NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Jim Lee

Jim Lee (born August 11, 1964) is a Korean American comic book artist, writer, creator and publisher. After graduating from Yale, he decided to give comic book drawing a shot and was met with succes. Jim Lee's distinctive, crisply hatched line art style and rigid, idealized anatomical forms established a new stylistic standard for superhero comic-book illustration, and reinforced a popular trend away from brushed to penned inking in the latter 20th and early 21st century. Lee is currently one of the most successful artists in American comics. is the 223rd day of the year (224th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... A Korean American is a person of Korean ancestry who was either born in or is an immigrant to the United States. ... A comic book is a magazine or book containing the art form of comics. ... The definition of an artist is wide-ranging and covers a broad spectrum of activities to do with creating art, practising the arts and/or demonstrating an art. ... A publisher is a person or entity which engages in the act of publishing. ...

He has received a great deal of recognition for his work in the industry, including the Harvey Special Award for New Talent in 1990.

Biography

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Punisher is a fictional vigilante and anti-hero in the Marvel Comics Universe. ...

Early life and career

Lee was born in Seoul, South Korea, but grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. Lee's St. Louis County Day School classmates predicted in his senior yearbook that he would found his own comic book company. But, initially, Lee seemed resigned to following his father's career in medicine. Lee attended Princeton University and majored in psychology with the intention of becoming a medical doctor. An elective course in Fine Arts reawakened his love for drawing; he graduated in 1986, putting medical school on hold to attempt a career in comic book illustration. Seoul is the capital of South Korea and is located on the Han River in the countrys northwest. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... Princeton University is a private coeducational research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, in the United States of America. ...

Jim Lee is not related to Stan Lee or Jae Lee, two other prominent names in the American comic book industry. Lee is cousin to TJ Moon, creator of Holy Laughter. Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber on December 28, 1921[1]) is an American writer, editor, was the Chairman Emeritus of Marvel Comics, and memoirist. ... Jae Lee is a comic book artist known for his work for Marvel Comics on Namor the Sub-Mariner, the Inhumans and The Sentry series. ...

After inking only the cover of Samurai Santa #1 for a small, independent publisher, Lee found success at the North American comics publisher, Marvel Comics, as a penciller. His early Marvel work included Alpha Flight and Punisher War Journal. Marvel Comics is an American comic book line published by Marvel Publishing, Inc. ... Alpha Flight is a Marvel Comics superhero team, noteworthy for being one of the few Canadian superhero teams. ... The Punisher is a fictional vigilante and anti-hero in the Marvel Comics Universe. ...

Rise to fame on X-Men

In 1989 Lee filled in for regular illustrator Marc Silvestri on Uncanny X-Men #248 and did another guest stint on issues #256 through #258 as part of the Acts of Vengeance storylne, eventually becoming the series' ongoing artist as of #267 when Silvestri left. During his stint on Uncanny Lee first worked with inker Scott Williams, who would become a long-time collaborator. Marc Silvestri at a 2006 comic book convention. ... The Uncanny X-Men, first published as simply The X-Men, is the flagship Marvel Comics comic book series for the X-Men franchise, it features the adventures of the eponymous group of mutant superheroes. ... Category: Possible copyright violations ... Scott Williams is an American comic book artist and inker. ...

Lee’s artwork quickly gained popularity in the eyes of enthusiastic fans, which allowed him to gain greater creative control of the franchise. In 1991, Lee helped launch a second X-Men series simply called X-Men, not only as the artist, but also as co-writer with long-time X-Men scribe Chris Claremont. Lee designed new uniforms for characters such as Cyclops, Jean Grey, Rogue, Psylocke and Storm, creating the images that an entire generation of X-Men readers would associate with the characters. He also co-created the once-popular character Omega Red with John Byrne. X-Men #1 still is the best-selling comic book of all-time with sales of 8 million copies of the first issue, although multiple purchases of variant covers illustrated by Lee accounted for part of the sales frenzy. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1228x500, 328 KB)Variant cover to X-Men (v2) #1, by Jim Lee. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1228x500, 328 KB)Variant cover to X-Men (v2) #1, by Jim Lee. ... The X-Men are a group of comic book superheroes featured in Marvel Comics. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Cyclops (Scott Summers) is a fictional character who exists in the Marvel Comics Universe, a superhero who is the field leader of the X-Men. ... Jean Grey is a fictional superheroine who lives in the Marvel Comics Universe. ... Rogue (Anna Raven) is a Marvel Comics superheroine, a member of the X-Men. ... Psylocke (Elisabeth Glorianna Betsy Braddock, sometimes Elizabeth) is a Marvel Comics superhero, sister to Captain Britain, and often associated with the X-Men. ... Storm (real name Ororo Munroe) is a fictional Marvel Comics superhero. ... Omega Red (Arkady Rossovich) is a comic book supervillain in the Marvel Comics universe and a foe of the X-Men. ... John Lindley Byrne (born July 6, 1950) is a British-born naturalised American author and artist of comic books. ...

