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Stan Lee's use of superlatives

Patrick Ford 30 June 2016 Kirby inked by Vince Colletta, THOR #150. The irony of Dickens was completely lost on Lee and his sub-literate audience. "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only." Very poor inking by Colletta on this page. The page also contains an example of Lee's continuous use of ultimates. In Lee's text things are almost always either the best or the worst. No pain has ever been felt so deeply. No fire has ever burned so hot. No defeat has ever stung so bitterly. No victory has ever been so cherished. Patrick Ford: Since I have actually read (at least recently) more comic books where Lee credits himself as the writer than most of Lee's most ardent fans, I can say with confidence that phrases like "Graver than any" are as common in Lee's text as sand-dollars in the trashline after a high tide.

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