Editing Pat Lee

{{disambig2|Pat Lee, the superstar comic book artist|the uncredited artist who actually drew all his stuff for negligible pay|Alex Milne}}
[[Image:Patlee.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Strength and Honor.<ref>[http://patleeart.deviantart.com/ PatLeeArt] at deviantART</ref>]]
'''Patrick "Pat" Lee''' (ミチヤメノテヒ フナナ ''Michiyamenotehi Funana'') is a Canadian artist. He was the president of [[Dreamwave Productions]] and (allegedly) drew some of their ''Transformers'' comics, until most of his employees noticed he wasn't paying them. Subsequently, he was also the president of Dream Engine until all its employees noticed he wasn't paying them either. After that, he founded his own company, Pat Lee Productions, and either worked for or headed a variety of Hong Kong-based companies, which all appear to have gone out of business since. He also (allegedly) continues doing comic work for increasingly obscure publishers that have no shame.

Known titles, aliases and nicknames include '''Mr. Mecha''',<ref name="wizardbig80s">[http://www.tfbrasil.net/curiosidades_Wizard5.jpg "Big 80s" feature from issue 111 of ''Wizard Magazine''], October 2000</ref> '''Paticus''',<ref name="litgtfspec">[http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=14153 Lying in the Gutters ''Transformers'' Special], July 2002</ref> "'''Transman'''",<ref name="transman">[http://toynewsi.com/news.php?catid=102&itemid=1490 Dreamwave press release]</ref> '''Superstar Artist''',<ref name="creators">[http://old.brokenfrontier.com/headlines/p/detail/dreamwave-adds-transformers-creators The infamous "Dreamwave adds Transformers' creators" press release]</ref> and '''Mr. Talented'''.<ref name="talented">[http://www.alivenotdead.com/rosannewong/A+MASTER+IN+DISGUISE-ANDREW+LIN+vs+PAT+LEE-MR.+TALENTED+(round+2-2)-profile-113669.html Rosanne Wong about Pat Lee painting a mural on her apartment wall]</ref>

{{bigquote|Over my dead body.|[[Simon Furman]] on if Pat Lee will do work for [[IDW Publishing|IDW]]|[[BotCon 2008]]}}

==History==
===Before the Transformers===
[[Image:Dreamwave.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Chillingly prophetic.]]
Pat Lee was born in Montreal on [[June 28]], [[1975]],<ref name="bio">[http://www.angelfire.com/pa/infrarred/infrarred2.html Pat Lee's own biography on his old Angelfire website]</ref> and raised in Toronto. At the age of 16 (or 17),<ref name="patwizarddraw">[http://www.alivenotdead.com/patlee/How-to-draw-Transformers-Wizard-Magazine-profile-678562.html Pat Lee using an old Wizard article about himself as a reason to ponder about he got into the comic book industry]</ref> right after graduating from high school, Lee was eager to find a job as a "proffesional"{{sic}} in the comic book industry,<ref name="patwizarddraw"/> sending over 150 pages of sample artworks to [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]] and [[DC Comics|DC]]. Unfortunately for Lee, both publishers realized what a shoddy artist he was. Unfortunately for the rest of the world, however, Lee eventually managed to catch the attention of infamous [[Image Comics]] co-founder [[Rob Liefeld]] at a Toronto convention in 1994, who would hire Lee (now aged 19) to work as a penciller on various titles for Liefeld's Image studio {{w|Awesome Comics|Extreme Studios}}. After that, Pat Lee would also work for [[Jim Lee]]'s Image studio {{w|Wildstorm Productions}}, as well as accepting work-for-hire assignments from Marvel (who had now apparently changed their mind regarding his artwork).

In 1996, Pat and his brother [[Roger Lee|Roger]] decided to start their own studio within Image Comics, [[Dreamwave Productions]], with Pat acting as the company's president. With Dreamwave, Lee would continue accepting contractual work for other publishers (such as the four-issue limited series ''Wolverine/Punisher: Revelation'' for Marvel), but also started to publish his own <s>blatantly plagiarized</s> originally created titles such as ''{{w|Ghost in the Shell|Darkminds}}'' and ''{{w|Record of Lodoss War|Warlands}}''. Collaborations with various magazines and advertising campaigns helped to further advance Dreamwave's reputation. Initially, the "hook" for Dreamwave's financial success was Pat's drawing style, which many readers viewed as "manga-like" (although readers of actual manga had a different opinion on this matter).

