Jim Lee facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Jim Lee |
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Lee at a December 2019 signing for
DC Comics: The Art of Jim Lee, Volume 1, at Midtown Comics in Manhattan |
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| Born | August 11, 1964 Seoul, South Korea |
| Area(s) | Writer, Artist, Publisher |
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Notable works
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All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder Batman: Hush Fantastic Four vol. 2 The Punisher War Journal Superman: For Tomorrow Superman Unchained Justice League vol. 2 Uncanny X-Men WildC.A.T.s X-Men vol. 2 |
| Awards | Harvey Award (1990) Inkpot Award (1992) Wizard Fan Award (1996, 2002, 2003) |
Jim Lee (Korean: 이용철; born August 11, 1964) is a famous Korean-born American comic book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. As of 2023, he is the President, Publisher, and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. This means he helps decide what stories are told and how the comics look. Jim Lee has won several awards for his amazing work, including a Harvey Award, an Inkpot Award, and three Wizard Fan Awards.
Lee started his career in 1987 as an artist for Marvel Comics. He drew popular titles like Alpha Flight and The Punisher War Journal. He became very well-known for his art on The Uncanny X-Men. On that comic, he worked with writer Chris Claremont and helped create the character Gambit.
In 1991, Lee and Claremont launched a new series called X-Men #1. Jim Lee drew and co-wrote this comic. It became the best-selling comic book of all time, selling over 8.1 million copies! His art style for the X-Men was even used for the designs in the X-Men: The Animated Series TV show.
In 1992, Jim Lee and other artists started their own company called Image Comics. They wanted to create comics where they owned the characters and stories. Lee published comics like WildC.A.T.s and Gen13 through his own studio, WildStorm Productions. In 1998, he sold WildStorm to DC Comics because he wanted to spend more time drawing. He continued to work on popular DC comics like "Batman: Hush" and "Superman: For Tomorrow". In 2010, he became a Co-Publisher of DC Comics, and in 2020, he became the sole Publisher.
Besides drawing comics, Jim Lee has also designed action figures, video games, and even special car and backpack designs for DC Comics. He even designed a cereal box for General Mills' Halloween collection! His original sketches are very valuable and can sell for thousands of dollars.
Early Life and Dreams
Jim Lee was born in Seoul, South Korea, on August 11, 1964. He remembers starting to draw at a young age there. He loved the old 1940s Superman cartoons. When he was very young, he had an accident where a truck hit him. This made his parents very protective of him. He often says his early life was about "Comics. Trauma. Art."
His parents wanted a safer life after the Korean War, so they moved to the United States when Jim was in elementary school. They lived in Ohio before settling in St. Louis, Missouri. Learning English was hard, and he felt like an outsider. This is why he loved the X-Men comics so much; the characters were also outsiders. He also connected with Superman, who was like "the ultimate immigrant" and helped him feel more at home in America.
Jim Lee went to Princeton University. He drew cartoons for the school newspaper. Even though his parents wanted him to become a doctor, he loved drawing. After college, he decided to take a year off to try and become a comic artist. He worked incredibly hard, drawing 8 to 10 hours every day. His dedication paid off!
Becoming a Comics Star
Jim Lee's first drawings for publishers didn't get picked up. But after meeting other artists, he went to a comics convention in New York. There, he met an editor from Marvel Comics who gave him his first job.
Marvel Comics Success
Lee started drawing for Marvel on a series called Alpha Flight. Then, in 1989, he moved to Punisher: War Journal. His art style quickly became very popular.
He then became the main artist for Uncanny X-Men. He worked with inker Scott Williams, who became a long-time partner. On Uncanny X-Men, Jim Lee helped create the popular character Gambit.
In 1991, Lee helped launch a new X-Men series. He drew and co-wrote it. The first issue, X-Men #1, sold over 8.1 million copies, making it the best-selling comic book ever! Lee designed new costumes for characters like Cyclops and Storm. He also created the villain Omega Red. His X-Men designs were later used for the X-Men: The Animated Series TV show.
Image Comics and WildStorm
In 1992, Jim Lee and six other artists left Marvel to start Image Comics. They wanted to own their creations. Lee's part of Image Comics was called WildStorm Productions. He drew and co-wrote his first comic there, WildC.A.T.s. He also created other series like Stormwatch and Gen13.
WildStorm grew and published many other comics by different creators. Lee also created new publishing lines within WildStorm to help other artists publish their own comics.
In 1996, Lee and another Image founder, Rob Liefeld, returned to Marvel for a project called Heroes Reborn. Lee drew Fantastic Four and helped with Iron Man.
