 | |
| Author | Abraham Riesman |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Published | 2021 |
| Publisher | Penguin Random House |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 416 |
| ISBN | 978-0-593-13571-6 |
True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee is a biography of Stan Lee written by Abraham Riesman.
Lee, who died in 2018, was a comic book writer, editor, and publisher. Riesman, a comic book fan, had previously written a number of articles about comic books for Vulture.com, [1] and her profile of Lee went viral. The article concerning, in part, the degree of input Lee had in the creation of Marvel Comics superheroes during the Silver Age of Comic Books. [2]
True Believer was written as a followup and is a full biography of Lee's life. For the biography, Riesman interviewed Lee's surviving family members, former coworkers and business partners, and assistants who worked with his collaborators. [3] Riesman said the book was not intended to be a hatchet job but instead examines controversies in the comic book business, many of which have no proof either way, such as who created which characters. [4] This is partly because the history of early comic book companies was not preserved, and partly because the Marvel Method of comic book creation left authorship murky. [5]
Publishers Weekly called it a "detailed, clear-eyed examination" of interest to general audiences. [6] Stephanie Burt of The New Yorker described it as a künstlerroman that tackles a story that has become increasingly relevant to mainstream audiences who are not comics fans because of the billions of dollars involved in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. [7] Andy Lewis of the Los Angeles Times said it is "a well-researched, engrossing and compulsively readable book" but felt it focuses too much on scandalmongering and criticizing Lee. [2] Writing for USA Today , Barbara VanDenburgh said that the book "doesn't read like a takedown" and is an "absorbing read" even for non-comics fans. [8] Mike Avila of IGN wrote that it "offers an illuminating and often harsh look" at Lee, [9] and Glen David Gold of The Washington Post called it an "excellent dig below the geniality that shows casual fans who he really was". [5] Jillian Steinhauer wrote in The New Republic that the book is "well-researched and thorough" but "feels like it's missing an emotional core". [10]
Roy Thomas, a former editor-in-chief at Marvel and protégé of Lee, commented on the biography in an opinion piece. Thomas described it as "95% true", but containing lies of omission. He cited the existence of partial outlines written by Lee, for Fantastic Four #1 and #8, respectively, which go over the plot-lines for the stories in some detail. (Thomas dismissed the idea that Lee might have written the outlines after, not before the outline, in order to claim false credit.) Thomas also faulted Riesman for taking Kirby's statement at face value but not Lee's. Thomas considered the flaws, together, rendered the book untrustworthy. [11] Thomas published a revised and expanded critique in issue #171 of Alter Ego , a publication which Thomas edits. Here, Thomas went into more detail regarding the biography's perceived inaccuracies.
The Fantastic Four is a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The team debuted in The Fantastic Four #1, helping usher in a new level of realism in the medium. It was the first superhero team created by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and editor/co-scripter Stan Lee, and through this title the "Marvel method" style of production came into prominence.
Marvel Comics is a New York City-based comic book publisher, a property of The Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin Goodman as Timely Comics, and by 1951 had generally become known as Atlas Comics. The Marvel era began in August 1961 with the launch of The Fantastic Four and other superhero titles created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and numerous others. The Marvel brand, which had been used over the years and decades, was solidified as the company's primary brand.
The Avengers are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby. The team made its debut in The Avengers #1. Labeled "Earth's Mightiest Heroes", the original Avengers consisted of Iron Man, Ant-Man, Hulk, Thor and the Wasp. Captain America was discovered trapped in ice in issue #4, and joined the group after they revived him.
The Avengers is the name of several comic book titles featuring the team the Avengers and published by Marvel Comics, beginning with the original The Avengers comic book series which debuted in 1963.
Roy William Thomas Jr. is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly best known for introducing the pulp magazine hero Conan the Barbarian to American comics. Thomas is also known for his championing of Golden Age comic-book heroes – particularly the 1940s superhero team the Justice Society of America – and for lengthy writing stints on Marvel's X-Men and The Avengers, and DC Comics' All-Star Squadron, among other titles.
John Buscema was an American comic book artist and one of the mainstays of Marvel Comics during its 1960s and 1970s ascendancy into an industry leader and its subsequent expansion to a major pop-culture conglomerate. His younger brother Sal Buscema is also a comic book artist.
