Is There a Steve Jobs in the Comic Book Industry?

[*paull*]

That "peaking" of Stan Lee's during the 60s and 70s basically re-envigorated the comic book industry from purgatory. Did the Flash or Green Lantern returning make the comic book industry what it was? No, Stan Lee (and of course the artists he worked with) did with Spider-Man, the Hulk, FF, etc.

 

One major success? Hardly!

[Aman619]

 

Stan Lee is iconic, but he seems to have peaked in the 60s-early 70's. I.E. He basically had one major success. (a HUGE success and sustained achievement... but when Stan Lee essentially retired from writing, his output stopped.)

 

I liken Stan Lee to a mathematical genius...someone who most likely does his best work in the earlier parts of his life.

 

 

 

 

 

thats also why Stan is the better match for Jobs. We will se where Jobs is in 30 years, though his health may make that moot point. But to Judge Stan for a "burst of activity and relevance in the 60s and 70s is perfectly analogous to Jobs in the 80s and 90s. Except for the extra decade Jobs has been back on top, the ))S.

 

But in comics, we dont got NOBODY who's been on top for 3 decades so Stans record is the closest match. Its about acomplishments, revolutionary changes, and mystique. Both have all three .

 

[Aman619]

lets flip it around... who is Comics' Bill Gates?

[Aman619]

um, actually thats not a flip, is it?

 

[Bosco685]

lets flip it around... who is Comics' Bill Gates?

Daniel Patterson for being able to package crappy "code" and resell it as gold?

 

Ahhh, but he didn't dominate his market. He's out!

[Mac Man]

Ok, first off, these two little gems really stuck out to me:

 

"Quesada has supporters that say his vision of Marvel Comics is the best. He certainly has mastered the art of being front and center and the spokesman for the company he works for"

 

Clearly, the author is somewhat out of touch with the fanbase of titles such as Amazing Spider-Man, or perhaps he simply opted to overlook the massive outcry and then subsequent drop in sales following the One More Day debacle. And then there's the Sins Past crappola... in my line of work, we call this a good example of the logical fallacy called hasty generalization. I'd like to see the evidence to support this claim...

 

"In the first issue of Harbinger, Shooter had predicted that this book would one day be as valuable as Avengers #1. He was right! "

 

Again, logcial fallacy at its best. I call this one, appeal to a questionable authority. Heck! The writer even disqualifies Shooter as being out of touch with comics today, but takes his word at the value comparison of Harbinger 1 to Avengers 1? Riiiiight.

 

In any event, I'm pretty shocked (as I see some of you were as well) that individuals such as Stan Lee, Will Eisner, or even Siegel/Shuster or Bob Kane (along with Bill Finger and Jerry Robinson) weren't mentioned as these individuals took a dying/ dead/ stagnant product, revitalized it, and changed pop culture in a much more significant way than those mentioned by writer of the article.

 

[sckao]

 

Stan Lee is iconic, but he seems to have peaked in the 60s-early 70's. I.E. He basically had one major success. (a HUGE success and sustained achievement... but when Stan Lee essentially retired from writing, his output stopped.)

 

I liken Stan Lee to a mathematical genius...someone who most likely does his best work in the earlier parts of his life.

 

 

 

 

 

thats also why Stan is the better match for Jobs. We will se where Jobs is in 30 years, though his health may make that moot point. But to Judge Stan for a "burst of activity and relevance in the 60s and 70s is perfectly analogous to Jobs in the 80s and 90s. Except for the extra decade Jobs has been back on top, the ))S.

 

But in comics, we dont got NOBODY who's been on top for 3 decades so Stans record is the closest match. Its about acomplishments, revolutionary changes, and mystique. Both have all three .

 

Steve Jobs went from Apple(BIG up) to Pixar(BIG up) to Next computer (minor down) back to Apple(BIG up)

 

Stan Lee went from Marvel(BIG up) to Hollywood(down) to Stan Lee Media(even) to soft-porn(basement) to PoW Entertainment!(even)

 

Jim Shooter went from Marvel(big up) to Valiant Comics(BIG up) to Defiant Comics(down) to Broadway Comics(even). Each step after Marvel, he creates or co-creates a new universe.

 

(This does not diminish Stan Lee's place in comic history, of course. I'm still a huge fan. (thumbs u )

 

 

[Ogami]

well written, Forrest.

 

For me, the three in the discussion are Lee, Shooter and big props to Scrooge for making me consider Eisner, whom I love artistically, but don't consider enough for his buisness acumen.

[FFB]

 

Stan Lee is iconic, but he seems to have peaked in the 60s-early 70's. I.E. He basically had one major success. (a HUGE success and sustained achievement... but when Stan Lee essentially retired from writing, his output stopped.)

 

I liken Stan Lee to a mathematical genius...someone who most likely does his best work in the earlier parts of his life.

