It had to happen. Eventually something in the news would force us to couple "Boom!" and "Pow!" onomatopoeias in an opening graf. Fortunately for us all, it's not for a story about the comics medium entering the mainstream: Boom! Studios and Stan Lee's Pow! Entertainment are partnering to launch a new superhero line. Stan's Back indeed!

According to a Boom! press release, the partnership will premier three new super hero titles presented by Lee. Boom! EiC Mark Waid ("Irredeemable," "Incorruptible") and two other writers will be steering the titles beginning later this year, along with unannounced artists.

So far, the deal seems similar in some regards to Archie Comics' Pow! partnership, which coupled Tom DeFalco and Patrick Spaziante to produce "Super Seven," a comic starring Lee as a mentor to a young group of alien heroes. As more info filters in from Boom! and Pow! (there it is again), the difference between the deals should become much clearer.

The announcement follows a mysterious advertising campaign and Web site launch (which playfully chided Chris Sim's special brand of speculation in its source code prior to a full unveiling). Bleedingcool and other sites linked the site to Boom! early on, but this announcement makes things official.

Now with the mystery solved, we begin the long and painful process of dissolving some of our "Bam! Pow!" headline prejudices in the interest of properly covering this new project.

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