TV's Top Animation Producers Meugniot, Houston & McLaughlin Join Stan Lee Media.

Business/Entertainment Editors

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 27, 2000

Having brought their talents to such television toons as "Batman," "The X-Men" and "The Real Ghostbusters," as well as such comicbook classics as "Spider-Man," "Conan" and "Tarzan," three of animation's most coveted producer/artists have joined Stan Lee Media, Inc. (OTC BB: SLEE). Will Meugniot, Larry Houston and Thomas McLaughlin, who have overseen programming for such major studios as Fox, Warner Bros., Sony and Saban, will be leading efforts for SLM projects in development as well as the record-setting "7th Portal" web animation franchise, which overwhelmed Shockwave.com's servers when it launched on February 29. All three will operate from the company's in-house, 30,000 sq. ft. animation studio.

"Capturing the quinella of award-winning TV animation producers is a coup of unprecedented dimensions for the Internet as an entertainment medium," stated SLM co-founder Peter F. Paul. "With the appointments of Will, Larry and Tom to key company posts, this further demonstrates that Stan Lee Media is the leader in coverging traditional media leaders with the Internet."

Meugniot, as executive vice president of creative production for SLM, will serve in a capacity similar to editor-in-chief, supervising script development, the production of "webisodes" and other macro issues. A double Emmy nominee and winner of Genesis and International Monitor Awards, the 20-year veteran has produced such animated series as "The X-Men," "Exosquad," "Conan," "The Real Ghostbusters," "Secret Files of the SpyDogs," "Captain Planet" and "Spider-Man Unlimited." Among his design and storyboard credits are "G.I. Joe," "The Lone Ranger," "Flash Gordon," "Spider-Man" and "The Incredible Hulk." As a comic book artist, Meugniot is best known for his work as co-creator of the long-running "DNAgents" franchise. His other notable comic book assignments include "Howard The Duck," "Spider-Man," "Tigra," "Solomon Kane," "The Herculoids," "Conan," "Korak" and "Tarzan." Meugniot began working for SLM as a director of "The Backstreet Boys" web animation with Stan Lee in the jointly owned BackstreetProject.com.

"Stan, Larry and I launched `The X-Men' animated series together after I worked with Stan on several other projects," stated Meugniot. "The opportunity to work full-time with my childhood idol, as well as the chance to help develop a new medium, is an unbeatable combination."

Houston, as a creative producer/director, will run day-to-day operations on current projects, which include "The 7th Portal" along with four additional new franchises set to launch in the coming months. An award-winning leader in Saturday morning animation, Houston has served as director/producer/storyboard artist on dozens of animated series, including "The Fantastic Four," "Spider-Man," "The Incredible Hulk," "The X-Men," "Batman," Disney's "TailSpin," HBO's "Spawn," "Buzz Lightyear," "Robocop," "The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest," "Mr. T," "Salty's Lighthouse," "Fat Dog Mendoza" and "Captain Planet," for which he was nominated for an Emmy in 1991. He has also worked on traditional comicbooks, drawing such titles as "All-Star Squadron" and "Captain Carrot and the Zoo Crew" for DC Comics, "DNAgents" for Eclipse and his own creation, "The Vanguards." Before his career in animation, which includes nine years at Marvel, Houston was a systems analyst and computer technician for several major computer companies, the last being McDonnell Douglas.

"Considering my distant past in computers and my more recent work in animation, going over to Stan Lee Media seemed like the perfect example of professional convergence!" offered Houston. "I've known Stan for twenty years and was also very excited to continue my animation work on the Internet, a medium that's growing as other traditional areas of animation are flattening out."

McLaughlin, as a creative producer/director/designer, will oversee new company projects still to be announced. His extensive background in animation, developed over 20 years, has leaned especially toward superheroes. As an animator, director and/or designer, he has brought his talents to such animated series as "The X-Men," "Spider-Man," "The Fantastic Four," "Batman," "Batman Beyond," "Superman," "Iron Man," "Jumanji," "Gargoyles," "Silver Surfer" and "Duckman," in addition to the live action/animated "Pee-Wee's Playhouse." He has worked with such studios as Warner Bros., Sony, Saban, Marvel Entertainment, Disney Television and New World Entertainment, and has also been responsible for dozens of award-winning commercials for clients including McDonalds, Pop Secret and MTV. He recently worked in a freelance capacity for SLM's "Backstreet Boys" project.

"While there are numerous obstacles to getting long-form animation on film and TV, short-form web programming offers limitless possibilities," stated McLaughlin. "I'm excited to be able to leverage my television experience in order to help define a new medium of entertainment on the Internet."

About Stan Lee Media

Stan Lee Media Inc. (http://www.stanleemedia.com) is an Internet-based, multimedia production, marketing and licensing company founded by pop-culture icon Stan Lee, co-creator of such classic characters as "Spider-Man," "The Incredible Hulk" and "The X-Men." More than two billion copies of books featuring characters Lee co-created have been published in 100 countries and 27 languages. Launching a new generation of superheroes and super-villains online, Stan Lee Media seeks to become the premier creator of episodic entertainment on the Internet. The company has partnered with a range of talent and content creators to establish the largest independent content creation, production and distribution brand on the Internet.