Jim Lee

Jim Lee is a draftsman of Comic S Korean - American born the August 11th 1964. Known for its detailed and dynamic style, it is very popular today.

With the beginning of the year 1990, Lee becomes a star in his field for his work on the frankness Marvel, X-Men. Later, it founds the productions Wildstorm, subsidiary of Image Comics and meets success with titles like WildC.A.T.s and Gen 13 sold to million specimens each month, in spite of the delays. Currently, Jim Lee carries out the drawings of the traditional Super-héros of cd. Comics, Batman and Superman with a great success.

History

Jim Lee is born with Seoul, in South Korea then grows with the the United States. He enters to the university of Princeton and leaves graduate in Psychologie in 1986, wishing to become doctor in Médecine. But instead of that, it decides to continue its career in the illustration of comics.

After having made inking for a small independent editor, Lee meets success as a draftsman at Marvel Comics. Its first work includes Alpha Flight and Punisher War Journal.

In 1989, it succeeds Marc Silvestri on the series Uncanny X-Men and after the departure for the scenario writer Chris Claremont in 1990 becomes about it responsible. For this period, it meets inking the Scott Williams, with which it makes team a long time.

The drawings of Lee quickly meet a great popularity at the fans, which gives him a greater creative freedom. In 1991, it Co-scénarise with Chris Claremont the series Uncanny X-Men while illustrating another series called X-Men simply, the scenario being Co-writing with Chris Claremont. Lee created of the new uniforms for certain characters like Cyclops, Gambit, Jean Grey, Malicia, Psylocke and Tornade, that a whole generation of readers associate from now on to the characters. Number 1 of the new series X-Men is always the comics more sold of all time with 8 million specimens. This figure is reached by counting the many versions with illustrations of different covers carried out by Jim Lee (causing multiple purchases by the fans and the speculators).

Lee is however a criticized character. Chris Claremont finds very difficult to work with him, because their creative visions of the characters and their stories diverged. The future of X-Men remains dubious then until the person in charge of Marvel, Bob Harras, lines up side of Lee, causing the departure of Claremont after number 3. In spite of that, Claremont and Lee will work again together on various projects Image and Wildstorm.

In 1992, Lee is one of the seven artists from at Marvel to form Image Comics (others being Marc Silvestri, Rob Liefeld, Erik Larsen, Jim Valentino, Todd McFarlane and Whilce Portacio). The production of Lee is labellisée Wildstorm Productions, and comprises titles like Gen 13, Stormwatch and WildC.A.T.s (adapted in drawing-animated). These series are criticized by certain because they privilege the drawing with the detriment of the scenario. They are however sold very well and often exceed the million specimens per month.

Lee and Liefeld turn over to Marvel in 1996 to start again traditional characters: Liefeld works on Captain America and the Vengeurs and Lee written for Iron Man and illustrates the Four Fantastic. If the sales climb very quickly, the reactions of the fans are rather mitigated.

Little time afterwards, it worked on a called original mini-series Divine Right: The Adventures off max Faraday , in which a Net surfer downloads the secrecies of the universe and sees himself propelled in a fantastic world. Wildstorm breaks then with the stereotypes associated with Image comics by publishing the series The Authority and Planetary, giving a depth and a mythology to the Wildstorm universe, thanks to the scenario writer English Warren Ellis. While then publishing the America' S Best Comics of Alan Moore, they brought back this author independent on the front of the scene after titles like From Hell, Brought to Light and Lost Girls. It was mainly due to the respect of Moore for Lee, on a professional plan and gentleman at the same time.

End 1998, Lee left Image Comics, selling Wildstorm with cd. Comics. Its career of editor curbed his career of artist, and it wished to find its roots. In 2003 it worked on Batman with the scenario writer Jeph Loeb, and in 2004 on Superman with Brian Azzarello.

In 2005 it launches under the new label All-Star of cd., the series Batman and Robin, The Boy Wonder , scenarized by Frank Miller, putting in scene the formation of Robin by Batman.

Continuous Lee to direct the company which it founded, launching of new artists like J. Scott Campbell and Travis Charest.

Jim Lee does not have any family tie with the illustrator of comics Jae Lee and even less with Stan Lee.

Bibliography France

Series Batman at Semic, with Jeph Loeb:

Hush - the Ransom (2003)
Hush - the Friend/the Animal (2003)
Hush - the City (2003)
Hush - the Battle (2003)
Hush - the Opera (2003)
Hush - the Joke (2003)
Hush - Death/the Assassins (2004)
Hush - the Tomb/the Part (2004)
Hush - End (2004)
Batman inquires in the hollows of Gotham (2004)
Silence 1 (2004) ISBN 2-84857-083-0
Silence 2 (2004) ISBN 2-84857-107-1
Silence 3 (2005) ISBN 2-84857-124-1

Série Batman at Semic, with Brian Azzarello:

Volume 11 (2004)
Batman/Superman (2004)

Punisher: Newspaper of war , Marvel France (2005) - ISBN 2-84538-305-3
Divine Series Right , Semic: 7 volumes between 1998 and 2000.
Everquest - ruins of Kunark , Albin Michel (2003) - ISBN 2-226-13533-2
Series Factor-X , Semic then Marvel France (participations)
Wonder Woman , Semic (2002) with Stan Lee
Superman - For tomorrow (1), Semic (2004)
Wild CATS/X-Men #2 - the era of the lights, Sun Productions (2000) with Scott Lobdell - ISBN 2-84565-080-9
Series WildCATS - the first 7 volumes (1995 - 1996)
Series X-Men - the revenge on the Mandarin (1998), Bethy - ISBN 2-912320-25-9
Jim Lee Millenium Edition , Delcourt (2007) - ISBN 9782756007847

Bonds

Gelatometti, the blog of Jim Lee (www.jimlee.net)
Interview of Jim Lee on france5.fr
Gallery of drawings of Jim Lee

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