Featuring Dave Gibbons, Jerry Ordway, Jim Lee, Joe Kubert, John Buscema and Kevin Maguire…
When Stan Lee died in 2018, naturally the vast majority of the focus was on his co-creation of the Marvel Universe and his spectacular impact on global pop culture.
But a lot of fans overlooked the fact that Lee also dipped his mustache into the world of DC with a series of one-shots dubbed Just Imagine that had Stan the Man re-invent the biggest stars of the Distinguished Competition, along with some of the best artists in comics.
The stories, which launched in 2001, have been collected before but have been out of print for a number of years — and DC is bringing them back in March 2020 with Just Imagine Stan Lee Creating the DC Universe: Book One, according to a listing on Amazon.
Check out the official description, along with placeholder art:
JUST IMAGINE STAN LEE CREATING THE DC UNIVERSE: BOOK ONE
A new collection of the 2001 event in which Stan Lee reinvented DC’s greatest heroes. Back in print following the comic book legend’s passing in 2018.
Stan Lee, the writer who co-created Marvel’s greatest super heroes, reimagines DC’s greatest heroes.
Collects Just Imagine Stan Lee with Dave Gibbons Creating Green Lantern #1, Just Imagine Stan Lee with Jerry Ordway Creating JLA #1, Just Imagine Stan Lee with Jim Lee Creating Wonder Woman #1, Just Imagine Stan Lee with Joe Kubert Creating Batman #1, Just Imagine Stan Lee with John Buscema Creating Superman #1 and Just Imagine Stan Lee with Kevin Maguire Creating Flash #1.
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A couple thoughts:
— A lot of fans believed that Just Imagine was little more than a publicity stunt, that Lee had little to do with the production of the stories. Well, Dave Gibbons can tell you just how much Lee had to do with the series: Click here for Gibbons’ guest column on Lee that he wrote for 13th Dimension last year when the comics impresario died at 95.
— Caveat: The paperback, which lists for $34.99, has yet to be officially solicited by DC, so things can change. Either way, keep your eyes peeled.
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MORE
— A VISIONARY: Comics Pros on STAN LEE and His Legacy. Click here.
— Dig DAVID MACK’s Marvelous Tribute to STAN LEE. Click here.
November 1, 2019
Really? There’s so much great stuff that DC refuses to reprint, but we get this? No thanks.
November 2, 2019
Ok. So you’re not a fan of Stan Lee. That’s cool.
I am, so I hope this sells well.
November 2, 2019
I’m a big fan of Stan Lee; just not this stuff. There is tons of better material that DC should reprint before this.
November 2, 2019
Perhaps, but how many other titles can DC publish that would serve to honor Stan Lee?
November 2, 2019
These were not Stan Lee’s best stuff. I got them all when they came out, and I remember thinking that the dialogue was pretty terrible. Like matte41, I question why DC would reprint this lacklustre series yet again when they have so much other, better stuff in their past to reprint.
November 2, 2019
Whether or not one is of the opinion that this was Stan Lee’s best or not is irrelevant.
As I imply above, DC apparently wished to honor Stan Lee’s memory & this is all they have in their archives to do so.
I don’t see it being a big seller, and I can’t logically see that as a major motivating factor to publish this.
It’s being made available for fans of Stan Lee & I don’t see it “getting in the way” of publishing other things.