Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster, two misfit teens in Cleveland, were more like Clark Kent than Superman. Both boys escaped into the worlds of science fiction and pulp magazine tales. In 1934, they created the superhero, but it was four years before they convinced a publisher to take a chance on their Man of Steel in a new format--the comic book.

Based on interviews with Stan Lee and dozens of his colleagues and contemporaries, as well as extensive archival research, this book provides a professional history, an appreciation, and a critical exploration of the face of Marvel Comics. Recognized as a dazzling writer, a skilled editor, a relentless self-promoter, a credit hog, and a huckster, Stan Lee rose from his humble beginnings to ride the wave of the 1940s comic books boom and witness the...

"In this first biography of the great cartoonist, written with exclusive access to Addams's intimates and his private papers, we finally meet the man behind the famed cartoons and circling rumors. Here is his surprising childhood in New Jersey, the cartoon that offended the Nazis, the friend whose early death Addams long mourned. Here are his wives, the stories behind his most famous-and some of his most private-cartoons, and the Addams whom even...

A detailed and definitive portrait of Al Hirschfeld, one of our most beloved, and most influential caricaturists and artists. "The definitive biography of Al Hirschfeld, renowned caricaturist and artist. Al Hirschfeld knew everybody and drew everybody. He occupied the twentieth century, and illustrated it. Hirschfeld: The Biography is the first portrait of the renowned artist's life--as spirited and unique as his pen-and-ink drawings. Beginning in...

The heavily illustrated memoir of the underground feminist cartoonist, who fought the establishment and misogyny while running an East Village fashion boutique and mingling with rock stars. From dressing Mama Cass and Donovan to photographing the Rolling Stones's first US tour, from drunken New York nights with Jim Morrison to starring in Joni Mitchell's famous song, "Ladies of the Canyon", to producing the very first all-woman comics anthology, this...

Recounts the life of the unrecognized co-creator of the Batman comic strip and details the author's quest to find out more about him.

"Thomas Nast (1840-1902), the founding father of American political cartooning, is perhaps best known for his cartoons portraying political parties as the Democratic donkey and the Republican elephant. Nast's legacy also includes a trove of other political cartoons, his successful attack on the machine politics of Tammany Hall in 1871, and his wildly popular illustrations of Santa Claus for Harper's Weekly magazine. Throughout his career, his drawings...

Few artists have had as much of an impact on American popular culture as Stan Lee. The characters he created-Spider-Man and Iron Man, the X-Men and the Fantastic Four-occupy Hollywood's imagination and production schedules, generate billions at the box office, and come as close as anything we have to a shared American mythology. This illuminating biography focuses as much on Lee's ideas as it does on his unlikely rise to stardom. It surveys his cultural...

Discusses the life of Stan Lee and what inspired him to come up with the characters he writes about. Gives young readers an intimate look at the lives of their favorite comic-book creators. Learn what inspired the creators to come up with these well-known characters. Clearly-written text, fast facts, and eye-catching images of the characters are sure to draw the readers to these books.

"Readers will learn about Stan Lee's early years, how he got into the comic business, and when he came up with his extremely popular characters like Spider-Man!" --