Bill Jemas
Encyclopedia
Bill Jemas is an American media entrepreneur, writer and editor. He is a former vice president of Marvel Comics
, and a founding partner at 360ep, a media management firm.
degree from Rutgers University
, where he majored in history and minored in philosophy and economics. In 1983 he graduated from Harvard Law School
with a Juris Doctor
.
, 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.
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. 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.
He came to prominence in Marvel (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, according to Comic Book Resources
' Rich Johnston, "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 sheparding the company from bankruptcy to profit, and with earning positive reviews from within and outside of the comics industry.
Other later initiatives includes titles such as Trouble, The Call
and Marville
, which was Jemas' entry in the U-Decide competition with Quesada and Peter David
.
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
, who had been instrumental in bringing Marvel out of bankruptcy through the merger of his company, Toy Biz.
Upon his departure from the company, Jemas continued to work with Marvel in a non-executive capacity through mid-2004. He also wrote or co-wrote Marvel comic book
s including Namor
and Origin.
Comic book writer Gail Simone
said on her blog
that she ghost wrote for Jemas during his tenure at Marvel. She later clarified that she was referring to a comedic article about Marvel giving away free cookies rather than an actual comic.
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. 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.
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
, and a founding partner at 360ep, a media management firm.
Early life
In 1980 Jemas received a Bachelor of ArtsBachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
degree from Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
, where he majored in history and minored in philosophy and economics. In 1983 he graduated from Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...
with a Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
.
Career
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 AssociationNational Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
, 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.
Jemas became president of Fleer
Fleer
The Fleer Corporation, founded by Frank H. Fleer in 1885, was the first company to successfully manufacture bubblegum; it remained a family-owned enterprise until it was taken private in 1989....
Entertainment Group and Fleer Corp in 1993, and appointed Jemas as executive vice president of Marvel Entertainment Group that year. In January 2000, he became president of consumer products, publishing and new media — essentially Marvel Comics' publisher. During his tenure, his tendencies toward micromanagement
Micromanagement
In business management, micromanagement is a management style where a manager closely observes or controls the work of her or his subordinates or employees...
and provocative public statements made him a controversial figure.
He came to prominence in Marvel (which owned Fleer), during the former's bankruptcy reorganizations. During his tenure, Jemas was key in replacing editor-in-chief Bob Harras
Bob Harras
Robert "Bob" Harras is an American comics writer and editor, who was editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics from 1995 to 2000 and currently serves as editor-in-chief of DC Comics.-Career:...
with Joe Quesada
Joe Quesada
Joseph "Joe" Quesada is an American comic book editor, writer and artist. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books, such as Ninjak and Solar, Man of the Atom...
. Jemas and Quesada formed the public face of Marvel, taking the roles of, according to Comic Book Resources
Comic Book Resources
Comic Book Resources, also known as CBR is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book-related news and discussion.-History:Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1996 as a development of the Kingdom Come Message Board, a message forum that Weiland had created to discuss DC...
' Rich Johnston, "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
Marvel Knights
Marvel Knights is an imprint of Marvel Worldwide, Inc. that contains material taking place within the mainstream Marvel Universe .-Production:...
, and removal of the Comics Code from Marvel books. They also increased Marvel's publication of trade paperbacks, and are credited with sheparding the company from bankruptcy to profit, and with earning positive reviews from within and outside of the comics industry.
Other later initiatives includes titles such as Trouble, The Call
The Call (comic book)
The Call of Duty was a series of short-lived Marvel Comics series featuring firefighters and emergency service workers dealing with paranormal phenomena in the Marvel Universe....
and Marville
Marville (comics)
Marville is a comic book limited series published by Marvel Comics in 2002. The series was written by Bill Jemas, and the stories generally involved satirical comment on comic book industry conventions and trends....
, which was Jemas' entry in the U-Decide competition with Quesada and Peter David
Peter David
Peter Allen David , often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, movies and video games...
.
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
Epic Comics
Epic Comics was a creator-owned imprint of Marvel Comics started in 1982, lasting through the mid-1990s, and being briefly revived on a small scale in the mid-2000s.- Origins :...
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
Marvel Studios
Marvel Studios, originally Marvel Films, is an American television and motion picture studio based in Manhattan Beach, California. Marvel Studios is a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment, a self-contained part of the The Walt Disney Company conglomerate....
CEO Avi Arad
Avi Arad
Avi Arad is an Israeli-American businessman. He became the CEO of the company Toy Biz in the 1990s, and soon afterward became the chief creative officer of Marvel Entertainment, a Marvel director, chairman, CEO and the founder of Marvel Studios....
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
Isaac Perlmutter
Isaac "Ike" Perlmutter is an American businessman and financier. He has been the Chief Executive Officer of Marvel Entertainment since January 1, 2005. He was also the owner of Remington Products and Toy Biz.-Background:...
, who had been instrumental in bringing Marvel out of bankruptcy through the merger of his company, Toy Biz.
Upon his departure from the company, Jemas continued to work with Marvel in a non-executive capacity through mid-2004. He also wrote or co-wrote Marvel comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
s including Namor
Namor the Sub-Mariner
Namor the Sub-Mariner is a fictional comic book character in the Marvel Comics universe, and one of the first superheroes, debuting in Spring 1939. The character was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for Funnies Inc., one of the first "packagers" in the early days of comic books that supplied...
and Origin.
Comic book writer Gail Simone
Gail Simone
Gail Simone is an American writer of comic books. Best known for penning DC's Birds of Prey, her other notable works include Secret Six, Welcome to Tranquility, The All-New Atom, and Deadpool. In 2007, she took over Wonder Woman...
said on her blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
that she ghost wrote for Jemas during his tenure at Marvel. She later clarified that she was referring to a comedic article about Marvel giving away free cookies rather than an actual comic.
Upon his departure from Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment
Marvel Entertainment, LLC , formerly Marvel Enterprises and Toy Biz, Inc., is an American entertainment company formed from the merger of Marvel Entertainment Group, Inc. and Toy Biz, Inc....
, 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. Jemas also managed a T-shirt
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
line, IDtees, whose T-shirts contained positive messages. The line was eventually discontinued so that Jemas could focus on other projects.