Business Services Industry

Superman and Batman Join Forces With Arch-Rival Stan Lee for the Coolest Collaboration in the History of Comic Books

Business Wire, April 12, 2000

Business & Entertainment Editors

NOTE TO MEDIA: Photo available on BW PhotoWire/AP PhotoExpress,

NewsCom, PressLink and on Business Wire's Web site

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 12, 2000

DC Comics is pleased to announce the coolest collaboration in the history of comic books. Living legend Stan Lee, the co-creator of Spider-man, the Hulk and the X-Men and founder of Stan Lee Media is teaming up with longstanding rival DC Comics to present Lee's alternative interpretation of the world's most beloved super-heroes including Batman and Superman. The series, JUST IMAGINE STAN LEE CREATING, gives Lee the freedom to literally start the lives of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and other DC stars over from birth. Will Superman work at the Daily Planet? Will Batman have the Batmobile? Will they even be heroes? The imagination of comic-book lovers everywhere will run rampant as they wait to read the adventures of the DC Universe through the eyes of Stan Lee - the comic book world's most prized and beloved storyteller.

The series will feature the hottest artistic talent in the industry: 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 and record-setting comic book X-Men No. 1; Bruce Timm, producer of the Emmy Award-winning Batman and Superman animated television series; and others will lend their hand in the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to illustrate and create alternative versions of the world's most popular super-heroes with Lee.

"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 reapproach the DC Universe and tackle the storytelling and characterization in my own style," said Stan Lee, Founder, Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of Stan Lee Media. "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."

"With his artistic collaborators at Marvel, Stan co-created the richest imaginary universe a single comics writer has ever built. Every kid who ever picked up one of his comics wondered what Stan would do if he ever worked on the DC heroes and now we can deliver their dream," commented Paul Levitz, Executive Vice President and Publisher of DC Comics, "and by Stan doing it as a special series, we can capture the magic of turning back the clock to see how he would have started it all."

The project will be presented as twelve issues in DC's prestige format, 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. The project was initiated by Michael Uslan, the principal of Branded Entertainment (a film and television company). As well, Uslan is the Executive Producer of Batman (1989), Batman Returns (1992), Batman Forever (1995), Batman and Robin (1997), and a longtime comics fan.

DC Comics is a division of Warner Bros., a Time Warner Entertainment company. Since 1938, DC has created over 5000 characters, including the world's most popular super-heroes: Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. These and other characters have starred in comic books, movies, television, Animation, the Broadway Stage and cyberspace.

Stan Lee Media, Inc. (OTCBB:SLEE) (http://www.stanleemedia.com) is an Internet-based, multimedia content production, marketing and licensing company founded by pop culture icon Stan Lee to extend his globally recognized brand name, signature style of content and character creation to all niche markets of the global popular culture. Using the Internet to launch new branded super hero, science fiction and fantasy related content while building the largest global online youth community, the company will pioneer the full integration of all ancillary entertainment and marketing media with the World Wide Web.

Note: A Photo is available at URL:

http://www.businesswire.com/cgi-bin/photoblob.sh?pw.041200/bw1