This month a huge new book on the work of Stan Lee and the early Marvel years was announced from Taschen books in the Previews catalogue and on Amazon, with an expected publication date of December first 2014. Preorder your copy soon, because this important and sure to be impressive follow up to Taschen's similar DC book is sure not to be missed. And it will finally put all those people to rest who have said that the alost one meter high DC book is impossible to shelve because there is no book like it... because now there is.
To celebate this, I have selected a short story by Stan Lee and Dan DeCarlo. I have always given much space to the pre Marvel work of Stan Le (and written about it for Roy Thomas' magazine Alter Ego. There is much more to be told about that period and Roy's book will only cover a small part of it (with it's expected focus on the more succesful and famous superhero years). Still, this is a nice sample of something else Stan Lee was good at - sily jokes. In fact, the long run of My Friend Irma was the basis for my article examining Stan Lee's writing style, which was always one of coming up with funny or silly reactions... even if he had to provide the set-up line himself.
As for the succes of the book, I suspect that the sexy ladies of Dan DeCarlo had almost as much to do with that.
5 comments:
Ger,
Is this the Marvel 75th Anniversary book or an actual Stan Lee book? The 75th Anniv. book is:
http://www.previewsworld.com/Home/1/1/71/921?stockItemID=STK648817
Doc V.
This is the 75th aniversary book, but Roy has always talked to me a bout it as if it is a Stan Le book. And reading the official description" "this book delves into the heart of thousands of costumed characters who continue to fight the good fight in comics, movies, and toy aisles of the world." I'd say we shouldn't keep out breath for an estensive examination of the non hero fifties (or prepare ourselves for a paragraph calling the resurgance of Captain America. The Torch and The Sunbmariner in the middle of it as a high point, the monster books as a mere step inbetween to the rebirth of Marvel (and not a three year lasting panic attack), etc. And unless you are helping him with the early years I don't think even there the focus will be on anything but the big names.
Ger, there are 2 books Taschen is doing. The 75th anniversary book will be out by the end of the year. I worked support for that book, along with Nick Caputo and Barry Pearl. I handled the 1930's through 1950's. Nick and Barry handled the Silver age. We didn't write the text, Roy did. We supplied images, editorial, timeline and wrote all the captions for the the years mentioned. Don't worry about the early years. They are well covered! Beyond that we're clueless as to what was done and who did what. A SECOND book on Stan Lee is in the future after this one. Roy is writing that one also. I have no current association with it.
I didn't know that. But your involvement ensures that the factual part of it will be okay and at least some of the flase assumptions that are still around after all of the work by guys like you, Tom, Nick and Barry (sounds good - Tom, Nick and Barry) to correct them. That also leaves some room for me to supply Roy with stuff for the Lee book.
They photographed about 300 items from my collection and I wrote 500 detailed captions. I also proof-read Roy's text of the 1930's through 1950's. There will be a "lot" of Timely and Atlas coverage. I made suggestions but did not control "what" was chosen. But having written all the captions, I will say that it will be the best seen so far, I believe (short of a book that I write myself!). A couple of items I had to fight to have included, even after they were cut. Thankfully they were reinstated. A lot there was also just not room for, which is too bad. I mean really, who would buy this book just for the 1980's to 2014 coverage????
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