Barry Windsor-Smith is a British comic book illustrator and painter whose best-known work has been produced in the United States. He attained note working on Marvel Comics' Conan the Barbarian from 1970 to 1973, and for his work on the character Wolverine, particularly the 1991 "Weapon X" story arc. His other noted Marvel work included a 1984 "Thing" story in Marvel Fanfare, the "Lifedeath" and "Lifedeath II" stories with writer Chris Claremont that focused on the de-powered Storm in The Uncanny X-Men, as well as the 1984 Machine Man limited series with Herb Trimpe and Tom DeFalco.
Marvel Premiere is an American comic book anthology series that was published by Marvel Comics. In concept it was a tryout book, intended to determine if a character or concept could attract enough readers to justify launching their own series, though in its later years it was also often used as a dumping ground for stories which could not be published elsewhere. It ran for 61 issues from April 1972 to August 1981. Contrary to the title, the majority of the characters and concepts featured in Marvel Premiere had previously appeared in other comics.
The Alley Award was an American annual series of comic book fan awards, first presented in 1962 for comics published in 1961. Officially organized under the aegis of the Academy of Comic Book Arts and Sciences, the award shared close ties with the fanzine Alter Ego magazine. The Alley is the first known comic book fan award.
Florence Steinberg was an American publisher of one of the first independent comic books, the underground/alternative comics hybrid Big Apple Comix, in 1975. Additionally, as the secretary for Marvel Comics editor Stan Lee and the fledgling company's receptionist and fan liaison during the 1960s Silver Age of Comic Books, she was a key participant of and witness to Marvel's expansion from a two-person staff to a pop culture conglomerate.
"Bullpen Bulletins" was the news and information page that appeared in most regular monthly comic books from Marvel Comics. In various incarnations since its inception in 1965 until its demise in 2001, it included previews of upcoming Marvel publications, profiles of Marvel staff members, and a monthly column written by Stan Lee known as "Stan's Soapbox" or "Stan Lee's Soapbox".
Night Nurse is a comic-book series published by Marvel Comics in the early 1970s. Linda Carter, one of the series' three central characters, previously was the lead of an earlier Marvel series, Linda Carter, Student Nurse, published in 1961. Other central characters included Georgia Jenkins and Christine Palmer; both Linda Carter and Christine Palmer would later be explicitly incorporated into the larger 616 Marvel Universe comics.
Jonathan "Junior" Juniper is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, his first appearance was in Sgt. Fury and the Howling Commandos vol. 1 #1. He is known to be the first major character death in a Marvel comic and the only Howling Commando ever to die in battle.
Jim Salicrup is an American comic book editor, known for his tenures at Marvel Comics and Topps Comics. At Marvel, where he worked for twenty years, he edited books such as The Uncanny X-Men, Fantastic Four, Avengers and various Spider-Man titles. At Topps, he edited books such as Bram Stoker's Dracula, X-Files and Zorro.
A comic book letter column is a section of an American comic book where readers' letters to the publisher appear. Comic book letter columns are also commonly referred to as letter columns, letter pages, letters of comment (LOCs), or simply letters to the editor. Letter columns appeared early on in the history of comic books themselves, and their growing prevalence — particularly beginning in the 1960s — helped create and legitimatize comics fandom. As the forum developed, the volume and tenor of letters became a reliable gauge of overall reader response to developments in the comics themselves. Letter columns remained a regular feature of most comic books until the early years of the 21st century, when they began being phased out in favor of the growing prevalence of email and Internet forums. Despite this, the 2010s saw a renaissance of comic book letter columns, and many comics titles still print them.
Stan Lee was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which later became Marvel Comics. He was Marvel's primary creative leader for two decades, expanding it from a small publishing house division to a multimedia corporation that dominated the comics and film industries.
Kirby: King of Comics is a 2008 biography of Jack Kirby written by Mark Evanier. The book won various awards including a 2009 Eisner Award for Best Comics-Related Book. While it was met with mixed reception from critics, various publications recommend it to comic fans. It was published by the art book publisher Abrams Books, it is extensively illustrated with Kirby's artwork, including original art comic pages with production notes in blue ink and was re-released in 2017.
Daredevil is the name of several comic book titles featuring the character Daredevil and published by Marvel Comics, beginning with the original Daredevil comic book series which debuted in 1964.
Spider-Man Versus Kraven the Hunter is a 1974 American superhero short film written and directed by Bruce Cardozo. It is a fan film that was endorsed by Marvel Comics and authorized by Stan Lee.
Abraham Josephine Riesman is an American reporter and essayist based in Providence, Rhode Island. She is the author of two biographies, True Believer: The Rise and Fall of Stan Lee (2021), and Ringmaster: Vince McMahon and the Unmaking of America (2023).