This was an interesting biography. I went in knowing almost nothing about Stan Lee’s personal life, and I enjoyed the journey I was taken on. It was a revealing look inside the comics industry of the 20th century, and although the author seems almost apologetic to make the claim, he illustrates that Lee was only human. With a few notable exceptions it felt like a balanced look at the life of someone who clearly meant a great deal to the author. One of those exceptions was how carefully worded some passages about artists trying to unionize were phrased so as not to implicate Lee in preventing that from happening (or at least that was my understanding, but I was reading between the lines here), and the other was that in his later life, some of Lee’s home care nurses came forward with stories of abuse. According to the author, “Lee stated he would fight the claims, and they seem to have evaporated.” I understand if there was not a lot of information for the author to elaborate on, but I feel like this could have been phrased less dismissively. All in all, this was an engaging, lively biography of one of 20th century’s pop culture giants.

I received an advanced digital copy of this book from the author, publisher and Netgalley.com. Thanks to all for the opportunity to read and review. The opinions expressed in this review are my own. 

A Marvelous Life is an endearing biography of Stan Lee. As a huge Marvel/Stan Lee fan, this was a interesting look at his upbringing and career.  

Viva El Generalissimo!

5 out of 5 stars.

This was fun. As with many people, I've always had a fascination with Marvel Comics, during spells where I was reading them one after another to drier periods where I'd only pick them up on occasion. But through it all, and through the explosion of Marvel products to the small and big screens, there was the lovable presence of Stan the Man.

I read Disguised as Clark Kent for a class on Jews and comic books and was immediately interested when I saw Danny Fingeroth's name on the cover. After taking that class and understanding more of the historical social background of comics and their creators, I was ready to dive deep into this book. Fingeroth is absolutely the right person to tell this story given his history of scholarship and deep investment in the comics industry. I found his writing and stories easy to follow and insightful. I thought he did a fair job of honoring Stan Lee's legacy without overpraising him. All in all, I would recommend it to people interested in Marvel, Stan Lee, and even just the history of comics in general.

If you love Stan Lee and all he has ever done then this is the book for you. 
Well written and easy to follow.

Anybody who knows anything about me knows that 1. I LOVE all things Marvel, and 2. I LOVE all things Stan Lee.

I mean, the man was just an absolute genius. He's an inspiration to me (and so many others), and I am constantly yearning to learn more about him, his life and how his mind worked.

This biography was incredibly well-researched, beautifully written, and featured so many incredible photos. A must-read for any Stan Lee fan, any Marvel fan, or anyone who just wants to be INSPIRED!

A Marvelous Life by Danny Fingeroth is just WOW!! Mindblown by it. Literally out of words for this title. I have always how his mind worked, creating all those amazing superheroes. To learn about the life of this person and get to know him better has been a pleasure. 

Thank you, NetGalley for providing me with this eARC in exchange for this honest review.

I received a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.   Thank you NetGalley.

Any book that features Stan Lee is a win in my eyes. 
This book was written well...    the photos were fabulous.. the stories great.   

i'm debating purchasing a physical copy for my bookcase.

This was a well written biography full of interesting tidbits, but ultimately I found it a bit of a slow read. Still an enjoyable book for any Marvel fan!

A through well written and researched biography of  the creator of the modern superhero full of interesting bits i highly recommend

Oh god, this book was just not doing it for me. I can't believe I finished it. I was excited to read something by someone with a personal connection to Stan Lee and I feel like I didn't actually read anything about the author's perspective until the epilogue. A mash up of quoted texts telling the story of Stan Lee, that was super in depth in some periods of his life and then totally glazed over other moments. I wanted to DNF this book so many times but I trudged through it. Not exactly sure why.

I absolutely loved this book!! Ever since I started watching The Big Bang Theory, Stan Lee has become my favorite. This book shows the what Stan went through to build his empire. I will definitely recommend this book to any Stan Lee fan!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Danny Fingeroth for allowing me to read and review A Marvelous Life. I enjoyed this book. I would recommend it to fans of Stan Lee.

Well-written, entertaining and fun read. I appreciated that it covered everything from a unique perspective and didn't sugar-coat history. Highly recommended!

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

This was fun. As with many people, I've always had a fascination with Marvel Comics, during spells where I was reading them one after another to drier periods where I'd only pick them up on occasion. But through it all, and through the explosion of Marvel products to the small and big screens, there was the lovable presence of Stan the Man.

This book is more than a story of Stan Lee's life. It actually reads like a history of comics, taking us through the early days of Siegel and Shuster creating Superman right up to the current year, where there seems to be something Marvel releasing for our viewing pleasure every week.

