WONDER MAN: THE SAGA OF SIMON WILLIAMS

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The life and death - and life again - of Wonder Man, one of the earliest and most influential Avengers! Learn all about Wonder Man, the villain turned hero whose energy powers make him one of the strongest Avengers! He's the powerful enemy who became one of the mightiest Avengers of all - and who overcame issues with self-confidence to become a Hollywood star! He's Simon Williams, Wonder Man - and even death itself won't stop him! Simon's first clash with the Avengers ends with his noble sacrifice - but when he returns from the grave years later, they have to figure out how, why...and what the Living Laser has to do with it! After Simon dies again, he is mourned by his biggest fan! And, revived once more, he reunites with his best pal from the Avengers- the bouncing Beast! Plus, Simon battles Sandman! But can he redeem a woman who calls herself Lady Killer COLLECTING- Avengers (1963) 9, 152-153; Wonder Man (1986) 1; Tales of the Marvels- Wonder Years (1995) 1-2; Avengers Two- Wonder Man & the Beast (2000) 1-3; Wonder Man (2006) 1-5; material from Avengers Annual (1967) 6

Author Bio

Writer/editor Stan Lee (1922-2018) made comic-book history together with Jack Kirby in 1961 with Fantastic Four #1. The monumental popularity of its new style inspired Lee to develop similarly themed characters - including the Hulk and X-Men with Kirby, Spider-Man and Doctor Strange with Steve Ditko, and Daredevil with Bill Everett. After shepherding his creations through dozens of issues - in some cases a hundred or more - Lee allowed other writers to take over, but he maintained steady editorial control. Eventually, he helped expand Marvel into a multimedia empire. In recent years, his frequent cameo appearances in Marvel's films established Lee as one of the world's most famous faces. Gerry Conway wrote Daredevil, Incredible Hulk, Iron Man and others. He was instrumental in Marvel's 1970s horror boom with work on Man-Thing, Tomb of Dracula and Werewolf by Night. His years on Amazing Spider-Man yielded such historic highlights as the groundbreaking death of Gwen Stacy and the debut of the Punisher. He also wrote DC's Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and Legion of Super-Heroes. For TV, he has written and produced episodes of Diagnosis- Murder, Hercules- The Legendary Journeys, Huntress and Matlock. Steve Englehart's history-making contributions to the Marvel Universe began with the Beast's solo feature in Amazing Adventures, in which the eloquent X-Man first assumed furry form. As Avengers writer, he masterminded such major events as "The Avengers/Defenders War" (in both teams' titles) and "The Celestial Madonna Saga." In Captain America, he identified and solved the "mystery" of the 1950s Captain America (later revived by Ed Brubaker), and gave the true Cap the alternate identity of Nomad. Englehart's Dr. Strange storyline in Marvel Premiere established the character as Sorcerer Supreme and covered the creation of the universe itself. At DC, he helped revamp Batman, Green Lantern, Superman and other major heroes for the 1970s. Back at Marvel, he wrote the first few years of West Coast Avengers and Silver Surfer. His published novels include Countdown to Flight, Hellstorm (part of the TALON Force series), Majorca, The Point Man and, with wife Terry Beach, books in the DNAgers young-adult series. Englehart has also written TV episodes and designed video games. Born Jacob Kurtzberg in 1917 to Jewish-Austrian parents on New York's Lower East Side, Jack Kirby came of age at the birth of the American comic book industry. Beginning his career during the rising tide of Nazism, Kirby and fellow artist Joe Simon created the patriotic hero Captain America. Cap's exploits on the comic book page entertained millions of American readers at home and inspired U.S. troops fighting the enemy abroad. When World War II ended, the public's interest in super heroes waned; Kirby turned his artistic talents during the 1950s to other genres, such as monsters, Westerns and crime - as well as the first-of-its-kind Young Romance Comics. In 1961, Kirby returned to super heroes to illustrate what would become the defining issue in Marvel Comics history- Fantastic Four #1. Written by Stan Lee, the team's debut revolutionized the industry overnight. In contrast to the staid artwork of his predecessors, Kirby's illustrations seemed to leap off the page with eye-popping action and drama. For the next decade, Kirby and Lee would introduce a mind-boggling array of new characters - including the Avengers, the Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, the Silver Surfer and the X-Men. Taken together, Kirby's groundbreaking work with Lee formed the foundation of the Marvel Universe. In the early 1970s, Kirby moved to DC Comics, where his boundless creativity continued. He returned to Marvel in 1975, writing