DC is reembracing its Multiverse concept more and more, which means all its variant Earths are still out there to be visited again. The publisher will revisit one of its most peculiar Earths in December in Tales from Earth-6: A Celebration of Stan Lee, what DC calls a commemorative one-shot anthology featuring new stories based on the 2001-2002 series of one-shots titled Just Imagine.
The high concept of the original Just Imagine (co-written by Lee and Michael Uslan and illustrated by various artists) was that legendary Stan 'The Man' created DC's most iconic superheroes like Wonder Woman, Batman, and Superman, just like he created and co-created many of Marvel's most iconic characters.
DC will publish the new, 96-page, prestige format Tales from Earth-6: A Celebration of Stan Lee to honor what would have been Lee's 100th birthday on December 28, 2022.
- Almost 90 years of DC history will be refined into an official timeline in New History of the DC Universe: "It's a chance to realign all of DC's sprawling continuity into one master timeline"
- DC's 2025 Free Comic Book Day plans include a preview of Superman Unlimited and the first appearance of a mysterious new Absolute Universe character
The one-shot, on sale December 27, features 10 new stories featuring the Lee-conceived characters, from various writers like Mark Waid, Jerry Ordway, Kenny Porter, Stephanie Williams, Michael W. Conrad and Becky Cloonan, Collin Kelly and Jackson Lanzing, Meghan Fitzmartin, Steve Orlando, and Zac Thompson.
The stories will be illustrated by artists Lee Weeks, Kevin Maguire, Ordway, Karl Mostert, Juan Ferreyra, Anthony Marques, Pablo M. Collar, Belén Ortega, Max Dunbar, and Hayden Sherman.
While few comic book fans would object to any celebration of Lee's life and career, the revival of Just Imagine might surprise some who were around for the original. The event isn't remembered as a critical darling. The specials employed a lot of Lee's signature alliterate civilian names Wayne Williams and Mary Mendoza and some rather goofy story concepts, like Lee's version of The Flash who gained her super-speed by an injection of hummingbird DNA.
The special will have a wraparound main cover by Jim Cheung along with variant covers starring the featured characters (seen below) by Steve Beach (Batman), Jason Howard (Green Lantern), Kelley Jones (The Sandman), Ariel Colon (Superman), Kyle Hotz (Shazam!), Christian Ward (The Flash), Clayton Henry (Wonder Woman), and Dan Panosian (Catwoman), as well as additional covers by Jorge Corona (Aquaman), Riley Rossmo (Justice League), Ortega, and Cully Hamner.
Speaking of DC events, check out Newsarama's list of the most impactful DC events of all time.
