Stan Lee didn’t have hulking strength. Or fantastic flexibility. Or cat-like reflexes. His superpower was creating heroes who did.
WITH GREAT POWER: The Marvelous Stan Lee
by Annie Hunter Eriksen
illustrated by Lee Gatlin
Page Street Kids, September 2021
Every superhero has their origin story: a radioactive spider bite turns ordinary teen Peter Parker into Spider-Man, wealthy Tony Stark escapes captivity by building his Iron Man suit, scientist Bruce Banner survives gamma rays only to transform into the Hulk.
For Stan Lee, it was books of adventure, monsters, and magic that helped him transform from an ordinary boy to a superstar superhero creator. At first, reading these stories was a pathway to a world bigger than his family’s tiny apartment in New York City, but it wasn’t long until Stan was crafting his own stories, creating comics professionally when he was still just a teenager! Still, writing wasn’t exciting when the heroes were always the same: strong, perfect, and boring. Stan had a revolutionary idea. What if anyone―even an ordinary kid―could be a superhero?
Discover more about the life of the Cameo King, known to many for his appearances in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and how he revolutionized comics with this vibrant introduction bustling with action, humor, and references for fans new and old. ‘Nuff said!
Annie Hunter Eriksen grew up with a love of superheroes, and remains a huge Marvel nerd to this day. Her favorite comic book series is Ms. Marvel. She works as a freelance writer and lives in Ohio with her husband, cat named Cosmo, and hedgehog named Pineapple.
Lee Gatlin learned to draw by looking at cartoons, kids’ books, and comics. He is the illustrator of the Monster School by Kate Coombs (Chronicle). In addition to drawing and making things, he enjoys making a racket on the piano or banjo. An illustrator and cartoonist, he lives with wife and three children in Georgia.
Last summer, Alice Ogilvie’s basketball-star boyfriend Steve dumped her. Then she disappeared for five days. She’s not talking, so where she went and what happened to her is the biggest mystery in Castle Cove. Or it was, at least. But now, another one of Steve’s girlfriends has vanished: Brooke Donovan, Alice’s ex–best friend. And it doesn’t look like Brooke will be coming back. . .
Davy Spencer might be the new kid in school, but that doesn’t mean he can’t start as the most POPULAR kid. With the help of his two best friends, Chuck and Annie, Davy throws himself into making viral YouTube videos with hilariously disastrous results. If he can pull this off, then everybody at his new school will know his name before even meeting him. Davy’s YouTube channel has everything – awesome pranks? Check! School lunch reviews? Check! Undercover detention missions? Check! Getting duct taped to the wall? Check – wait, what? Becoming a rockstar Youtuber isn’t easy, but Davy won’t give up… no matter how crazy things have to get.
Seventeen-year-old Esme Pearl has a babysitters club. She knows it’s kinda lame, but what else is she supposed to do? Get a job? Gross. Besides, Esme likes babysitting, and she’s good at it. And lately Esme needs all the cash she can get, because it seems like destruction follows her wherever she goes. Let’s just say she owes some people a new tree. Enter Cassandra Heaven. She’s Instagram-model hot, dresses like she found her clothes in a dumpster, and has a rebellious streak as gnarly as the cafeteria cooking. So why is Cassandra willing to do anything, even take on a potty-training two-year-old, to join Esme’s babysitters club? The answer lies in a mysterious note Cassandra’s mother left her: « Find the babysitters. Love, Mom. » Turns out, Esme and Cassandra have more in common than they think, and they’re about to discover what being a babysitter really means: a heroic lineage of superpowers, magic rituals, and saving the innocent from seriously terrifying evil. And all before the parents get home.
Dr. Villapando told me to get a good attorney. He wasn’t serious. But I am. I’m going to sue my parents.