Tuesday, November 10, 2015

2 The Story of the Greatest Super Hero of All Time, In His Own Words

AMAZING FANTASTIC INCREDIBLE, A Marvelous Memoir, by Stan Lee and Peter David, Illustrated by Colleen Doran, Simon & Schuster, 2015

Thanks, Stan for reviewing your own book. Now I can take a nap.

KIDDING! Although Stan "The Man" Lee, the patron saint of super heroes, has shared insights on his life growing up in his Origins of Marvel Comics books and Bullpen Bulletin pages, (Not to mention the "Bio-Autography" "EXCELSIOR! The Amazing Life of Stan Lee", written with George Mair.), there's never been anything quite like AMAZING FANTASTIC INCREDIBLE, an all-ages graphic novel-style autobiography which traces the fulfillment of his American dream from a hardscrabble life in Manhattan's Washington Heights neighborhood to the creation of the most beloved super hero of all times. In this cleverly written and handsomely illustrated book, Stan introduces us to his most fascinating character, the one we only THOUGHT we knew...Stan Lee. We follow him from the Golden Age of Comics to the present, and along the way we see him as a soldier in the Second Great War, trying to convince his publisher that mutants and not-so-jolly green giants will sell, and fighting his deadliest enemy, Dr. Frederic Wertham, the author of the notorious comic book expose, "Seduction of the Innocent."

Whether you're a Permanent Marvelite Maximus, a newcomer, or just somebody who wants to find out why the fuss over those dang long underwear characters, AMAZING FANTASTIC INCREDIBLE belongs under the tree or next to the Menorah. Not only does it speak to super hero fans of all ages, it also speaks to the amazing, fantastic, incredible hero in all of us. Nuff said!

Steve out!

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Wrong Numbers!

BOOK OF NUMBERS a novel by Joshua Cohen,to be published June 9,2015 by Random House, $28 USA/$34 Canada, but you probably have better things to do and better ways to spend your money penciled in for that day!

Will the real Joshua Cohen please stand up?

I'm talking about the Joshua Cohen who writes for Harper's Magazine,the New York Times, and the London Review of Books, not his pretentious doppleganger in this over-rated candidate for the bargain bin. If he wanted to write a book about Joshua Cohen lamenting the printed word's defeat at the hands of the internet, he could have taken a page from Yours Truly's book (coming later this year to better bookstores, websites, and libraries everywhere) and said, "Hi, I'm Joshua Cohen, and I'm here to lament the printed word's defeat at the hands of the internet."

Ladies and gentlemen, this man clearly has ego deficiencies. He feels like hiding behind a fictional character who just happens to have the same name as he does as opposed to talking directly to the reader in his authentic voice, as well as crying about the world's problems using language that would perplex even the most erudite Harvard professor. If you feel like crying, Joshie, maybe you should call the WAAAAAHmbulance! As a great man once said, "It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

Furthermore, this man has ripped off the name of one of  the greatest books in world history! You don't tug on Superman's cape, you don't pull the mask off the old Lone Ranger and you don't mess around with the Bible!

This guy takes too long to make his point, unless it's the one atop his head! Let me make my point here and now:

This.
Book.
Stinks.

If I was down to my last and I had to choose between this book and a sandwich, I'd take a big bite of the sandwich. This tantrum disguised as a book just plain bites.

Keep watching for further reports on Steve's Book!

Steve out!