"I've said it before and I'll say it again, Jim Lee's old stuff just blew me away."
Seoul-born Lee could have been a doctor. After all he does hold a degree in medicine from Princetown University.
Yet - in a classic example of what happens when you persevere chasing your dreams - he enrolled in drawing classes, submitted examples of his work to Marvel Comics and got hired to do the thing he wanted most to do; draw comics.
His stint on titles like Alpha Flight, Punisher: War Journal, Uncanny X-Men and X-Men earned him praise from both readers and pundits alike. He won the Comic Buyer's Guide Award for Best Cover and Best Artist in 1991.
"I've said it before and I'll say it again, Jim Lee's old stuff just blew me away."
It must be noted that the images used here are the copyright of Jim Lee and his publisher.
Lee left Marvel in 1992 - and with other artists like Todd McFarlane and Rob Liefeld - formed Image Comics. Touted to fail by many that thought such a young company could not compete against the might of industry giants DC and Marvel, the success of Lee's branch of Image Comics - Wildstorm Productions - soon put paid to such pessimism.
Titles like WildC.A.T.S, Stormwatch, Death Blow and Gen13 helped - not only to insure the success of Image Comics - but also showcased the art style that has made Lee an industry giant.
Since then Lee has gone from strength to strength. His reworking of Marvel classics Fantastic Four and Iron Man - and later Avengers and Captain America as well - as part of Marvel's Heroes Reborn helped to attract a new audience to such venerable but failing titles.
And in 1997, Lee forged into new horizons when he created Divine Right: The Adventures of Max Faraday. It was his first foray as a writer/artist. Not too bad - no? - for a man who could have been a doctor.