''Backstreet Project'' is an

American comic book An American comic book is a thin periodical originating in the United States, on average 32 pages, containing comics. While the form originated in 1933, American comic books first gained popularity after the 1938 publication of ''Action Comics'' ...

created by Nick Carter and

Stan Lee Stan Lee (born Stanley Martin Lieber ; December 28, 1922 – November 12, 2018) was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Publications which ...

. The comic features members of Carter's band the

Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson. Lou Pearlman formed the group in 1993 in Orlando, Florida. The gr ...

as themselves as well as a team of superheroes called "Cyber Crusaders". The book was available for purchase at their concerts and online stores in 2000–2001.

Publication history

Nick Carter, who was a comic fan, made an original concept of the comic planned as a six-issue series. In February 2000, he met Stan Lee through his manager from

The Firm The FIRM (stylized as The FIRM) is a brand of exercise videos and equipment currently owned by Gaiam. The original "The FIRM" videos are best known for popularizing a hybrid of aerobic exercise and weight training. History In 1979, Anna Bens ...

. Carter told him about his concept, and Lee was interested. However, they ultimately decided to make it into only one issue.

Plot

It begins when the Backstreet Boys are in the midst of one of their concerts. As they are performing on stage, a spaceship crashes near the stadium. The members rush into the woods to the crash site and there they find an alien who was on the ship. The alien gives each of them an enchanted amulet embedded with mystic crystals and they learn that she is on a mission of protecting Earth from an alien invasion that would happen soon. When they wear the amulets their DNA gets twisted by a virtual genetic cyclone that gives each of them astonishing super powers. The superhero form of the Backstreet Boys are called Cyber Crusaders.

Characters

Other media

Burger King Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain store, chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based res ...

made action figures based on this comic book characters, they were sold in 2000 with the purchase of Burger King Big Kids Meal and Kids Meal. The Backstreet Boys and their cartoon characters also appeared in three Burger King TV commercials. A series of flash-based

webisodes A webisode (portmanteau of "web" and "episode") is an episode of a series that is distributed as part of a web series or on streaming television. It is available as either for download or in streaming, as opposed to first airing on broadcast or ...

were released in 2000. None of the characters were voiced by members of Backstreet Boys themselves. While twenty-two episodes were planned, only seven were released prior to the collapse of

Stan Lee Media Stan Lee Media (SLM) was an Internet-based creation, production and marketing company that was founded in 1998, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2000, and ultimately dismissed from bankruptcy in November 2006. In its early years, the ...

: #''Larger Than Life'' #''Dead Heat'' #''Wild Ride'' #''Winner Takes All'' #''Freefall'' #''Zanell's Choice'' #''The Camera Hates You Part 1'' #''The Camera Hates You Part 2''

References

{{Stan Lee Backstreet Boys Comics by Stan Lee Comics by Nick Carter (musician)