{{--}}
===Transformers by Dreamwave===
[[Image:Big80sWizard.jpg|right|150px|thumb|His art only went downhill from here.]]In 2000, Pat and Dreamwave submitted a contribution for a feature named "Big 80s" that was published in issue #111 of ''Wizard: The Comics Magazine'', depicting Pat's own take on one of his favorite properties from his childhood days, the ''Transformers''. Proving to be a huge hit among fans, [[Hasbro]] would consider the general art style a benchmark when they were offering the license for a new ''Transformers'' comic a year later.<ref name="litgtfspec"/> Unsurprisingly, it was Dreamwave themselves who finally acquired said license, commemorating this as a turning point in the history of their company by officially cutting all ties with Image and becoming an independent publisher on their own.

[[Image:Fallenpatlee.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Why do Pat Lee's Transformers look like they're about to take a poop?]]
In addition to providing the art for various adverts, [[posters]] and covers, Pat would draw the first two ''Generation 1'' limited series, [[Prime Directive|Vol. 1]] (aka "Prime Directive") and [[War and Peace|Vol. 2: War and Peace]]. Subsequently, he would concentrate on controlling Dreamwave as its president and spend more time on his biggest hobby, fast cars, assigning art jobs to other artists (many of them hired directly out of the fandom) instead. Lee's only other major contribution in terms of art would ultimately be some of the character profiles published in the eight-issue [[Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye]] limited series. 

Despite having dominated Diamond's sales charts for several subsequent months with the ''Transformers'', Dreamwave eventually ended up in dire financial circumstances. Coinciding with rumors of unpaid freelancers, Pat Lee started to accept contractual work for Marvel and DC again, such as issues of ''House of M'' or ''[[Superman]]/[[Batman]]''. Dreamwave eventually declared bankruptcy on January 4, 2005, blaming the weak United States Dollar and other scapegoats for the company's failure.<ref>[http://www.tformers.com/article.php?sid=4053 Dreamwave's final press release]</ref>

{{--}}

===After Dreamwave===
With Dream Engine, Lee would work on various projects such as an ''[[X-Men]]/[[Fantastic Four]]'' crossover for Marvel, issues for the ''Batman/Superman'' series for DC and a relaunch of ''{{w|Cyberforce}}'' for {{w|Top Cow Productions|Top Cow}}, another Image studio. 

Eventually, Pat Lee parted ways with Dream Engine again and started his new enterprise, Pat Lee Productions.<ref name="plp">[http://www.patleeproductions.com/ Pat Lee Productions website, no longer functioning]</ref> He was also listed as the "director" of a Hong Kong-based company named DeepSky Pictures, and alongside his brother Roger, he headed a company named Triple Eye Productions, both of which are no longer in business. Pat Lee is currently residing in Hong Kong, where he acts as one of the heads of an IP development company named Secret Lab, Ltd., which at this time holds the questionable record of being the Pat Lee-run company to remain in business for the longest period of time.<ref name="linkedin">[https://hk.linkedin.com/in/patleeart Pat Lee's Linkedin profile].</ref>

In 2011, Pat Lee was connected as a designer on ''Train Heroes'', a cartoon produced by TV Tokyo and China-based Carloon Animation.<ref>[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2011-01-28/tv-tokyo-pat-lee-china-carloon-make-train-hero-show TV Tokyo, Pat Lee, China's Carloon Make Train Hero Show]</ref> It later turned out that the show had similarities with the earlier anime ''{{w|Hikarian|Chō Tokkyū Hikarian}}'', both featuring trains that turned into super-deformed robots.<ref>[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/interest/2011-07-17/chinese-show-similarities-with-hikarian-anime-identified Chinese Show's Similarities With Hikarian Anime Identified]</ref>
{{--}}

===Return to official ''Transformers'' work===
In mid-2008, three and a half years since the collapse of Dreamwave, Lee was commissioned to do a series of illustrations for Hasbro Hong Kong to use for promotional purposes as part of their appearance at Ani-Con 2008.<ref>[http://www.alivenotdead.com/patlee/Transform+and+ROLL+OUT--profile-225643.html Pat Lee showcases his illustrations for Hasbro on his blog.]</ref> Let's hope that art stays in Hong Kong.

In spite of the [[Transformers (film)|movie]] having been out for about a year, he couldn't even be bothered to look up recent art and stills and drew [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] with his unused concept art head.

