Jae Lee first broke into drawing comics in 1991 with a 'Beast' story, which was written by Scott Lobdell, in Marvel Comics Presents. Jae Lee then moved to the series 'Namor', which was being written by John Byrne. After Byrne left, Lee took on 'Youngblood Strikefile' and the 'WildCATS' Trilogy at Image, until he was ready to launch 'Hellshock', his own creator-owned title. Hellshock is the story of Daniel, a spiritual being with mysterious origins, and Christina, a psychologist who meets him while working the psych ward at a New York City hospital. The title first began as a four-issue mini-series from Image with a follow-up series that was never completed. Dynamic Forces has recently announced place to complete, and collect the entirety of Hellshock.

During that in-between period, Lee also drew a few issues of X-Factor and a story which guest-starred Iron Fist for the Spider-Man series.

Jae Recently began work on a Batman mini-series (Jekyll and Hyde, available Signed by both creators from DF), and is now under exclusive contract to Marvel Comics. He took a few moments out of his busy schedule to answer a few of our questions.

BATMAN: JEKYLL AND HYDE #1 - MARQUEE DOUBLE SIGNATURE - SIGNED BY JAE LEE AND PAUL JENKINS

DF: Top Cow is collecting your Witchblade and Darkness one-shots in a new printing, how did you approach Top Cow's characters different from other work you've done?
JAE LEE: I didn't have to change my approach at all. Top Cow has evolved from super-heroics to something darker. I like that. In The Darkness issue, we see him in a trench coat, not in his costume, so it was easier to pull off the moody horror look. Paul (Jenkins) definitely tailored this to both of our strengths. Witchblade was also tailor made for me. Again, she's out of costume. Calm down, she has clothes on, just not her costume. She's in street clothes pursuing a serial killer. I had to do a number of panels with copious amounts of blood. My wife, June Chung, colored the Witchblade issue. She was disgusted while coloring the bodies covered in blood. That means we did a good job with setting the right tone for the book. The deaths have to be horrifying. It's nice to know that there's someone out there who is more demented than I am. I'm talking about Mark (Millar) of course. He wrote one hell of a disturbing story.

DF: Would you ever work in the Top Cow Universe again? Your art style seems a perfect match for their "darker" characters. You seem to really get in to the souls of the characters. Do you try for that, or does it happen naturally?
JAE LEE: I'd love to do more work with Top Cow. We've talked about a number of different possibilities in the past, and I'm sure a number of those will come to fruition.

I don't purposely make my art "dark." It just comes out that way. I'm a big fan of European artists like Dino Battaglia. His use of shadows always gave his work such weight. There's a difficult balance though. Shadows can add weight, but if done improperly, the weight of the shadows can drag the art down into an unidentifiable quagmire.

DF: Does it bug you to be pigeonholed as a "dark" artist? Does this description fit in your opinion?
JAE LEE: It doesn't bother me at all. It's hard enough to be singled out in this industry. And if I've been able to carve out a niche for myself as the dark and moody guy, I'm grateful for that. I'd like to try something lighter though. And with my next project I'll be doing just that. I want to change and evolve. I'm searching for my next style. I hope I won't be alienating my fans though.

DF: What's your dream assignment at Marvel? At DC?
JAE LEE: A great story can make any project a potential dream project. I just have to keep my fingers crossed.

The first Secret Wars mini series by Shooter and Zeck was the first comic book I had ever read. I would love to do something like that. A huge crossover book. It would be the biggest pain in the ass to manage all those characters, but it would be my fanboy dream come true.

DF: Was there ever a chance you'd sign an exclusive with DC as opposed to Marvel? What led to your decision to go exclusive? Do you regret not being able to finish the Batman series?
JAE LEE: I've been with Marvel on and off for the past 14 years. It's my home. I have a number of projects at Marvel lined up that'll keep me busy for the next few years, so an exclusive just makes sense. Also, health insurance is a big bonus. That being said, it kills me that I couldn't finish Batman. He was the one character I was DYING to draw. It's the best work I've ever done. It's ironic that the work that I've been most proud of, Hellshock Volume 2 and Batman: Jekyll and Hyde have also been the two books I never finished. I now have another albatross around my neck. At least with Hellshock, I can go back to it, and the plan is to do just that. I've just finished the cover, and only have 12 pages left. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Hellshock will ship in July look for pre-order info in the May Previews for July Shipping product!].

DF: Artistically, how do you approach Batman differently than say, your work on Hulk/Thing?
JAE LEE: Batman is all about mood and mystery. Hulk/Thing was a more traditional comic. Batman's costume is just perfection. All the shadows and angles just came so naturally. His cape is alive and even when he's standing still, the cape makes him look like he's moving. I'll miss it a lot. Hulk/Thing gave me a chance to do something lighter in the art. I saw the potential in developing and refining a brighter style. It needs a lot of work, but I'm excited.

DF: What's your next big project?
JAE LEE: I'll be drawing a stand alone issue of Hulk #82 written by Peter David. It's a dark and moody tale of tragic love for the Hulk. I'm also doing a story arc on Ultimate Fantastic Four with Mike Carey from Vertigo fame. And then, I'll be starting up a new series for Marvel that I can't talk about yet. Let's just say I've worked on this series before. A long, long time ago.

I've also doing character designs on a video game for Electronic Arts. I can't give out any details on that yet.

I'm also doing illustrations for one of the best selling novels of all time which I can't talk about yet either.

But I can talk about my return to Hellshock. I've finally gathered up the courage to complete issue 4 of the Hellshock mini series. It will be released in a collected edition with the previous issues.

DF: What are you reading these days? Listening to? Watching?
JAE LEE: There was a period where I wasn't reading any comics. But now, I'm hooked again. I read almost everything now. I really enjoyed Identity Crisis. My current must read list includes Ultimates, Astonishing X-Men, and New Avengers. I can't believe what the Sentry has been up to.

I don't listen to music much, but what am I watching? Lots and lots of trashy TV reality shows. I love the Apprentice. I don't really watch the shows, it's just on in the background while I'm working. There are only 2 shows that I have to sit down and watch. Smallville and Lost.

Check out DF's complete selection of Jae's comics, right here!

Look for another interview with YOUR favorite creator later this week!