Jim Lee is one of the greatest success stories in modern comic book history. Starting as a penciler for Marvel Comics’ Uncanny X-Men, Jim Lee worked his way through numerous companies and the corporate ladder to become the President, Publisher, and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In his extensive career at Marvel, DC, and Image Comics, Lee has created some of the most iconic comic covers in the industry. He’s worked on many big-name characters, including the X-Men, Batman, and Superman, and even had his own superhero team, the WildC.A.T.s. Whatever character he does, Lee is guaranteed to give his all to depict them as modern-day legends.
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Jim Lee’s ability to create dynamic, detailed artworks has helped him stand out in an industry full of talented artists. Many of his covers now sell for thousands of dollars, and it’s not hard to see why. These are the covers that cemented Lee’s legacy and impact on comic book history.
10) Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #268
In a cover featuring some of Marvel’s biggest heroes, Jim Lee perfectly conveys each hero’s distinct personality through their poses. In one of the few Jim Lee covers featuring Captain America, Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #268 has him standing alongside Wolverine and Black Widow as they prepare for a mission. While Captain America stands tall as a pinnacle of heroism, Black Widow partially faces away from the reader to represent her espionage skills, and Wolverine crouches with his claws extended, like a feral animal ready to pounce. To this day, it’s still widely regarded as one of Wolverine’s best team-up stories. Also, the tagline of “Together Again… for the First Time!” is just hilarious in how paradoxical it is.
9) Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #248
The cover that started it all, Uncanny X-Men (Vol. 1) #248, was the first official cover Jim Lee worked on for the series and helped elevate his path to comic book stardom. The cover has Colossus lifting wreckage while asking why Havok killed Storm. The Mistress of the Elements is shown unmoving in the foreground, while Havok wears a look of absolute shock and horror at what he has done. The immense amount of detail in the character designs and background presage Lee’s success in the industry. While not as visually monumental as some of Lee’s other works, its emotional impact is undeniable.
8) Superman (Vol. 2) #204
When Jim Lee finished his run on the Batman series, DC felt his art style was perfect for Superman. Based on Lee’s previous iconic piece for Batman #608, the cover of Superman (Vol. 2) #204 exemplifies the similarities and differences between the two heroes. On this cover, the Man of Steel is in the same pose as the Dark Knight, overlooking Metropolis as it’s bathed in sunlight. When compared with Batman #608, the covers mirror one another and by this contrast show how the two heroes represent the lighter and darker sides of the superhero genre. However, they still both stand as virtuous heroes who protect their cities. Superman (Vol. 2) #204 remains one of the most beloved Man of Tomorrow covers of the 21st century.
7) Batman #619
One of Jim Lee’s most impactful storylines and the first one he worked on under DC Comics was “Batman: Hush,” and he had some amazing covers to go along with it. Of all the covers featured, one of the best is the one for Batman #619, which serves as the climactic finale of the storyline. Not only does the cover itself look incredible with Batman standing triumphantly on a rooftop with Robin and Oracle behind him, but it’s also part of one of Lee’s best trends: group shots. The cover is a triple-folded piece that, when opened, reveals all the heroes from the story, including Catwoman, Nightwing, Jim Gordon, Huntress, and Superman. Even the story’s main villain, Hush, can be seen in the background.
6) Justice League (Vol. 2) #1
In 2011, the DC Universe changed forever with the New 52 reboot. With DC starting over from scratch, it was inevitable that they would reinvent the Justice League. In Jim Lee’s stellar cover of Justice League (Vol. 2) #1, DC’s premier superhero team is charging forward with a heavenly glow behind them. Not only does it display the team’s unity and New 52 designs, but it also has Cyborg replacing Martian Manhunter as a founding member of the Justice League. It’s an incredibly dynamic cover that’s been imitated several times by other artists. The cover of Justice League (Vol. 2) #1 marked a new era for DC Comics and would lead to years of new stories.
5) WildC.A.T.s #1
Jim Lee’s time with Marvel Comics came to an end when he left the company to create his very own superhero universe. Under Image Comics, Lee created the WildStorm Universe, and it first debuted with the release of WildC.A.T.s #1. All the awesome characters featured on the cover, including Spartan, Grifter, Zealot, Maul, Warblade, Lord Emp, and Voodoo, were original creations of Lee, many of them becoming the faces of the WildStorm Universe. Not only that, but the cover and its characters also perfectly emulate the anti-hero trends of the 1990s. WildC.A.T.s. #1 introduced readers to a whole new world that would bring about many other great superheroes like Mr. Majestic and the Authority.
4) Infinite Crisis #1
One of DC Comics’ biggest events that reshaped the multiverse was Infinite Crisis, and Jim Lee’s cover for the first issue offers one of the best depictions of DC’s Trinity. Wonder Woman fiercely brandishes her sword in the center, while Batman and Superman are preparing for battle. As all three stand ready, various villains loom menacingly in the background. Not only is it a dynamic and iconic cover featuring the Trinity, but, through the facial expressions of Batman and Superman glaring at each other, Lee also references the tensions within the group that were present during the event. Lee is well-known for depicting heroes at their most godlike, and Infinite Crisis #1 is one of the best examples of this.
3) X-Men Annual #1
Jim Lee was part of a significant change at Marvel Comics when, in 1991, they released the second ongoing X-Men series. X-Men Annual #1 was part of the significant boost in X-Men popularity during the 1990s that would impact many future storylines and adaptations, including X-Men: The Animated Series. Lee depicts Cyclops leading Gambit, Beast, Rogue, Psylocke, and Wolverine into battle. Some of the costumes Lee created for the team, like Cyclops, Beast, Rogue, and Psylocke, have gone down as among the best in X-Men history and are still beloved to this day. Lee was at the forefront of the X-Men’s surge in sales, and this cover perfectly illustrates how he was able to accomplish this.
2) Batman #608
Batman #608 is the comic cover that not only began Lee’s hit storyline “Batman: Hush,” but also saw his official debut as a member of DC Comics’ creative team. Right out of the gate, Lee proves why he’s perfect for the job of representing the Dark Knight with this variant cover. Batman is shown dutifully watching over Gotham City in the dead of night as a silent protector. It’s an image that perfectly captures the Caped Crusader’s eternal mission to protect the people of Gotham. Lee’s cover is also notable for emphasizing the physicality of the Caped Crusader with his defined muscles instead of having him shrouded in darkness. Batman #608’s cover is so successful that Lee would replicate it with Superman and Wonder Woman.
1) X-Men (Vol. 2) #1
As the most iconic X-Men comic of all time, Jim Lee made history with the masterpiece that is the cover of X-Men (Vol. 2) #1. Selling at over eight million copies, X-Men (Vol. 2) #1 holds the record for the most sold individual comic of all time. This monumental feat was achieved through an ingenious marketing strategy in which readers had to buy four variant covers of the same issue to piece them together into one large image. Once assembled, the massive image depicts an epic battle in which the X-Men are facing off against the Master of Magnetism, Magneto. From its dynamic and energetic action to the marketing campaign, X-Men (Vol. 2) #1 will be remembered forever as the pinnacle of Jim Lee’s artistic brilliance.
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