==Published Transformers works with Pat Lee credit==
===Comics===
[[Image:OptimusPrimeWarAndPeacePreview.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|Now try to imagine what the truck mode looks like.]]
* ''[[Prime Directive|Transformers: Generation 1 (vol. 1)]]'': [[Prime Directive Preview|Preview]], [[Prime Directive issue 1|#1]], [[Prime Directive issue 2|#2]], [[Prime Directive issue 3|#3]], [[Prime Directive issue 4|#4]], [[Prime Directive issue 5|#5]], [[Prime Directive issue 6|#6]]
* ''[[War and Peace|Transformers: Generation 1 vol. 2: War and Peace]]'': [[Transformers Volume 2 Preview|Preview]], [[New World Order|#1]], [[Brothers' Burden|#2]], [[Cold War (issue)|#3]], [[Passive Aggression|#4]], [[Countdown to Extinction (issue)|#5]], [[Revelation (War and Peace)|#6]]
* ''[[Transformers: More than Meets the Eye]]'' #1, #3, #6 (assorted profiles)
* ''[[Transformers: Armada (Dreamwave)|Transformers: Armada]]'': [[Dreamwave Armada issue 6|#6]], [[Dreamwave Armada issue 7|#7]]
* ''[[More than Meets the Eye: Transformers: Armada|Transformers Armada: More Than Meets The Eye]]'': #1, #2, #3 (assorted profiles)
* ''20th Anniversary Transformers Summer Special'': Individual story "[[Welcome to the Jungle]]"
* assorted covers for nearly all the Dreamwave Transformers series
* ''[[Transformers: Matrix Quest]]'' (Titan Books, hardcover) cover image
* ''[[Transformers/G.I. Joe: Divided Front]]'': [[Targets of Opportunity|#1]]

{{note|With the revelation of [[Alex Milne]] ghosting for Pat Lee on Top Cow's ''Cyberforce'', artist [[Edwin Garcia]] being credited for "backgrounds" on the ''Generation 1'' titles, [[Sigmund Torre]] being rumored to have ghosted on parts of the first ''Generation 1'' volume, [[Nick Kilislian]] being credited for "breakdowns" for ''Divided Front'' #1, and several of his covers actually being done by ghost artists, it's uncertain how much of the art credited to Pat Lee has actually been his work at all.

<p>Various artworks originally created by Lee for the covers of the first ''Generation 1'' limited series were also used by both [[Hasbro]] and [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] for their "[[The Transformers: Generation One Commemorative Series|Generation One Commemorative Series]]" and "[[The Transformers Collection]]" series of reissues. Following the demise of Dreamwave, Hasbro would also continue to use cover artwork drawn by Lee for promotional images and various pieces of merchandise, such as a ''[[Monopoly|Transformers Monopoly]]'' board game. The reason for this is simply because the art has already been paid for, and is therefore cheaper to use for Hasbro than newly solicited artwork.</p>}}
{{-}}

===Packaging art===
====Alternators====
* [[Smokescreen (G1)/toys#Alternators|Smokescreen]]
* [[Sideswipe (G1)/toys#Alternators|Side Swipe]]

{{note|The packaging artwork for [[Transformers: Alternators|Alternators]] Smokescreen was also used for the profile card of Takara's ''Binaltech'' counterpart.}}
====Commemorative Series====
{{collist|3|
* Series III [[Jazz (G1)/toys#Commemorative Series|Autobot Jazz]]
* Series IV [[Prowl (G1)/toys#Commemorative Series|Prowl]]
* Series IV [[Red Alert (G1)/toys#Commemorative Series|Red Alert]]
* Series V [[Hoist (G1)/toys#Commemorative Series|Hoist]]
* Series V [[Inferno (G1)/toys#Commemorative Series|Inferno]]
* Series VI [[Grapple (G1)#Commemorative Series|Autobot Grapple]]
* Series VII [[Hot Rod (G1)/toys#Commemorative Series|Rodimus Prime]]
* Series VII [[Dirge (G1)/toys#Commemorative Series|Dirge]]
* Series VIII [[Sideswipe (G1)/toys#Commemorative Series|Side Swipe]]
}}
{{note|The artwork for Hoist, Inferno, Grapple, Rodimus Prime and Dirge was done specifically for these reissues; the rest was recycled from covers of Dreamwave's first ''Generation 1'' limited series.}}

====The Transformers Collection====
{{collist|3|
* No.0 [[Optimus Prime (G1)/toys#The Transformers Collection|Convoy]]
* No.1 [[Jazz (G1)/toys#The Transformers Collection|Meister]]
* No.2 [[Prowl (G1)/toys#The Transformers Collection|Prowl]]
* No.6 [[Megatron (G1)/toys#The Transformers Collection|Megatron]]
* No.7 [[Sideswipe (G1)/toys#The Transformers Collection|Lambor]]
* No.10 [[Soundwave (G1)/toys#The Transformers Collection|Soundwave]]
* No.12 [[Mini-Vehicle#Reissue lines|Minibot Team]]<br>([[Cosmos (G1)#The Transformers Collection|Adams]], [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#The Transformers Collection|Bumble]], [[Gears (G1)#The Transformers Collection|Gears]], [[Huffer (G1)#The Transformers Collection|Drag]], [[Powerglide (G1)#The Transformers Collection|Powerglide]], [[Warpath (G1)#The Transformers Collection|Warpath]])
* No.16 [[Insecticon (G1)#The Transformers Collection|Insectrons]]<br>([[Kickback (G1)#The Transformers Collection|Kickback]], [[Shrapnel (G1)#The Transformers Collection|Shrapnel]] and [[Bombshell (G1)#The Transformers Collection|Bombshell]])
}}
{{note|None of these artworks were created specifically for these reissues, but were instead recycled from old promotional posters or covers of Dreamwave's first ''Generation 1'' limited series.}}

