One of the principal founders of Marvel Comics, Stan Lee has been celebrated as the savior of comic books, elevating them to the respectability of an art form. "Marvel Comics. Let us savor the sound of those heart-warming words. Let us bask in the glow of the pleasure they promise. Marvel Comics. Not so much a name as a special state of mind. Not so much a group of magazines as a mood, a movement, a mild and momentary madness."¹

Lee was born and raised in New York City. After his graduation from high school at the age of sixteen, he took on several odd jobs, such as writing advance obituaries for a news service and public relations work for a hospital, before finally getting into comics. "Actually, it was a sheer accident, although I was interested both in writing and in comics. I needed a job, and...