Stan Lee and the Rise and Fall of the American Comic Book [Hardcover]

What amazed me was the conectivity of Lee. He was here, there and everywhere during nearly the entire age of the American comic book and just like Forrest Gump, at times, did not seem to totally grasp what was going on.

You come away understanding that Stan Lee was more than anything one of many catalysts that started the engine of the four color comic industry.

The authors do a good job of setting the stage. In addition to explaining and documenting just who Stan Lee is; the authors provide background by showing us Stan's early years, a whole lot about the comic industry, and those who have worked with Stan Lee. Having the background of the comic industry was fun.

For example I had never understood why for so many years the fights in the comics were mostly with fists. The book explains that in reaction to concerns about negative affects of comics, the comic industry started following a set of codes created in the 1950s. One of the codes was the restriction of guns.

The book clearly shows that Stan Lee comes across as a nice guy; moreover, it shows some of Stan Lee's major character flaws. A big one is his consistent pattern over decades of taking the credit for other people's work. This was not a one time event. He likes to be well known, and worked hard over the years to be famous. I was also disappointed to read of his experimenting with alternative comics, and his attempts to get into pornography.

In contrast to DC, many of the superheroes Stan Lee is known for were the misunderstood who did the right thing even when they weren't appreciated. Spiderman was constantly mistrusted and even persecuted, but he always fought the bad guys, he always did the right thing. So it is ironic that Stan Lee is know for creating superheroes who did the right things, even when it was not popular; however, he did the wrong things in taking creating so he could be popular.

All in all it was a fun book to read.

Throughout the book, various stuff has been shown in a negative light;

They say something along the lines of "Stan Lee is the creator of various superheroes from Spider-Man to the X-Men...or so he'd have you believe. In truth, he is only the COcreator." No sh*t, Einstein.

They then claim Stan Lee is trying to steal the fame of Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko. No use pointing out Ditko is now a recluse and Jack Kirby is dead.

Or they'll point out with glee, although Lee is credited with creating X-Men and Daredevil, it is the talents of Frank Miller and Chris Claremont who brought them to the fame they are today. They treat it like a scandal being brought forth, but anyone familar with the superheroes KNOW Miller defined Daredevil and so forth. Again, easy facts that nearly everyone knows twisted into a negative light.

The book concludes with a statement that is basically "Comics sell bad. The art is good, but the writing is cliched. The days of the Golden Age are long gone." If this was the 90s, fine. But right now comics are getting mainstream press, great writers among other stuff. Although comics aren't selling as well as they're used to be, they are hitting a remarkable rise.