Shirrel Rhoades

Shirrel Rhoades [ˈʃɜrʌl roʊdz] (born May 19, 1932) is an American writer, publisher, professor, and the former Executive Vice President of Marvel Entertainment.

Biography

Early Life & Education

Shirrel Rhoades was born in 1932 during the Great Depression in rural Wilkes County, North Carolina. His parents divorced while he was in his teens and Shirrel's father died shortly afterword in an automobile accident. Graduating in 1950, Rhoades attended Wake Forest University as a George Foster Hankins scholar. After his sophomore year, he transferred to Stetson University in order to major in Fine Art, finally receiving a B.A. in 1960.

Publishing Career

Early Writing

After college, Rhoades took a job as layout artist with The Florida Times-Union, the largest newspaper in northern Florida. After demonstrating his writing skills with a series of book reviews, he was invited to become the Sunday Magazine’s assistant editor and chief feature writer, as well as the newspaper’s film and theatre critic.

Travel & Specialty Publications

In 1968, Rhoades became the Executive Editor of Etienne Dupuch Jr. Publications, the Nassau-based publisher of The Bahamas Business Handbook and other travel and education titles. In 1972, he launced Directions, a travel magazine for the Great Smoky Mountains region, and wrote and photographed two books about the Cayman Islands. After selling his interest to his partners in 1973, he joined Open Court Publishing in Illinois to launch Cricket, a literary magazine for children. As Vice President of Publishing, he oversaw the company's US- and London-based publications.

Mainstream Magazines

In 1976, Rhoades became Associate Publisher of Harper’s Bazaar. The publication was at that time owned by the Star Tribune where Rhoades was recruited to Charter Publishing as Vice President of Consumer Marketing for Ladies' Home Journal, Redbook, and Sport. After Charter sold off its publishing properties, Rhoades joined Scholastic to launch Family Computing magazine. Rhoades borrowed money and launched his own magazine, Opportunity Magazineaimed at small business entrepreneurs.

The Comic Wars

In 1996, Rhoades became Executive Vice President of Marvel Entertainment and Publisher of Marvel Comics, a position in which he succeeded Stan Lee. During his tenure, Marvel underwent a high-stakes battle for control the company between rival billionaire moguls Ronald O. Perelman and Carl Icahn. At Marvel, under Rhoades management, Marvel Comics dominated the industry with a 37% market share. The company produced 16 of the top 20 bestselling comic book titles, including Spider-Man, X-Men, and Fantastic Four. Says Rhoades, "The fact that I held the business together during those turbulent times was a very significant achievement. The collapse of Marvel might have pulled down the entire comic book industry. None of this would have been possible without my strong leadership. Marvel was all mine and I made it the greatest." Rhoades, along with all the other Marvel execs, was squeezed out and eventually fired when the company was successfull taken over by new owners and Rhoades incompetance and ego were proven to be highly ineffective in running the company. In 1999, Shirrel joined Reader's Digest as Vice President of New Business Development.

Direct Marketing

Rhoades has served on the board of directors of American Family Publishers and on the advisory board of the New York Academy of Sciences. During the 1980s, he was chairman of the Consumer Marketing Committee for Magazine Publishers of America. He continued to consult for a number of periodicals. Past clients run the gamut from Penthouse and New York to Harvard Health Newsletters, Disney, and MAD magazine.

Writer & Educator

Author & Publisher

Recent books by Rhoades include Magazines: A Complete Guide to the Industry (with Dr. David E. Sumner), Comic Books: How the Industry Works, and A Complete History of American Comic Books. He is the author of many bylined feature articles published in popular magazines, as well as several essays on book reviews and film critiques.

Professor & Lecturer

As an adjunct associate professor, Rhoades taught in New York University's Center for Publishing. Rhoades is a frequent speaker at publishing industry conferences and he also served as associate chair of the Association's Education Committee. Over the years, Rhoades has lectured at Columbia University, Radcliff, The Rochester Institute of Technology, Baruch College, The University of Texas, University of Florida, Ball State University, and other colleges. Topics of his sessions have included magazine publishing, comic book history, and fine art photography.

Photographer & Filmmaker

Rhoades developed an interest in photography in his early teens. Later, Rhoades met Larry Colwell, a photographer who had been a part of Edward Weston's Group f/64. Colwell trained Rhoades in an approach known as purist photography, a depictive technique that rejects manipulation and aims for an objective view of reality. Rhoades was involved in several of Marvel's superhero movies and he negotiated the credits for Men in Black. He is an investor in film production companies which control the rights to several feature films and documentaries, including All God's Children.

References

• DRG Executive Bio
• Magazine Matter (Fall 2006)
• Media Business: Advertising (New York Times, 1989)
• Marketing 101 (Circulation Management, 2006)
• Learning From a Successful Launch (Folio, 1985)
• Former Marvel VP Visits BSU (Ball State Daily News, 2007)
• Time For a Change (Coverlines, 2007)
• Stetson University Alumni Authors
• The Sciences, May/June 2007
• Spidey Swings to SCAD (Campus Chronicle, 2003)

External Links

• RTEdwards Photography