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The Bleeding Cool Top 100 Power List 2017 Countdown: #91-95

Published Sat, 23 Dec 2017 12:20:50 -0600

Last updated Sun, 24 Dec 2017 15:51:49 -0600

Every year, Bleeding Cool Magazine runs its Top 100 Power List of members of the comics industry. And every year we get told how wrong we are. Somehow, it's always for completely different reasons and from completely different directions. Why was X in when Y was not? Why is Z is high when W is so low? And neither U or T should be on this list after that incident involving V…

But that's part of the fun. This attempt to list the most powerful people working in the English-speaking comic book marketplace is, of course, flawed. It is judged by all manner of attributes, the ability to influence what comics exist and sell, but also the willingness to use that power in the industry to affect things, and the ability to retain said power if a job is taken away. Which is why you will see a number of people on a higher spot than their bosses.

The Power List rewards those who combine roles, creator, publisher, distributor, retailers, those who are double and triple threats, and also where power is concentrated in one person rather than being spread out among many. Some powerful organisations or groups, where power is diffused amongst many individuals, drop down or drop out altogether.

It does not measure talent or likeability, and it does not intend to represent diversity. All it does is note power, used for betterment — or detriment — in comics.

The list was created in consultation with a number of senior figures in the comics industry, and I thank them for their help. Although because they all disagree, they'll all think the final list is wrong, too.

Watch for a new batch twice a day. And as we are only on the first day, we are just from #91 to #95. Check out #96 to #100 right here.

91. Matt Pizzolo. Co-founder of Black Mask Comics and writer of a number of its books. As well as being a film producer, screenwriter, and all that jazz, he's a strong point of confluence for all sorts of creative and productive efforts.

92. Shannon Watters. Heads up the BOOM! Box where she works as an editor at Boom! — and where she is also the co-creator/writer of Lumberjanes — a shibboleth of modern comic book storytelling and publishing.

93. Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa. CCO of Archie Comics and showrunner of Riverdale TV show. Changing the face of an entire brand into something utterly unrecognisable from several years ago, while still maintaining the original vibe.

94. Andrea Tower. Arriving from Entertainment Weekly, she heads up Marvel's PR department, under David Gabriel. Gatekeeper for many media brands to Marvel Comics plans, even if they are just lenticular covers, she is rapidly becoming the company's go-to face for the world.

95. Tee Franklin. Comic book activist and creator of the heavily crowd-funded Bingo Love graphic novel, picked up by Image. One of the most responded to and recognised new creators in comic book social media.

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