===Other===
* Hasbro Hong Kong Ani-Con 2008 [[Transformers (2007 toyline)|Movie]] Commemorative boxset certificate

==Criticism and controversy==
===Art style===
[[Image:Patleehowtodrawoptimus.jpg|left|250px|thumb|1) Draw a circle. 2) Draw Optimus Prime. 3) Give him scraplets. 4) Give him leprosy.]]
Pat Lee's artwork has often been the target of criticism among fans. While he was initially praised by many fans for his "manga-like" drawing style (which is heavily inspired by the character designs and visual cues used by [[Studio OX]]), others criticized his tendency for exaggerated proportions, emphasis on rounded robot body parts, making the characters look "inflated" and marshmallow-like, hands reaching out to the reader [https://shortpacked.com/comic/detail "as if you just stole his purse"], a general lack of sequential storytelling skills and the overall look of his human characters (see "[[dull surprise]]" for more on ''that''). Even his critics often admitted that his work for covers and posters was better than his actual comic book interior artwork; however, that would change soon when even his cover artwork saw a severe decline in quality starting with the [[War and Peace|second ''Generation 1'' limited series]]. The introduction of [[Don Figueroa|other]] [[Guido Guidi|artists]] who drew Transformers characters in a similar style, while avoiding many of the problems Lee was criticized for, would further shift the public opinion against Lee's artwork.

[[Image:DWPrimewhatthe.jpg|right|200px|thumb|When you're being compared to [[Rob Liefeld]], maybe it's time to quit.<ref name="leefeld">[https://shortpacked.com/comic/buttons]</ref>]]
Lee's response to that was enforcing an internal "house style" that would force other artists to follow Pat Lee's own style more closely. [[Don Figueroa]] confirmed in an interview having received such requests from Dreamwave art director [[Rob Ruffolo]], a guideline which Figueroa declined.<ref name="dontrans">[https://web.archive.org/web/20090916000843/http://transfans.co.uk:80/interviews_figueroa.php Interview with Don Figueroa at TransFans.co.uk]</ref> Fellow artist [[Guido Guidi]] confirmed having received similar requests.<ref name="guidtrans">[https://web.archive.org/web/20090916000926/http://transfans.co.uk/interviews_guido.php Interview with Guido Guidi at TransFans.co.uk]</ref> Ruffolo himself also later confirmed the existence of an internal "house style", without specifically referring to Lee.<ref name="ruftrans">[https://web.archive.org/web/20111114125042/http://transfans.co.uk/interviews_ruffolo.php Interview with Rob Ruffolo at TransFans.co.uk]</ref> 

Even though many fans preferred other artists over Pat Lee, official Dreamwave press releases and solicitations would often refer to the company's president as a "superstar artist".<ref name="dwadds">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/comics-16/dreamwave-adds-transformers-creators-2492/ The infamous "Dreamwave Adds Transformers Creators" press release]</ref>

===Business practices===
The demise of Dreamwave didn't come overnight. The first rumors of freelancers not getting paid date back as far as October 2003.<ref name="litgffreel">[http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&amp;id=14548 Lying in the Gutters reporting on early rumors of Dreamwave artists not getting paid]</ref> Following the closure of Dreamwave, former freelance writers [[Adam Patyk]] and [[James McDonough]] reiterated their claims that Dreamwave (not explicitly referring to Lee himself) had stopped paying them even before declaring bankruptcy. They had then filed a lawsuit against their former employer, and when that became public, they had allegedly also heard from other Dreamwave employees and freelancers who were supposedly also complaining about not being paid anymore.<ref name="pmdnram">[http://web.archive.org/web/20090329225039/http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=39073 Newsarama Interview with writers Adam Patyk and James McDonough] (archive copy)</ref>

