Dance your cares away. Worry’s for another day. Let the music play. Jim Lee’s still gonna rock.
That might be a lame rephrasing of the Fraggle Rock theme song chorus, but the message is still applicable.
Those who were concerned about seeing less of Jim Lee’s art after the announcement of him becoming co-publisher at DC last week can rest easy. Just as Geoff Johns blogged to assure everybody that he’s still going to be writing comics, so too has Lee said something similar on the Bleed, Wildstorm's official blog. Why the cover above - - a variant to the DV8 relaunch - - already demonstrates that he’s still putting material out.
In Lee’s words…
“I wanted to follow yesterday’s Co-Publisher’s Blog with a more personal update of my own creative work. For fans of my art–fear not, drawing comic books is actually a part of my new job description, and I actually plan on increasing the frequency of which you will be seeing my work. It’s important to me not only on a personal level that I continue with a hand in the actual creation of new comics but also for a broader mission.”
As if to put an extra nail in the coffin of the “will Jim Lee still draw, even as DC’s co-publisher” conspiracy theory, he also just released his cover to Vertigo’s new American Vampire series.
Straight from Graphic Content, Vertigo’s official blog, comes Lee’s description of how he tackled the image above…
“One of the unique challenges of contributing a cover to a brand spanking new series with original, never seen before characters is obviously not knowing who the characters are: how they act, the way they hold themselves, the forces that shaped their personal histories. Luckily for me, American Vampire’s artist-Rafael Albuquerque-made it a non-issue. From just a single illustration, I could see the world he was creating, and it made drawing Pearl and Skinner for this alternate cover both a breeze and a hella lot of fun. The drawings are that good.
The fact there are words to accompany the pictures is pure gravy. Speaking as a fan, I can’t wait to read what Scott Snyder and Stephen King have come up with. They have a lot to live up to :)”
There’s something about that “Lee” last name, I suspect. Even as a more seasoned gentleman, Stan Lee’s announcing some new project almost daily. Why, just today, he teased about being back. And Jim Lee, even as he’s stepping up to DC corporate, is still cranking out covers like nobody’s business. Perhaps I should change my last name?
-- Tom Pinchuk is the writer of UNIMAGINABLE for Arcana Comics and HYBRID BASTARDS! for Archaia Comics. Watch out for the HYBRID BASTARDS! hardcover collection this March - - available for pre-order now on Amazon.com.