Search results for ""author stan lee""

Discover the essential facts about Marvel Comics' timeless heroes such as Captain America, Spider-Man, and Iron Man and villains like Thanos, Loki, and Kingpin. Keep up with the ever-expanding Marvel Universe with the new edition of DK's best-selling Marvel Encyclopedia , featuring an introduction by Marvel Comics supremo Stan Lee. Updated and expanded, this definitive Who's Who of Marvel Comics reveals vital info and secret histories of more than 1200 classic andbrand new Marvel characters, and provides the lowdown on recent key events including Civil War 2, Secret Empire, and Infinity Countdown.Marvel Encyclopedia features:- Authoritative, Marvel-approved text for more than 1,200 Marvel characters.- Most comprehensive reference guide to Marvel Comics characters on the market, from iconic heroes and villains to a multitude of lesser-known, supporting characters- Lavishly illustrated format will appeal to both Marvel Comics aficionados and more casual fans- A to Z and ranked presentation of characters provides an accessible framework, which is supported with an extensive index- Contains new entries for more than 20 charactersFrom iconic teams such as the Avengers, X-Men, and Guardians of the Galaxy to fan favorites Black Panther, Deadpool, and Captain Marvel to rising stars Amadeus Cho, Squirrel Girl and the Exiles, every significant Marvel character is showcased with the latest comic artwork. Meticulously researched, expertly written, and stunningly illustrated, the Marvel Encyclopedia boasts newly commissioned cover art by one of Marvel's hottest up-and-coming talents. This unique, in-depth, and accessible encyclopedia is an indispensable guide to Marvel Comics that devoted fans and newcomers alike will return to time and again.

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Their collaboration on Spider-Man couldn’t last forever—but the five-years of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s remarkable partnership lasted long enough for their character to evolve into a timeless icon and create a fandom that would last generations. TASCHEN’s second volume of Amazing Spider-Man stories collects the latter half of the duo’s magnum opus, featuring brand new arch-villains the Scorpion, Molten Man, and the Crime-Master, return engagements with Kraven the Hunter and the Green Goblin—and the three-part “Master Planner Saga” that reignited a feud with an iconic mystery villain, and left behind what many comics critics declare to be the greatest super hero story of all time. Beyond the action that faced Spider-Man—all choreographed with aplomb by the master stylist Ditko—there was also the matter of Peter Parker’s maturation during a decade of social upheaval and change. With Stan Lee’s blend of soap opera melodramatics and finger-on-the-pulse social sensitivities, Peter graduated from high school to college and started to deal with a myriad of adult struggles, mirroring the life experiences of the book’s readership. A scrawny teenager no more, Lee and Ditko would widen his network of friends and frenemies, debuting Gwen Stacy, Harry Osborn, and, in a series of hilarious cameos, Mary Jane Watson—all characters that would develop into one of the deepest and most substantive supporting casts in all of comics. Also introduced is Harry’s father, Norman Osborn, the short-tempered industrialist who would later be revealed as Spider-Man’s most dreaded foe. Meanwhile, Peter’s up-and-down romance with Betty Brant would reach its culmination with both changed forever. Collected in an XXL-size volume that closely simulates the size and proportions of the original comic artboards, all individual issues have been sourced from the collection of Bob Bretall, holder of the Guinness World Record for largest comics collection. Bretall’s pedigreed collection has been photographed using TASCHEN’s sterling reproduction methods, resembling the way these comics first looked when initially published in 1965 and 1966, while also being digitally remastered using modern retouching techniques to correct problems with the era’s inexpensive, imperfect printing. A custom paper stock was exclusively developed for this series to simulate the newsprint feel and color holding of the original comics. The Marvel Comics Library has earned well-deserved raves from comic collecting diehards for combining an old school comic book reading experience with a luxurious oversized book format, winning the industry’s coveted Eisner Award for Best Publication Design. Complementing the comics is an incisive and often side-splitting essay by British TV and radio host Jonathan Ross. Accompanying his essay is a gallery of original art, photographs, rarities, and other ephemera of the era. © 2023 MARVEL

