Expanded Centennial Edition Celebrates Marvel’s Pop Culture Icon
Stan Lee: A Life by Bob Batchelor; Foreword by Blink-182’s Tom DeLonge
Conway, SC, Oct. 23, 2025 – Stan Lee’s extraordinary life was as epic as the superheroes he created, from the Amazing Spider-Man to the Mighty Avengers. His ideas and one-of-a-kind voice and image are at the heart of global culture, loved by millions of fans across the globe.
Bloomsbury Academic will release the paperback of Stan Lee: A Life by award-winning cultural historian Bob Batchelor on October 30, 2025. Hailed as the “definitive” biography of Marvel’s iconic creator and leader, the book offers a full portrait of Lee’s remarkable, nine-decade career and global impact.
Stan Lee: A Life traces the icon’s journey from Depression-era New York to his reinvention as Marvel’s tireless ambassador, exploring his creative breakthroughs within the currents of American history and media.
“Respectful, well-sourced … may be the best of the bunch.” – Booklist
“Exceptionally well written…an extraordinary biography.” – Midwest Book Review
In Stan Lee: A Life, Batchelor explores how Lee and his collaborators transformed comics through serialized storytelling, moral complexity, and a humanized superhero—innovations that later powered the Marvel Cinematic Universe and cemented Lee’s status as a cross-media icon.
About the Paperback Edition
Format: Paperback, 264 pages
Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
Publication Date: October 30, 2025
ISBN-13: 979-8881808860
List Price: $16.95
Availability: The book is available for preorder at Bloomsbury and other retailers. Customers can use the discount code (GLR BD8) to save 20% ($13.56) at bloomsbury.com/9798881808860
About the Author
Bob Batchelor has established a global reputation for writing entertaining books on iconic figures who transcend their eras and leave a lasting legacy on American cultural history. Noted for deep research and a cinematic writing style, Batchelor is a three-time winner of the IPA Book Award. He has published 16 books and edited 19, on subjects ranging from The Great Gatsby and Mad Men to Jim Morrison and Jazz Age Bootleg King George Remus. His books have been translated into a dozen languages and appeared in or been featured by the New York Times, the BBC, Cincinnati Enquirer, Los Angeles Times, Today.com, The Guardian, PopMatters, and Time. Batchelor has appeared as an on-air commentator for The National Geographic Channel, Wondery, PBS NewsHour, BBC, PBS, and NPR. He is an Assistant Professor of Communication, Media, & Culture at Coastal Carolina University. He lives in South Carolina with his wife Suzette Percival, an antiques and vintage expert who founded the lifestyle brand Spot of Vintage. Visit him at bobbatchelor.com.
Media Contact
For interviews, review copies, and speaking requests, contact Bob Batchelor, bob@bobbatchelor.com