Aside from Patyk and McDonough, no other former Dreamwave employees or freelancers were nearly as explicit on the issue. Artist Don Figueroa only stated that Dreamwave was "getting really behind with the check" and pointed out that he "was also assured everything was cool" when he met Pat Lee in person only a month prior to the closing of Dreamwave.<ref name="dontrans"/> The latter complaint was also repeated by writer [[Simon Furman]].<ref name="furmtrans">https://web.archive.org/web/20120303025903/http://transfans.co.uk/interviews_furman3.php Interview with Simon Furman at TransFans.co.uk]</ref> Likewise, artist [[Guido Guidi]] merely accused Dreamwave of a lack of "[g]ood communication", and even revealed an ambivalent attitude towards Pat Lee and his brother Roger.<ref name="guidtrans"/> Artist James Raiz, meanwhile, claimed that he was "one of the very few who came out of Dreamwave with all [his] money".<ref name="raiztrans">[https://web.archive.org/web/20090916001311/http://transfans.co.uk/interviews_raiz.php Interview with James Raiz at TransFans.co.uk]</ref>

Prior to declaring bankruptcy, Pat and his brother Roger had spent four months secretly transferring most of Dreamwave's assets to a new company named Dream Engine, whose website domain was registered to Roger's name.<ref name="litgdreame">[http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=14844 Lying in the Gutters discovering the existence of Dream Engine]</ref> In addition, it would turn out that Lee had made sure to transfer ownership of his formerly company-owned Porsche to himself before giving up Dreamwave,<ref name="porsche">[http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=14968 Lying in the Gutters reporting on the Pat Lee Porsche story]</ref> and had spent half a million Canadian dollars on a new luxury apartment even before the Dreamwave bankruptcy.<ref name="apartment">[http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&col=1&old=1&column=litg&article=2203 Lying in the Gutters reporting on Pat Lee's new apartment]</ref> The overall amount of Dreamwave's debt was far over a million dollars.<ref name="litgmillion">[http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=14886 Lying in the Gutters' list of Dreamwave's creditors]</ref>

A former Dreamwave employee later suggested that Pat and Roger had known about the looming demise of Dreamwave a full year before declaring bankruptcy, but instead of coming clean to their employees, they named their parents secured creditors and then kept the company going for another year, because Canadian law required people to be named secured creditors for at least a year before bankruptcy in order to be given priority over other creditors (this is meant to prevent someone being given secured creditor status a week before bankruptcy and then getting away with all the company's money). Teddy and Anne Lee were granted $141,000 for alleged "furniture lease", even though they were financially supported by their sons for most of their adult lives.<ref name="parents">[http://web.archive.org/web/20121025181935/http://www.bleedingcool.com/forums/comic-book-forum/17163-pat-lee-starts-interview-tour-forgiveness-5.html#post83125 Allegations by a former Dreamwave employee (Archived)], May 2010</ref>

In addition, Guido Guidi and Don Figueroa later confirmed that they were additionally charged by FedEx for having shipped artwork to Dreamwave prior to the company's closure.<ref name="fedex">[http://web.archive.org/web/20050507073425/http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/thread73039.html Archived TFW2005 thread with Guido Guidi and Don Figueroa confirming the FedEx story]</ref>

Pat Lee himself gave several interviews following the closing of Dreamwave, presenting himself as a victim of circumstance while completely dodging the issue of unpaid creators and the existence of Dream Engine.<ref name="patwiz">[http://web.archive.org/web/20061120012852/http://www.wizarduniverse.com/magazine/wizard/000230624.cfm Archived Wizard interview with Pat Lee]</ref><ref name="patnram">[http://web.archive.org/web/20100516222500/http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=39738 Newsarama interview with Pat Lee] (archive copy)</ref><ref name="jazma">[http://web.archive.org/web/20080120005126/http://www.jazmaonline.com/interviews/interviews2.asp?intID=318 Jazma Online interview with Pat Lee, April 2006] (archive copy)</ref>

While working with Dream Engine, Pat Lee spent a significant amount of the company's funds on the campaign of his girlfriend {{w|Aimee Chan}}, who would eventually win the title of Miss Hong Kong in 2006. This ultimately resulted in Pat being asked by Dream Engine and his brother Roger to leave the company.<ref>[http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=15349 Lying in the Gutters reporting on Pat Lee's involvement with Aimee Chan]</ref> In the fall of 2007, Aimee Chan changed her status on her alivenotdead social networking page<ref>http://www.alivenotdead.com/aimeechan/details.html</ref> to "single". Oops!

Following that, he was listed as the "director" of a Hong Kong-based company named DeepSky Pictures. This company apparently no longer exists, and it's unclear if it ever actually produced anything. Likewise, the companies Triple Eye Productions and Secret Lab Ltd. he had reportedly founded don't exactly have a high-profile output either, and it's difficult to find out whether both of these companies are even in business anymore.