However, Lee ran into some creative hurdles. Claremont found it harder to work with Lee as their vision of the characters and storylines diverged. There was a prolonged power struggle over the future of the X-Men and in the end, Marvel X-Men editor Bob Harras favored the wildly popular Lee, causing Claremont to depart the new X-Men series with issue 3. Despite this, Claremont and Lee later reunited on various projects and are reportedly on friendly terms. Claremont and Lee even engaged in a mutual interview for Wizard magazine in 1995. Robert Bob Harras was editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics from 1995 to 2000. ...

Image File history File links Size of this preview: 400 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (400 Ã— 600 pixel, file size: 108 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) WildC.A.T.s promotional artwork by Jim Lee This work is a copyrighted publicity photograph. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 400 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (400 Ã— 600 pixel, file size: 108 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) WildC.A.T.s promotional artwork by Jim Lee This work is a copyrighted publicity photograph. ... Wildcats is the name of multiple incarnations of the Wildstorm comics superhero comic book. ...

Image Comics and WildStorm, and return to Marvel

In 1992, Lee was one of seven artists who broke away from Marvel to form Image Comics. Lee's group of titles was christened Wildstorm Productions and published Lee's pet title WildC.A.T.s, which Lee pencilled and co-wrote, and other series created by Lee sharing the same "universe", but with a minor implication of the artist in his production. The other main series of the initial years of Wildstorm, with characters created by Jim Lee and with a minor participation of the artist in his production were Stormwatch (Lee was co-plotter of the first 8 issues and cover artist for the 3 first issues), Deathblow (pencils for about 30-40 pages of the firsts chapters, and plots and covers for the first 12 issues ongoing series) and Gen¹³ (co-plotter for about 3 years and penciller of 2 issues). Later, other ongoing series of the same universe were launched with little to none participation of Jim Lee in his production, like Wetworks (created by Whilce Portacio, but sharing the Wildstorm Universe created by Jim Lee), DV8 (a Gen13 spin-off), Backlash (a solo title of a StormWatch character) or Grifter (solo title for a main WildC.A.T.s character), and several mini-series, most notably Team 7 (that ties together characters from WildC.A.T.s, StormWatch, Gen13, Deathblow and Wetworks). Like most Image properties, these series were criticized for high levels of violence (although they were no more violent than the usual Marvel or DC comic at the time), sexual references, and for emphasizing flashy art over storytelling. Despite such claims, Lee's stable of titles sold well, often exceeding a million copies per month in the early going, charting new highs in sales from an independent publisher. He also particiated in the crossover mini-series WildC.A.T.s/X-Men co-published between Marvel Comics and Image Comics (from his WildStorm Productions). Image Comics Logo Image Comics is an American comic book publisher. ... WildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm or Wildstorm, is a publishing imprint and studio of American comic book publisher DC Comics. ... Wildcats is the name of multiple incarnations of the Wildstorm comics superhero comic book. ... Stormwatch is a rock album by Jethro Tull. ... Deathblow is a fictional comic book character from Wildstorm universe. ... GenÂ¹Â³ is a fictional superhero team and comic book series originally written by Jim Lee and Brandon Choi and illustrated by J. Scott Campbell. ... Wetworks is a comic book series created by comic book artist Whilce Portacio and writer Brandon Choi. ... Whilce Portacio is a Filipino-American comic book artist. ... DV8 is a comic book published by Wildstorm. ... Backlash is the name of a fictional character from the Wildstorm universe that first appeared in StormWatch #3 in 1993 and was featured in his own comic book series until 1997. ... Grifter is a fictional comic book character from Wildstorm Universe. ... Team 7 is the name of a comic book team from DC Comics/Wildstorm. ... WildC.A.T.s/X-Men trade paperback cover by Jim Lee. ... Marvel Comics is an American comic book line published by Marvel Publishing, Inc. ... Image Comics Logo Image Comics is an American comic book publisher. ... WildStorm Productions, or simply WildStorm or Wildstorm, is a publishing imprint and studio of American comic book publisher DC Comics. ...

