Bill Jemas is an American media entrepreneur, writer, and editor, known for his tenure as president of Fleer Entertainment Group during the 1990s, and for his work as vice president of Marvel Comics from 2000 to 2004. During his time at Marvel, Jemas and editor-in-chief Joe Quesada implemented Marvel's no-overship policy, newsstand compilation magazines, added the Marvel MAX line, fortified the Marvel Knights imprint, removed the Comics Code from Marvel books, increased Marvel's publication of trade paperbacks, and were credited with shepherding the company from bankruptcy to profit, earning positive reviews from within and outside of the comics industry,[1] though Jemas also was criticized for micromanagement and provocative public statements that made him a controversial figure.[2]
After graduating Harvard, Jemas took a job as a tax attorney at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in New York. Disappointed by this work, he left after two years to work for the National Basketball Association, which he found to be more entrepreneurial, and allowed him to focus on managing a business and working on deals, which Jemas sees as two of the things he does best. It also gave him entry into the entertainment field, which he felt would open up lucrative opportunities. While at NBA, according to Jemas, he helped build an almost non-existent basketball card business into a multimillion-dollar enterprise.[5]
Jemas became president of Fleer Entertainment Group and Fleer Corp in 1993, and appointed Jemas as executive vice president of Marvel Entertainment Group that year.[5] In January 2000, he became president of consumer products, publishing and new media—essentially Marvel Comics' publisher. During his tenure, his tendencies toward micromanagement and provocative public statements made him a controversial figure.[2]
He came to prominence at Marvel Comics (which owned Fleer), during the former's bankruptcy reorganizations. During his tenure, Jemas was key in replacing editor-in-chief Bob Harras with Joe Quesada. Jemas and Quesada formed the public face of Marvel, taking the roles of, said one observer, of "good cop and bad cop". Among the policies they implemented were Marvel's no-overship policy, newsstand compilation magazines, adding the Marvel MAX line, entrenching Marvel Knights, and removal of the Comics Code from Marvel books. They also increased Marvel's publication of trade paperbacks, and are credited with shepherding the company from bankruptcy to profit, and with earning positive reviews from within and outside of the comics industry.[1]
Jemas and Quesada's partnership would eventually suffer amid controversy generated by Jemas, which Marvel executives frowned upon, and which resulted in Quesada distancing himself from Jemas in the eyes of Marvel staff and freelancers. During this time, Jemas spearheaded the revival of the company's Epic line, which would publish creator-owned books, but his interference in editorial generated much ill will among creators who felt his ideas did not help the quality of the books. Producer and Marvel Studios CEO Avi Arad in particular was angered over certain comics overseen by Jemas that Arad had difficulty selling to Hollywood producers and stars. As the company's film properties grew in importance, Jemas lost the loyalty of Arad's business partner, Isaac Perlmutter,[1] who had been instrumental in bringing Marvel out of bankruptcy through the merger of his company, Toy Biz.[8]
Upon his departure from the company, Jemas continued to work with Marvel in a non-executive capacity through mid-2004,[citation needed] writing or co-writing Marvel comic books including Namor and Origin.
Comic book writer Gail Simone said on her blog that she ghost wrote for Jemas during his tenure at Marvel.[9] She later clarified that she was referring to a comedic article about Marvel giving away free cookies rather than an actual comic.[10]
Upon his departure from Marvel Entertainment, Jemas started 360ep, an entertainment property management firm. He developed the Freeware Bible, which translates ancient Aramaic-Hebrew words into English synonyms, for the purpose of providing an English translation of Genesis that is truer to the original Hebrew text than commonly used translations like the King James Bible, and to "show readers that widely accepted Bible translations are inherently imperfect". By February 2009, he had completed the first chapter.[4] Jemas also managed a T-shirt line, IDtees, whose T-shirts contained positive messages. The line was eventually discontinued so that Jemas could focus on other projects.[11]
In 2012, Jemas announced the creation of an online comics venture, the Transverse Universe.[12][13] A new print comic, "Wake The F#CK Up", was released December 4, 2012 via Zenescope Comics.[14] The promotion of the comic was spearheaded with a YouTube video by hip-hop artist Kilgorian Tralfamadore.[15]
In 2019, Jemas joined the new comic book publisher Artists, Writers and Artisans,[18] or AWA Studios an initiative created by former Marvel editor-in-chief Axel Alonso,[19] on which Jemas would serve as Chief Creative officer. The publisher announced that its first slate of titles would include books by creators such as Peter Milligan, Frank Cho, and Christa Faust.[18] One of its early publications was The Resistance, a miniseries by J. Michael Straczynski and Mike Deodato, which depicts a global pandemic caused by a pathogen that kills 95 percent of those infected, leaving the remaining five percent with superhuman abilities. The series, which was intended to establish a new superhero universe, debuted on March 18, 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic was taking hold in the United States.[19][20] The series garnered positive reviews, achieved a rating of 9.0 out of 10 at the review aggregator website Comic Book Roundup, based on 20 reviews.[21]
Marvel Comics is an American comic book publisher and the property of The Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin Goodman as Timely Comics, and by 1951 had generally become known as Atlas Comics. The Marvel era began in June 1961 with the launch of The Fantastic Four and other superhero titles created by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and many others. The Marvel brand, which had been used over the years and decades, was solidified as the company's primary brand.
Avi Arad is an Israeli-American film producer who became the CEO of the company Toy Biz in the 1990s and soon afterward became the chief creative officer of Marvel Entertainment, and the chairman, CEO, and founder of Marvel Studios. Since then, he has produced a wide array of live-action, animated, and television comic book adaptations including Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the 2018 Academy Award winner for Best Animated Feature.
