Posted in: Comics, Comics Publishers, Current News, Ike Perlmutter, Marvel Comics, Spider-Man | Tagged: bill jemas, comics journal, joe quesada

Bill Jemas, Joe Quesada & Ike Perlmutter's Marvel in Comics Journal

Comics Journal #310 contains "an epic, novella-length history of Marvel Comics in the creative cauldron" of Jemas, Quesada and Perlmutter.

Zach Rabiroff posts, "I've said it before, but The Comics Journal #310 contains what is almost certainly the best thing that I will ever put to paper: an epic, novella-length history of Marvel Comics in the creative cauldron of Bill Jemas, Joe Quesada, and Ike Perlmutter. Please order it." Well, that's how to get my attention. And it appears to have been at least two years in the making. Here is the first page of the article, The Rashomon Of Bill Jemas: Four Portraits of a Marvel Age by Zach Rabiroff, for flavour.

"Bill Jemas sounds tired today. It's Tuesday afternoon, preternaturally cool for late June [2022] in the Northeast, and Jemas has spent the weekend with his family in Princeton trying not to think about licensing deals and distribution channels. Now, his voice slightly hoarse over a cell phone connection, he is talking to me about the work on his place, and about Keanu Reeves."

"It's every aspect of the supply chain, and then you have to get the comic books read," he tells me. "This time I'm probably going to start off with some kind of relationship or another. It may be that we find some film or Tv show to do comic books around, or it may be that this time we just do deals with celebrities. I think I mentioned to you how well Keanu and BOOM! did on their crowdfund campaign [14,571 backers pledged $1,447,212]. You really need a relationship now to get books read."

"Jemas' fatigue is understandable. A little over three weeks ago, he had quietly ended his relationship with AWA Studios, the publishing house and self-styled entertainment studio he had cofounded with longtime colleague Axel Alonso and Jonathan F. Miller in 2018. The following day, in a press release that went largely unnoticed thanks to the coincidental (or was it?) departure of one-time co-conspirator Joe Quesada from Marvel Comics, Jemas had announced the formation of a new publishing venture characteristically named Be Good Studios. Under a series of vaguely aspirational headings, the release outlined the company's winkingly oxymoronic priorities: "Be Liberal and Diverse," "Be Conservative and Judgmental," "Be Old & Gray and Young & Spry." But playful aspirations aside, the launch had not gone off quite as smoothly as hoped: Be Good had initially listed NFTs among its prospective ventures (the better to secure that plentiful crypto startup capital) … only to find the NFT market plummet the week following his company's launch."

"Still, there is reason for Jemas to be enthusiastic. At age 65, there is a sense that Be Good is likely to be the last act of his career; indeed, even if he's unlikely to put it in so many words, it could be his final chance for a true, unambiguous publishing comeback on his own terms. He hasn't been gone, of course: there was AWA, and before that the quizzical episode of Double Take Comics, a venture whose two-year existence was devoted entirely to a series of questionable riffs on a public domain zombie movie. But this is all a pale shadow of the moment"

That takes me a little back. Here's that story about Bill Jemas leaving AWA, and his own statement that followed and AWA killing his imprint. Oh and also how he killed Grant Morrison's Marvel Boy 2, was going to take over writing Captain Marvel from Peter David, tried to merge Ultimate and Non-Ultimate, deny Rob Liefeld of royalties and gave Tom Brevoort his worst half-decade in comics. Anyway, consider Comics Journal #310 ordered. It also has a cover interview with Gerard Scarfe, and is out mid-July, just in time for San Diego Comic-Con.

Austin Robertson English stated "The Comics Journal 310, edited by Gary Groth, Kristy Valenti and myself, will finally be on stands in two months. This issue took a long time, but it's 300 pages (!!??!) of incredible material,  Taken as a whole, the issue covers comics as an art form from as far back as the 1800s w/ first ever conversation between scholars Peter Maresca, David Kunzle & Thierry Smolderen, then into the 60s with a 100 page interview between visionary satirist Gerald Scarfe & Groth. Scarfe's transgressive art rhymes with our 2nd feature interview between Lale Westvind & Aidan Koch, 2 of todays absolute best cartoonists, as well as features on the art of Jess Johnson (her sketchbooks see print for the first time here), an original comic by Allee Errico, a spotlight on Juliette Collet . A massive critical essay on Marvel business practices under Bill Jemas by @zachrabiroff with spot illustrations by @HornrimHornrim, pointed criticism on alt comics sacred cows by Brian Nicholson provide counterpoint, plus much much more."

The Comics Journal #310 Paperback – July 16, 2024 by Austin English, Kristy Valenti, Gary Groth, Gerald Scarfe
Multimedia artist and satirist Gerald Scarfe, best known globally for his Pink Floyd's The Wall and Disney's Hercules iconography, talks to Gary Groth about his scabrous film, TV, and comics career, spanning 60+ years.  Multimedia artist and satirist Gerald Scarfe, best known worldwide for his Pink Floyd iconography and designs for Disney's Hercules, talks to Gary Groth about his film, TV, and comics career, spanning 60+ years. Zach Rabiroff does a journalistic deep dive into Bill Jemas's tenure as Vice President of Marvel from 2000–2004, the creation of the Marvel Ultimates Universe, and much more. Also: visual artists Aidan Koch (Earth Comics, The Blonde Woman) and Lale Westvind (Grip) in conversation; a Jess Johnson sketchbook; a Fair Warning interview with TCJ Best of 2022 cartoonist Juliette Collet; a look at Chris Companik's HIV-awareness comics, original work by Allee Errico, and much more. Black-and-white and full-color illustrations throughout

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