"Stan Lee was the most famous American comic book creator who ever lived. Thanks, especially, to his many cameos in Marvel movies and TV shows, Lee was--and even after his 2018 death, still is--the voice and face of comics and popular culture in general, and Marvel Comics in particular. How he got to that place is a story that has never been fully told--until now. With creative partners including Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko--with whom he had tempestuous relationships that rivaled any superhero battle--Lee created world-famous characters including Spider-Man, Iron Man, the X-Men, the Avengers, and the Hulk! But Lee's career was haunted by conflict and controversy. Was he the most innovative creator to ever do comics? Was he a lucky no-talent whose only skill was taking credit for others' work? Or was he something else altogether? Danny Fingeroth's A Marvelous Life: The Amazing Story of Stan Lee attempts to answer some of those questions. It is the first comprehensive biography of this powerhouse of ideas who, with his invention of Marvel Comics, changed the world's ideas of what a hero is and how a story should be told"-- Provided by publisher.

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.