A new and horrifying report claims that Stan Lee's former business associate is using vials of the comic book legend's stolen blood to sign comics.

Loading

TMZ's report comes off the back of The Daily's Beast's recent story that the same business associate Lee and his daughter JC once worked with at his former for-profit charity Hands of Respect is draining much of his finances in dodgy 'loans' and purchases.TMZ claims this individual forged fake medical documents, authorising the blood to be drawn, before stamping it on several copies of The Mighty Thor #700, and a variant cover of Rise of the Black Panther #1.The books were reportedly briefly available at the Marvel Avengers S.T.A.T.I.O.N. store on the Las Vegas Strip, complete with a certificate of authentication that declares they'd been "Hand-Stamped" with a "Signature of STAN LEE using Stan Lee's Solvent DNA Ink." They retailed for up to $500.Earlier this afternoon, TMZ updated its story with a statement from Evan Michailidis, a legal rep for S.T.A.T.I.O.N. "We’re a retail store which purchased product from Hands of Respect LLC and DLK Brand Consulting LLC that appeared certified and obtained with authorization. The books were removed from our shelves immediately."The first instance of "Stan Lee's Solvent DNA Ink" seems to come from a forum thread on CGComics.com in February. There, a poster claiming to represent S.T.A.T.I.O.N says that Lee willingly donated his blood in honor of the blood donors helping the victims of the 2017 tragedy in Las Vegas.In its story last month, The Daily Beast claims that $300,000 was donated from Lee's business account to Hands of Respect without his knowledge. Hands of Respect also reportedly purchased a $850,000 condo in West Hollywood, not far from Lee's home in the Hollywood Hills. Lee and his daughter are no longer associated with the company.

Lucy O'Brien is Games & Entertainment Editor at IGN’s Sydney office. Follow her on Twitter.