DC Comics’ Jim Lee Pays Tribute to Dragon Ball Z With New Art

The worlds of North American comic books and Japanese manga have been meeting more times than we can count in recent years. While not an official crossover, DC Comics’ Jim Lee has recently shared a new art piece that demonstrates what the legendary comic book artist’s talent might have looked like were they dedicated to Weekly Shonen Jump. In a surprise release, Lee has shared his take on Son Goku, honoring both the long-running anime character and the recently deceased Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama. 

This take on Son Goku is far from the first time that Jim Lee has tackled creating anime character with his unique style. In the past, Lee has shared sketches of Berserk’s Guts, Ultraman, My Hero Academia’s All Might, and more. This latest art isn’t even the first time that the DC Comics artist has tried his hand at Son Goku as he first tried to depict the Saiyan in his Super Saiyan form back in 2018. It’s been quite some time since Lee was handling artistic duties on a monthly comic book having moved up the ranks to be a major player in DC’s future, but it’s clear that his art hasn’t suffered as a result.

DC x Dragon Ball 

Recently, Jim Lee once again created official art for the comic book world thanks to creating the cover of the DC Versus Marvel Omnibus. Thanks to the various stories that were a part of the various crossovers, the cover let Lee tackle some of the biggest characters from both characters in one major pin-up. With Lee being more than willing to dive into the anime world, it will be interesting to see if he is able to create an official piece of Dragon Ball Z art in the future.

Following the tragic loss of Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama, the anime world, anime fans, and even world leaders have paid tribute to the legendary mangaka. At present, the manga remains on indefinite hiatus as fans continue to speculate if Dragon Ball Super will continue under artist Toyotaro or if the last chapter released might just be its last. 

Want to see if Jim Lee takes on more anime characters in the future? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook for all the latest updates on anime crossovers and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.