Marvel’s Silver Age has often been described as the injection of the soap operatic into the super-heroic. Ergo, the notion of Stan Lee doing titles for Archie Comics - - purveyors of comicdom’s longest-running soaps - - has a nice circular logic to it.
Stan won’t be writing new adventures for Riverdale’s favorite redhead teen, however. Nor will he be doing a project like JUST IMAGINE… STAN LEE CREATING ARCHIE. Nope nope nope…
Instead, Lee’s POW Entertainment is partnering with Archie and A Square Entertainment to start a new line of print and digital comics.
SUPER SEVEN… [is] the story about seven aliens who find themselves stranded on planet Earth after their spaceship crashes, only to be befriended by none other than Lee himself. Taking them under his care, Lee becomes their leader and enables them to resume their lives as superheroes on earth.
A Square Entertainment Co-Founder and CEO Andy Heyward’s got nothing but praise for the Godfather of Marvel…
“A2 Entertainment is humbled and honored to be collaborating with such a legendary figure in the entertainment industry. Stan Lee has been delivering groundbreaking entertainment to consumers for decades and we couldn’t be more excited to venture into the digital space together and introduce him to a new generation of fans.”
Very nice, but nobody says it ( or tweets it) like the Stan-Man…
“Nothing is more exciting to me, as a writer, than creating a new type of story or introducing a new theme. Although I’ve briefly appeared in other comics, SUPER SEVEN is the first time that I’ll actually be a continuing character in a far-out, original superhero series. Having been a fan of the Archie Comics line for many decades, it’s a real kick to have this opportunity to help them launch my new, highly-stylized superhero saga which we’ll soon bequeath to a grateful public.”
Rather than being like a swordfish, who can only strike with its single horn, SUPER SEVEN’s going to lash out at you like an octopus, with eight tentacles of multi-media fury! It won’t just be hitting your spinner rack - - no no no - - the series is set to drop into “digital, print and broadcast” this fall, covering all current media (and probably some that haven’t even been invented yet).
What caught my sinister eye the most in this press release is that A Square Entertainment’s specialty seems to be developing adventurous family content starring real-life personalities. In addition to this, they’ve got the SECRET MILLIONAIRE’S CLUB starring super-businessman Warren Buffett, GISELE & THE GREEN TEAM starring super-model Gisele Bündchen and MARTHA & FRIENDS super... well, Martha, Martha Stewart.
If they can manage to get Michael Jordan’s incarnation from SPACE JAM into this mix, I would gladly fork over the cash to witness all five of them eventually form an Avenger-like super-group.
For a guy nearing his 90s, Stan’s energy is nothing short of astounding. It’s probably enough to power a city. Gadzooks! This is the second story we’ve done about him today! The guy’s more spry that most young’ins these days and I can vouch personally for that, having met the man back at the William Morris Party at Comic Con ’08. The historical meeting forever is documented by this out-of-step and out-of-focus photograph below.
