Genius Brands Teams with Hot Topic for Stan Lee Line

Genius Brands International has scored its first direct-to-retail program with Hot Topic for a line of apparel for the Stan Lee brand as part of this year’s Stan Lee Centennial celebration campaign.

Through a joint venture with POW! Entertainment, Genius Brands owns and manages the global rights to Stan Lee’s name, physical likeness, voice, signature and IP, as well as new content to be created from Lee’s portfolio of approximately 150 unmanned ideas and character creations in his post-Marvel career.

Under the new deal, Hot Topic will create an exclusive line of Stan Lee-branded apparel, available online in time for the holidays. Genius Brands is also working with Funko, Bioworld, Changes, Iron Studios, JADA, Mego, Mighty Mojo, Moor Art, Royal Bobbles, Sideshow and more to create a curated product capsule, including apparel and collectibles, for the Stan Lee Centennial collection. More product categories will come in early 2023.

Genius Brands’ chief brand officer, Kerry Phelan, said, “We are launching the Stan Lee Centennial campaign to carry on his legacy for his millions of fans worldwide. We take our role of managing the Stan Lee brand very seriously and are being extremely selective with our partners. We couldn’t be more thrilled to bring Hot Topic on board to drive this first direct-to-retail program for the brand.”

“Stan Lee is a legend and one of the most prolific creators of a generation,” said Ed Labay, executive VP of merchandise and marketing at Hot Topic. “We are excited to partner with Genius Brands to celebrate Stan’s life and his invaluable cultural contribution through the creation of a direct-to-retail program that features high-quality merchandise for fans to enjoy.”