It was more than I really expected to learn about the comic book publishing industry, but was fascinating for all of that. Of course, no story of comic publishing is complete without the story of Stan Lee, whose career spanned more than sixty years in the field. He didn't solely create Marvel comics or the heroes we've all become familiar with, but he was the glue that held it all together and guided the company (and industry) to the modern age.

It was a sad day last year when Stan Lee died. At his age, it was certainly coming sooner or later. This was a good way to reconnect with his legacy and see just how expansive it will be for years to come.

As a former comic book collector, I couldn't wait to get to the corner store to pick up the new copy of a Marvel comic book. It was years later when I learned about Stan Lee, the man behind the books, even though his name was on the cover.
 
In this biography of the man best known for his involvement with some of the most iconic franchises in the world: Spider-Man, The Avengers, and the X-Men, to name a few, you learn the story of Stan Lee the man, in and out of the industry. 
 
The author does a great job of holding the reader's interest as he takes you on the journey of Mr. Lee's life, growing up poor in New York to being hired to work for a publisher and from there, as they say, the rest is history but one that is fascinating. 
 
If you are a fan of comic books or like to read autobiographies, don't miss this one! Great read.

Danny Fingeroth’s biography of the epic showman Stan Lee is a very in-depth book that leaves no stone unturned.  The information gleamed off these pages will definitely make the reader an aficionado of everything that is Stan Lee.  

The book is full of information, tweets, interviews and background information to get into the mind and life of the great Stan Lee.  Stan Lee is the face of Marvel and remained so for the total 60 years plus of its existence.  He is what gave a human face and voice to an industry that really did not have that personal touch until he graced the scene.  

The book is full of the joys and downfalls of becoming a celebrity and we become privy to the many rifts that would occur through the success of Marvel.  We also get an eye on the whether or not Stan Lee was instrumental in the creation of Marvel super human characters and although we never really will know for sure, I do believe that if it was not for Stan Lee, Marvel would probably not have hit the heights that it is today.  I guess if you compare this to other situations, there would be no Karen Carpenter without Richard’s compositions which means no Carpenters.  You can apply this whenever you have lightening in a bottle which if things are not aligned in the universe the right way, you probably wouldn’t have the Marvel that we know and love.  

Stan Lee had a full life and it is has be admired for the energy that he had to ensure that the comic book field survived.  He was there fighting when media and the public were against the genre and through many ups and downs, he was steadfast in sticking with it against adversary.  His gift to the human race would be his open heart, creativity and helping make the world a better place through his commentary.

The book does tend to repeat itself quite frequently which at times becomes a little tiresome.  This probably would have been better edited to avoid this but saying that, it doesn’t take away from the enjoyment of this excellent biography.

Overall, this is a must for all comic book fans and people who even have a casual interest in Stan Lee.  He was truly a remarkable man who left me someone to admire as an artist, a showman, a humanitarian and fantastic family man and husband.  No one will ever equal Stan Lee.  A must read.

Stan Lee has been incredibly influential on entertainment. One only has to look at how well the MCU movies have continued to do at the box office to see that. Yet, from what I have read he was also a man who seems difficult times. Larger than life, it would appear that his creativity wasn't just in his writing, but also in how he explains his past.

Marvelous is a well detailed exploration of his life and does a good job of pointing out many of the differences and conflicting memories. While he undeniably worked hard and had to make hard choices, it remains unclear just how much of an influence was his alone to claim. This was a well balanced look at Stan Lee and his legacy.

I enjoyed learning about Stan Lee's life. It truly was marvelous.. The book is full of vast details about Marvel and Stan Lee but rather than a well researched biography it seemed to rely on the author's recollections and collected interviews. Even with a number of interesting anecdotes the book was quite dry and the pace was prodding..

Comic book and Marvel movie fans rejoice! A definitive biography of Stan Lee, particularly his Marvel years, is here! Stan Lee, creator of iconic superheroes like Spider-Man and Iron Man truly led A Marvelous Life.

Beginning with his poverty-stricken childhood and ending with the lawsuits for elder abuse still waiting to be heard in the courts after his November 2018 death, this book tells the full tale of Stan’s life. And what a life! Stan began his career in comics as a person getting coffee for his cousin’s staff at Timely Imprint, the publisher of Marvel Comics #1 and Captain America Comics #1. Eventually, he would be the face of Marvel Comics and even Marvel movies through his cameos within each of them.

If you love comics or the Marvel Universe of movies and television, A Marvelous Life is a marvelous book for you to read. Many details are mentioned that were not in Stan’s previous autobiography, Excelsior! 4 stars!

Thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for a copy in exchange for my honest review.