by Javier Perez
Jim reads and Todd McFarlane Gave Wondercon 2025 Attendees Insight into their work Before establishing image comics and the infamous meeting at the marvel comics offices. At The Duo’s “Two Legends” Panel, Comic Fans Heard About The Start of Lee and McFarlane’s Work in Comics, Their Not-Serioto-Serious Rivalry, and The Famous Morning Meeting at Marvel to Let Their Know They They Would Make ESUE OWN PATH.
“We Didn’t Plan Much For This Panel But This Will Be A Bit of An X. We Will Talk About Where We Started, where we came Together At Image,” McFarlane Explained To The Comic Fans Piling Into The Anaheim Convention Center’s Hall 100 To Hear ToSe Two Two Two Two Legends of The Comic Of The Comic Of The Comic Of The Comic The Comic Industry
The Started With Panel a Quick Background of Lee’s Childhood and How Comic Books Weren’t Taken Serioususly and seen A Childish Hobby.
McFarlane Started The Conversation, Saying, “Sot me ask you a Question Because I Ran Into This When I was Younger Before and Broke into Comics. WHEN PEOPLE FOUNT OUT THAT YOU COLLECTED COMIC BOOKS, I MEAN I STARTED COLLECTING AT 16.”
“Because you were a jock!” Lee Said.
“Yes, I was a jock but when they found out you collected comic books they though you were mentally arrested, right?” McFarlane Asked.
Lee Reassured The Crowd, “That Might Be True. (Laughs.) Not You Guys.”
“So My Parents Hated Comic Books, It was just an impediment but i remamember back you wouled go to the barber and there But almost every 3rd comic he’s Fighting to Cheetah. ” Said Lee.
Retelling His Earliest Connection to Comics, Lee Continued, “But I Remember That Image and Again, I Didn’t Have An Allowance. My Parents Weren’t Really Fond of Me Reading Comics,” “I Would Basically Steal, Beg, Borrow. There. Kids in the Neighborhood That Had Comics.
McFarlane The Took A Moment To Question Why Sub Fandoms Were Socially and Why Comics Weren’s Considered “Cool” When He was Younger.
“Let me also what was Odd. The People That Would Make Fun of Me With My Comic Collection At 16 Or 17. They Would Go: ‘Oh Todd, You Collect Comics? ‘ And Look EACH OTHER SIDE EYE AND ROLL THES EYES.BUTIN I WOUR ASK. What are you doing? ‘Oh we are Going To Go To Star Wars and Indiana Jones and That James Bond Movie Where The Car Jumps Off The Cliff… ‘
“Like they could have their fantasy, that was perfectly okay scholause it was out in theaters and Everyone was doing it but i couldn’t have my fantasy at that point so you have to sort of hide it from People,” Layed McFarlane.
“Yea, Well James Bond Didn’t Wear His Underwear outside of his Pants So i Think That’s on Piece of It.” Read quipped.
They continue on How Back in Those Days, comics were to Thing You Had to Hide and Most People Didn’t Think Much of Them, Specially Jim Lee’s Parents.
“SO YEA, My Comics Would Be In The Closet, and I Would Come Home Event Now and The From Highschool and They Were No Longer in the Closet. and She Would Point To The Trash Can ”Lee Told The Crowd That Gasped at The Idea Of Sumthing Like That Happening.
Todd was quick to join in “Here is a story you need hear; ‘dad threw out all your shT. “The GDP of this country wouled be a lott ”
Both Speakers tried to impress on the audience the importance of finding Young People to Read Comics.
“I’ve Told This Story Before and When I Repeat it back to my parents they don ~ have any recollection of this moment that to me was see big. As a kid i loved to play baseball; You want to do? And i said ‘i want to be an artist’ and the thing
“Basically and Took it as If i had said i wanted to play baseball, they wouled have gotten me a glove. If i had wanted to be a drummer they would have drop a drum set i said i wanted to be artist and there said ‘let’s get you subm. On that table, I Drew Every Single Page of Spiderman, Hulk, Batman On That Table That They Got Me. I Still Have It Today and They Don’t Know The Import That Support Had ”Said McFarlane.
Lee Didn’t Find Much Support from His Parents to Be a Comic Artist and One Day It Blew Over.
