The DC Pinnacle and Beyond
Lee was faced with a hard decision in the late '90s: what to do next. The comics industry was collapsing; Marvel had declared bankruptcy, and infighting at Image had resulted in the dismissal of company cofounder Rob Liefeld.
Lee explains: "The comics industry was reeling from overproduction and over-speculation, and the business model was shifting from a periodical-based model to one that was being increasingly driven by books, which required a lot more capital and storage to create and manage."
Lee reached out to DC comics and sold it his WildStorm line of characters. "I didn't have the infrastructure or the resources to make that shift [to books], so that's when I entered into talks with Paul Levitz — then DC's publisher — to see if a deal could be had. They would get additional, fresh concepts and characters from WildStorm, and [WildStorm] in return would benefit from DC's deep organizational depth, expertise and resources. ... This was back in 1998, so I have been with DC [for] 24 years and running now. It proved the right decision."
After a few years of getting WildStorm running at DC, the weight of managing his former Image imprint was lifted. Now, Lee was able to refocus his career on illustrating comics, and he was diving into DC's famed roster for the first time.
"Doing long runs on a comic book remains the most important way for creators to connect with fans," Lee says. "And I had been at DC at that point for like three years without working on any comic book on a regular basis. I was feeling a bit antsy — like I needed to get back into the game, so I started to talk to writer and friend Jeph Loeb about what we could work on together. I remember him replying that there's no bigger character than Batman ... let's do a Batman for the ages and touch on as many cool elements of the Batman mythos as possible and create a story that would both celebrate the world of Batman [and be] a gripping detective story."
Together Lee and Loeb created Batman: Hush.
"The fans showed up in a very big way," Lee says, "making Batman: Hush a perennial bestseller. Up to that point, I was still known primarily for my runs on The X-Men over at Marvel, and Batman: Hush really changed that perception. To this day, my runs on X-Men and Batman: Hush are the two most common runs fans bring to me to get autographed at signings."
Lee continued his illustration career at DC with Superman: For Tomorrow, written by Brian Azzarello in 2004. The following year, he returned to Batman for the hyper-intense All-Star Batman & Robin, for which he collaborated with one of his major influences, Frank Miller.
But Lee's career soon pivoted again: In 2010, he became co-publisher of DC comics alongside Dan DiDio.
Lee jumped into his role as publisher in a big way by completely relaunching the entire line of DC comic books in 2011 with the New 52.
"We wanted to think as boldly as possible but felt constrained by continuity and the decades of storytelling that had led us to that point in time, particularly around Superman's status quo and how it wasn't resonating with younger, newer fans," Lee says. "Once we started talking about a line-wide relaunch, you could see the continuity shackles come undone and the collective enthusiasm and passion for what would eventually become the New 52 emerge out of those early creative discussions."
Lee was responsible for illustrating the flagship New 52 title Justice League, which set a framework for Zack Snyder's later film adaptation. Lee's first foray into publishing DC Comics was a big success.
"It was an amazing moment, which then went on to define the first five years of my time as co-publisher, and the New 52 was a creative touchstone that drove every part of the organization to how our characters were represented in film, TV, animation, consumer products and games."
By 2020, Lee had taken the dual role as sole publisher and chief creative officer for DC.
"As publisher, it's all about keeping this venerable, iconic mythology alive and growing. To not have the mythos ossified in amber, so to speak," Lee says. "Given the prominence of superheroes in today's pop culture, it's vital that our universe represent and reflect the true diversity and interests of our fans all around the world. As chief creative officer, it's my role to be the liaison between publishing and all the ways our characters are brought to life in media and ensure that every production is steeped in authenticity and comics lore."
In a recent episode of Cartoonist Kayfabe, a popular comic-book YouTube series, host Ed Piskor and Jim Rugg discuss Lee's career, and posit that Lee's influence on the comic industry defined at least a decade of comic creators. This can be seen in the obvious influence Lee had on later superstar artists like Michael Turner and Jim Chung, and in his less obvious but equally important influence on indie artists like Bryan Lee O'Mally, creator of Scott Pilgrim. Though now his successful publishing career is arguably just as influential to his story as his world-renowned comic illustrations.
Recently, Lee's career landed him as the special guest on Sesame Street where he welcomed the first Korean American Muppet, Ji-Young, to the show.
"It was an incredible honor, and a moment where everything in my life came back around for me, full circle. Because when my family moved to the U.S. when I was just five — I didn't speak a lick of English, and I really learned the language from two primary touch points: one, reading comic books, and two, watching Sesame Street.
"Having these life-defining influences come together in a moment [that] also celebrated diversity and inclusion in today's polarizing times was a very emotional and powerful experience for me and definitely ranks as a career high point."
Lee's success is truly the best example of the American Dream. He's an immigrant whose talent and hard work helped define an American art form.
"I can safely say that every aspect of the industry has changed from the time I was reading and collecting comics as a kid growing up in St. Louis. Simply put — what used to be a passion that I literally hid in the closet has come to dominate the world of pop culture in such a big way ... to the point where it feels just unbelievable at times.
"It's truly the geeky inheriting the earth."
