Stan Lee - Stan Lee's How to Draw Superheroes From the Legendary Co-creator of the Avengers, Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and Iron Man

Co-writers: Danny Fingeroth, Keith Dallas, Robert Sodaro

Contributing artists: David Enebral, Javier Aranda, Ivan Nunes, Vinicius Andrande, Adriano Lucas, Alex Ross, Jack Kirby, John Romita, Jr., Frank Miller, John Byrne, Jim Lee, John Buscema, Paul Renaud, Jim Cheung, Mark Bagley, Ale Garza, Francesco Francavilla, Lucio Parillo, Joe Shuster, Mark Bagley, Will Eisner, Ed Benes, Steve McNiven, Tim Bradstreet, J. Scott Campbell, Phil Hester, Tim Seeley, Joe Jusko, and Chris Caniano.

Copyright 2013 by Dynamite Entertainment

All rights reserved.
Published in the United States by Watson-Guptill Publications, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc., New York.
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WATSON-GUPTILL is a registered trademark and the WG and Horse designs are trademarks of Random House, Inc.

Produced in association with Dynamite Entertainment

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Nick Barrucci, CEO/Publisher
Juan Collado, President/COO
Joe Rybandt, Senior Editor
Josh Johnson, Art Director
Rich Young, Director Business Development
Jason Ullmeyer, Senior Designer
Josh Green, Traffic Coordinator
Chris Caniano, Production Assistant

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Lee, Stan, 1922- .
Stan Lees how to draw superheroes.First edition.
Includes index.
1. Superheroes in art. 2. Comic strip characters. 3. Figure drawingTechnique. I. Title.
NC1764.8.H47L44 2013
741.51dc23 2012030528

eBook ISBN: 978-0-8230-9846-0
Trade Paperback: 978-0-8230-9845-3

Text and cover design by Ken Crossland
Cover illustration by Ardian Syaf

Special thanks to POW! Entertainment, Inc., Gil Champion, Michael Kelleher, Arthur Lieberman, Luke Lieberman, Mike Kelly, Heritage Auctions, Michael Lovitz, Digikore, Carol Punkus, Dave Altoff, Mike Raicht, Eli Bard, Gregory Pan and Eduardo Alpuente.

Stan Lee, Excelsior, Stan Lee Presents and 2012 Stan Lee and POW! Entertainment, Inc.

How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way 1979 Stan Lee & John Buscema

Dynamite, Dynamite Entertainment, and the Dynamite Entertainment colophon are and 2012 DFI. All Rights Reserved.

LORD OF THE JUNGLE and 2012 Dynamite Characters, LLC

Warlord of Mars and 2012 Dynamite Characters, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

The Phantom and 2012 King Features, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

JENNIFER BLOOD 2012 Spitfire Productions, Ltd. and Dynamite Entertainment. All characters and elements of JENNIFER BLOOD are Spitfire Productions, Ltd. and Dynamite Entertainment. All Rights Reserved.

Copyright 2012 The Green Hornet, Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Green Hornet, Black Beauty, Kato, and the hornet logos are trademarks of The Green Hornet, Inc. www.thegreenhornet.com

PROJECT SUPERPOWERS, all characters featured in this book, the distinctive names, images, elements, logos, symbols, and likenesses contained therein and associated therewith that have been reproduced (collectively intellectual property) are and 2012 Dynamite Characters, LLC

Vampirella is and 2012 DFI. All Rights Reserved.

Marvel, and all related character names and their distinctive likenesses: and 2012 Marvel Entertainment, LLC and its subsidiaries. All rights reserved.

Images and likenesses of DC Comics characters and 2012 DC Comics

v3.1

In the summer of 1941, readers were treated to the most unbelievable character of all time. On a hot, sticky day kids plunked down their dimes, bought USA Comics #1, and were treated to the chilling exploits of Jack Frost, my very first creation.

Back in those pioneering days, just about anything was accepted without question and, truth to tell, not a lot of thought went into these new heroes and villains. Each comic was 64 pages and there was a voracious need for new material, so I didnt have to think too hard about who he was and what made him a hero. It was, however, excellent on-the-job training.

After two decades of creating heroes, villains, funny animals, funny gals, and tons of monsters I finally got the hang of it and was ready to show what I could really do, when publisher Martin Goodman walked into my office in the spring of 1941 and said something like, Gimme a superhero team comic.

I have been creating characters for sixty-plus years and have learned a thing or two. Ive had to create them for print, for the Web, for sports teams, for television, and for other sources I never imagined back when my so-called career began.

From Jack Frost through my recent Mighty Seven, I have been creating new characters, and learning something with each one. Now, for the first time anywhere, Im taking all that wisdom and experience and putting it in one volume so that you can learn how its done.

In the pages that follow, you are going to learn how to create different kinds of heroes and heroines as well as their friends and foes. Ill even spend some time exploring the nature and history of being a hero. In every chapter I talk about what goes into the character, but also give you some nifty tips on how to turn your ideas into pulse-pounding visuals.

Now, in the world you and I inhabit, our heroes tend to be those performing above the expectations of their jobs. A hero can be Chesley Sully Sullenberger, the famed pilot who kept his cool when engines failed and managed to land his plane on the Hudson River right by Manhattan. A team of heroes can be like Brooklyns Engine 201 Ladder 114 who, in 2011, rescued thirty-three people from a burning building without injury.

Acts of heroism and courage surround us, from the veteran learning to use prosthetics rather than sinking into despair to the eight-year-old raising money for charity by going door to door for months. Look around and you will see inspirational sights on a regular basis.

Now, for the purposes of dramatic comic book storytelling, imagine these courageous folk suddenly bestowed with that little something extra.

Your superhero somehow winds up obtaining amazing powers and abilities and doesnt know what to do with them. He cant punch out the office bully because hed send the villain into orbit. She was raised right by loving parents so she doesnt want to commit selfish acts (such as charging for her good deeds). He doesnt want to tell people about his powers because hes afraid of ridicule or worse, the government wanting to study him.