A marvelous life : the amazing story of Stan Lee / Danny Fingeroth.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 365-381) and index.

Preface -- JFK, the Beatles... and Stan Lee -- The dress cutter's son -- The Pied Piker of West Forty-second Street -- The psychopathology of comic books -- Breaking out and staying in -- Gathering forces -- From the ashes -- Webs tangled and otherwise -- Creating characters -- The ties that bind -- Boom boom boom -- Revolution in the air -- Surfing the waves -- Tense transitions -- Power politics -- The chaos and the King -- Returns and departures -- Goodbyes and hellos -- California dreamin' -- Follow the money -- Of love and law -- The undiscover'd country -- Legacy -- Afterword: Last thoughts on Stan Lee.

Stan Lee's name has appeared on more than a billion comic books, in 75 countries, in 25 languages. His creations have starred in multibillion-dollar grossing movies and TV series. This is his story. Danny Fingeroth writes a comprehensive biography of this powerhouse of ideas who changed the world's understanding of what a hero is and how a story should be told, while exploring Lee's unique path to becoming the face of comics. With behind-the-scenes stories and interviews with Stan's brother Larry Lieber and other industry legends, The Marvelous Life has insights that only an insider like Fingeroth can offer. Fingeroth, himself a longtime writer and editor at Marvel Comics and now a lauded pop culture critic and historian, knew and worked with Stan Lee for over three decades. Due to this connection, Fingeroth is able to put Lee's life and work in a context that makes events and actions come to life as no other writer could.