Joe Quesada: Marvel Comics Editor-In-Chief
Comic Industry 'Super Hero' Leads to Record Profits
Sep 11, 2008
Marvel Comics took a risk when they placed young comic book artist and producer Joe Quesada as editor-in-chief in 2000. Quesada's fresh vision for the bankrupt company proved successful: Marvel revenues saw a 75% increase in Quesada’s first year as Editor-in-Chief, triggering an upward trend that has not ceased since.
Quesada Replaces Bob Hemas as Marvel Comics Editor-In-Chief
Bill Jemas became the head of Marvel in 2000 to help the company escape bankruptcy woes. The industry not only struggled with money issues, but during the 1990’s many fans grew tired of flashy and gimmicky story lines involving the company’s nearly 40 years of continuity. By 1998, the company badly needed revitalizing boost.
In 1998, soon-to-be editor Quesada launched the Marvel Knight lines, achieving both fan and financial success. Quesada had spent the 1990’s making his name by drawing for Valiant Comics, eventually forming his own company, Event Comics. He sealed his status in the comics world when Marvel contracted Event Comics to produce the Marvel Knights line, which earned Quesada enough recognition to be vetted for the editor-in-chief position.
Quesada Changes Marvel Comics
Fans, initially suspicious that Quesada was “carried” to the position by collaborator and Marvel Head Bill Jemas, quickly Saw Quesada prove to be a enormously talented and in tune with the industry’s desires. Quesada hit directly on Marvel’s well-known weak spots. He helped create a second Marvel Universe with the same character but without the continuity, the Ultimate Universe, to draw in new fans unfamiliar with Marvel’s decades of continuity. Quesada also called up a moratorium the industry’s nasty habit of bringing character’s back from the dead. Since his reign began, characters who were definitively killed such as Captain America and Hawkeye have remained buried.
Other changes Quesada mandated:
- Withdrawal of Marvel comics from the Comics Code rating system; instead the company established its own rating system for comic book content.
- Took out character smoking habits to serve as a better model for kids.
- Began to heavily focus on sale of nearly all comics in graphic novel (trade paperback) format, previously reserved for only tried and true storylines.
- Stopped including editorial footnotes in issues.
What Quesada Plans for Marvel Comics Future
According to the Marvel Website, Quesada plans to focus on creating new characters, especially to cater to the female demographic. In an interview with UGO, Quesada said his favorite new character is X-23, a female clone of Wolverine.
Quesada also plans to help oversee production of several more movies taken from Marvel comics pages. He helped forge the creation of Marvel Entertainment, giving the company creative control over movies. Marvel Entertainment has a 10 picture distribution deal, which has seen lucrative profits so far with pictures such as Iron-Man and Incredible Hulk. Read about the next Marvel Comic Book Movies in the works.
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