Hulk, Spider-Man Join Forces With Other Super Heroes On Stamps

Tuesday, July 24th 2007, 3:43 pm

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Endowed with superhuman strength, yet looking different as day and night, the Amazing Spider-Man and the Incredible Hulk will stand shoulder-to-shoulder as the Postal Service launches its latest set of super hero stamps.

The 20-stamp set premieres Thursday at Comic-Con, the comic book and pop culture show in San Diego.

The 41-cent stamps honor the creations of Marvel Comics, and also include Sub-Mariner, The Thing, Captain America, the Silver Surfer, the Spider-Woman, the Invincible Iron Man, Elektra and Wolverine.

In addition, 10 of the stamps highlight covers of comic books featuring the characters.

Stan Lee, co-creator of Spider-Man, the X-Men, Fantastic Four, the Hulk and others said he is ``thrilled'' to have his characters on postage stamps.

``The only problem is this won't get me a discount at the post office,'' he joked.

So, how does one create a super hero?

``It's not a case of inspiration suddenly striking,'' Lee said in a telephone interview. ``I set out to create them.''

Usually it was a case of his publisher saying he needed a new hero, or suggesting a crime-fighting team might sell well, and Lee would sit at his desk and start working on new ideas.

Lee refuses to name a favorite character: ``That's like asking a parent who is his favorite kid.''

Dan Buckley, president for publishing at Marvel Entertainment says the stamps are a ``great honor.''

``It just proves we're a part of American history, part of the fabric of society,'' he said of the widely read comics.

Buckley does have favorites _ Spider-man and Wolverine now _ but he says they've all had their runs. Right now the Avengers are top sellers. Over the past 20-30 years, the most popular have been the X-Men and Spider-Man.

This is the second set of super hero stamps, following last year's set featuring the creations of DC Comics.