Stan Lee's Mutants, Monsters, and Marvels (May 14th)

Stan Lee, who defined comic books as a popular art form for millions of readers, offers an exclusive glimpse into his career when he joins director Kevin Smith for Stan Lee's Mutants, Monsters & Marvels, premiering May 14 only on DVD and videocassette from Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment.

Lee, the creator of Spider-Man and The X-Men, and Smith, popular director of Clerksand Dogma, guide viewers on a journey through Lee's history in this exclusive home-entertainment release, produced by Creative Light Entertainment.

It's a one-of-a-kind oral history - a lively conversation between two mutual admirers. Stan Lee's Mutants, Monsters & Marvels explores the history of comic books during what is now called the "Silver Age," a time when Stan Lee - as a writer, editorial directorand, later, publisher of Marvel Comics - co-created an astonishing number of the most legendary characters in comics.

With Spider-Man set for a theatrical release by Columbia Pictures on May 3, X-Men 2 in production, and both Daredevil (with Ben Affleck) and The Incredible Hulk(directed by Ang Lee) slated for release in 2003, Lee's work has never been more popular or more faithfully adapted.

In Stan Lee's Mutants, Monsters & Marvels, Smith acts as a wise and witty surrogate for the legion of fans who have followed Lee's career since his beginnings as a 17-year-old writer at Timely Comics, the predecessor to Marvel. With remarkable detail and good humor, Lee divulges his storied past in two separate features on the DVD: "Creating Spider-Man" and "Here Come the Heroes." In "Creating Spider-Man," Lee gives a definitive set of answers to Smith's questions about Spider-Man, who may be Lee's most famous creation. With complete candor, Lee discusses the creator-credit controversy between him and artist Steve Ditko; Peter Parker's role as a new kind of hero - a kid with real problems to whom readers could relate; Spidey's arch-villains and true loves; and Columbia Pictures' hotly anticipated Spider-Man movie. In the program's second feature, "Here Come the Heroes," Lee traces his own personal history and the beginnings of his 60-plus years in the business.

The DVD version of Stan Lee's Mutants, Monsters & Marvels is loaded with extras. In addition to cast and crew biographies and a behind-the-scenes featurette, the disc includes an exclusive interview with Lee's wife, Joan; rare home movies from Lee's personal archives; details about the never-released "Fantastic Four" movie; an original poem, "God Woke," read by Lee; and many surprises for avid DVD fans. Also included is a one-of-a-kind tour of Lee's magnificent Hollywood home, in which Lee points out some of the Spider-Man memorabilia he has accumulated through the years.

Now this is why DVD was invented ~Rorschach