The definitive biography of the beloved—often controversial—co-creator of many legendary superheroes, "A Marvelous Life: The Amazing Story of Stan Lee" presents the origin of 'Stan the Man,' who spun a storytelling web of comic book heroic adventures into a pop culture phenomenon: the Marvel Universe. Stan Lee was the most famous American comic book creator who ever lived. But Lee’s career was haunted by conflict and controversy. Was he the most innovative creator to ever do comics? Was he a lucky no-talent whose only skill was taking credit for others’ work? Or was he something else altogether? "A Marvelous Life: The Amazing Story of Stan Lee" attempts to answer some of those questions. It is the first comprehensive biography of this powerhouse of ideas who, with his invention of Marvel Comics, changed the world’s ideas of what a hero is and how a story should be told. Moderation: Dr. Thomas Greven, adjunct professor (“Privatdozent”) of political science at Freie Universität Berlin ____________________________________________ ABOUT DANNY FINGEROTH Danny Fingeroth is a popular-culture critic and historian. His most recent book is "A Marvelous Life: The Amazing Story of Stan Lee" (St. Martin’s Press/Macmillan, 2019), the definitive biography of the controversial, pioneering Lee, co-creator of Marvel’s most popular characters. "A Marvelous Life" was the first major biography of Lee published after his 2018 death. Fingeroth, a former executive editor and writer at Marvel Comics, knew Lee and worked closely with him. In researching the book, Fingeroth conducted some of the last in-depth interviews done with Lee. Danny is a consultant to Will Eisner Studios, and is the Chair of Will Eisner Week, the annual celebration of the visionary cartoonist’s career and legacy. Fingeroth is also the author of books including "Superman on the Couch: What Superheroes Really Tell Us About Ourselves and Our Society"; "Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews Comics and the Creation of the Superhero"; and "The Rough Guide to Graphic Novels". Danny has spoken and taught at venues including Columbia University, the Smithsonian Institution, The Mimaster Art Institute in Milan, and the San Diego Comic Con. He is currently at work on books about iconic 20th Century figures Bob Dylan and Jack Ruby. ____________________________________________ ABOUT DR. THOMAS GREVEN Dr. Thomas Greven is adjunct professor (“Privatdozent”) of political science at Freie Universität Berlin, where he teaches at the John F. Kennedy Institute for North American Studies, as well as an independent political consultant and author. In addition to numerous publications on US politics and foreign policy, industrial relations, globalization and development, as well as on right-wing populism and extremism, he has written about comics for many years, with a focus on the relationship of politics and culture. As free-lance author for the Berlin newspaper Tagesspiegel, he writes, i.a., for its award-winning comics page; moreover, he contributes to the quarterly print magazine Comixene and to the online journal Internationale Politik und Gesellschaft.

STEPHANIE BURT is Professor of English at Harvard. Her most recent books include "After Callimachus" (Princeton, 2020: poems and translations) and "Don't Read Poetry: A Book About How to Read Poems" (Basic, 2019). She has written about comics, superheroes, science fiction, and LGBTQ+ representation for the New Yorker, the London Review of Books, American Literary History, tComicsXF, the Times Literary Supplement, Rain Taxi, the New York Times Book Review, and other venues in the U.S., UK, New Zealand and Australia. DANNY FINGEROTH is a popular-culture critic and historian. His most recent book is "A Marvelous Life: The Amazing Story of Stan Le"e (St. Martin’s Press/Macmillan, 2019), the definitive biography of the controversial, pioneering Lee, co-creator of Marvel’s most popular characters. "A Marvelous Life" was the first major biography of Lee published after his 2018 death. Fingeroth, a former executive editor and writer at Marvel Comics, knew Lee and worked closely with him. In researching the book, Fingeroth conducted some of the last in-depth interviews done with Lee. Danny is a consultant to Will Eisner Studios, and is the Chair of Will Eisner Week, the annual celebration of the visionary cartoonist’s career and legacy. Fingeroth is also the author of books including "Superman on the Couch: What Superheroes Really Tell Us About Ourselves and Our Society"; "Disguised as Clark Kent: Jews Comics and the Creation of the Superhero"; and "The Rough Guide to Graphic Novels". Danny has spoken and taught at venues including Columbia University, the Smithsonian Institution, The Mimaster Art Institute in Milan, and the San Diego Comic Con. He is currently at work on books about iconic 20th Century figures Bob Dylan and Jack Ruby. EVAN NARCISSE is a writer and consultant who works in video games, comic books, and TV, often focusing on the intersection of blackness and pop culture. He was a journalist and critic for many years, having previously written for The Atlantic, Time Magazine, Kotaku, io9, and The New York Times. He’s taught a course on video game journalism at New York University and appeared as an expert guest on CNN and NPR. He's the author of the "Rise of the Black Panther" graphic novel for Marvel Comics and served as a narrative design consultant on the "Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales" video game. A native New Yorker, he now lives in Austin, Texas. DOUGLAS WOLK (comics writer, critic, journalist and teacher) is the author of the Eisner Award-winning "Reading Comics" and the host of the podcast “The Voice of Latveria.” A National Arts Journalism Program Fellow, Wolk has written about comic books, graphic novels, pop music and technology for the New York Times, Rolling Stone, the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, The Believer, Slate, and Pitchfork. He lives in Portland, Oregon.

Born under the name Vincent Deighan in Glasgow in 1968, where he still lives with his family, Frank Quitely is considered one of today’s most popular comic artists. He has worked alongside renowned comic book authors, including Grant Morrison, Neil Gaiman and Mark Millar, for the major comic book publishers DC, Marvel and Image. His collaborations with Grant Morrison, in particular, are legendary. Together they created milestones in comic book history: "JLA: Earth 2" (DC Comics, 2000), "New X-Men" (Marvel, 2001-2003), "We3" (Vertigo, 2004-2005), "Batman and Robin" (DC Comics, 2009) and the twelve-part miniseries "All-Star Superman" (DC Comics, 2005-2008). Morrison and Quitely's relaunch of the X-Men was highly influenced by director Bryan Singer's X-Men film, which ushered in a new era of comic book adaptations in 2000. For Marvel, Quitely also worked on Daredevil and Captain America. Since May 2021, Frank Quitely and Mark Millar's Netflix series Jupiter's Legacy is available on the streaming service. In this personal conversation with Michael Kompa from Comicfestival München, Frank Quitely will provide insights into his work, the British invasion of U.S. comics, and the influence of film adaptations on the comics scene. The exhibition "60 Jahre Marvel Comics Universe" is on display at Amerikahaus until the end of September.