in a book packed with punch, humor, anecdotes, and a gallery of never-before-seen photographs. Stan Lee is the most legendary name in the history of comicbooks. The leading creative force behind the rise of Marvel Comics, he brought to life some of the world's best-known heroes and most infamous villains. His stories, featuring super- heroes who struggled against 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 the super-human. In the process, he created a new mythology for the twentieth century. In this treasure trove of marvelous memories, Stan tells the story of his life with the same inimitable wit, energy, and offbeat spirit that he brought to the world of comicbooks. He moves from his impoverished childhood in Manhattan to his early days writing comicbooks, followed by military training films during World War II, through the rise of the Marvel empire in the 1960s to his recent adventures in Hollywood. The story of a man who earned respect by blazing new creative trails in a storytelling form once dismissed as just for kids, Excelsior! is an inspirational story about following one's vision, no matter the odds. Yet it's also the story of how some of the most exciting and memorable characters in the pop-culture universe came to thrill a generation.

About this title

Review:

The excitement generated by Excelsior!, the long-awaited autobiography of an icon of the comic world that coincides with the release of the spring’s most keenly anticipated blockbuster, Spider-Man, may not equal the frenzy the movie is creating, but many have been eagerly awaiting Stan Lee’s revelations on how he created such immortal superheroes as the Fantastic Four, Daredevil, the X-Men and--oh, yes--Spider-Man. Lee is Marvel Comics veteran writer and creative director who almost single-handedly made comics hip--thanks to his innovations, campuses all over the US and the UK began to find comics de rigueur reading. The urbane, immensely likeable Lee has been in the comics business for over 40 years, and has long been its most articulate voice. This fascinating, handsomely illustrated memoir details the writer’s life from childhood in a modest Jewish family in New York to getting his first story published in a magazine at seventeen, and his break into comics as jack-of-all trades at Timely Comics (Marvel's predecessor) where he met legendary artist Jack Kirby (his co-creator of most of the great Marvel superheroes). His talents didn’t go unrecognised for long: he became creative director at 18. Lee enlisted when the war broke out and was one of only eight US Army playwrights alongside such stellar names as Frank Capra. Lee went back to comics after the war as the driving force behind Marvel, selling over two billion comics to readers of all ages throughout the world. Lee’s memoir is always candid about such things as the shabby treatment he received at the hands of incompetent or avaricious bosses, and refreshingly up front about his bitter break with the two key illustrators who worked with him, Jack Kirby and Spider-Man artist Steve Ditko. The tone of voice here will be very familiar to those raised on Marvel Comics: it’s a good-natured, winningly self-critical, utterly riveting read, and an essential curtain raiser for the Spider-Man movie.--Barry Forshaw

Review:

This long-awaited autobiography of an icon of the comic world coincides with the release of the spring's most eagerly anticipated blockbuster, Spider-Man. Stan Lee is the Marvel Comics supremo who created Spider-Man, X-Men and The Incredible Hulk. This fascinating memoir traces Lee's life from growing up in a modest New York Jewish family, and his first job as a gofer at Timely Comics. He was made creative director, enlisted when the war broke out, and was one of only eight US Army playwrights alongside such luminaries as Frank Capra. Lee went back to comics after the war as the creative force behind Marvel, selling over two billion comics the world over. Packed with previously unseen photos and artwork from Lee's personal archive, this will be essential reading for students of popular culture.

About this edition

• Publisher: Touchstone
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0684873052
• ISBN 13: 9780684873053
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256