Andrew Kubert is an American comics artist, letterer, and writer. He is the son of Joe Kubert and brother of Adam Kubert, both of whom are also artists, and the uncle of comics editor Katie Kubert.
Brian Michael Bendis is an American comic book writer and artist.
Ultimate Marvel, later known as Ultimate Comics, was an imprint of comic books published by Marvel Comics, featuring re-imagined and modernized versions of the company's superhero characters from the Ultimate Marvel Universe, later known as the Ultimate Universe. Those characters include Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Ultimates, the Fantastic Four, and others. The imprint was launched in 2000 with the publication of the series Ultimate Spider-Man and Ultimate X-Men in 2001, followed by The Ultimates and Ultimate Fantastic Four in 2002 and 2004 respectively providing new origin stories for the characters. The reality of Ultimate Marvel is designated as Earth-1610 as part of the Marvel Comics Multiverse.
Cross Generation Comics or CrossGen was an American comic book publisher and entertainment company that operated from 1998 to 2004. The company's assets were acquired by The Walt Disney Company in 2004, and designated to Disney Publishing Worldwide. In July 2010, Disney re-established the brand through Marvel Comics, who announced plans to revive CrossGen titles.
Joseph Quesada is an American comic book artist, writer, editor, and television producer. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books, such as Ninjak and Solar, Man of the Atom. He later worked on numerous books for DC Comics and Marvel Comics, such as Batman: Sword of Azrael and X-Factor, before forming his own company, Event Comics, where he published his creator-owned character, Ash.
Marville is a 2002 comic book limited series published by American company Marvel Comics. The series was written by Bill Jemas, and the stories involve satirical comments on comic book industry conventions and trends.
Mark Waid is an American comic book writer best known for his work on DC Comics titles The Flash, Kingdom Come and Superman: Birthright as well as his work on Captain America, Fantastic Four and Daredevil for Marvel. Other comics publishers he has done work for include Fantagraphics, Event, Top Cow, Dynamite, and Archie Comics.
Trouble is a five-issue romance comic book limited series published in 2003 by Marvel Comics as a part of its Epic Comics imprint. Written by Mark Millar and illustrated by Terry and Rachel Dodson, the series deals with teen pregnancy. The basic concept was created by Bill Jemas and Joe Quesada.
Paul Jenkins is a British comic book writer, screenwriter, novelist, and narrative director. He has had much success crossing over into the American comic book market. Primarily working for Marvel Comics, Jenkins had a big part shaping the characters of the company, helping via the Marvel Knights imprint to propel Marvel from Chapter 11 bankruptcy before choosing to focus on independent publications. He is also noted for his groundbreaking narrative work in the field of video games, and is recognized as one of the world's preeminent "cross-media" creators for his work across such multiple media as animation, video games, comic books, and film.
The Hero Initiative, formerly known as A Commitment to Our Roots, or ACTOR, is the first federally recognized not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping comic book creators, writers and artists in need. Founded in late 2000 by a consortium of comic book and trade publishers, including Marvel Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse Comics, Wizard Entertainment, CrossGen Comics and Dynamic Forces Inc., the 501(c)(3) charity aims to assist comic creators with health, medical, and quality-of-life assistance.
Marvel Entertainment, LLC was an American entertainment company founded in June 1998 and based in New York City, New York, formed by the merger of Marvel Entertainment Group and Toy Biz. The company has been a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company since 2009, and was mainly known for consumer products, licensing, and comic books by Marvel Comics, as well as its early forays into films and television/streaming shows, including those within the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
Axel Alonso is an American comic book creator and former journalist, best known as the former editor in chief at Marvel Comics, a role which he held from January 2011 until November 2017. Alonso began his career as a journalist for New York's Daily News. He later worked as an editor at DC Comics from 1994 to 2000, during which he edited a number of books published under their Vertigo line, such as Doom Patrol, Animal Man, Hellblazer, Preacher, and 100 Bullets. In 2000 he went to work for Marvel Comics as a senior editor. While there, he edited Spider-Man and X-Men-related books before ascending to vice president, executive editor in 2010, and editor in chief in January 2011, replacing Joe Quesada. He has also worked as a writer and inker.
Truth: Red, White & Black is a seven-issue comic book limited series written by Robert Morales, drawn by Kyle Baker and published by Marvel Comics. The series focuses on Isaiah Bradley, one of 300 African American soldiers experimented on by the US Army in an attempt to create super soldiers. Elements of Truth are adapted for the Disney+ series The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, set in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Event Comics was an American independent comic book publisher founded by veteran artists Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada. The company published during the years 1994 to 1999, at which point it was contracted to form the Marvel Knights imprint for Marvel Comics.
Charmed comics were officially licensed continuations of the popular television series of the same name, which ended its eight-year run in 2006. The comic books were published monthly by Zenescope Entertainment. Charmed: Season 9 served as a continuation set eighteen months after the events of the televised show's final episode and was first released on June 16, 2010. After concluding in 2012, it was succeeded by Charmed: Season 10 which debuted on October 8, 2014 and ended on September 14, 2016. Each season comprises 22-24 issues and one story arc spans between five and seven issues which is reprinted in graphic novel form.
Barbara "Bobbie" Chase is an editor and writer in the comic book industry. She worked for Marvel Comics throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In 1994–1995, she was one of Marvel Group's Editors-in-Chief, the highest level a female editor has ever achieved at the company. She was Vice President of Talent Development at DC Comics from 2015 to 2020.
Double Take LLC, commonly referred to as Double Take Comics, was an American comic book publisher based in New York City. Founded by former Marvel Comics executive Bill Jemas as a subsidiary of Take-Two Interactive in October 2014, the company served as Take-Two Interactive's pilot project in comic book publishing. The company published five issues each from ten original comic book series, and was shut down in November 2016.
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