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It is impossible to imagine American popular culture without Marvel Comics. For decades, Marvel has published groundbreaking visual narratives that sustain attention on multiple levels: as metaphors for the experience of difference and otherness; as meditations on the fluid nature of identity; and as high-water marks in the artistic tradition of American cartooning, to name a few.This anthology contains twelve key stories from the first two years of Spider-Man's publication history (from 1962 to 1964). These influential adventures not only transformed the super hero fantasy into an allegory for the pain of adolescence but also brought a new ethical complexity to the genre-by insisting that with great power there must also come great responsibility.A foreword by Jason Reynolds and scholarly introductions and apparatus by Ben Saunders offer further insight into the enduring significance of The Amazing Spider-Man and classic Marvel comics.The Penguin Classics black spine paperback features full-colour art throughout.

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By overwhelming demand, Roy Thomas has compiled all the material on the founders of the Marvel Bullpen from three sold-out Alter Ego issues—plus over 30 new pages of content! There’s the Steve Ditko issue (#160 with a rare ’60s Ditko interview by Richard Howell, biographical notes by Nick Caputo, and Ditko tributes)! The Stan Lee issue (#161 with Roy Thomas on his 50+ year relationship with Stan, art by Kirby, Ditko, Maneely, Everett, Severin, Romita, plus tributes from pros and fans)! And the Jack Kirby issue (#170 with Will Murray on Kirby’s contributions to Iron Man’s creation, Jack’s Captain Marvel/Mr. Scarlet Fawcett work, Kirby in 1960s fanzines, plus Stan Lee and Roy Thomas on Jack)! Whether you missed these issues, or can’t live without the extensive new material on Ditko, Lee, and Kirby, it’s sure to be an Amazing, Astonishing, Fantastic tribute to the main men who made Marvel!

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A NEW SCIENCE FICTION EPIC FROM THE MIND OF STAN LEE!From the mind of legendary comics creator Stan Lee, the architect of the Marvel Universe, comes Alliances: Orphans, a brand-new original graphic novel set in the New York Times best-selling Alliances universe, co-written by Lee with Luke Lieberman (Red Sonja) and Ryan Silbert (The Coldest Case). This cosmic adventure features fully painted artwork by Bill Sienkiewicz, who handles the prologue and cover, and Szymon Kudranski. Orphans blasts readers into the heart of our galaxy alongside William Ackerson, a man lost in space on a quest to find the source of his uncanny abilities. As gravity waves ripple across reality, warping time and space, he meets the Orphans. They are each the last of their kind, all their kin having been wiped outby the alien Hive: Little Boy, their giant childlike leader; Haze, a caustic creature of pure vapor; Rascal, a self-loathing zealot with dark secrets; and Critter, a being that's equal parts monster and puppy.This ragtag group find themselves in over their heads when their space-heist is hijacked. They have a stowaway with her own agenda: Samsi, the fearsome survivor of a civilization that once ruled the galaxy.Orphans is a fast-paced, intergalactic treasure hunt that explodes the Alliances universe into the cosmos. It introduces an extraordinary band of lone survivors, that must become a family to save the very fabric of reality.

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The Penguin Classics Marvel Collection presents the origin stories, seminal tales, and characters of the Marvel Universe to explore Marvel's transformative and timeless influence on an entire genre of fantasy.A Penguin Classics Marvel Collection EditionIt is impossible to imagine American popular culture without Marvel Comics. For decades, Marvel has published groundbreaking visual narratives that sustain attention on multiple levels: as metaphors for the experience of difference and otherness; as meditations on the fluid nature of identity; and as high-water marks in the artistic tradition of American cartooning, to name a few.Drawing upon multiple comic book series, this collection includes Captain America's very first appearances from 1941 alongside key examples of his first solo stories of the 1960s, in which Steve Rogers, the newly resurrected hero of World War II, searches to find his place in a new and unfamiliar world. As the contents reveal, the transformations of this American icon thus mark parallel transformations in the nation itself.A foreword by Gene Luen Yang and scholarly introductions and apparatus by Ben Saunders offer further insight into the enduring significance of Captain America and classic Marvel comics.The Penguin Classics black spine paperback features full-colour art throughout.