In December 2010, Pat Lee ''finally'' agreed to give an interview to Rich Johnston, one of his most outspoken critics. While Johnston asked a lot of hard-hitting questions, often referring to personal conversations he had with people like Simon Furman and Alex Milne, Lee gave very half-hearted non-answers, claimed not to remember certain details or avoided answering questions entirely. Lee did announce he had started a "Creative Refund Movement" project to pay former Dreamwave artists.<ref name="interviewrich">[http://www.bleedingcool.com/2010/12/20/pat-lee-talks-to-bleeding-cool-via-a-dabel-brother/ Rich Johnston interviewing Pat Lee] at Bleeding Cool Comics, December 2010</ref> As of twelve years later, no artist has confirmed any kind of repayment, and one artist confirmed they received nothing within the first two years of its announcement.<ref>[http://callmepo.deviantart.com/journal/Hello-karma-you-out-there-345770376 Entry on Ferd Poblete's DeviantArt]</ref>

In 2018, he (allegedly) designed rather scary-looking half-dissected "{{W|Looney Tunes}} Get Animated" vinyl figures of {{W|Bugs Bunny}} and {{W|Tweety}} for Soap Studio and Sideshow. While not necessarily ''morally'' questionable, these things are the stuff of ''nightmares''.<ref name="bugs">[https://toysrevil.blogspot.com/2018/09/get-animated-tweety-bugs-bunny-by-pat.html 'Get Animated' Tweety & Bugs Bunny by Pat Lee x ToyQube for Sept 20th Release"] at TOYSREVIL, September 2018.</ref> In 2021, he got involved in the ''totally not scammy'' field of {{W|Non-fungible_token|NFT}}s.<ref name="nft">[https://bitcoinist.com/nft-game-god-temple-launches-token-sale-play-to-earn-model/ "NFT Game God Temple Launches Token Sale & Play-to-earn Model"] at Bitcoinist.com, July 2021.</ref> Official press releases continued to praise him as "one of the most famous artists in the North American comics industry" and a "celebrity artist."

===Failure to give proper credit===
During the Dreamwave days, several artists confirmed that Pat Lee had only been drawing the robot characters, leaving the backgrounds entirely to (credited) assistants such as [[Edwin Garcia]]. However, comic book journalist Rich Johnston reported rumors that [[Sigmund Torre]] had been ghosting for Pat, who was too busy with promotion and signing tours, as early as July 2002, when [[Prime Directive|''Generation 1'' vol. 1]] was still in production.<ref name="litgtfspec"/>

Another Dreamwave artist named [[Nick Kilislian]], who is credited for doing the "breakdowns" for Dreamwave's ''[[Transformers/G.I. Joe: Divided Front]]'' [[Targets of Opportunity|issue 1]], allegedly also ghosted for Pat on the ''X-Men/Fantastic Four'' limited series Dreamwave did for [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]] at the same time.<ref name="litgghostmost">[http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=14767 Lying in the Gutters reporting on the rumor of Nick Kilislian ghosting for Pat], September 2004.</ref>

In 2007, it turned out that Lee's personal involvement in his girlfriend's beauty pageant campaign had resulted in him being unable to meet deadlines for issues of Top Cow's ''Cyberforce'' series. As a consequence, Pat had asked [[Alex Milne]] to draw those issues in his stead. After a few issues, what little credit was initially given to Milne was dropped entirely, with Pat submitting the artwork under his own name instead, paying Milne merely a fragment of the money Top Cow was paying him.<ref name="litgmilne1">[http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&amp;id=15355 Lying in the Gutters reporting on Alex Milne ghosting for Pat Lee]</ref> In addition, Lee later asked Milne to draw artwork for DC's ''Superman/Batman'' #34 as well, again giving his underpaid ghost artist no credit.<ref name="litgmilne2">[http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&amp;id=15547 Lying in the Gutters reporting on Alex Milne ghosting for Pat Lee even more]</ref> Eventually, Top Cow found out, resulting in Pat Lee not paying Milne ''at all'' for over 20 pages of artwork.<ref name="deviantmilne">[http://hombreimaginario.deviantart.com/art/Interviews-06-Alex-Milne-64254823 Interview with Alex Milne on DeviantArt]</ref>

In late 2008, former Dreamwave editor [[Matt Moylan]] confirmed that the Silver Snail exclusive variant cover for Dreamwave's [[Transformers: Generation 1 (Dreamwave)|''Generation One'' (ongoing)]] [[Night of the Combaticons|issue 1]] that had been credited to Pat Lee had actually been drawn by a ghost artist as well.<ref name="g1ghost">[http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/transformers-general-discussion/190059-pat-lees-mushy-art-5.html#post2407689 Matt Moylan confirming that the Silver Snail exclusive G1 vol. 3 #1 cover had been drawn by a ghost artist too.]</ref> In early 2012, Moylan became more specific, now confirming that the cover had been drawn by [[Rob Ruffolo]]. In addition, he confirmed that an [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] lithograph had been drawn by [[Rob Armstrong]] but credited to Pat Lee, the [[Transformers: War Within: The Dark Ages|''War Within'' vol. 2]] [[Fragmentation (G1)|issue 1]] incentive cover had been drawn by Rob Ruffolo as well, and the ''Generation 1'' vol. 3 issue 1 retailer incentive cover had been started by Pat Lee but finished by Rob Ruffolo because Lee was suffering from appendicitis at the time.<ref name="artistdisguise">[https://web.archive.org/web/20120828054042/http://www.lilformers.com/blog/page/4/ "DREAMSLAVES #2: Artists in Disguise"] by Matt Moylan.</ref>

