Why would it be that hard to imagine that a gigantic publishing house might have a few skeletons in its closet? That's the allure of The Secret History of Marvel Comics, a big new book by Blake Bell, author of Fire & Water: Bill Everett, The Sub-Mariner & The Birth of Marvel Comics and Strange and Stranger: The World of Steve Ditko and Michael Vasallo, an expert on Marvel Comics from the 1930s to the 1950s. Secret History delves into the business practices and trickery that established and grew the Hydra-headed publishing empire of the late Martin Goodman, the tight fisted, often unpleasant gentleman responsible, nonetheless, for giving the world his talented and far more charming nephew, Stanley Lieber. You probably know him better by his pen name—Stan Lee. The book is packed with details of Goodman's often unseemly practices, lack of appreciation for the many artists and writers he employed at slave wages, and the fact that he never did understand what made his one true and enduring success, Marvel Comics, succeed. Secret History, incidentally, covers quite a different chunk of time than Sean Howe's 1960s centered book, Marvel Comics: The Untold Story. But collectors will probably be interested to read both. You can meet the authors—alongside comics artists Al Jaffee and Stan Goldberg—at the official book release event on Saturday, October 12, 2013, at 7 p.m., hosted by the Society of Illustrators, 128 E. 63rd Street, in Manhattan. Order 'The Secret History of Marvel Comics' from Amazon.com: http://amzn.to/17mGTAk What is Mr. Media® Interviews? The calm of Charlie Rose, the curiosity of Terry Gross and the unpredictability of Howard Stern! Exclusive Hollywood, celebrity, pop culture podcast interviews by Mr. Media®, a.k.a., Bob Andelman, with newsmakers in TV, radio, movies, music, magazines, newspapers, books, websites, social media, politics, sports, graphic novels, and comics! Now in its 7th year! Subscribe FREE on iTunes or mobile devices via the Stitcher app and never miss a show! Watch or listen to more interviews like this one at http://www.mrmedia.com . Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/andelman Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/MrMediaRadio Download the free Mr. Media app for iPhone, Android, Blackberry and Palm Pre phones: http://bit.ly/y3M0tW Or listen on Stitcher via your iPhone, Blackberry or Palm Pre: http://www.stitcher.com/mrmedia

• published: 09 Oct 2013
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