THE BACKSTREET BOYS' COMIC GENIUS - BOP July 00




Backstreet Boys' Nick Carter steps into the comic book world and turns his super-hot groupmates into superheroes


You're surfing the Internet, doing your daily Backstreet Boys homework, when you stumble upon a funky-fresh web site you have never seen before -- www.BackstreetProject.com. Suddenly, you see your all-time favorite fellas looking like cartoon superheroes! Confused? Well, we've got the official 411: Cutie-pie Nick Carter has finally turned his cartooning fantasy into a reality! He's created a comic book called The Backstreet Project, which transforms himself and his Backstreet buddies -- Brian Littrell, Kevin Richardson, Howie Dorough and A.J. McLean -- into a bona fide superheroes! But don't worry, Boppers. When these rock stars aren't out saving the world, they'll still be crooning "Show Me The Meaning of Being Lonely" from their 1999 CD, Millennium, and fine-tuning their vocals in the studio this summer, recording a new album. Whew!

"A comic book is something I've always wanted to do," beams 20-year-old Nick. Four years ago, he came up with the brilliant idea and started doodling away. In 1998, when it came time to choose a theme for his scene in the music video for "I'll Never Break Your Heart", the Nickster went with a comic book motif, and hung superhero cartoon sketches of each of his groupmates on the wall behind him! Nick's big break finally came in 1999, when the aspiring 'toonster teamed up with Marvel Comics genius Stan Lee, who loved the comic book idea and set the final wheels in motion.

Now, after tons of hard work and dedication, The Backstreet Project is finished and ready for your eyes only. "Stan has done a great job in helping my dream come to life," blue-eyed Nick has glowed. "This is one of the many opportunities when we get to do something we've always wanted to do. So I'm extremely happy."

Brian
Coming up with each guy's super power was a bit of a challenge for Nick. "Each character has a little bit of our own personality in it and that was the goal," the Florida native has explained. "One of the first people I started working on was Brian, and I wanted to do something that has to do with him being athletic," blond-haired Nick has remarked. "He really wants to play basketball and he wants to be able to jump extremely high and dunk, you know, so that's, like, one of his things." Babely Bri couldn't be more pleased with his superhero character.

"I can leap tall buildings in a single bound!" the 25-year-old has boasted about his cartoon self."



Kevin
Next on Nick's list was 28-year-old Kevin. "He's the big brother of the group. He's the oldest and he's the strongest in heart and mind, so I wanted to incorporate that," the 'toonster has revealed.

Grinning, 6-foot-1 inch Kev has proclaimed of his alter ego, "It looks like I can pretty much lift and move anything. [I'm] superstrong like Arnold Schwarzenegger!"



A.J.
For stylin' bud A.J.'s character, Nick had a great idea. "You just give him a leather jacket and a hat and just make him look cool," he's theorized. "He's a marksman [and] he's really good with his laser guns." Brown-eyed, 22-year-old A.J. is quite pleased with his super powers.

"I can shoot whatever you put in front of me, however far you put it," he's professed.



Howie
Coming up with 26-year-old Howie's super skill took a bit more thought. "[Howie's] is the peacemaker [and] doesn't like to get into arguments and he's extremely intelligent," buddy Nick has shared. "So, we kind of incorporated something where he could do things with his mind and create things."

Brown-eyed Howie has chuckled about his 'tooned self, "I actually have the telepathic ability to project thoughts and images into people's minds."



Nick
Last but not least was Nick's own superhero image. "I really kind of have a fasicination [with] the martial arts and Ninjas," he's confessed.

"Basically, my character is a futuristic Ninja. I have Ninja capabilities and I can slice you." Yikes!



Nick's Backstreet buds were totally excited about watching this all of this unfold. "Nick has always been, like, the artist of the group and we have always encouraged throughout the eight years we've been together to constantly keep developing that talent of his," supportive Howie has noted. Green-eyed Kevin agrees. "I remember Nick coming up with this idea four or five years ago, saying he wanted to do it and it's really cool. I mean Nick gets a chance to make one of his dreams come true," the groovy guy has gushed. "It's exciting," blue-eyed B-Rok has raved.

Nodding in agreement, funky A.J. adds his approval. "It is definitely a really dope idea," he's maintained. "When I was growing up, I always wanted to be a superhero -- so now, thanks to Nick and Stan, I am one, so it's pretty cool."