Lee's official artist bio has included the ''blatant lie'' that he "created the original North American series of Transformers comics" since at least 2018.<ref name="bugs"/><ref name="nft"/>

===Attempts at cover-up===
In March and April 2008, a newly registered Wikipedia user repeatedly tried to remove any reference to the controversies surrounding Pat Lee in his own article, instead replacing them with more PR-friendly resume details.<ref>{{w|Special:Contributions/Hyrocomics|Contributions by Wikipedia user "Hyrocomics"}}</ref><ref>{{w|Special:Contributions/219.78.200.95|Contributions by IP 209.70.200.95}}</ref> (The critical content in the Wikipedia article ''was'' later purged for other reasons, but not reverted to the blatant self-advertising Pat's own version was.)

==Notes==
* Before the launch of Dreamwave's ''Transformers'' comic books, Pat expressed a certain level of ignorance with regard to the brand's history. For example, he claimed that, in retrospect, the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Transformers cartoon]] was so amazing that it was only a matter of time before the [[The Transformers (toyline)|toys]] were made.<ref name="animefringe">[https://web.archive.org/web/20150402173831/http://www.animefringe.com/magazine/01.03/feature/2/index.php3 Interview with animefringe.com]</ref> In the same interview, he also admitted liking [[The Transformers (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], whom he considers a "wicked character", regretting that he "died" in the [[The Transformers: The Movie|movie]].<ref name="animefringe"/> (Sideswipe does not appear in the 1986 film.)
[[Image:FuNaNa.jpg|right|216px|thumb|Those fancy Japanese characters look AWESOME. Too bad I can't read them.]]
* Fans discovered an old personal website Pat had set up prior to the big breakthrough with Dreamwave.<ref name="infrarred">[http://www.angelfire.com/pa/infrarred/ Infrarred] {{sic}} Pat Lee's Angelfire homepage</ref> In retrospect, many of the quotes and graphics featured on the site would prove to be either hilariously ironic or frighteningly prophetic, such as a promotional image depicting Pat, his brother Roger and then-Dreamwave exec Alvin Lee walking away from a nuclear explosion (see [[:Image:Dreamwave.jpg|Image:Dreamwave.jpg]]); or a header graphic that features his name, "Patrick Lee", replaced by random katakana characters (ミチヤメノテヒ フナナ), which read ''Michiyamenotehi Funana''. Soon, this would become his new nickname among fans, used exclusively in a mocking manner. The cause for this is almost certainly a character-replacement Katakana font (WordPerfect TrueType Japanese to be exact), as used by someone who cannot read katakana. The correct katakana for his name would be パトリック・リー (''Patorikku Rī'').
* After the launch of Dream Engine, Lee's resume at the company's website claimed that he was responsible for relaunching "X-Men, Batman and more", thereby implying that those franchises had long lingered in a near-dead state until Superstar Funana blessed them with his divine reanimating powers.<ref>Pat's resume at the now defunct Dreamengine website.</ref>
* Comic book gossip journalist Rich Johnston, who has done a fair share of coverage on the subject of Pat Lee, has made use of the fact that the URL Deepskypictures.com was a dead link (since the "company" Pat briefly served for as a "director" is now apparently defunct), but still linked to on several of Pat's social networking pages... by purchasing the URL and redirecting it to his coverage of Pat's past and involvement with Dynamite Entertainment at Bleeding Cool Comics for a while.<ref name="badman">[http://www.bleedingcool.com/2010/06/05/punking-pat-lee/ Bleeding Cool Comics]</ref>
* Pat Lee once set a hill on fire.<ref name="infrarred"/>
* All of the above is ''absolutely true''. We're not kidding.
*This very article was cited by Valent Wang as the reason why he ultimately ended up starting his toy company, the Mecha Workshop, together with Don Figueroa, despite having initially approached Pat Lee about a partnership instead. Looking up his name led him to TFWiki, where he not only learned more about Lee's business practices, but also found out about Don, leading to a (hopefully) more promising partnership.<ref name="arma">[http://www.poeghostal.com/2013/04/interview-valent-wang-and-don-figueroa-on-armarauders.html Interview with Valent Wang and Don Figueroa on ARMARAUDERS] at Poe Ghostal's Points of Articulation.</ref>

