Lee, 87, who helped create Spider-Man, Iron
Man, and The Incredible Hulk, told Reuters his new comic "Stan Lee's
7," will launch early next year featuring none other than himself as a key
character, and it will be the first series from his new venture, Stan Lee
Comics. The stories, which will have a multimedia component on TV and the Web,
tell of seven aliens who find themselves stranded on Earth after their
spaceship crashes, and they are befriended by Lee. He becomes their leader and
enables them to resume their lives as superheroes on earth. "I wanted to
cash in on the reality TV show craze," he said. "It's not only a new
comic book with new super heroes, it is the world's first reality comic
book," Lee said. "Just as there are reality television shows, this
comic book features real people in the superhero story. It features me. I am part
of the cast of characters." Lee, who said he keeps a cabinet stocked with
40 to 50 new comic book ideas at his New York office, is certain the appetite
for superheroes and fantastic stories will never ebb, despite the recent
explosion of TV shows and movies featuring people with extra-human powers.
"I don't think you ever outgrow your love for things
that are bigger and more colorful than real life, and that's what superhero
stories are: they're really fairy tales for older people," he said.
