So, Who's Making All This Fly?
Tapped to creatively spearhead Stan Lee's Web-launched productions are three of the top animation action-genre producers of our times. A major coup for the company's roster came in January when producer, director, writer and artist Will Meugniot joined forces as Executive Vice President of Creative Production and Development. His vast credits include numerous animated series including The X-Men, Exosquad and the current Spider-Man Unlimited. Meugniot garnered early acclaim as a comic book artist, best known for his own long-running co-creation DNAgents franchise. Long a fore-runner on the animation front, he has won numerous industry awards including the 1999 Monitor for best director, a Genesis Award and double Emmy nominations for episodes of Captain Planet and The Real Ghostbusters. Having crossed paths with Stan Lee many times in the past, Meugniot's uncontrollable excitement about working with him again is infectious and he's keyed up by the overall level of expertise at his new home. "Across the board, the hiring of this company has been phenomenal." Collaborating with Peter Paul for the first time, Meugniot enthuses, "Peter's business plans and vision for the company are just amazing." In a very short time, he predicts, "This place will be an astonishing company."

A scene from Stan Lee Media's first Web series, The 7th Portal. © Stan Lee Media.

Meugniot's responsibilities are similar to an editor-in-chief -- supervising script development and the production of Webisodes as well as developing innovative content for overall Web site expansion. "Our first initiative, even before I got to the company," he explains, "was to try to get on the most high-end programs that were possible. And now that we've learned how to do that, our new commitment is to find ways to make those programs more user friendly." Designing stunning, visually stimulating stories within the realities of limited bandwidth, Meugniot admits, is an ongoing challenge. "What I found when I was producing The Drifter episodes was that it's almost like filmmaking but not quite. It is its own medium and it requires a little different thought process to maximize the entertainment value in relation to the download time." He goes on, "I think in time, the Webisodes -- the whole Flash animation thing -- will develop its own aesthetic."

Meugniot has also been working eagerly with SLM's Web site team on the radical re-design of their site, scheduled to unveil sometime later this month. "It's very streamlined," he says. "It has a consistent global navigation system at the top of every page and it's just graphically compelling. It'll be very different from what anybody else is doing at the moment." Additionally, they will be adding more features with original animation including short cartoons and character "specials," together with fresh and inventive series themed games. "We're really straining to make sure that every day you go up to stanlee.net, there's some fresh content for you to see."

When considering some of the new aspects of creating for the Internet, Meugniot states, "I'd say the number one thing now is that, as I'm looking at our new slate of development, it is the interactivity issue. It's like: how can we get the audience involved, give them something that functions as an entertainment with a linear story but still gives them the opportunity to be involved in the story in a way that they can't in a TV show." He readily believes that focusing on story and strong characters remains the classic bottom line; but notes that with Web production, the focal point is now enhanced with the challenge of figuring out "what are the needs of this medium and how do we make it work in our favor instead of against us."

Another big-time industry recruit, Larry Houston, has worked with Stan Lee on and off for over 20 years, beginning in the 1980s on Marvel's syndicated Spiderman series. His distinguished action-adventure career spans dozens of animated projects. In multiple roles as director, storyboard and The Fantastic Four, The Incredible Hulk, The X-Men, HBO's Spawn, Disney's TailSpin and Batman for the Warner Bros. shop. He has also spent time in the traditional comic books field, drawing such titles as All-Star Squadron for DC Comics, DNAgents for Eclipse and his own creation, The Vanguards. Before making art and animation his priority, Houston worked as a systems analyst and technician for several major computer companies. Now at SLM, the melding of his animation expertise with his "distant past in computers," he laughingly points out, "has seemed like the perfect example of professional convergence."