Titans of Finance 1 Alternative Comics Marvel 1st print R. Walker, Josh Nuefeld

Description

Titans of Finance #1
Published Sep 2001 by Alternative Comics

True Tales of Money and Business written by R. Walker, with art by Josh Neufeld. A focus on Ron Perelmans disastrous 1980s bid to buy out Marvel Comics. More questionable financial decisions by the likes of Monroe Trout, Michael Vranos and Bear Stearns economist Wayne Angell. Some stories originally appeared in the Expo and Keyhole anthologies.

What goes up must come down. It’s a natural law that the New Economy just learned all over again. Recent times have been fantastically dramatic in the cloistered world of American business: Narratives full of larger-than-life characters, outsized egos, astonishing hubris, and lots and lots of money. It’s action-packed. It makes good comics. That’s the idea behind Titans of Finance, a new and groundbreaking merger of reality – straight from the business pages – and comix.

You’ve never seen anything like it: True tales from the world of big money, wittily translated through America’s most populist medium. Meet Ron Perelman, the man who made millions while presiding over the Mighty Marvel Comics train wreck. Thrill to the antics of “Chainsaw” Al Dunlap, Mike “The V-Man” Vranos, and “Jaybird” Goldinger – and many more of Wall Street’s most well-known Icaruses. These aren’t just instructive episodes about the current climate. They’re timeless tales, like the Bible or Cats. Never mind Spawn and Spider-man. These are our superheroes now.

These tales “hit the mark,” says Harvey Pekar, and are “a brilliant use of the medium,” according to TheStreet’s James J. Cramer. Best of all, it’s all true! Titans of Finance is entirely based on press accounts. The results are mind-blowing. Over the past five years, in fact, Titans has crushed the benchmark S&P 500. You’ve never seen anything like it – this is one acquisition you won’t regret. Titans of Finance features the crisp art of Josh Neufeld (A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge), and the incisive scripts of the mysterious R. Walker.

B&W. 28 pages. Cover price $3.50.

Josh Neufeld is known for his work on autobiographical comics featured in Keyhole (with Dean Haspiel) and in his newer comic “The Vagabonds.” He’s also worked on Harvey Pekar’s landmark comic “American Splendor,” which is now a major motion picture starring Paul Giamatti!

Titans Of Finance is also a comic book, albeit an unusual one. It’s a departure for Neufeld- I think it was conceived as a one-shot, but who knows, hopefully there will be more. The cover gives readers a good idea of what to expect. Walker and Neufeld lambaste their greedy subjects, but treat them as human as well. This doesn’t make us like them any better, but it does make these stories ring with truth.

If you are interested in biographical comics, or in finance, this book is for you. I truly hope they are reading it on Wall Street.

Near mint, 1st print.