SDCC 2011: Jim Lee Interview

The co-publisher of DC Comics talks about drawing again, digital comics and diversity in comic books.

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39 Comments

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thisbeadam

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Edited By thisbeadam

OMG. @Babs must be hella short if Jim Lee is taller

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sinful

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Edited By sinful

woot jim lee!

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thanobomb1124

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Edited By thanobomb1124

Lee!! : )

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Nihilus_Shadow

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Edited By Nihilus_Shadow

I f*cking love Jim Lee

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doordoor123

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Edited By doordoor123
@Babs said:

@cdeoleo said:

Really enjoyed listening to Jim but he is definitely wrong on diversity. Just look at the rainbow coalition that is the X-Men, something I always enjoyed about the X books.

There's also the issue of the number of female creators working at DC dropping from 12% to 1% with the revamp, something I don't think is intentional, but still. Wish I had asked him about that!


Sure X-men has some strong female characters but no other female character at Marvel can support a book. DC is known for their character development-- which is why DC has such strong female characters. There is no bias. DC is constantly expanding characters and making them lovable. Characters like Stephanie Brown and Mera were characters that couldnt have supported a book but because DC has been "building" them, Stephanie has gotten to be a contender in the DC universe. Mera seems to still be a work in progress, but she has gained more and more acceptance as a superhero. As we turn to Marvel, we see the same characters getting the same attention over and over again. Not many of them new or female. And the ones that ARE female tend to be generalized as a "Marvel" woman. Which is every female character at Marvel. The characteristics of a "Marvel" woman is usually sexual, smart and powerful. As if all women are like that. There is no originality, which I find disrespectful as a potential writer.  
There are actually a number of female creators working at DC. Just because they arent in the initial launch, doesnt mean they dont have other jobs they are doing. There are a number of females working at DC that have confirmed that they are working on future projects on their twitter accounts. Just because you see people complaining all over the internet, it doesnt mean they know what theyre talking about. People want to find every excuse to put down the relaunch. This is just another one of those.   
When the female projects are revealed, there are still going to be people complaining because there wont be enough. But in REALITY, DC is only looking for the best talent in this field. Its not their fault that there arent many female creators that can step up to the plate.
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ObsideonDarman

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Edited By ObsideonDarman

Jim Lee is an extremely nice dude.

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ImperiousRix

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Edited By ImperiousRix

I might not agree or believe everything Lee's saying, and I'm far from a big Jim Lee fan, but he definitely seems sincere and enthusiastic about this entire thing.  It's enough to get anybody excited about it. 
Great stuff coming out of SDCC!

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shawn87

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Edited By shawn87

I dont see the attraction to digital comics. But if it increases business for the comic industry that's great 

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Outside_85

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Edited By Outside_85

Still wonder where they put Nicola Scott in all of this... 
 
as for diversity, someone really should make a poll somewhere that maps out all the different genders, orientations and races of the characters from different comic companies and another one that maps out their creative staff. But i agree with him, there shouldn't be quotas for private companies to live up to regarding male/female balance, its not a slam against women from my side, but companies want the best people that they can get to do the jobs, regardless of gender. The problem really only arises when someone is picked (or not) because of their gender rather than their qualifications.

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keithmoon316

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Edited By keithmoon316

Great interview, Jim Lee seems so sincere and honest. He comes off as a fan and a boss. 

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Baal_Sagoth

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Edited By Baal_Sagoth

Excellent interview! I especially enjoyed the background questions about the relaunch and digital sales. That stuff is very fascinating to me and you got some very good answers. Nice.

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AMS

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Edited By AMS

So Jim... ermm Wildstorm? remember that company you set up and sold to DC, Quite alot of us where big fans, are we getting any more than Grifter, Voodoo, Stormwatch and the Coda in the DCnU?

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Utandi

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Edited By Utandi

Really great interview. 
 
Jim Lee is the man!

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maxicere

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Edited By maxicere

This man need a kick in your a..s. He destroy the DC Universe....

