Joe Quesada, Executive and Former Editor In Chief, Leaves Marvel Comics

Joe Quesada, the fan-favorite comics artist who became a Marvel editor in 1998 and eventually the chief creative officer of the company, will part ways with the comics publisher. Quesada announced via social media that today is his last day at Marvel, and that after more than 20 years he is looking forward to facing new challenges. Quesada, who worked on the acclaimed indie book Ash with collaborator Jimmy Palmiotti in the ’90s, came to Marvel in 1998 as the artist on Daredevil. Quesada and Palmiotti ran the mature-readers line “Marvel Knights” for the publisher, and by 2000, Quesada had been named editor-in-chief.

Quesada was named Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Entertainment in 2010, just after the birth of the Marvel Cinematic Universe created a wave of new projects that he and his editors were responsible for. He left his editor-in-chief role in January 2011, being replaced by Axel Alonso. His position was re-titled as executive vice president and creative director in 2019.

“When I first jumped into the world of comics, my goal was to create my own character, stories, and universes,” Quesada said in a statement posted to social media. “Then, one day Marvel made me an offer that changed the trajectory of my life.”

You can see Quesada’s statement below.

And now for something completely different… pic.twitter.com/5Vurcra9kJ

— Joe Quesada (@JoeQuesada) May 31, 2022

During his time at Marvel, Quesada oversaw a number of major innovations and overhauls of the line. He was largely responsible for “One More Day,” the controversial Spider-Man story that removed the Peter Parker/Mary Jane Watson marriage from continuity and allowed for a soft reboot of the Spider-Man comics. He also rolled out Marvel MAX, a mature-readers label with Brian Michael Bendis, and looked to his indie roots to take risks on creators like Bendis, Michael Avon Oeming, and others who brought an energy to Marvel that was anything but the house style at the time.

Quesada is also widely credited (or, depending on who you ask, criticized) for embracing stories that are written with collected editions in mind. “Writing for the trade” is sometimes criticized for devaluing single issues of a comic, but has become the most popular means of delivering story in recent years, with bookstore sales constantly on the rise. Quesada also oversaw Marvel’s move to day-and-date digital releases of their comics — something that became impossible to resist about a decade ago.