TRUE BELIEVER: THE RISE AND FALL OF STAN LEE, ABRAHAM RIESMAN

Few figures to emerge from popular culture during the second half of the 20th century have become more celebrated and beloved than Stan Lee. As a writer and editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics for three decades, he gained fame as the supposed creator of several of the world's most recognizable, endearing, and profitable fictional characters: Spider-Man, the Avengers, the X-Men, the Incredible Hulk, the Fantastic Four, Black Panther… the list is endless, and from their origins as humble entertainment for young people, they eventually formed the framework of a multi-billion dollar industry that is now ubiquitous and inescapable. In the 1960s, his skill as a promoter and his persuasive publicist's gift of gab helped relaunch the American comic book industry in general and the superhero genre in particular. In the 1970s, his popularity among young people led him to become one of the most sought-after lecturers at universities across the United States. In the late 1990s, he was one of the key figures in the dot-com bubble. In the 21st century, his appearances in Marvel films resonated deeply with millions of fans. When he passed away in 2018, tributes and expressions of affection poured in from around the world, further cementing his legacy. However, beneath the praise, there are also voices that have been calling for decades for a closer examination of that legacy.

Based on more than 150 exclusive interviews and thousands of pages of historical documents, True believer It spans from Stan's traumatic family origins in turbulent late 19th-century Romania to his sad final days in Los Angeles. Along the way, it explores moments such as his beginnings in the comic book industry as an assistant to Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, his participation in the U.S. Army's propaganda division during World War II alongside luminaries like Frank Capra, William Saroyan, and Charles Addams, the explosion of fame and creativity experienced by Marvel Comics, and his attempts to forge a career in film through collaborations with artists as diverse as Lloyd Kaufman and Alan Resnais. However, it also delves into numerous uncomfortable questions. Was Stan truly responsible for creating the characters that brought him worldwide fame? How far did his complicity extend in the multimillion-dollar fraud perpetrated by the companies he founded after leaving Marvel? Which members of the entourage of swindlers and opportunists surrounding him were primarily responsible for the misfortune that marred his final days? And, above all, what forces drove this man to achieve great things… and to keep boasting about even greater ones?

• Paperback with flaps
• 464 pp. 14 x 21.5 cm.
• ISBN: 978-84-17645-18-2