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turoksonofstone

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Edited By turoksonofstone
@Babs said:

@cdeoleo said:

Really enjoyed listening to Jim but he is definitely wrong on diversity. Just look at the rainbow coalition that is the X-Men, something I always enjoyed about the X books.

There's also the issue of the number of female creators working at DC dropping from 12% to 1% with the revamp, something I don't think is intentional, but still. Wish I had asked him about that!

me too.
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Mesamia

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Edited By Mesamia

Been a a fan of Jim's for years, was sorta meh a while ago about the JLA reboot stuff, but all really looking at the it I am getting pumped up.

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1fearless1

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Edited By 1fearless1

@xhavoc86 
@MrUnknown 
@adribones 
Thanks for your reply guys! But those you've mentioned are MOSTLY female characters that are  karate masters or has super intellect powers . Cassandr Cain was gaining too much fan base that WB/DC had to make her a villain? Come on! Is that why? Someone explain this to me please? 
What happened to Ryan Choi? Sunfire, thank goodness there's actually one Asian character that doesn't know/use martial arts...often, but what a lame costume. Although I do like the from Age of Apocalypse one.  
Any way there are many Asian female characters out there but where are the Male Superheroes at? 

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keith71_98

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Edited By keith71_98
Babs asked some great questions. Jim Lee is a class act.
 
Jim brought up this phantom group of new readers that digital comics will bring in.Still don't see it.
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adribones

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Edited By adribones
@xhavoc86

and OMAC! no one knows that OMAC is Cambodian!:) odd that DC is pushing diversity but Didio & Giffen's baby get's no love:)
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Bestostero

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Edited By Bestostero
@adribones: The guys definitely need more work... Ryan Choi and Amadeus Cho are pretty much the only big names for the guys lol for girls, Psylocke, Doctor Light, Katana, Cassanddra Cain, Armor, Karma, Jubilee, Grace Choi, Cheshire, Shiva, Surge etc .... 
 
I'm sure there are more guys out there though that im not thinking of....like Sunfire lol
 
and i agree with the no more karate masters or super intellect powers, even though those are great skills to have lol
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MrUnknown

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Edited By MrUnknown

Awesome interview! This reassures that Cyborg wasn't just a random pick for the Justice League which it seemed like about a month ago. I'm excited for the new Justice League book!
@adribones: Don't forget Cassandra Cain! ;p

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LiquidSwords

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Edited By LiquidSwords

Great interview! I've been a Jim Lee fan since I was 12.

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adribones

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Edited By adribones
@Babs
the whole 1% thing has been blown out of proportion a bit though, Nicola Scott is working on an unannounced book for DC, Marjorie Liu & Kelley Sue Deconnick were boh approached by DC but it didnt work out (with KSD it was because DC needed a proposal in a very short time and she was already working on other projects), Jamal Igle is a very notable Black creator, not involved in the New 52 but like Scott is working on a new book. i suspect DC's roster of creators will look much better in six months or so. just a thought:)
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adribones

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Edited By adribones
@1fearless1
in the new Justice League The Atom is Ryan Choi, Chinese. also Element Women is Korean. in OMAC OMAC is Kevin Kho,
Cambodian. in the Flash, the lead vilain is filipino. Katana is Japanese in Birds of Prey. it's a good start i think:)
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RedheadedAtrocitus

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Excellent interview.  Him explaining the digital stuff makes me feel a LITTLE better about it but not much. Nice work habits though..lol working and then tweeting right there. That's kinda how I work if Im at my desk doing something.  Very personal side to him that I enjoy.  I like how he mentioned that comics are first and foremost for purposes of ENTERTAINMENT...with educational purposes being completely secondary.  He's right to not want to get into doing 'quotas' and all that, because like he said, its not about backgrounds of our heroes or content, its about something 'bigger than ourselves." Awesome!