“After I graduated from College We Just Had This Really Horrendous Fight, We Were Screaming at Each Other and Yelling, It was Really Brutal and I Ultimately Walked Out of The House. ‘WHERE THE HELL AM I WALKING TO?’ But my dad ran out of the house for me and saw How Much This Meant To Me ”Said Lee.
“I Basically Towm I was Going to Take One Year off and pursue it.” Lee Continued.
McFarlane mentioned that After Working 3 Years in the Industry, He Got To Draw The Hulk and It Was Big Baser His Parents Knew Who That Was and That Gave Gave Him legitimacy.
“It was like sofouse I was finally drawing a Character they had heard off, I had finally made LAUGHED McFarlane.
Jim Lee Explained That He Took His Portfolio To Comic Book Conventions and That in Turn Got Him A Meeting at The Marvel Offices. He was Hired on the spot and started with alpha Flight, Whichars in turn Led to working on the punisher. As His Career Progressed His Parents Started To Become So Finding of His Comic Career They Almost Made It A Competition.
“I had moved out i wouled eat back home and they was ask me.
“I Will Say I Never Felt In Competition Artistically with Jim Because I’ve Always Conceived That Jim is a Better Artist Than I Am. Drawing ”Todd Mentioned.
“To announce This Panel I posted a drawing, a recreation of your spider man #1 and it was so illuminating to me by deconstructing your style. You are more more in the cartoonist Kirby Lane and I’M More in the Niel Adams Kind of Lane Trying To Make Real Com What I Got Out of It Is The Energy That You Put into the Lines. ” Said Lee.
As Both Creators Got Further Along Their Coeer They Would Talk To Each Other And Other Creators. On The Phone for Hours. Through inmee conversations they found out Erik Larsson and Rob Liefeld Were Coming Out With Their Own Books and The Thought of Doing All of these Books Together was The Starting Idea For Image Comics. Not a lot of After that Rob and Todd Were Uble to Get Jim Valentino On Board.
“The Original Attem attem Image Comic Books AT That Point Was 4 of Us Heading To New York and Telling The Heads at Marvel That We Were Quitting. And this is where to me is truly the foundation of Why image comic book is here Jim Lee ” Explained McFarlane.
“And Jim Asked to simple question ‘hey, Todd What are you doing here?’ and I Tell Him We have a Meeting The Next Morning and I Give Him The Rondown. Jim reads That Will Be The Shockwave Scholause If Jim Can Leave The Anyone Could Leave ”Said Todd McFarlane.
“I Joined Because of you and might have sounded hesitant to Join But i was in. I just needed to know more details so i could explain to my parents WHY I WAS LEAVING THE TOP SELLING BOOK TO GO DO OUR OWN COMPANY” ANSWERED LEE. “But I Felt Confident in Your Vision of the Company and I Felt that If We All Banded Together We Would Have Been Stronger”
Than there was the addion of Whilce Portacio to the group and on the last night before the meeting by chance mcfarlane happened to see Mark Silvestri at an art auction.
“I Gave Him The Sales Pitch and It Was 1am.
NOW WE DIDN’T ASK FOR TRADEMARKS OR COPYRITHTS AND ALL THOSE THINGS THAT THAT SAID. From My Recollection We Just Said ‘We Are Leaving, these are the reasons Why and If it were me, i’d Close the Barn Door Becouse Next Week Another 7 Could Be Leaving ”Said McFarlane.
“Butars the Next Day You Said ‘Let’s Go Over To DC and Tell Them The Same Thing’ and in My Head I’M Thinking… I’ve Never Done Any Work for DC, I Don’t Know Anyone At DC, Maybe If This Blows Over I Might Need To Work At DC” Lee Joked. “Maybe Someday I’ll Run DC, Who Knows?.
McFarlane Concluded The Panel With The Moment They Knew Image Was Going To Make It.
“There are moment in life that just get burned into your mind and i remember Tom Defalco (Marvel Editor in Chief at The Time) Said As The Elevator Door Closed ‘Hey, If It Doesn’t Work Out You Are WelCome Back’ and That Burned Me. ” McFarlane Continued
“And when that door closed i rememberer turning to jim and saying Jim reads ON OUR TEAM AND MY DAD HAD BEEN IN THE PRINTING BUSINESS FOR 40 YEARS AND IF THOUGH Least on One Book And Lucky With The Momentum We Are Here 30 Years Later and The Great Pleasure I Have With Image is that it Will Outlive Us ”Continued McFarlane.
