Like many comic book, fantasy and sci-fi fans before me, Stan Lee influenced a great deal of my childhood. As did Disney. Which certainly makes it “super” fun to see them joining together for the new Zodiac Legacy series. Now my sons, who are the perfect age for this type of novel (12 and 14) will get a taste of what fueled my creativity and imagination when I was growing up.
In the first book in the series, The Zodiac Legacy: Convergence, Stan Lee presents a brand new, magical, super-powered adventure! When twelve magical superpowers are unleashed on the world, a Chinese-America teenager named Steven will be thrown into the middle of an epic global chase. He’ll have to master strange powers, outrun super-powered mercenaries, and unlock the mysterious powers of the Zodiac.
“This was really at heart a story that melted the core,” said Nachie Marsham, editor of Convergence. “The classic kind of thing that Stan had created in the past, but that he was excited about doing as a book.”
Initially, Marsham thought his boss at Disney Publishing was “jerking” him around when he was handed the proposal for the story. Then the reality sunk in that he was, indeed, actually handling a proposal from Stan Lee, the man whose Super Heroes propelled Marvel to its preeminent position in the comic book industry.
Marsham reached out to comics editor Stuart Moore and illustrator Andie Tong to collaborate on the project. The team spent the next few years working with Stan Lee to design and refine the book. As the book is based on the Chinese Zodiac and has a large cast of characters, multiple challenges had to be overcome to make sure the series flowed smoothly.
“There were a lot of personalities we had to figure out,” said Stuart Moore. “There were a lot of alliances we had to make sure worked between the villains and the heroes. And a lot of that will shift in future volumes, too. Things will not stay the same. We wanted to keep everything very firmly focused on Steven as the protagonist. But it’s also a very large canvas with a lot of room for different stories.”
A question at the top-of-mind for many comic book fans is how much the aptly named Steven Lee, the protagonist of “Convergence” is like the author, Stan Lee. Marsham hinted at a few references, including the name of the lead character, may be found in the novel, but said that over-all the similarities were “light.”
“He (Stan Lee) wasn’t trying to be super self-referential like, and then we’ll have a kid from Queens in glasses in the background of one of these books or something like that,” said Marsham. “I really appreciated that because when you’re working with someone who’s such a legend in the industry in the first place, I think there’s a lot of ways where you could make it into a series of spot the Easter eggs from Classic Marvel stuff or from Stan himself.”
Thinking back to my youth and the impressions that works of Stan Lee had on me, my question to The Zodiac Legacy creative team centered on take-aways they might have for today’s youth. For example, are there central themes they hoped may spark a conversation or encourage character building?
Moore responded that he though a key element of a first novel is to understand the heritage of the characters and for the characters to have a respect for their heritage, understanding the importance of their past and where their people came from.
“At the same time, that you may consider yourself as coming from somewhere else, like as being more of a–I don’t want to say a citizen of the world, but Steven in the book considers himself much more American,” said Moore. “He doesn’t really think much of his Chinese heritage. And as the story goes along, he starts to think about it a bit differently. And I think that’s a good jumping off point for anyone to think about.”
Moore also stated that “obviously, we hope people enjoy the book We hope kids relate to it on some level, see a bit of themselves in it.” Tong hopes The Zodiac Legacy will “eventually become its own universe.”
As I began reading The Zodiac Legacy: Convergence with my sons, I felt as if I was returning home to a comfortable place in the universe where all-things-good-and-Stan-Lee reside but also energized by this invigorating story and style of writing. The book certainly nods towards its classic heritage but delivers a fresh new space for us to explore and characters to fuel the imaginations of a new generation!
Learn More at DisneyZodiac.com
Watch the Book Trailer
Follow DisneyHyperion on Twitter #ZodiacLegacy
Watch the Book Trailer
Follow DisneyHyperion on Twitter #ZodiacLegacy
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I think Stan Lee is a genius. I definitely want to check this out.
In a word. Awesome. Stan Lee is the single greatest thing to happen to the comic book and movie genre. Period. That man is pure genius.
That is awesome. I’d definitely read this!
Wow this is awesome!! I might be picking this up for myself.
Wow, I’m really interest to see where this story goes. I might pick up a couple copies for myself and the comic book fans in my family.
I’ve never heard of this book or character and I am ALL things Disney. I wonder if it’s because I have a houseful of girls that only talk about princesses.
Sounds so interesting. I would be interested in this.
My kids are comic book fans, and I bet they would really like to check this out. My daughter is always up on Stan Lee’s latest projects!
Anything with Stan Lee and Disney has to be good! I bet my bro in law would love this
OOOH! FUN! I agree with Christy, anything Disney and/or Stan Lee is genius!!
I haven’t seen this one before. My son and I really get into these Disney shows and movies. this looks pretty cool
I have been hearing a lot about this lately. I think even my husband would like to read it.
My husband is a huge Stan Lee fan. I don’t know much about him or his work but from what I hear, it’s all fantastic!
Stan Lee is great I will have to check this out :).
Stan Lee and Disney = Awesome! This is something I think my husband would really love!
That’s funny that he thought it was just a joke being played on him. I bet it was a surreal moment. 🙂
This sounds like a great book, I am reading so much more down in Florida just enjoying the weather outside. My husband would really enjoy this book.
Stan Lee is pretty awesome. This sounds like a cool book
I love Stan Lee. I will have to show this to my son.
Looks like a very good read – I will be checking it out.
You are always sharing such good content on Sci-Fi comic book stuff that I wind up reading it to my hubby too. Thank for keeping us informed. This book looks like a fun read!
Sounds like a great series. Maybe my boys will enjoy it when they get older.
Stan Lee is pretty cool. He was a treat at ComiCon a few years ago. My husband grew up reading comics. Captain America is his favorite and he’s been collecting since he was still in the womb thanks to his dad. He’s so thrilled that all these movies are out and going to come out. I did not grow up on comics and wasn’t really in to that type of reading. I was reading things like Stephen King, the classics, and Tolkien around 9. So my reading took a different turn. I didn’t really get in to Disney movies until I was a little older.
I know that my kids would totally love this! The are huge comic fans!