David Gabriel, SVP Of Marvel Comics, Has Gone After 23 Years

Posted in: Comics, Marvel Comics | Tagged: david gabriel, layoffs

David Gabriel, Senior Vice President of Marvel Comics, has gone after 23 years. And there are more names to come…

UPDATE: I can confirm that he has. There are more names to come. The rest of the original article continues: In 2003, Marvel Comics announced the addition of David Gabriel to its publishing staff as Manager, Sales Administration, Publishing, to work to establish and maintain relationships with Marvel Comics buyers, retailers, and vendors in the bookstore and speciality markets, as well as identifying and establishing new markets for Marvel comic books and graphic novels. That was his brief, as a veteran of the comic book industry and founder of the New York City Comic Book Museum, a non-profit organisation established in 1999 to preserve the historical and artistic legacy of comic book culture and to promote preservation, literacy, education, and entertainment through comics. At the time, he said, “I’m extremely excited by this opportunity to work for Marvel Comics. My father always said, ‘Reading those comic magazines will get you nowhere.’ Oh, how times have changed. Now that the influence of comic books on popular culture is at an all-time high, there isn’t a more exciting and important time to work for Marvel. I think my tag line when I meet with buyers is simply going to be, ‘Have you been to the movies lately?'”

Twenty-three years later, David Gabriel is Senior Vice-President, Print, Sales & Marketing at Marvel Publishing Worldwide, a significant promotion in that time and one of the most powerful people at Marvel Comics. In many cases, he has become the face of Marvel Comics in the USA, as seen in his recent ComicsPRO presentation. Which is why it was such a shock that, last night, I was told by notable sources that he is one of those who has been let go as part of Disney’s reorganisation, reportedly firing 1,000 staff across divisions.

I reached out to David, other Marvel executives, and press contacts at Marvel Studios without receiving a response. Previously, they had assured me that other individuals were still at the company, but regarding David Gabriel, I have not heard back. Gabriel, more than any other individual at Marvel, has been credited with keeping Marvel Comics’ publishing side firmly in the black, despite market fluctuations in recent years, with his eye on the bottom line. Among other things, he was responsible for popularising retailer variants, sold a million copies of Star Wars #1, as well as kicking off the Omnibus craze.  As Tom Garcia, or ComicTom, said, “Who knows where Marvel Comics would be without this gentleman? If you read a Marvel comic in the last 20 years, David Gabriel helped make it happen.”

Over the years David Gabriel has talked about disdain for the Essential line, making international headlines talking about diversity in comics, election angst, the growth of variant covers, Deadpool Kills The Marvel Universe, limited series, ten dollar comics and relaunches, joked that Marvel would kill a major character every quarter, big plans to change Marvel’s history, screaming Wolverine, $3.99 comics, poster quotes and coming up with X-Men Vs Vampires back in 2010… Last year, Rob Liefeld publicly called for Marvel to replace certain executives, including Gabriel, along with Dan Buckley and David Bogart, as part of criticisms of the company’s X-Men line direction. But if this has indeed happened, it is nothing whatsoever to do with that…  updated as and when we have them.

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