NEW HERO FOR SPIDERMAN'S STAN LEE

SOURCE BBCNEWS WEBSITE

New hero for Spider-Man creator

Stan Lee with creation Spider-Man

Spider-Man first appeared in Amazing Fantasy in 1962

Spider-Man creator Stan Lee's new project with Disney is an animated comic book to be made available online and on mobile phones, he has revealed.

Lee told BBC Radio 5 live that Time Jumper was "a comic, but it has sound, it has music, it has some motion, although it isn't fully-animated".

Lee, 86, will voice a character called Lee Excelsior, "the head of an organisation that the hero works for".

He signed a deal with Disney in 2007 to come up with new superhero characters.

He told presenter Colin Paterson: "If it does as well as we think it will do, it'll end up being a video game, a DVD, a TV show, a movie or anything.

"It's our way of bringing a great comic book to life with motion graphics and music and voiceovers.

"These are drawings but they're done like an animated movie. It's really a multi-platform experience, starting on mobile phones and online."

'Top secret'

Lee co-created the character of Spider-Man with Steve Ditko in 1962.

Stan Lee

There will always be comic books because it's an inexpensive way to enjoy a colourful story and people have always liked that

He also co-created other Marvel characters including the Hulk, The X-Men and Iron Man - all of which have been adapted for the big screen.

Lee said his production company POW, which stands for Purveyors Of Wonder, was working on the new series with Disney.

He said the storyline was "top secret".

No release date has been set for Time Jumper.

Lee said that, despite the multi-platform approach to his new project, he thought there was still a future for the traditional printed comic book.

He said: "There will always be comic books because it's an inexpensive way to enjoy a colourful story and people have always liked that."