Genius Brands International, Inc. Issues Shareholder Letter

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., July 15, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Genius Brands International, Inc. "Genius Brands" (GNUS), the global brand management company that creates and licenses multimedia entertainment content for children, released a letter to shareholders from Chairman & CEO Andy Heyward. The complete letter follows:

Dear Friends and Shareholders,
 
This morning, Genius Brands announced an agreement for Stan Lee Universe to be distributed by Archie Comic Publications, the #1 most widely distributed comic book company in the United States. Concurrently, we announced that Oscar winning producer (Batman), long-time Stan Lee friend and collaborator, Michael Uslan, has been appointed as Creative Director of the Stan Lee Universe brand, for comic books, motion pictures, and television.
 
Let me be clear. In Stan Lee Universe, we are building out the next MARVEL, based on the creations of the man who built the original Marvel… Stan Lee. We are doing so through the single most widely distributed comic book publisher, Archie Comics, and its visionary Publisher, Jon Goldwater, under the creative leadership of the most respected and accomplished authority in comic books today, Michael Uslan.
 
Michael Uslan and Stan Lee were lifelong friends and collaborators, Michael Uslan known for having developed the Batman franchise for film and having Executive Produced, all of the Batman films, starting with Tim Burton’s 1989 film, continuing through Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy, Todd Phillips’ Joker, and the upcoming The Batman in 2021. He also served as Executive Producer of Warner Bros. The Lego Movie (2014) and The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part (2019).

Michael is recognized as the top guru of comic book culture. He has written and been an editor for Marvel, for Archie Comics, and for DC where he actually brought Stan Lee at one point to ‘re-imagine’ Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, Justice League and Shazam for DC.

The Batman franchise under Michael’s vision and stewardship, with its associated merchandise, became a multi-billion dollar business.

Over the coming days, there will be more announcements, as we continue to build out the Stan Lee Universe team and will announce our film, television, consumer products, and retail roll-out strategy.

Today’s announcement is another building block in putting together the absolute ’Best in Class’ team of assets at Genius Brands, in kids and family entertainment, to drive value for our shareholders and bring positive and enriching entertainment to our audience.