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Rating: 
Summary: Balanced, readable and fun - for comic and pop culture buffs
Review: As a fan of comics since the late 60s who "grew up" with Stan Lee, as well as someone who didn't know a lot about the details of the industry, I found this book hard to put down. It was entertaining on two fronts; first, as a detailed and objective look at Lee's career in comics, and second, as a history of the comics biz and Lee's / Marvel's impact on the industry for better (in the 60's) and worse (the 80's to the present).While the authors clearly admire Lee (the book is dedicated to him), they are objective, balanced and frank about Lee's career, motivations, impact on American pop culture and missteps. While celebrating Lee, it also takes some wind out of the sails of Lee's persona and track record. The book also delves into the backgrounds and significance of key artists like Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko (and others) who are so intimately linked to Lee's creative output and legacy. I particularly liked the chapter that recreates in text the entire first issue of the Fantastic Four. Believe it or not, it works! The book is also somewhat bittersweet, even depressing, for a comics fan like me. Given the impact, fun and cultural relevancy of Marvel comics in their heyday it is sad to see how, in large part due to the industry itself, the comics industry today is shrunken, derivative and culturally irrelevant.
Rating: 
Summary: History of Marvel Comics
Review: Excellent concise but thorough history of Marvel comics from the very earliest days to the present, with a ballanced assessment of Stan Lee's pivital role. Well researched and fair evaluation of the many controversies about Stan's creative role and partnerships with Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. Contains many fascinating details about the inner workings of the House of Ideas thru the years with appropriate emphasis on the Silver Age creative explosion resulting in Marvel's iconic line of superheroes and groups. This book really makes the reader understand how magical the partnership with Kirby and Lee was, resulting in a creative fervor unmatched since the launch of Superman in 1938. A great read for anyone wishing to know the backstory to the recent Hollywood superhero craze.
Rating:
Summary: Stan the self promoting man. Book 4 star; Stan 2 star.
Review: I happened to see this book in the library last week. Having read a ton of comics through the 1980s, ten to fifteen comics a week was fairly typical, I was very interested in learning more about Stan Lee. I found this a fascinating book. The authors write well. The book is entertaining, and it is hard to put down. 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.
Rating:
Summary: The True Story of Marvel
Review: Stan Lee is one of the best-known names in comic books. He's credited with creating some of the most beloved superheroes of our time including The Hulk, The Fantastic Four and Spider-man. What most people don't really know is the real story behind the creation of these characters. Anyone who's read Michael Chabon's The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay will notice a great deal of similarities between Stan Lee's origins, which the authors meticulously recreate, and the fictionalized settings Chabon created for his book. Raphael and Spurgeon have written a fair and honest tribute to the work of Lee and in doing so, tell the story of the comics medium as a whole. Stan Lee: The Rise and Fall of the American Comic is about as smart and entertaining as biographies come.
Rating:
Summary: Stan Lee the Forrest Gump of the Comics Scene
Review: This book was a quick and enjoyable read and very balanced in showing Stan warts and all (i.e. what went wrong with him and Kirby). 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.
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