Super Heroes, by Jack Kirby Fantastic Four artwork by Jack Kirby
Born Stanley Lieber in New York in 1922, Stan Lee entered the
comic book scene at seventeen, as assistant editor for the
Timely comics group. In 1942, he was promoted to editor. He also
became one of the major scriptwriters, after Jack Kirby and Joe
Simon had left the company. Lee wrote most of the scripts for
'Captain America', 'Sub-Mariner', 'Young Allies' and 'The Human
Torch', but also for 'The Witness', 'The Destroyer' and 'Jack
Frost'.  The Timely group was renamed Atlas and entered a rough
period in the fifties, during which sales were very low. Stan
Lee wrote numerous stories, mostly for the superhero comics
starring 'The Whizzer' and 'Black Marvel'. The quality of his
stories wasn't very high at first, but improved considerably
from 1961 on, when the group was renamed Marvel Comics.  By
then, Stan Lee called for a new era of superhero comics. Working
mostly with Jack Kirby, he created a great many popular titles,
such as 'The Fantastic