==Memorable quotes by and about Pat Lee==
{{bigquote|It is a mistake to suppose that men succeed through success; they much oftener succeed through failures.|Pat Lee must be the most successful man on the planet!<ref name="jazma" />}}

{{bigquote|If he ever wants out of comics, Pat Lee's got a heck of a career as an auto mechanic.|''Wizard Magazine''<ref>Verbatim quote from a <s>[http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v472/dailyraider/patlee.jpg butt-kissing advert]</s> article published in an issue of ''Wizard Magazine''.</ref>}}

{{bigquote|Hasbro sold Dreamwave the comic license a few years back, and now these two brothers are raking in over a million dollars a year, money being spent on fast cars and fancy toys ... But making comics isn't all fun and games; both brothers have shown a business acumen well beyond their twenty-something years. |Local news report on Dreamwave and the brothers Lee during their heyday.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19A-NkfOH3g</ref>}}

{{bigquote|I remember working with Pat Lee and how kind of disappointed I was to find how little of the art was actually him. He gave me an original art page of Armada, and there’s so little art on it!|Simon Furman<ref>Talking about memorable experiences, "[http://forum.idwpublishing.com/viewtopic.php?p=42871#42871 Simon Furman Q&A Volume 2 LIVE!]"</ref>}}

{{bigquote|If Pat had been some faceless bureaucrat it maybe wouldn’t now seem such an acute betrayal, but he looked me square in the eye and said everything’s hunky-dory. That’s what still, even now, burns.|Simon Furman<ref>Online interview talking about the collapse of Dreamwave</ref>}}

{{bigquote|Probably the richest guy I know.|Don Figueroa <ref>Word Association with the name "Pat Lee" from an [https://web.archive.org/web/20090916000843/http://transfans.co.uk:80/interviews_figueroa.php interview] with TransFans.co.uk</ref>}}

{{bigquote|A guy that really knows how to pitch himself.|Guido Guidi<ref>Word Association with the name "Pat Lee" from an [https://web.archive.org/web/20090916000926/http://transfans.co.uk/interviews_guido.php interview] with TransFans.co.uk</ref>}}

{{bigquote|Cars are expensive.|Guido Guidi<ref>Word Association with the name "Dreamwave" from an [https://web.archive.org/web/20090916000926/http://transfans.co.uk/interviews_guido.php interview] with TransFans.co.uk</ref>}}

{{bigquote|Can we get our money?|Adam Patyk<ref>Patyk's response to the question "If you could talk to Pat directly right now, what would you ask of him?" in an [http://web.archive.org/web/20090329225039/http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=39073 interview] with Newsarama (archive copy).</ref>}}

{{bigquote|Some of the shapes and lines are a little misshapen. When you draw your lines, sketch them out in layout mode, and try to get as accurate as possible before making any final lines.|Pat Lee, not practicing what he preaches.<ref>[http://s104.photobucket.com/user/PatLeeProductions/media/page3.jpg.html Quote from Pat Lee's "How to draw Mecha" article from Wizard #118, July 2001.]</ref>}}

{{bigquote|To anyone who wants to break into comics- learn to love drawing backgrounds and study technical work, never have an ego, and treat your fans with respect!|Pat Lee, still not practicing what he preaches.<ref>[http://asylums.insanejournal.com/scans_daily/796425.html#cutid1 Parting words from Pat Lee in "Extreme Scenes" from Extreme Comics.]</ref>}}

{{bigquote|Please don't believe anything that comes out of this man's mouth. I did, and look where it got me!|Simon Furman in 2010 <ref>[http://www.bleedingcool.com/forums/comic-book-forum/32106-pat-lee-talks-bleeding-cool-via-dabel-brother-3.html#post144857 Furman post at Bleeding Cool, 22 December 2010]</ref>}}

==See also==
* [[Dull surprise]]

==External links==
* [http://www.angelfire.com/pa/infrarred/infrarred2.html Infrarred]
* [http://www.myspace.com/patleeart PatLeeArt] at MySpace
* [http://www.alivenotdead.com/patlee Pat Lee's alivenotdead profile blog site]
* [http://patleeart.deviantart.com/ Pat Lee's deviantART page.]
* [http://www.youtube.com/user/PatLeeArt Pat Lee's Youtube account]
* [http://twitter.com/patleeart Pat Lee's Twitter feed]
* [https://www.resonanceartistry.com/ RESONANCE “Art of Vibrations”]

==References==
{{reflist|3}}

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[[Category:Colorists]]
[[Category:Alternators packaging artists]]
[[Category:Executives]]
[[Category:Inkers]]
[[Category:Cover artists]]
[[Category:Hasbro packaging artists]]
[[Category:Pencillers]]