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Stan Lee's Alliances
Stan Lee's Alliances: Orphans
A NEW SCIENCE FICTION EPIC FROM THE MIND OF STAN LEE!
From the mind of legendary comics creator Stan Lee, the architect of the Marvel Universe, comes Orphans, a brand-new original graphic novel set in the New York Times best-selling Alliances universe, co-written by Lee with Luke Lieberman (Red Sonja) and Ryan Silbert (The Coldest Case). This cosmic adventure features fully painted artwork by Bill Sienkiewicz, who handles the prologue and cover, and Szymon Kudranski.
Orphans blasts readers into the heart of our galaxy alongside William Ackerson, a man lost in space on a quest to find the source of his uncanny abilities. As gravity waves ripple across reality, warping time and space, he meets the Orphans. They are each the last of their kind, all their kin having been wiped out by the alien Little Boy, their giant childlike leader; Haze, a caustic creature of pure vapor; Rascal, a self-loathing zealot with dark secrets; and Critter, a being that’s equal parts monster and puppy.
This ragtag group find themselves in over their heads when their space-heist is hijacked. They have a stowaway with her own Samsi, the fearsome survivor of a civilization that once ruled the galaxy. Orphans is a fast-paced, intergalactic treasure hunt that explodes the Alliances universe into the cosmos. It introduces an extraordinary band of lone survivors, that must become a family to save the very fabric of reality.
From the mind of legendary comics creator Stan Lee, the architect of the Marvel Universe, comes Orphans, a brand-new original graphic novel set in the New York Times best-selling Alliances universe, co-written by Lee with Luke Lieberman (Red Sonja) and Ryan Silbert (The Coldest Case). This cosmic adventure features fully painted artwork by Bill Sienkiewicz, who handles the prologue and cover, and Szymon Kudranski.
Orphans blasts readers into the heart of our galaxy alongside William Ackerson, a man lost in space on a quest to find the source of his uncanny abilities. As gravity waves ripple across reality, warping time and space, he meets the Orphans. They are each the last of their kind, all their kin having been wiped out by the alien Little Boy, their giant childlike leader; Haze, a caustic creature of pure vapor; Rascal, a self-loathing zealot with dark secrets; and Critter, a being that’s equal parts monster and puppy.
This ragtag group find themselves in over their heads when their space-heist is hijacked. They have a stowaway with her own Samsi, the fearsome survivor of a civilization that once ruled the galaxy. Orphans is a fast-paced, intergalactic treasure hunt that explodes the Alliances universe into the cosmos. It introduces an extraordinary band of lone survivors, that must become a family to save the very fabric of reality.
176 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 5, 2022
2 people are currently reading
76 people want to read
About the author
Stan Lee
7,581 books2,360 followersStan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber) was an American writer, editor, creator of comic book superheroes, and the former president and chairman of Marvel Comics.
With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.
With several artist co-creators, most notably Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, he co-created Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Thor as a superhero, the X-Men, Iron Man, the Hulk, Daredevil, the Silver Surfer, Dr. Strange, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Scarlet Witch, The Inhumans, and many other characters, introducing complex, naturalistic characters and a thoroughly shared universe into superhero comic books. He subsequently led the expansion of Marvel Comics from a small division of a publishing house to a large multimedia corporation.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 4, 2025
It’s weird because I’ve always felt (and the afterword mirrors these sentiments) like Stan Lee works best distilling complex and wildly imaginative ideas into simplistic concepts and stories. However, this one is a real confusing story, especially for someone like me who is not familiar with this universe. Alien in a distancing way, yet so weirdly humanistic that you feel like it’s not committing to its universe. There are some interesting ideas about war and creation that just gasp for air occasionally in this bubbling stew of dense confusion, but not nearly enough to make for an enjoyable read, with characters that are uncharacteristically empty.
February 28, 2023
The problem with this story (and the previous Alliances stories) is that they are very disjointed. It needs as stronger writer or writing team to guide the story. There is actually an interesting plot through each published story, but it is choppy and each story feels very disconnected from the previous volumes. This volume, despite the page count, feels very short. Not a whole lot happens story wise.
December 29, 2024
This felt disconnected from the previous stories...it was more difficult than it should have been to piece together.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews