Title: Sadly Superficial Stan
Product review: Yep, I'm a big fan of Silver Age Marvel comics and yep, I'm a big fan of Stan himself - his liberal humanist philosophy, his corny sense of humour and his frequent self-deprecation.However, the problem with this autobiography is that it doesn't shed any further light on Stan beyond what you knew from reading his Soapbox. He's just the kind of guy you expected him to be, but he's giving away scant insight into his life beyond the bare facts. There's little self-examination in these 200 pages and what little there is reads like Peter Parker thought bubbles. The "amazing" ups and downs of Stan's life seem to have caused no mental struggle or anguish and the rumours of feuds with Kirby and Ditko are dismissed in a couple of paragraphs. Apparently Stan didn't know they were upset!All in all, more a coffee table book or an extended self-promotional essay rather than a genuine autobiography.
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