Moving to DC Comics
In 1998, Jim Lee sold WildStorm to DC Comics. He wanted to focus more on drawing. He drew a story for Batman: Gotham Knights in 2000. In 2003, he worked with writer Jeph Loeb on a 12-issue story for Batman called "Hush". This story was a huge success. He also designed a villain for the Batman: Rise of Sin Tzu video game.
In 2004, Lee drew "For Tomorrow", a 12-issue story for Superman. In 2005, he teamed up with Frank Miller on All Star Batman & Robin, the Boy Wonder. This series had some delays, but Lee's art was always praised.
Jim Lee also helped create concept art for the DC Universe Online video game, which came out in 2011. In 2010, he became a Co-Publisher of DC Comics.
Modern Era and Leadership
In September 2011, DC Comics launched The New 52. This was a big event where DC restarted all its superhero comic series with new No. 1 issues. Jim Lee and writer Geoff Johns were the main people behind this huge change. Lee drew the new Justice League series. His cover for Justice League #12, showing Superman and Wonder Woman kissing, got a lot of attention.
In 2012, Jim Lee helped with an episode of the TV show Face Off, where artists create special effects makeup. He challenged the contestants to create a new superhero. He also worked with Kia Motors America to design Justice League-themed cars to help fight hunger.
In 2013, Lee designed a new look for the Mortal Kombat character Scorpion for the video game Injustice: Gods Among Us. He also drew the ongoing series Superman Unchained.
In 2014, he designed a new look for the Boo Berry cereal box for General Mills' Halloween collection. In 2015, he illustrated The Multiversity: Mastermen and designed Batman action figures. He also worked on the Batman: Europa miniseries.
In 2016, Lee was the main artist for the Harley Quinn and the Suicide Squad April Fool's Special and the new Suicide Squad series. In 2018, he became the Chief Creative Officer (CCO) of DC Comics, while still being a publisher.
In 2019, Jim Lee toured military bases in Kuwait with actors from CW TV shows to celebrate Batman's 80th anniversary. He also launched a Kickstarter campaign for Batman-themed backpacks designed for artists and collectors.
In February 2020, Jim Lee became the sole Publisher of DC Comics. During the pandemic, he drew 60 daily sketches and auctioned them off to help comic book stores that had to close. This effort raised over $800,000!
In November 2021, Jim Lee appeared on a Sesame Street TV special called See Us Coming Together. This show celebrated Asian and Pacific Islander communities and introduced a new Korean American Muppet named Ji-Young. Lee showed his drawing of Ji-Young with other Muppets.
In May 2023, Jim Lee was promoted to President of DC Comics. In 2024, he started accepting original sketch commissions again, with prices ranging from $1,000 to $35,000 for detailed drawings.
Art Style and Inspiration
Jim Lee is known for his detailed pencil work. He uses a special pen for inking and a technique called drybrush to create cool textures in his art. He also uses a correction fluid pen for white highlights.
Lee has talked about how artists always try to improve. He believes that the joy of finishing a drawing can sometimes make artists love their work so much they don't see its flaws.
When asked about AI-generated art, Lee said he wouldn't use it even if he was paid. He loves the process of drawing with a pencil and paper, getting lost in the work, and feeling satisfied after creating something. He feels that using AI would take away the whole point of why he became an artist.
His artistic inspirations include famous comic artists like Neal Adams, John Byrne, Kevin Nowlan, and Mike Mignola.
Personal Life
Jim Lee is married to Carla Michelle Lee. In 2012, he even wrote "I LOVE CARLA" on a car in Justice League #5 as a tribute to her when she was pregnant. As of November 2016, they have nine children.
In the 1990s, Lee bought some original art by Jack Kirby. Years later, he found out this art was part of a secret CIA operation to rescue Americans from Iran in 1980! In 2013, with four of his children heading to college, he and Carla decided to auction off the art to help pay for their education.
Outside of comics, Jim Lee enjoys traveling and learning new languages. He speaks English, Italian, and some German. He also likes to go scuba diving.
Awards and Recognition
Awards
- 1990 Harvey Award for Best New Talent
- 1992 Inkpot Award
- 1996 Wizard Fan Award for Favorite Penciller
- 2002 Wizard Fan Award for Favorite Penciller for Batman
- 2003 Wizard Fan Award for Favorite Penciller
Other Accolades
In November 2022, CBR.com, a popular comics website, ranked Jim Lee as the 4th best comic book artist of all time. This was based on votes from readers, showing how much fans love his work!
See also
In Spanish: Jim Lee para niños
