Stan Lee/POW! Entertainment Partners With VIBE
Urban Cartoon Character to Launch in 2006
LOS ANGELES, May 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- VIBE Magazine and POW!
Entertainment (OTC: POWN) are proud to announce an exclusive partnership to
create an urban superhero. The relationship will be the first of its kind for
VIBE, which is aiming to increase its brand beyond print while still
leveraging the magazine.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20041006/LAW030LOGO)
POW! Entertainment, which specializes in new characters and franchises by
Stan Lee, strategically works to develop characters through its relationships
and alliances for funding and distribution of these new franchises. VIBE has
been the preeminent force in urban magazines since its inception in 1993. A
mutual relationship paired famous comic book creator Lee with the magazine,
and the concept of the ultimate urban superhero was born.
The urban character, which is in the development stage, could be the next
Spider-Man or X-Man, contemporary and universally liked by all but targeted to
the 15- to 34-year-old comic book, video game, and action-hero lover. The
character will be marketed as an action hero and will grace the pages of VIBE,
as well as having its own graphic novel. Creators will take the animated
character to DVD, television, and to feature film. VIBE President Kenard
Gibbs states, "We are very excited about this endeavor and branching VIBE
outside the magazine arena. The hip hop consumer is into animation, DVDs,
magazines, and other media, and we wanted to find a way to extend the VIBE
brand by offering a new product." VIBE Editor-In-Chief Mimi Valdes adds, "I
can't wait to hear how VIBE fans respond to the character! This is going to
be a big draw to the magazine. Besides our readers looking forward to our
feature articles, they can also follow the adventures of our superhero."
"I'm as excited as a kid with a new toy to be able to create a unique,
exciting, urban superhero for a magazine that I respect as much as VIBE," says
Stan Lee. "No one understands or talks to the urban market better than VIBE,
and this is a golden opportunity for me to introduce a new, colorful superhero
that the urban community can embrace as its own without resorting to typical
ghetto cliches or stereotyping. Following the formula I know best, our first
stop will be the pages of VIBE magazine, while our ultimate destination will
be movies, TV, and DVDs. I can't wait to get started."
POW!'s COO Gill Champion says, "The partnership with VIBE will provide the
opportunity to introduce and market a new superhero who will have wide appeal
combining the strong fan base of VIBE subscribers with the universal impact of
Stan Lee's brand. We believe the new superhero will have the potential to
attract all the possible ancillary opportunities that support a Stan Lee
franchise in building a powerful brand."
VIBE's strong branding and advertising in combination with POW!'s
expertise gives the magazine the credibility it needs to launch the character
in early 2006. VIBE and POW! will jointly own the franchise and play to their
respective strengths: VIBE's uncharted access to the urban market and Stan
Lee's creative skills.
Founded in 1993 by music legend Quincy Jones, VIBE magazine is the
preeminent brand in urban music and culture. With a guaranteed circulation
of 850,000 readers, VIBE, a monthly, reaches an audience of more than
8 million. Published by VIBE/Spin Ventures LLC, a leading music/lifestyle
media company that also publishes Spin magazine, VIBE won a National
Magazine Award for General Excellence in 2002. The win marked the first time
a magazine with a primarily black readership won in the General Excellence
category. VIBE was once again nominated for General Excellence in 2004.
POW! (Purveyors of Wonder) Entertainment, Inc. was founded by world famous
comic book icon Stan Lee, together with Gill Champion and Arthur Lieberman.
POW!'s principals combined, have more than a hundred years experience
creating, producing, and licensing original intellectual properties. POW!
specializes in franchises for the entertainment industry, including animation
and live-action feature films, plus television, DVDs, video games,
merchandising, and related ancillary markets, all of which aid in the
establishment of global franchises. POW! partners with studios and networks
in creating new and exciting characters that will perpetuate the brands of
both POW! and Stan Lee. In some cases, POW! creates "custom-tailored"
properties for a specific star or director.
Stan Lee, chairman and chief creative officer of POW!, is the creator and
inventor of the modern superhero. A prolific author, Lee revolutionized the
comic book industry by creating compelling characters who, despite
extraordinary powers and talents, are nonetheless plagued by the same doubts
and difficulties experienced by ordinary people. Some of his most enduring
characters, like Spider-Man(R)(a), The Hulk(R)(a), and the X-Men(R)(a), have
been spun off into television programs and feature films that have grossed
hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office.
Statements in this press release that are not statements of historical or
current fact constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking
statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other unknown
factors that could cause the actual results of the Company to be materially
different from the historical results or from any future results expressed or
implied by such forward-looking statements. In addition to statements which
explicitly describe such risks and uncertainties, readers are urged to
consider statements labeled with the terms "believes," "belief," "expects,"
"intends," "anticipates," "will," or "plans" to be uncertain and
forward-looking. The forward-looking statements contained herein are also
subject generally to other risks and uncertainties that are described from
time to time in the Company's reports and registration statements filed with
the Securities and Exchange Commission.
(R) (a) These are the registered trademarks and characters of Marvel
Characters, Inc.
SOURCE POW! Entertainment
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