Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir

Stan Lee · Peter David · Colleen Doran

Nov 2015 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

In this gorgeously illustrated, full-color graphic memoir, Stan Lee—comic book legend and cocreator of Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Avengers, the Incredible Hulk, and a legion of other Marvel superheroes—shares his iconic legacy and the story of how modern comics came to be.

Stan Lee is a man who needs no introduction. The most legendary name in the history of comic books, he was the leading creative force behind Marvel Comics, and brought to life—and into the mainstream—some of the world’s best-known heroes and most infamous villains throughout his career. His stories—filled with superheroes struggling with 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 superhuman and in doing so, created a new mythology for the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

In this beautifully illustrated graphic memoir—illustrated by celebrated artist Colleen Doran—discover the true story behind the man, written with the same inimitable wit, energy, and offbeat spirit that he brought to the world of comics. Moving from his impoverished childhood in Manhattan to his early days writing comics, through his military training films during World War II and the rise of the Marvel empire in the 1960s to the current cinematic resurgence, Amazing Fantastic Incredible documents the life of a man and the legacy of an industry and career.

This funny, moving, and incredibly honest memoir is a must-have for collectors and fans of comic books and graphic novels of every age.

Ratings and reviews

So I just read all of Stan Lee’s autobiography in one sitting. As you can guess, I thought that it was “Amazing, Fantastic, Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir” which also just so happens to be its title. It introduced me to several aspects of Stan Lee’s life of which I was not aware, from the sad (his second daughter passed away while she was still a baby) to the humorous (he almost went to jail for “stealing” his own mail from the post office) to the downright weird (he once wrote a comic series about a stripper). What makes this autobiography (or, perhaps, semiautobiography) unique and completely fitting for the man whose story it tells is that it is in comic book form (hence the semiautobiography, as he had another writer assist him and an illustrator to do the art). Also fitting is that the art isn’t mere illustration, it actually helps to tell the story of his life and is inseparable from the writing (as any good comic book should be). I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone who is a fan superheroes, pop culture, comics, biographies, or simply reading in general, as it is the story of a man who loves to read (and write!) and how that love has shaped his life. Excelsior!

This one is truly excelsior! ...nuff said. Waddya waiting for? Go buy it, True Believers~♡ (^_^)b

Im just another starry eyed stan worshipper so of course i loved every panel of it

About the author

Stan Lee (1922–2018) began his long career with wartime Timely Comics, but “the Man” made comic book history with Fantastic Four #1, harbinger of a bold new perspective in comic book writing that endures to this day. With some of the industry’s greatest artists, he introduced hero after hero in The Incredible Hulk, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Uncanny X-Men, and more, forming a shared universe for rival publishers to measure themselves against. After a lifetime’s worth of writing and editing, Lee was involved in movies and television via his company POW! Entertainment. He was Marvel’s chairman emeritus and best-known public representative.

Peter David is a prolific writer whose career, and continued popularity, spans more than twenty-five years. He has worked in every conceivable media—television, film, books (fiction, nonfiction, and audio), short stories, and comic books—and acquired followings in all of them.