Ken Williams. Courtesy of Stan Lee Media.

Yeah, But Who Wants To Work With Us?
SLM now boasts over 160 top-notch industry players and creatives, all fueling its forward journey. Peter Paul explains it well, saying, "Stan has attracted the best array of talent ever assembled for the Internet because he's Stan Lee and he's had an impact on most of the people in the creative community today." Paul describes their company as "a true 'convergence studio' with people representing each disciplined media talent. So it's truly a mixture of cultures — from analog and digital to Internet, from television and films to Flash." To name but a few of their team: Ken Williams, 18 year veteran of Sony Pictures Entertainment, is now President and CEO; Stephen Brain, recognized as establishing the Fox Animation Studios, is now Exec VP of Production, charged with converging SLM's diverse media talents; George Hamilton, well-known actor and businessman, signed on as President of Global Branded Entertainment, a new division responsible for signing internationally recognized talent as well as other innovative endeavors; and Jamie Wilkinson is onboard as Exec VP, Internet Strategy, after spending the past three years fashioning Disney Online production.

And Just What Is This Super Hero Stuff?
Showcasing Lee's signature style -- encompassing irresistible elements of conflict, suspense, heroism and humanity -- the studio's first two Flash produced series 7th Portal and Accuser launched in February and May of this year, respectively. The response has been overwhelming as both series (with new Webisodes biweekly) attract millions of devoted fans each month. And Hollywood is taking quick notice, as well. Working in "Internet time," it was mere weeks after its Net debut that 7th Portal was marked by industry heavyweight Mark Canton for a big-budget theatrical co-production deal.

Stan Lee working with the Backstreet Boys? © Stan Lee Media.

Their third original series, a dramatic techno-punk styled property The Drifter, is soon to make its on-line debut -- and, garnering a lot of advance heat, is the company's new franchise called Backstreet Project. In a team effort with music phenom the Backstreet Boys, SLM has co-created an animated Web series and elaborate comic book line starring alter-ego super heroes based on the tremendously popular teen-throb band. With a major $15 million Burger King promotion set to roll, the premiere will be Webcast 'live' on August 27th from the Hard Rock in Orlando, Florida. IBM will power the on-line event to a worldwide audience. Then, mixing in another music genre property, SLM also recently announced a partnership with Mary J. Blige to co-venture a Super Heroine franchise based on the "Queen of Hip-Hop Soul," herself. Preceding the Webisodes' launch (expected sometime this fall), SLM produced a short animated video that is playing to terrific response before Blige's live concert audiences -- and can be previewed now up on stanlee.net.

Other co-branded ventures currently positioned to get Stan Lee's personal treatment are a futuristic extension of the long-running TV series Cops, something wild with the Wu Tu Clan, a new franchise based on the recently acquired and highly successful Conan, The Barbarian character -- and, in the science fiction sphere, a property based on sci-fi master Gene Roddenberry's unpublished Starship material.

Clearly, plans for all SLM projects encompass strategies for spreading out from their Net 'worlds' (filled with Flash animation, puzzles, games, trivia and community) to any and all multi-platforms of traditional TV, video, features, print and merchandising. Paul is confident SLM has the chops for these mega-endeavors, stating, "We actually have the ability to create fresh properties, understand brand, and to attract other best-of-breed partners from each niche market of the global popular culture -- to continue to enhance our brand and build our audience as an amalgamation of all these other audiences for different entertainment genres." With the power of creative and technical partnerships across the world, he is secure Stan Lee Media will soon be "the largest independent aggregators of globally branded entertainment content deployed on the Internet."