For Stan Lee, golfing in Florida is out of the question. At 82, the force behind Marvel Comics' golden era and the creator of Spider-Man, the X-Men and the Incredible Hulk has plenty more superheroes to unleash on the world. Profiled by the Los Angeles Times Magazine in 2000 as he launched Stan Lee Media, an ambitious Internet entertainment venture, Lee has since weathered the company's bankruptcy and a financial scandal that saw its officers facing federal criminal charges. (No charges or allegations of wrongdoing were brought against Lee.) With nary a pause, he hatched a new entertainment venture last year, and in January a federal court awarded him a percentage of all TV and movie profits earned by Marvel on Stan Lee characters. Marvel vowed to appeal and wrangling continues over merchandising profits, but Lee's creative cylinders are firing up for projects such as turning Ringo Starr into a cartoon superhero.
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Early this year a federal court ruled that you should receive a percentage of Marvel's TV and movie profits on your superheroes.
It was in the contract. I felt the company ought to honor it. It was a contractual issue. It had nothing to do with getting credit for creating something. I've always gotten that. I can't speak for others, but for me, it's important that the contract is fulfilled. It's pure business.
How did Stan Lee Media, a venture that promised to bring boffo entertainment to the Web, end up facing bankruptcy and fraud charges?
I don't like talking about it, because I don't like knocking other people. We were quite successful and had been written up in all the magazines and trade journals. Unfortunately, an executive at the company did some illegal things and that brought the company down. I don't want to get into the details, but he's been in jail, and he's just pleaded guilty after all this time. It was a terrible thing. I haven't followed Internet companies since then, because I've soured on the whole thing.
Are you a good businessperson?
No, I'm not. Maybe I could be if I worked at it, but I spend all my time writing and dealing with the other creatives. It's impossible for me to be both; I just don't have the time. I try to be aware of what's going on, but it's the age-old conundrum.
Do you see limitations in the Internet as an entertainment medium?
