It took God six days to make the universe. Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee is trying to create his own in two.
The 85-year-old comic legend, who also co-created such characters as the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, among others, when he ran Marvel Comics, has been hired by Virgin Comics to build the fledgling publisher a collection of new superheroes - to be unveiled next year. Virgin territory for Lee Legendary comic books creator set to conjure new marvels.
Lee told The News at last weekend's New York Comic Con that he planned to cancel all his appointments for two days - an eternity for the mercurial Lee - to think up his superteam. No matter what he comes up with, the signing is big news in an industry dominated by two companies: Marvel Entertainment and DC Comics accounted for a combined 72% of sales last year, according to Diamond Comics, the largest comic distributor in the country.
"They're giving me carte blanche to create a whole new group of characters, to hire any artist I want, any writer I want," said Lee. "They say, it's no big deal, we'll fly them out to the [West] Coast for you to interview them.
"I had never had that privilege when I worked at Marvel; we couldn't afford subway fare for the guys to come across town."
It's an A-Rod-size free-agent signing by an upstart company that already has assembled a Murderers' Row of Hollywood heavy hitters. Only last month, Virgin Comics announced that actor Hugh Jackman was co-writing a sci-fi comic, "Nowhere Man," that will debut in October. Also in the fold are directors John Woo and Guy Ritchie, ex-porn star Jenna Jameson, pop group Duran Duran and actors Nicolas Cage and Ed Burns.
Then again, Virgin Comics isn't a start-up operation operating out of an unknown artist's garage. It's funded by the deep pockets of billionaire Richard Branson and spearheaded by the Indian brain trust of editor-in-chief Gotham Chopra, Deepak Chopra and "Elizabeth" director Shekhar Kapur. Kapur's Hollywood connections have helped the company rise like one of Branson's venturous hot air balloons.
"We've gone to filmmakers and said, 'What's that story you've always wanted to make, but you don't want to spend two months in development hell?' said Virgin's CEO, Sharad Devarajan. "Comics are like a movie with an unlimited budget."
One of those filmmakers who bought the pitch was Burns. The 40-year-old actor/director's comic, Dock Walloper, about a brawler with a gigantic fist in the 1920s, was the result of his youthful fascination in Woodside, Queens, with the Irish mob during Prohibition.
"I wrote a script years ago and tried to get that film made, and couldn't do it because it was too expensive," said Burns.
However, after seeing "Sin City," Burns said he told himself: "'Well, why not take a slightly more exaggerated approach to those characters?'"
Like most of those pitching story lines to Virgin, Burns is eying a movie deal. Ritchie is already set to direct a film version of his own comic, "The Gamekeeper," for Warner Bros. But according to Vito Delsante, a manager at Jim Hanley's Universe comic book store in midtown, fickle comic book fans won't be as easy to win over as Hollywood executives.
"I think it's more of a wait-and-see attitude," said Delsante.
Lee, though, is sure that if he builds it, fans will come.
"Just as I once did the Marvel Universe, I'm now gonna do my best to create a 'Virginverse' - except I'll try to find a cleverer name for it."
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