It�s amazing how things change and in such a short amount of time. This book was original written as a research paper back in 1997 as part of a compare and contrast two companies in one industry. It was for my sophomore year management class down in York College of Pennsylvania. I was kind of a nerd, not the awesome dude I am now.
A lot has changed since 1997. I graduated with Bachelor of Science in Marketing, I would also earn a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in management from York. Personally, I have the most amazing wife who I have been with since 1999 and our two wonderful children. I have a great career at a Fortune 100 company as a sales manager in northern New Jersey. Check list is nearly complete; great job, wife, two kids, house (with a white fence, not a picket) and I still have a terrific vintage comic collection.
That�s a lot in the span of fifteen years now; which when writing this makes me feel old. As much as things have changed for me, the world in the comic industry has gone through many more trials and tribulations.
The reason this book was put together was early spring cleaning and the finding of a misplaced hard drive. I opened the folder and found the paper I had completely forgotten about in the last 15 years. It was a nice little trip down memory lane and I did get a chuckle of watching the Iron Man 3 trailer on the flatscreen while I worked on the laptop.
Marvel went bankrupt and came out stronger. They got into film and would later be acquired by Disney for over 4.5 billion dollars. Disney would also later acquire the Star Wars franchise for another 4.5 billion in change in an effort to expand its franchises lines. Nine billion dollars for a lot of stuff I have in my attic.
Both companies would release multiple Hollywood blockbusters changing cinema and comics at large. The Dark Knight Trilogy and two Superman films from DC Comics in addition to an 11 year run of Smallville on TV with the new Green Arrow show. Marvel would counter with four Spider-man films, four X-Men films, three Iron Man films, two Captain America films, two Fantastic Four films, two Ghost Rider films, two Hulk films, Daredevil and the Avengers.
Comic prices have gone to an average of four dollars an issue while the medium itself also moves to a digital platform with its current offers with tens of thousands of back stock material being added weekly.
If you asked most pros or fans 15 years ago what the comic industry would be, I serious doubt that anyone could predict where the industry is today and how it got to this point.
It�s a long ways since watching Spider-man on the Electric Company back in the 70s.
