Posted in: Comics, Marvel Comics | Tagged: John Nee, Judy Stephens, marvel
Marvel Comics Joins Disney In Making Staffers Redundant
Today, Bleeding Cool has been hearing that a handful of staffers at Marvel Comics has been made officially redundant at various departments and levels – though none in comic book editorial.
However, this includes John Nee, the publisher of Marvel Comics who, amongst other things, brought League Of Legends and Warhammer to the comic book publisher, as reported by Comic Book. He had been placed on furlough, and it appears that all the affected staff had been previously furloughed as well. Formerly, John Nee had set up Cryptozoic Entertainment, had been a VP at DC Comics and Earner Bros, and CEO of Wildstorm when DC Comics purchased it.
The other name out there is Judy Stephens, a producer who worked on a variety of projects at the publisher. This included being producer and host of the Women Of Marvel podcast and well as the series Marvel Make Me a Hero, Marvel Becoming, Marvel Quickdraw, This Week in Marvel, The Pull List, and more. Judy posted earlier today, "Marvel, and I said goodbye today. I'm working through my emotions as I mourn my career over the last 14 years."
But this is not just the comic book publisher. Deadline reports that Disney Studio Division, including Searchlight, has been hit with a similar level of layoffs today, as ESPN made hundreds redundant.
In April, Disney furloughed staff across divisions, even with criticism from the Disney family, without pay though Marvel continued to providing health insurance for the duration. However, in recent months, furloughed staff had returned to work at the publisher again. Bleeding Cool has been told that there are no other similar cuts planned, and this isn't the beginning of a "drip drip" effect at the publisher, which might prove some comfort to the remaining staff. But to any and all affected by the news, Bleeding Cool offer our greatest sympathies and good luck for the months to come.