As publisher, Lee later also expanded his comics line creating two publishing imprints of Wildstorm, Homage and Cliffhanger (that years later merged and were replaced by a single Wildstorm Signature imprint), to publish creator-owned comics by some selected creators of the US comics industry. Initially, Homage was a more writer-driven imprint, debuting with Eisner Awards winners Strangers in Paradise and Kurt Busiek's Astro City. Cliffhanger was initially an artist-driven imprint, created to publish the works of three young "hot artists" of the time, J. Scott Campbell's Danger Girl, Joe Madureira's Battle Chasers and Humberto Ramos ' Crimson, three series that were top sellers for the industry. Image File history File links 4f-1-Jim-Lee. ... Image File history File links 4f-1-Jim-Lee. ... The Fantastic Four is a fictional American team of comic-book superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe. ... Homage Comics is a comic book publishing imprint, a subdivision of Wildstorm. ... Cliffhanger was an imprint of Wildstorm, publishing creator-owned comic books. ... The Eisner Awards are given for achievement in comic books. ... Strangers in Paradise volume 3, issue 1 alternate cover. ... Kurt Busiek (born September 16, 1960) is a comic book writer. ... Astro City, vol. ... Cover of Danger Girl: Back in Black, by J. Scott Campbell. ... cover to Danger Girl : Back in Black #1 by J. Scott Campbell Danger Girl is a best-selling comic book series created by J. Scott Campbell and Andy Hartnell. ... Jose Madureira (born December 3, 1974, in Philadelphia. ... Battle Chasers is an American fantasy comic book series by Joe Madureira, launched in April 1998. ... Cover to Impulse #2. ... Crimson was a fantasy comic book series by artist Humberto Ramos and scripter Brian Augustyn. ...

Lee and Rob Liefeld, another Marvel-illustator-turned-Image-founder, returned to Marvel in 1996 to participate in a reboot of several classic characters; the project was known as Heroes Reborn. While Liefeld reworked Captain America and The Avengers, Lee plotted Iron Man and wrote and illustrated The Fantastic Four. Lee managed to catapult Fantastic Four and Iron Man to the top of the sales charts, although fan reaction to this revamp of such well-known characters was mixed. Halfway through the project, Liefeld was fired from the project (poor sales - relative to Lee's output - were cited) and Lee's studio finished all four series. At the end of the one-year deal, Lee and Marvel agreed to hand the books over to other creators. Rob Liefeld, born October 3, 1967 in Anaheim, California, is an American comic book writer, illustrator, and publisher. ... ReBoot was a Canadian CGI animated series that was produced by Mainframe Entertainment, created by Gavin Blair, Ian Pearson, Phil Mitchell and John Grace, with the striking visuals created by Brendan McCarthy after an initial attempt by Ian Gibson. ... Heroes Reborn was an event in which Marvel Comics temporarily outsourced the production of several of its most famous comic books to the studios of its popular former employees Jim Lee and Rob Liefeld. ... Captain America, the alter ego of Steve Rogers,[2] is a fictional comic-book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. ... The Avengers is an elite fictional comic book superhero team in the Marvel Universe. ... Iron Man (Anthony Edward Tony Stark) is a fictional comic-book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. ... The Fantastic Four is a fictional American team of comic-book superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe. ...

