Stan Lee: The Man behind Marvel Bob Batchelor 9781538162057

The definitive biography of Marvel legend Stan Lee, now adapted for young readers.

Stan Lee's extraordinary life was as epic as the superheroes he co-created, from the Amazing Spider-Man to the Mighty Avengers. His ideas and voice are at the heart of global culture, loved by millions of superhero fans around the world.

In this young adult edition of Stan Lee: The Man Behind Marvel, award-winning cultural historian Bob Batchelor offers an in-depth and complete look at this iconic visionary. Batchelor explores how Lee, born in the Roaring Twenties and growing up in the Great Depression, capitalized on natural talent and hard work to become the editor of Marvel Comics as a teenager. Lee went on to introduce the world to heroes that were complex, funny, and fallible, just like their creator and just like all of us.

Featuring amazingly detailed illustrations by artist Jason Piperberg, the young adult edition of Stan Lee also includes new details from Stan Lee's life, like how he became a pioneer in crafting female and African-American superheroes and his crucial role in establishing one of the world's most popular film franchises in history. Candid, authoritative, and absorbing, this is the biography of a man who revolutionized culture by creating new worlds and heroes that will entertain for generations to come.

Bob Batchelor is an award-winning cultural historian and biographer and author of more than a dozen books. His work has been featured in Time, the New York Times, Cincinnati Enquirer, LitHub, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times. Batchelor has served as an on-air commentator for television and radio programs, including The National Geographic Channel, PBS NewsHour, the BBC, and NPR. His all-time favorite Marvel comic book series is What If? and his favorite MCU film is Avengers: Endgame. Batchelor lives in Cincinnati with his wife Suzette and their teenage daughters.