Stan Lee's Riftworld: Crossover

Riftworld #1

by Bill McCay

A hilarious new series from the mastermind of Marvel Comics. Stan Lee is the creator of Spider Man and The Incredible Hulk, and his new series tells of a writer at the Fantasy Factory who discovers a link between our world and the world of superheroes.

Genres: Science Fiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Under a variety of pseudonyms as well as his own name, Bill McCay is the author of more than seventy books, including such series as the Race Against Time, The Three Investigators, Young Indiana Jones, and Tom Clancy's Net Force. He has also worked with Stan Lee on Riftworld, a science fiction comedy-adventure set in the comics business. McCay has also written five novels based on the film Stargate. His fantasy short fiction has appeared in several anthologies and his Star Trek novel Chains of Command (cowritten with E. L. Flood) spent several weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.

See also William McCay

Reviews

[Brent Ecenbarger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book as a kid, so there's definitely some nostalgia tinting my review. First, let's start with that title. Stan Lee's Riftworld: Crossover. If there were ever a name that should be a comic book and not a prose novel, this is it. The only thing it's missing is something like "spectacular 1st issue" on the cover. It's fitting that it has a comic book title though, as the idea for it came from Stan Lee, the most famous comic book writer of all time. The story is straight out of the world of comic books as well. (I'm pretty sure when I read this as a kid, I assumed he wrote it as his name is much larger than Bill McCay's on the cover.  The marketing strategy worked, as they got my money.)

It boils down to a Stan Lee character is the publisher of a comic book company. He's dealing with all the headaches of the position, from late artists to waning sales. He mentions how much easier it would be if there were just real heroes they could write about. An awkward intern seems to take this message literally, disappears and shortly afterward two giants are spotted in New York City. The giants have some telepathic abilities and appear to want to stop criminals. The Stan Lee Character (Sturdley) ends up forming a relationship with them. He'll get them in touch with the man responsible for their arrival and they'll abide by the comics code and allow Sturdley's company to make comics about them.

Besides the Stan Lee character, there's a competitor down the street whose initials are D.C., there's a young artist whose characters all look alike who's super popular and his name ends in Feld, and another artist who's hiding his secret that all his work is photo referenced. A best selling comic book is based on a rodent. There are tons of nods to things going on in the comic world for decades, so fans of the genre will get a kick out of that.

Published in 1993, it's pre-internet and the only blow back that giants get are from police unions and local reporters. Today if this book came out it would probably focus on Reddit conspiracies, extreme political reactions, and have a government protagonist. As it stands, this is a fun trip back in time to when a more innocent story like this can take place. The ultimate revelations about the giants and their goals is predictable but interesting, and the book ends with the story ready to move to less happy days.

I found this book back in 1993 and never found any of the sequels until the last few years at used book stores. I'm looking forward to finishing up the story and seeing where it goes. My guess is that more heroes may be coming through the Rift before too long.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

Question: what would happen if 50 superhero-like giants suddenly appeared in Manhattan? Answer: a comic book company would get them under contract ASAP. It's cute how Stan Lee (and Bill McCay) idealize the silver age of comicdom. And hats off to Stan for allowing Funky Flashman to take his place in the merry Marvel bullpen.

[bluetyson]

isbn,original

[Little Timmy · Rating 3 out of 5]

An OK read. I expected more from the mind of Stan Lee the comic genius. Recommended