I Am Stan by Tom Scioli is a difficult read for many long-time Marvel fans. Coming off the high of Scioli’s Jack Kirby: The Epic Life of The King of Comics, which I rated a stellar 4.5 stars and inspired me to detour to Jack Kirby Way on a recent trip to NYC, I had high expectations for this biography. Unfortunately, I Am Stan falls significantly short, earning a disappointing 2.5 out of 5 stars.
One of the primary issues is the narrative flow. The book feels incredibly jumpy, often transitioning between wildly different topics without sufficient setup. For example, a panel discussing business dealings was followed immediately by a scene in a hospital discussing the inability to have children for 3 panels on the same page and then went back to the next career topic. These abrupt shifts make it difficult to maintain a sense of context or continuity.
Furthermore, the book relies almost exclusively on the panels themselves to convey information. In many instances, a caption or a brief aside paragraph would have done wonders to provide necessary context or summarize the preceding events. Instead, some pages are presented as “wall-to-wall” speech bubbles, which can become overwhelming and exhausting to parse as a reader trying to keep up with the narrative. And just because the character said that’s what happened, should you believe it?
As a lifelong Marvel fan who has already read Origins of Marvel Comics and many other meta commentaries about comics, I found original content to be surprisingly thin. While the book covers many of the well-known milestones of Stan Lee’s career, it failed to delve deeper into the nuances of his life. It often felt like a retelling of information I already knew, rather than an exploration of new territory or untold stories.
Even when addressing more recent and sensitive events leading up to Stan Lee’s death, the book maintains a stance of frustrating neutrality. It presents the dialogue of the time but avoids uncovering anything new or making a clear argument regarding the complexities of elder abuse and the fighting over the estate. For instance, it doesn’t address whether Lee was in his right mind during long convention appearances or if external forces were pushing the agenda to increase the estate’s value.
The artistic execution is generally fine, but it faces challenges due to the lack of explanatory text. Because the book spans so many decades and often lacks context, it can occasionally be difficult to identify even Stan Lee, the primary protagonist of the story.
There were, however, moments of genuine sincerity. I particularly enjoyed seeing the depiction of Stan’s delight at making cameos in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. These sequences felt respectful and captured a sense of sincere enjoyment that resonated well with his public persona. These were the highlights of an otherwise frustrating experience.
Ultimately, while I Am Stan is a competent effort, it is a letdown for those looking for a deep, cohesive biography. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it unless you are looking to consume as much Stan Lee content as possible. It lacks the narrative cohesion and depth that made Scioli’s previous work so compelling.
