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"Corporate
comics: It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a . . . flying CEO?"
U.S News & World Report
(September 2001)
By James M. Pethokoukis
Comic-book
villains aren't always goggle-eyed scientists or multitentacled aliens.
Sometimes the baddies wear suits and ties. In fact, corrupt World War
II arms manufacturers were among Superman's first foes. But the Man of
Tomorrow never pounded businessmen-gone-bad the way Rob Walker and Josh
Neufeld do in Titans of Finance: True Tales of Money and Business,
a new comic book out this week from independent publisher Alternative
Comics. Walker writes and Neufeld illustrates Titans' dissections
of executive arrogance and mismanagement. Among their Rolex rogues gallery:
"Chainsaw" Al Dunlap, the cost-cutting, employee-firing CEO; Jay "Jaybird"
Goldinger, who advised caution as a market pundit while investing clients'
money in risky derivatives; and billionaire Ron Perelman, who took over
Marvel Comics in the early '90s, loaded it with debt, and unloaded his
stake for a cool $200 million.
"The business press always has to be so serious, and they end up making these stories kind of dry," says Walker, who writes a business column for Slate. "But a lot of this stuff is just crazy, and we can present it in a totally different format." Walker and Neufeld do have some fun with the facts. One panel depicts Dunlap and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich on ABC's Nightline. Although Dunlap did indeed accuse Reich of advocating "socialism," he didn't actually threaten him with a power tool. Other jabs are subtler, as with Neufeld's depiction of Perelman's string of trophy wives, identically drawn blonds identified only as Wife No. 1, No. 2, No. 3, and No. 4.
Hit parade.Neufeld hopes Titans will serve as a "propaganda tool to show people that comics can be about anything, just like books." That's an easier sell, given other recent comic-based hits. This summer's film Ghost World is based on Dan Clowes's teen-angst comic of the same title. Michael Chabon snagged a Pulitzer for The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, about a fictitious pair of 1940s comic creators. Chris Ware's graphic novel Jimmy Corrigan, TheSmartest Kid on Earth won raves.
"Superheroes will always be the base of the [comics] industry," says Gareb Shamus, publisher of Wizard magazine, which covers pop culture. But even if sales never approach those of New X-Men, Ultimate X-Men, or even X-Treme X-Men, Titans (printed in cost-saving gray tones) has already turned a profit for Jeff Mason, Alternative Comics' one-man-band chief, thanks to sales of 1,500 copies to Wall Street firms. Still, Mason's not about to quit his day job as a criminal-defense attorney. "I think it's important to publish good comics, but I also think it's equally important to defend the Constitution," he says. With Titans' initial success, more issues seem likely. The next likely targets? "The dot-com bust sure seems like pretty fertile territory," Walker says.
