Say hello to Stan, our central character. One friend who was kind enouhgh to proof-read an early version of this chapter was convinced we'd based him on Stan Lee.

As it happens, I did name-check a couple of comic book luminaries in the book but I honestly can't remember whether Stan was named in honour of Mr Lee himself. I've since put the same question to Harsho and he's adamant that he certainly didn't have the great man in mind when he drew the original concept sketch for this character.

So there you have it. Any resemblance between Stan and any real-life giant of the comic book medium is - as they say - entirely coincidental!