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When Stan Lee first pitched the idea of Spider-Man in 1962, his boss was full of objections: People hate spiders. Teenagers aren’t lead characters; they’re sidekicks. He should be glamorous and successful, not a friendless loser. But Stan persisted and Martin Goodman let him give the unlikely hero a tryout in Amazing Fantasy, which was already slated for cancellation. With Spider-Man on the cover, No. 15 shot to the top of Marvel’s best-seller list for the year, and the rest is history. Amazing Spider-Man, which debuted seven months later, broke the comics mold. Peter Parker lived in uncool Queens, was always broke, continually worried about his Aunt May, was unlucky in love, and was constantly getting yelled at by his boss, Daily Bugle publisher J. Jonah Jameson. Spider-Man had the quips and confidence that Parker lacked, but learning to use his powers wasn’t always easy. He often seemed on the verge of defeat against the rogue’s gallery of classic foes that debuted in the first couple of years: Vulture, Doctor Octopus, Sandman, Lizard, Electro, Kraven the Hunter, Mysterio, and the Green Goblin. Much of the credit for Spider-Man’s greatness goes to co-creator and artist Steve Ditko, who had a knack for portraying teenagers and their problems. His artwork infused Spider-Man with a loose-limbed energy, and, while maybe everyone was scared of spiders, Ditko made swinging through New York seem like the coolest adventure ever. This XXL-sized collector’s dream, close in size to the original artworks, features the first 21 stories of the world’s favorite web slinger from 1962–1964. Rather than recolor the original artwork (as has been done in previous decades’ reprints of classic comics), TASCHEN has attempted to create an ideal representation of these books as they were produced at the time of publication. The most pristine pedigreed comics have been cracked open and photographed for reproduction in close collaboration with Marvel and the Certified Guaranty Company. Each page has been photographed as printed more than half a century ago, then digitally remastered using modern retouching techniques to correct problems with the era’s inexpensive, imperfect printing—as if hot off of a world-class 1960s printing press. A custom paper stock was exclusively developed for this series to simulate the feel of the original comics. With an in-depth historical essay by Marvel editor Ralph Macchio, an introduction by uber-collector David Mandel, and original art, rare photographs, and other gems, these 698 pages of wall-crawling wonder will make anyone’s spider-sense tingle with anticipation. © 2021 MARVEL

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Introduced by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in the fertile pages of The Fantastic Four, the Silver Surfer quickly established himself as one of Marvel’s most far-out characters. Enslaved by Galactus to prowl the cosmos for the demi-god’s next planet-sized meal, the Surfer was as tragic a figure as any in comics—and he looked impossibly cool at the same time! A smash hit with fans and a regular supporting character in Fantastic Four, the character struck a creative nerve with Lee, who couldn’t wait to begin to tell some Surfer solo stories, but the timing had to be right.In the spring of 1968, things came together for both writer and character, with Lee giving the Surfer Marvel’s very first ongoing double-sized book. Lee also recruited artist John Buscema, who had recently been lending his extraordinary pencils to The Avengers. Together, they spun off a run of legendary tales that helped define the character forevermore.The feature stories from the entire 18-issue run of the 1968 Silver Surfer series are collected in this cosmic-sized XXL tome from the Eisner Award-winning Marvel Comics Library series. The most pristine pedigreed comics have been cracked open and photographed for reproduction in close collaboration with Marvel and the Certified Guaranty Company. Each page has been photographed as printed more than half a century ago, then digitally remastered using modern retouching techniques to correct problems with the era’s inexpensive, imperfect printing—as if hot off a world-class 1960s printing press. A custom paper stock was exclusively developed for this series to simulate the feel of the original comics.Texts by author and critic Douglas Wolk and Marvel artist and brother of John Buscema, Sal Buscema, accompany original artwork, photographs, and rare memorabilia. © 2023 MARVEL

