Stan Lee: The Man Behind Marvelby Wolfen MoonsgetReviews may contain information that could be considered 'spoilers'. Readers should proceed at their own risk. Publisher
Credits Grade: 9 If you think you know all there is to know about comics' legend Stan Lee, think again! He just turned 95, after all, but even if you've read the other biographies of him, odds are good you'll find a lot of fresh material here, from across his entire lifespan to date, making this the most comprehensive guide to the man yet!In the beginning of this newest biography, we're told that when Martin Goodman prompted Lee to create a superhero team to compete with DC, thus prompting Lee to consider quitting comics altogether, his wife Joanie suggested he do the kind of comic he wanted to do, since the worst that could happen was that he be fired. Of the time, Lee said, "This was the chance to do all the things I would enjoy […] To get characters who acted like real people, to try to be more imaginative, to make some stories have happy endings and some not, to continue the stories and set them in the real world." And Joanie told him, "You could dream up plots that have more depths and substance to them, and create characters who have interesting personalities, who speak like real people." Now, DC fans may disagree that Marvel stories of the day had these qualities over DC stories, but for myself, the relatability and humanity that I perceive in Marvel characters is why I have long been more of a Marvel fan; right away I connected with the book through this sentiment. I also appreciate how the book gives a lot of focus to Joanie -- the Marvel universe exists as much because of her as her husband, and the book gives her her due (as it does for Ditko and Kirby). The chapter then closely examines Lee's thoughts in creating of The Fantastic Four: how he sought to make them markedly different from superheroes already on the shelves, both as individuals and in how their stories focused on personal interactions, not just the adventures. The book puts its money where its mouth is -- doesn't just make claims, but backs them up by examining the evidence (and doesn't shy away from pointing out inconsistencies between Lee's memory and the memories of others -- labour of love though it is, it's not blindly so). Like a story that starts in media res, the book then rewinds a bit, telling us about the earlier days of Lee's family, working back to how he got to that pivotal, universe-creating moment, then taking us beyond it as far as late 2016, being thorough all the while! Along the way, writer Batchelor sets the scenes for us -- by giving us general information about the times, yes (which makes this also a book about the history of Marvel in general, and even about the life of Romanian Jews), but also by using descriptive prose to breathe life into them moments beyond giving us dry facts -- at times, the book reads more like a novel than a biography. (Heck, the work is so descriptive, it's almost like reading a comic book!) On the one hand, this involves presuming people's thoughts and motivations beyond direct statements they've made (and therefore enters into potential fictional territory), but on the other, it makes the work much more readable than a history book or encyclopedia -- and fits well with larger-than-life Lee's own penchant for colourful anecdotes. And so, we not only get a picture of Lee's life and how he's touched the world, but also of the world he lived in, and how it shaped him. Written: January 14, 2018
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