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'Soldier Zero' a big Stan Lee hit

By JEROME MAIDA
Philadelphia Daily News

For the Daily News

Most people, if they were set to turn 88 next month, would be content to have good physical health and their mental faculties intact.
However, Stan Lee has proven yet again that he is not most people. He remarkably, continues to produce exceptional work in the comic field.

He also continues to break industry records.

It was recently announced by BOOM! Studios that the latest creation with his fingerprints, "Stan Lee's Soldier Zero," has sold over 24,000 copies so far, BOOM!'s best-selling comic ever. Lee can still pull in readers willing to spend their money, but is his book worth the hype?

Absolutely!

This is Lee's best work in decades. Those who have grown wary of his misses in recent years - the "Just Imagine . . ." books for DC, "Ravage 2099" for Marvel - will be pleasantly surprised. Instead of new takes on classic characters that don't ring true or trying to create a character closer to the "grim and gritty" archetype that has been done to death, Lee again gives readers something simple but magical.

"Soldier Zero" stars Stewart Travers, a wheelchair-bound college student who represents Everyman and who has to overcome more obstacles than most.

When an alien parasite falls to Earth, Travers becomes infected - and goes through super-human changes that no mortal could imagine.

Except, of course, Stan Lee.

Though the extent of Lee's contributions to the character and plot are unclear - Paul Cornell is officially listed as writer and gives Lee's concepts a modern sensibility - there is one trait about Soldier Zero that makes it obvious Lee's input is a large part of its DNA: You can call Soldier Zero a hero without reservation and with a straight face.

This is fun, entertaining stuff.



Read more: http://www.philly.com/dailynews/features/20101115__Soldier_Zero__a_big_Stan_Lee_hit.html#ixzz15Mg7xuBM
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