Amazing Fantastic Incredible: A Marvelous Memoir (2015) by Stan Lee is hilarious, adorable, and illuminating -- a must-read for anyone into comics and/or super-heroes. Set in the form of a graphic novel, this memoir spans Lee's entire life, and therefore most of the 'life' of Marvel comics, from way before they were called Marvel comics. I thought it was interesting how he referred to people who ended up leaving the 'fold' as it were after being a big part of the comics productions. I liked that Lee acknowledged that some issues might have been his fault -- without really making himself look bad. A very tough balance! And he brought up some painful memories he didn't necessarily have to (like his wife's inability to have more children) in such an open and honest way that I was really impressed.
Overall, Stan Lee was humorously self-deprecating, clearly loves his wife and his work, and just seems like a wonderful person to be around. I hope he stays around for a good long time yet!
“Oh! Here’s one example of how we tried to have things at least vaguely grounded in science in the Marvel Universe. I wanted Thor to be able to fly. But I hated the idea of him just hurling through the air with no support. I figured, hey, he has a war hammer called Mjolnir, so how about he will have that hammer with him. And when he wants to fly he’ll whirl it around his head really fast, and then he’ll throw it, and since he’s attached to it by the thong around his wrist – when the hammer goes flying, it’ll take him with it! To this day I don’t know why NASA hasn’t invited me to join their science team.”
Keep reading! Beth
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