I’ve often wondered just how Jim Lee does it. The guy has three different titles at DC – President, Publisher and Chief Creative Office – is father to nine children, and still draws art and goes to conventions and it really does seem like he never sleeps, especially if you follow his Instagram.
But it’s also no secret that H2SH, the sequel to the Batman classic written by Jeph Loeb and drawn by Lee, has been shipping pretty late – like a year late. Given every thing else he has on his plate, it’s understandable, but I’ve also seen Lee at work, and he has one of the strongest work ethics I’ve ever witnessed, which is how he juggles everything listed above.
But, all that work comes at a price, as he wrote on Facebook last Friday, revealing that the H2SH delays had a medical reason as well:
Lots of BIG personal and professional updates soon— but first, I wanted to wait until I had firm news on Hush 2. The final issue of the second arc, Batman #163, FINALLY ships Wednesday, May 27. I’ve got two pages left, with Scott and Alex right behind me.
I’ve been reluctant to share personal health matters publicly, but I also wanted you to know why these last two issues have taken so inordinately long.
Last summer 1 was diagnosed prediabetic-the result of a decades of poor decisions and work habits: way too little sleep, way too much stress, and way too many late-night carbs under deadline.
Meds weren’t an option for me, so l’ve had to rebuild through diet, exercise, and sleep. Metformin literally felt like I was disrupting my brain and poisoning my body. It’s been much more challenging and frustrating to correct it using diet and exercise but necessary.
The biggest adjustment has been losing the “5th gear” I used to rely on—the 10 PM to 4 AM grind that powered books like Justice League and Suicide Squad. Now I cap drawing at 1 AM and force myself to work during the day on weekends, but those hours are only 25-40% as productive as my old late-night form. And then beating yourself up because you’re not delivery the speed and results you expect from yourself made drawing particularly frustrating and at my lowest moments-profoundly depressing.
But I shouldn’t be too surprised by this. Getting older is a constant for us all, and it’s probably more naive to have thought that this day would have never come.
But I’m making headway, lost about 10 pounds cutting out carbs and track my glucose using a blood monitoring biosensor in my ongoing attempt to treat this before it blooms into full on type 2 diabetes.
End result is no more projects will be solicited until I’m done with the entire project. It’s not fair to you all-the retailers, the readers, and all the DC Comics team members to be this unprofessional, particularly as the lead of this companys
That said—I feel Batman 163 to be ending on a high note creatively. I wanted to thank you all for your incredible patience and support. I hope you guys enjoy what @jephloeb3 and I have cooked up for you!
There’s a lot to be sympathetic with in this, in particular as we all age and find we can’t keep up the pace of our most productive days. As a fellow night owl, I especially feel his admission that drawing during the day on weekends is far less productive than his late night drawing habits. I’m writing this at 2:18 am, a time when I feel most alert and productive. This also means many nights when I get only four hours of sleep, but I’m so used to it at this point. I haven’t had my blood sugar checked lately…but I probably should.
As I said, I’ve seen Lee working up close, and his schedule is unique to him. But overwork and ignoring health issues is pretty common in the comics industry. It is worth noting that Lee is well compensated for all his work – something that is very UNcommon in the comics industry – but that didn’t prevent him from nearly getting an incurable disease.
As a follow up, Lee posted the pencils for two wraparounds for Batman #163, noting that “I love how physical comics can offer an immersive experience that digital just can’t replicate, especially with gatefold covers that bring an unexpected surprise.” This also served to remind us just how much work he’s putting in on the project. And yeah, we probably all knew that H2SH was gonna ship late, but he’s be grateful for Lee’s improved health so that he can stick around and make lots more comics.
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Batman #163 will go on sale on May 27.
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