Lee then concentrated in the Wildstorm line, attempting to break away from the stereotype of Image comics as all style and no substance by publishing critically acclaimed series' The Authority and Planetary. In publishing Alan Moore's America's Best Comics line, Wildstorm brought arguably the medium's most critically acclaimed writer back into mainstream publishing after almost a decade of independent work. Lee himself wrote and illustrated a 12-issue series called Divine Right, in which an internet slacker inadvertently manages to download the secrets of the universe, and is thrown into a wild fantasy world. The Authority is a superhero comic book published by DC Comics under the Wildstorm imprint. ... Planetary is an American comic book series created by Warren Ellis (writer) and John Cassaday (artist), published by the Wildstorm imprint of DC Comics. ... Alan Moore (born November 18, 1953, in Northampton) is an English writer most famous for his influential work in comics, including the acclaimed graphic novels Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell. ... Alex Ross cover to Americas Best Comics 64 Page Giant, featuring all of the characters created by Alan Moore for the imprint. ... Divine Right is a comic book created by Jim Lee and published by Wildstorm. ... Smaug in his lair: an illustration for the fantasy The Hobbit Fantasy is a genre of art that uses magic and other supernatural forms as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. ...

Image File history File links Batman_superman. ... Image File history File links Batman_superman. ... DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company. ... Superman is a fictional character and comic book superhero , originally created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian artist Joe Shuster and published by DC Comics. ... Batman (originally referred to as the Bat-Man and still referred to at times as the Batman) is a DC Comics fictional superhero who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. ...

Move to DC Comics

In late 1998, however, Lee left Image Comics and sold Wildstorm to DC Comics. Lee's career as a publisher had mostly precluded art jobs and he desired to return to his roots as an illustrator. In 2003 he collaborated on a 12 issue run on Batman with writer Jeph Loeb that became a runaway sales success (See Batman: Hush). This was followed by a year's stint on Superman (see For Tomorrow), with writer Brian Azzarello. In 2005, Lee teamed with Frank Miller on the new series All Star Batman and Robin, the Boy Wonder, a series so plagued by delays that many fans wonder whether another issue is forthcoming, or whether the series has in fact been cancelled. Image Comics Logo Image Comics is an American comic book publisher. ... DC Comics is an American comic book and related media company. ... Batman (originally referred to as the Bat-Man and still referred to at times as the Batman) is a DC Comics fictional superhero who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. ... Joseph Jeph Loeb III (b. ... Published 2002-2003 in monthly installments in Batman issues 608-619 by DC Comics Characters Batman (Bruce Wayne), Catwoman (Selina Kyle), Superman (Clark Kent), Nightwing (Dick Grayson), Robin (Tim Drake), The Joker, The Riddler, Hush, Scarecrow, Huntress, Ras al Ghul, Lex Luthor, Two-Face, Commissioner James Gordon, Oracle, Harley... Superman is a fictional character and comic book superhero , originally created by American writer Jerry Siegel and Canadian artist Joe Shuster and published by DC Comics. ... For Tomorrow is the name of a twelve-issue story arc in the Superman comic continuity. ... Brian Azzarello (born in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American comic book writer. ... Frank Miller (born January 27, 1957) is an American writer, artist and film director best known for his film noir-style comic book stories. ... All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder is an ongoing comic book series from DC Comics. ...

Lee continues to run the company he founded, working side by side with new artists. Notable former WildStorm artists include J. Scott Campbell and Travis Charest. In September 2006, Jim Lee returned to WildC.A.T.s with Grant Morrison as the writer. Lee pencils both WildC.A.T.s and All Star Batman and Robin,. Both titles have been plagued with delays, as Lee is notoriously poor at maintaining deadlines. The gap between All-Star Batman and Robin #4 and #5 was one year. Lee claims he will not leave the Batman title until Frank Miller has finished his run on the series. He also drew alternate cover art for the Infinite Crisis series. It has also been announced that Jim Lee will be involved with the upcoming DC Comics MMORPG as Executive Creative Director. Cover of Danger Girl: Back in Black, by J. Scott Campbell. ... A Danger Girl cover by Charest. ... Grant Morrison (born January 31, 1960) is a Scottish comic book writer and artist. ... All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder is an ongoing comic book series from DC Comics. ... Infinite Crisis was a seven-issue limited series of comic books published by DC Comics, beginning in October of 2005. ... An image from World of Warcraft, one of the largest commercial MMORPGs as of 2004, based on active subscriptions. ...

Intense fan speculation surrounds the announcement in 2004 that Lee might team up with legendary comic writer Alan Moore for a project titled Comet Rangers, although it appears current commitments may have postponed or canceled this project. Alan Moore (born November 18, 1953, in Northampton) is an English writer most famous for his influential work in comics, including the acclaimed graphic novels Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell. ...

