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It isn't uncommon for Marvel and DC to trade writers, editors, and artists as long-running series undergo relaunches or a brand new character needs a team to bring them to life. However, Marvel allegedly went all the way to the top of DC Comics in an attempt to sway one of the latter's top executives back to oversee the upcoming X-Men relaunch.
The news comes from longtime artist and Deadpool co-creator Rob Liefeld, who spoke about Marvel's attempted acquisition on his podcast Robservations, according to ComicBookMovie. He said Marvel approached DC Comics executive Jim Lee about coming back to Marvel Comics to illustrate the X-Men relaunch and help oversee its creative direction going forward.
Lee ultimately decided to stay with DC Comics where he is the president, publisher, and chief creative officer.
Lee has accrued one of the most prolific careers in the comic book industry since he started in 1987 working as an illustrator for Marvel Comics. He quickly gained popularity for his art-style on titles such as Alpha Flight, The Punisher War Journal, and The Uncanny X-Men.
He would then depart Marvel Comics in 1992 with various other artists, including Todd McFarlane, to establish Image Comics, an umbrella company made up of multiple publishing houses to maintain copyright control of their creations. Lee's studio was WildStorm Productions and its main series included WildC.A.T.S., Stormwatch, and The Authority, the third of which is being adapted to film as part of James Gunn's new cinematic DC Universe.
Lee sold WildStorm to DC in 1998, which remained an imprint of DC until 2010 while Lee split his time running it and working on other established DC titles including Batman and Superman. He was later promoted to co-publisher of DC Comics in 2010, before becoming the sole publisher in 2020, and replaced Geoff Johns as DC's chief creative officer in 2018.
Had Marvel been able to sway Lee back into the fold, it would have been one of the biggest coups in the comic book industry.