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Their collaboration on Spider-Man couldn’t last forever—but the five-years of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s remarkable partnership lasted long enough for their character to evolve into a timeless icon and create a fandom that would last generations. TASCHEN’s second volume of Amazing Spider-Man stories collects the latter half of the duo’s magnum opus, featuring brand new arch-villains the Scorpion, Molten Man, and the Crime-Master, return engagements with Kraven the Hunter and the Green Goblin—and the three-part “Master Planner Saga” that reignited a feud with an iconic mystery villain, and left behind what many comics critics declare to be the greatest super hero story of all time. Beyond the action that faced Spider-Man—all choreographed with aplomb by the master stylist Ditko—there was also the matter of Peter Parker’s maturation during a decade of social upheaval and change. With Stan Lee’s blend of soap opera melodramatics and finger-on-the-pulse social sensitivities, Peter graduated from high school to college and started to deal with a myriad of adult struggles, mirroring the life experiences of the book’s readership. A scrawny teenager no more, Lee and Ditko would widen his network of friends and frenemies, debuting Gwen Stacy, Harry Osborn, and, in a series of hilarious cameos, Mary Jane Watson—all characters that would develop into one of the deepest and most substantive supporting casts in all of comics. Also introduced is Harry’s father, Norman Osborn, the short-tempered industrialist who would later be revealed as Spider-Man’s most dreaded foe. Meanwhile, Peter’s up-and-down romance with Betty Brant would reach its culmination with both changed forever. Collected in an XXL-size volume that closely simulates the size and proportions of the original comic artboards, all individual issues have been sourced from the collection of Bob Bretall, holder of the Guinness World Record for largest comics collection. Bretall’s pedigreed collection has been photographed using TASCHEN’s sterling reproduction methods, resembling the way these comics first looked when initially published in 1965 and 1966, while also being digitally remastered using modern retouching techniques to correct problems with the era’s inexpensive, imperfect printing. A custom paper stock was exclusively developed for this series to simulate the newsprint feel and color holding of the original comics. The Marvel Comics Library has earned well-deserved raves from comic collecting diehards for combining an old school comic book reading experience with a luxurious oversized book format, winning the industry’s coveted Eisner Award for Best Publication Design. Complementing the comics is an incisive and often side-splitting essay by British TV and radio host Jonathan Ross. Accompanying his essay is a gallery of original art, photographs, rarities, and other ephemera of the era. © 2023 MARVEL

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Hoping to break out of a sales slump at Marvel in the early 1960s, veteran comic creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby hit on the idea of doing a super team. Kirby, who thought superheroes were due for a revival after 15 years of being pushed aside by romance, horror, and war comics, saw it as smart business. Lee just once wanted to “do the type of story I myself would enjoy reading.” The Fantastic Four forever changed their careers, their lives, and the comic book industry. Some of the most iconic moments in Marvel history are here, starting with Reed Richards, his girlfriend Sue Storm, his best friend Ben Grimm, and her little brother Johnny Storm crash landing their rocket after it has been hit cosmic rays and discovering they have been transformed into Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Girl, the Thing, and the Human Torch in issue No. 1. They were emotionally complex characters, who weren’t always sure whether their powers were a benefit or burden. Stories were set in New York City, not some fictional stand-in, and Marvel heroes regularly crossed over into each other’s books. The art was dynamic and the writing conversational and engaging. Lee and Kirby were like the Lennon and McCartney of comic books. Where the talents of one ended and the other began was not always clear, but together one plus one equaled three. Collected here in an XXL-size volume are the first 20 issues reproduced from the most pristine pedigreed original comics, which were cracked open and photographed in close collaboration with Marvel and the Certified Guaranty Company. Featured alongside the comics is an in-depth essay by acclaimed Marvel writer Mark Waid, a foreword by former NASA astronaut Mike Massimino, and original art, photographs, and other rarities. Welcome true believers to the Marvel Age of Comics. © 2022 MARVEL

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