Selected bibliography

Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Divine Right is a comic book created by Jim Lee and published by Wildstorm. ...

Main works

Alpha Flight is a Marvel Comics superhero team, noteworthy for being one of the few Canadian superhero teams. ... The Uncanny X-Men, first published as simply The X-Men, is the flagship Marvel Comics comic book series for the X-Men franchise, it features the adventures of the eponymous group of mutant superheroes. ... Wildcats is the name of multiple incarnations of the Wildstorm comics superhero comic book. ... The Fantastic Four is a fictional American team of comic-book superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe. ... Divine Right is a comic book created by Jim Lee and published by Wildstorm. ... Batman (originally referred to as the Bat-Man and still referred to at times as the Batman) is a DC Comics fictional superhero who first appeared in Detective Comics #27 in May 1939. ... Published 2002-2003 in monthly installments in Batman issues 608-619 by DC Comics Characters Batman (Bruce Wayne), Catwoman (Selina Kyle), Superman (Clark Kent), Nightwing (Dick Grayson), Robin (Tim Drake), The Joker, The Riddler, Hush, Scarecrow, Huntress, Ras al Ghul, Lex Luthor, Two-Face, Commissioner James Gordon, Oracle, Harley... The cover to Superman vol. ... All Star Batman and Robin the Boy Wonder is an ongoing comic book series that launched in July 2005, written by Frank Miller, drawn by Jim Lee, and published by DC Comics. ...

Other works

Cover of Sin City shows Marv walking through the rain. ... Warren Ellis Warren Girade Ellis (born February 16, 1968) is a British author of comic books and graphic novels, well known for his acerbic personality and sociocultural commentaries, both through his online presence and his writing. ... Ed Brubaker (born November 17, 1966) is an American cartoonist and writer. ...

Memorable Quotes

"Sometimes I wonder if we ever really improve as artists or if the nirvana derived from completing a piece blinds us enough to love what we have created and move on to the next piece. If we could see the work as it is, with years of reflection in the here and now, how many images would end up in the trash rather than on the racks?" - http://gelatometti.blogspot.com/2005/01/x-men-redux.html

External links

Categories: Articles lacking sources from October 2006 | All articles lacking sources | 1964 births | American bloggers | American comics artists | American comics writers | Korean Americans | Living people | People from St. Louis, Missouri | People from Seoul | Princeton University alumni Marc Silvestri at a 2006 comic book convention. ... The Uncanny X-Men, first published as simply The X-Men, is the flagship Marvel Comics comic book series for the X-Men franchise, it features the adventures of the eponymous group of mutant superheroes. ... Whilce Portacio is a Filipino-American comic book artist. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... X-Men is a Marvel Comics series featuring the eponymous group of mutant superheroes. ... This does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Cover to New Warriors #1 (July, 1990), one of Niciezas earliest successes. ... Tom DeFalco (born June 26, 1950) is an American comics writer and editor. ... The Fantastic Four is a fictional American team of comic-book superheroes in the Marvel Comics universe. ... Brandon Choi is an American comic book author best known as one of the co-creators of the series Gen13 which enjoyed high popularity in the middle and late 1990s. ... Scott Lobdell (born 1963) is an American comic book writer. ... Terrence Terry Kavanagh is a American comic book editor and writer. ... Iron Man (Anthony Edward Tony Stark) is a fictional comic-book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. ... Scott Lobdell (born 1963) is an American comic book writer. ... Joseph Jeph Loeb III (b. ... Joseph Jeph Loeb III (b. ... Iron Man (Anthony Edward Tony Stark) is a fictional comic-book superhero in the Marvel Comics universe. ... Joseph Jeph Loeb III (b. ... Kurt Busiek (born September 16, 1960) is a comic book writer. ...

Contents

Biography

Early life and career

Rise to fame on X-Men

Image Comics and WildStorm, and return to Marvel

Move to DC Comics

Selected bibliography

Main works

Other works

Memorable Quotes

External links

Contents

Biography var ACE_AR = {Site: '756743', Size: '300250'};

Early life and career

Rise to fame on X-Men

Image Comics and WildStorm, and return to Marvel

Move to DC Comics

Selected bibliography

Main works

Other works

Memorable Quotes

External links

Biography