Stan Lee

The definitive biography of Marvel legend Stan Lee, celebrating the 100th anniversary of his birth.

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 Stan Lee: A Life, award-winning cultural historian Bob Batchelor offers an in-depth and complete look at this iconic visionary. Born in the Roaring Twenties, growing up in the Great Depression, living and thriving through the American Century, and dying in the twenty-first century, Stan Lee's life is a unique representation of recent American history. Batchelor examines Lee's fascinating American life by drawing out all its complexity, drama, heartache, and humor, revealing how Lee introduced the world to heroes that were just as fallible and complex as their creator-and just like all of us.

An up-close look at a legendary figure, this centennial edition includes completely new material to give the full measure of a man whose genius continues to mesmerize audiences worldwide. Candid, authoritative, and absorbing, this is the biography of a man who dreamed of one day writing the Great American Novel, but ended up doing so much more-revolutionizing culture by creating new worlds and heroes that have entertained generations.

About the Author

Bob Batchelor is a cultural historian and noted expert on contemporary American culture, history, and biography. His books include Stan Lee: A Life; Stan Lee: The Man Behind Marvel, Young Reader’s Edition; and Roadhouse Blues: Morrison, the Doors, and the Death Days of the Sixties. He is a three-time winner of the IPA Book Award.

Batchelor’s work has appeared in or been featured by the New York Times, Cincinnati Enquirer, Los Angeles Times, Today.com, The Guardian, PopMatters, and Time. Batchelor is a host on the New Books Network podcast and creator and host of the podcast John Updike: American Writer, American Life. He has appeared as an on-air commentator for The National Geographic Channel, PBS NewsHour, BBC, PBS, and NPR.