| Scott Mitchell Rosenberg | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1963 (age 48–49) United States |
| Occupation | Producer, publisher |
Scott Mitchell Rosenberg (born 1963)[1] is a film, television producer, comic book publisher, and the chairman of Platinum Studios, an entertainment company that controls a large independent library of comic book characters and adapts them for film, television and other media. He is also the former founder and President of Malibu Comics, and is a former Senior Executive Vice President for Marvel Comics.[2]
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Rosenberg began his career in the comic book industry at age 13 when he started a mail order company.[3] Rosenberg graduated from the University of Denver[1] in 1985 with a business degree.
In the mid-1980s, Rosenberg ran the small Los Angeles-based comics distributor Sunrise Distributors. Rosenberg's experience running Sunrise showed him that the new way comics were being distributed created openings for new, smaller publishers. He also recognized that the advent of the Macintosh computer allowed a small company to look bigger.
This led to Rosenberg's 1986 financing of Malibu Comics, as well as the small publishers Malibu Comics later created, acquired, and distributed, including Eternity Comics and Adventure Comics.[4] Malibu's first launch, Ex-Mutants, was, as Rosenberg once said in an interview, "Turned out to be a hit" and "all on a $400 marketing budget."[5] During his time at Malibu, Rosenberg led comic spin-offs into toys, television, and feature films, including the billion-dollar film and television franchise Men in Black,[3] based on the Aircel/Malibu comic The Men in Black by Lowell Cunningham.
Rosenberg's experience with Sunrise, however, was not as fortuitous, as the distributor began to suffer cash flow issues in 1987,[6] and abruptly folded in 1988[7] during the infamous "black-and-white implosion."
Malibu survived and Rosenberg brokered a deal in 1992, in which seven top-selling artists defected from Marvel Comics to form Image Comics. Rosenberg signed the artists to a label deal which made Malibu the publisher of record for the first comics from Image, giving the upstart creator-run publisher access to the distribution channels.[8][9] This subsequently led to Malibu breaking all sales records for independent comics, as in 1992 Malibu grabbed almost 10% of the American comics market share,[10] temporarily moving ahead of industry giant DC Comics.[11] By the beginning of 1993, however, Image's financial situation was secure enough to publish its titles independently, and it left Malibu.[12]
Malibu was sold to Marvel Comics in 1994.[3][13][14]
During this period, Rosenberg worked with Adobe Photoshop software to develop the then-leading standard for the computer coloring of comic books.
Rosenberg established Platinum Studios in 1997. Platinum's "Macroverse Bible", a new universe of comic characters created by Rosenberg, includes titles such as Cowboys & Aliens,[3] Atlantis Rising, Blood Nation and Unique, being developed by DreamWorks at Disney.
Rosenberg produces comics and develops a slate of live-action feature films and television series based on current and upcoming comic books. He is also working to create new comic books, including electronic comics with animated panels, voice-overs, sound effects, with music from record labels like Virgin and Hollywood Records.
Married since 1992, Rosenberg lives in California with his wife and two daughters Karlee and Kendall Rosenberg.