How Jim Lee became a comic legend

@JimLee, President, Publisher, and Chief Creative Officer of @dcofficial tells us how his childhood obsession with Superman changed his life.

Jim Lee is synonymous with DC Comics now, but when he was first charting his path, his family pushed him towards medical school. In this interview, Jim shares how he reasoned with his parents and bought time to pursue his dream of being a comic book artist over the span of a gap year.

We created this video in partnership with Unlikely Collaborators.

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About Jim Lee:

Jim Lee, a world-renowned comic book artist, writer, editor and publisher, is currently Chief Creative Officer of DC (DC) and Publisher for the company.

Known for his incredibly detailed and dynamic artistic style, Lee is one of the most revered and respected artists in American comics. A veritable legend in the industry, he has received numerous accolades and recognition for his work, including the Harvey Special Award for New Talent in 1990, the Inkpot Award in 1992, and the Wizard Fan Award in 1996, 2002 and 2003.

[TreiberSeptim]

Man, Jim Lee‘s art is some of my favourite in all of comic history. It’s always gorgeous. I’m glad he followed his dreams 🙏

[johnnyguitar]

Jim Lee is my real life comic book hero. Been a huge fan of his art since I was a kid!

[sophiaisabelle]

Jim Lee has become a legend through his immense dedication, commitment and hard work. He's truly one hell of a model for the younger generation.

[mammajamma]

It's hard to express the love and appreciation for your parents while at the same time breaking the cycles they impose on us as children. My heart goes out to Jim for having the courage to chase his dreams despite his parent's objections. As children of immigrant parents, it is a duality we often have to grapple with and come out the other side with our sanity intact.

[richardabia]

Jim Lee is a Great artist and a Great person !!!
God bless him and his family

[Nightscream]

Wow. As someone who both followed Jim Lee since the 90s, and written/edited almost half the material in his Wikipedia article, I thought I knew most of the major details that went into how he went about becoming an artist, including the fact that he made a deal with his parents to apply to medical school if he did not break into the comics industry within one year.

But I had not heard that there was a heated argument that led to Jim fleeing the house, the amends they made with him, the fact that they fled SK because of the war, or the car accident Jim was involved in as a child. etc. What a moving video. Thanks for sharing this with us, Jim.

[YourAverageNiche]

The best JIM LEE video ever produced.
The production team did him justice especially this is such a personal topic for him as shown at the end where his eyes swallowed back tears. Such an inspirational journey!

[aersiul]

Man, Jim is such a great inspiration for me. Not just because he's one of the best at his job. But also because he's an awesome Dad

[Hobo]

the fact that they both never showed any of his artwork was strange…Even if it was only his non-proprietary stuff to avoid any copyright issues. in addition
, ppl who watched this perhaps believe that his art style is similar to the animation used in this video? if so, obviously doing the man a disservice, but that being said, i’m happy he got featured ❤

[bencera]

Loved his art while growing up, made so many classics

[shutinalley]

Jim Lees a freaking legend. Thank you for the art, sir.

[haloed-hero]

A Master of his craft, that strives to be better and says you never stop learning. He’s a huge inspiration on many comic artist including myself. Thanks Mr. Jim Lee

[stormtrooper]

I first saw Jim Lee's art when my uncle had a stash of X-Men comics in his room. Ever since then, I always loved his art style and wished that I too could draw my own comics someday.

[joewillsart]

Jim Lee has been one of my greatest inspirations and I've been following his career for many years. Hope to one day meet him in person and really pick his brain. True greatness in action.

[hyunseon.kim]

As a native Korean it was so interesting to see your experience (and of course the pressure of success) leading to your dream!! 정말 대단하십니다 :)

[the_artistic_avenger]

A true superhero origin of his own. What an inspiration for all.

[pixelcharlie]

He has NINE kids?!? That's insane! Very rare nowadays. But anyway, I learned how to draw by copying Jim Lee's art. I'm sure a lot of people who are familiar with his work in the 90s, who eventually got into drawing, probably say the same thing. He is a living legend!

[leeparenzee]

To this day Jim Lee is my Favorite artist on planet earth...the way henry Cavil and ben Affleck look as batman and superman is the way Jim lee draws them as characters before Cavil & Ben were even casted, and that reflects on his version of X-men aswell. his crazy talented and such a big inspiration.

[thunderkid]

Absolute legend, truly one of the best to ever touch the medium of comics. I sincerely hope he comes back to draw the X-Men one more time.

[soup]

OMG! Jim is my all time favorite penciler! Dude's X-men shit is LEGENDARY!