 

 

 

 

 

thats also why Stan is the better match for Jobs. We will se where Jobs is in 30 years, though his health may make that moot point. But to Judge Stan for a "burst of activity and relevance in the 60s and 70s is perfectly analogous to Jobs in the 80s and 90s. Except for the extra decade Jobs has been back on top, the ))S.

 

But in comics, we dont got NOBODY who's been on top for 3 decades so Stans record is the closest match. Its about acomplishments, revolutionary changes, and mystique. Both have all three .

 

I wouldn't argue with Stan Lee either (I think you're right that he's the best choice), although the guy who wrote the article left him out for some reason.

[catrick339]

Simon and Kirby.

 

Between them they invented many of the tropes of modern comics, invigorated several genres, INVENTED a few genres to boot, started their own companies more than once, and lasted a long, long time in the industry.

 

The Bill Gates of comics would likely be Bill Gaines. Mad Magazine made him a multimillionaire many times over.

[Mac Man]

As an addendum, I'd even ask why Frank Miller wasn't considered. He certainly possesses a great deal of editorial power in project he works on, has branched out to both comics and movies, and generally has his hands in various aspects of the business. Love him or hate him, the self-appointed heir to Eisner certain has brought about a renewed sense of interest in the field of comics and is directly responsible for a number of industry changing contributions.

[Norrin_Radd]

Love him or hate him...

A little from column A. A little from column B.

[Bosco685]

As an addendum, I'd even ask why Frank Miller wasn't considered. He certainly possesses a great deal of editorial power in project he works on, has branched out to both comics and movies, and generally has his hands in various aspects of the business. Love him or hate him, the self-appointed heir to Eisner certain has brought about a renewed sense of interest in the field of comics and is directly responsible for a number of industry changing contributions.

I do like Miller just as much as any other fan, and he has created a chain of amazing material across many companies. But I just don't see him as a lone innovator in our hobby as Alan Moore was making headway at the same time period and was just as impactful.

 

Both are amazing creators though.

[MutantKeys]

If you asked "Who's the Bill Gates of the Comic Book Industry? " then I'd say McFarlane

[sckao]

If you asked "Who's the Bill Gates of the Comic Book Industry? " then I'd say McFarlane

 

Agreed. If Todd McFarlane was estimated to be worth $75 million in 1997, what must he be worth today?

 

(Definitely more than Geppi.)

 

 

[MutantKeys]

Geppi can't even pay his rent :shrug: He should start selling some of his assets

[jonjesper]

Jon Jespersen

 

self promotion, still good promotion...

[*paull*]

I think comparing Jim Shooter and Stan Lee is foolish. Comics were a DEAD industry when Stan created (with artists, of course) the majority of the Marvel Universe. Stan also worked in comics in the 40s and 50s along with his peak in the 60s and 70s.

 

 

[sckao]

I think comparing Jim Shooter and Stan Lee is foolish. Comics were a DEAD industry when Stan created (with artists, of course) the majority of the Marvel Universe. Stan also worked in comics in the 40s and 50s along with his peak in the 60s and 70s.

 

 

Comics were hardly dead. DC revitalized the genre in the early 50s which then petered out near the end of the decade. Comics are cyclical. As one generation grows up, hopefully, another generation picks up the baton.

 

Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Bill Everett... all of these artists were Co-creators and if you read the accounts, were responsible for MANY of the now universally-known traits of the characters they helped create.

 

I'm a HUGE fan of Stan Lee, but I believe he has taken the lion's share of the credit over the years, to the detriment of the artists involved. You need only look at his later work to see that. (Working via the "Marvel method" in the early days as opposed to something like Alan Moore's meticulously plotted and storyboarded scripts.)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Bosco685]

I think comparing Jim Shooter and Stan Lee is foolish. Comics were a DEAD industry when Stan created (with artists, of course) the majority of the Marvel Universe. Stan also worked in comics in the 40s and 50s along with his peak in the 60s and 70s.

 

 

Comics were hardly dead. DC revitalized the genre in the early 50s which then petered out near the end of the decade. Comics are cyclical. As one generation grows up, hopefully, another generation picks up the baton.

 

Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, Bill Everett... all of these artists were Co-creators and if you read the accounts, were responsible for MANY of the now universally-known traits of the characters they helped create.

 

I'm a HUGE fan of Stan Lee, but I believe he has taken the lion's share of the credit over the years, to the detriment of the artists involved. You need only look at his later work to see that. (Working via the "Marvel method" in the early days as opposed to something like Alan Moore's meticulously plotted and storyboarded scripts.)

Have to agree. Since Jobs has reinvented himself a few times resulting in winning business models each time, the closest I see to this is Shooter with each launch of a new comic universe/company.

 

The challenge is Jobs is still a success and going strong, where Shooter fizzled out and left the industry for a long time. Not sure what he works on now.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Shooter