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1fearless1

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Edited By 1fearless1
JIM---THIS IS DEFINITELY FOR YOU TO READ! 
Since you like reading my reaction online, I have something for you to really think about and get moving on it.  
I LOVE your work since The Punisher war journal series. You are a Great artist, BUT WE ARE LACKING  
ASIAN MALE SUPERHERO CHARACTERS!!!! NO MORE Martial artist Asian guys PLEASE!!!! That has been  
done to death. Give us Asian guys some super powered STRONG male characters! GET ON THE BALL JIM! 
 
You are a co-publisher now. Do something about it!
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zombietag

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Edited By zombietag

im more of a marvel guy, but i love jim. he seems so honest and passionate about his work and i respect that a lot. 
 
great interview, one of the ones i was more excited to see. thanks.

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SneakyPenguins

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Edited By SneakyPenguins

Great interview Babs. Jim Lee is an awesome guy, and is one of my favorite twitter feeds

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clumsyninja

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Edited By clumsyninja

WOW...Jim Lee just became my favorite figure on the comic world. Love his explanation on diversity on DC!!!!

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super_psycho

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Edited By super_psycho

awesome ..i m so excited :D ....

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cdeoleo

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Edited By cdeoleo
@Babs: On this front both publishers are lacking though but I think this says much more about the medium than any specific company. There very few examples of real women in comics, just about every woman in comics is a tall, large breasted, caucasian woman. It sucks because this may turn women away from comics since usually they are portrayed as objects. This in turn makes for a large part of comic readers male who just want to oogle at women so in turn publisher have to give the reader what they want and make more stereotypical women in comics. It a vicious circle, somebody has got to stop it and I think first the reader has to demand it. Still an awesome interview Babs
 
Sidenote: I think you would get a kick out of my about me section =]
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Morgaine_Levesque

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@Babs said:

@cdeoleo said:

Really enjoyed listening to Jim but he is definitely wrong on diversity. Just look at the rainbow coalition that is the X-Men, something I always enjoyed about the X books.

There's also the issue of the number of female creators working at DC dropping from 12% to 1% with the revamp, something I don't think is intentional, but still. Wish I had asked him about that!

I think the article you tweeted said it well. It's not intentional, but that doesn't mean it's not ignorant, especially when women can help cut down on the unintentional sexist stereotypes and bring a wider diversity to comics in general. It's not like there aren't tons of incredibly talented female creators. 
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No_Name_

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Edited By No_Name_

@cdeoleo said:

Really enjoyed listening to Jim but he is definitely wrong on diversity. Just look at the rainbow coalition that is the X-Men, something I always enjoyed about the X books.

There's also the issue of the number of female creators working at DC dropping from 12% to 1% with the revamp, something I don't think is intentional, but still. Wish I had asked him about that!

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cdeoleo

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Edited By cdeoleo

Really enjoyed listening to Jim but he is definitely wrong on diversity. Just look at the rainbow coalition that is the X-Men, something I always enjoyed about the X books.

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ArtisticNeedham

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Edited By ArtisticNeedham

I am so excited to get the new JLA comic, especially with Lee drawing it, and with Cyborg on the team.  I like the character so I am glad he is getting some more screen time.  The more I see of the comics, the 52, the more I am excited.  But I wont get most of them I think, just a few like JLA and maybe Superman or something.

No Caption Provided
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Kal'smahboi

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Edited By Kal'smahboi

Well, he seems like a very pleasant man. He also seems genuinely excited about what's coming in the DCU, which gives me hope for the reboot.

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Bestostero

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Edited By Bestostero

Wished he would talk some about WildCATs and the possibility of more characters crossing over...
 
and oh diversity...it just seems to me that new characters are created and introduced all the time but nothing really new or different really comes too... but i agree that the focus should be on creating great stories and what not, whether that be with female/male writers/artists with whatever characters... just glad Ryan Choi is gonna return lol

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batflasharrow96

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Edited By batflasharrow96

Jim is so much nicer than Dan.

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thorwhore

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Edited By thorwhore

He's the man. Nuff said.