An event has happened that comic book fans have been debating over late night games of Dungeons and Dragons for decades -- What would Batman be like if Stan Lee created him? DC Comics announced the teaming of living legend Stan Lee, the co-creator of Spider-man, the Hulk and the X-Men and founder of Stan Lee Media, with longstanding rival DC Comics to present Lee's alternative interpretation of such super-heroes as Batman and Superman. The series of comic books, JUST IMAGINE STAN LEE CREATING, gives Lee the freedom to start the lives of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and other DC stars over from birth. The series will feature some of the top artistic talent in the industry including: John Buscema, longtime collaborator with Lee on THE SILVER SURFER and artist of THE AVENGERS, FANTASTIC FOUR and CONAN THE BARBARIAN; Dave Gibbons, illustrator of the Hugo Award-winning WATCHMEN; Joe Kubert, illustrator of TARZAN and founder of the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art; Jim Lee, artist of the best-selling comic book X-MEN #1; Bruce Timm, producer of the Emmy Award-winning BATMAN and SUPERMAN animated television series; and others. For years, Lee created classic comic titles with Marvel comics, DC's chief competitor, until 2000 when he launched his first new title in 20 years on the Internet. "During all the years I've been with Marvel, it was always fun to imagine how I might have written the DC characters. Now, it's really great to have the chance to re-approach the DC Universe and tackle the storytelling and characterization in my own style," said Lee. "The chance to work with people I've admired for years and the chance to create stories with characters that I've enjoyed for years was an offer I could not resist." The series will be presented as twelve issues, beginning in late 2000 and later collected into trade book editions. Each issue will reveal an alternative version of a DC hero according to Lee and a collaborating artist, beginning with JUST IMAGINE STAN LEE WITH JOHN BUSCEMA CREATING SUPERMAN. Other characters scheduled for the series include Batman, Wonder Woman, the Sandman and the Justice League of America. An interesting note is that Michael Uslan, the principal of Branded Entertainment, a film and television company, initiated the project. Uslan also served as the executive producer on the feature films BATMAN, BATMAN RETURNS, BATMAN FOREVER and BATMAN AND ROBIN. The film possibilities for this venture will have fans buzzing for years to come.
Read Michael Goldman's Animation World Magazine interview with Stan Lee, the mastermind behind some of the world's most famous comics, at http://www.awn.com/mag/issue2.4/awm2.4pages/2.4goldmanlee.html.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
