The Hero Business

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Updated: 2023-06-29

Who schlepped that giant penny into the Batcave, anyway? How did a struggling student like Peter Parker create custom-branded spider-tracers? And if your Who’s Who page listed your occupation as “Adventurer,” where are you getting the money to make rent?

These are the things that crossed my mind when I was a kid reading comics. And while I’m a firm believer in “suspension of disbelief,” it still entertained my young brain to consider these real-life concerns in contrast to the sensational world of super-heroes.

It didn’t help that I spent most of my adult career working in marketing and advertising. And I thought, if super-heroes really existed, they’d probably employ some of those fast-talking agency types. Publicists covering up some drunken benders. Marketing Directors finding ways for would-be heroes to make a buck. And graphic designers figuring out the best logos to slap on spider-tracers.

It seemed like there was an endless wealth of material behind such a concept. So welcome to the Hero Business, where we firmly believe “with great power comes great marketability.”