Steven J. Massarsky (Mar 21, 1948 – October 5, 2007) was an American lawyer and businessman who founded Voyager Communications, parent company of the early 1990s

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

company

Valiant Comics Valiant Comics is an American comic books, comic book publisher, the first incarnation of which was founded in 1989 by former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter along with lawyer and businessman Steven Massarsky. In 1994, the company was ...

Biography

Born in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, Massarsky graduated from

Weehawken High School Weehawken High School is a six-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in seventh through twelfth grade from Weehawken in Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as part of the Weehawken School District. T ...

in 1966 and was inducted into the school's hall of fame in 1999."Academic awards aplenty; Weehawken honors top students, inducts Pasquale into Hall of Fame"
''

The Hudson Reporter ''The Hudson Reporter'' was a newspaper chain based in Hudson County, New Jersey mainly focus on local politics and community news. The oldest newspaper in the chain was the ''Hoboken Reporter'', founded in 1983. The chain stopped publication on ...

'', May 13, 2000. Accessed May 20, 2021. "It began in 1980 as a simple presentation to honor the top students of Weehawken High School, to recognize the members of the school’s National Honor Society.... Pasquale becomes the 17th inductee into the school’s Hall of Fame. The others are... Steven Massarsky (Class of ’66) in 1999." He held an A.B. in

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

from

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

and a J.D. from

Rutgers School of Law–Newark Rutgers Law School is the law school of Rutgers University, with classrooms in Newark and Camden, New Jersey. It is the largest public law school and the 10th largest law school, overall, in the United States. Each class in the three-year J.D. pr ...

. He was a founding board member of the Brown University Entrepreneurship Program. He was also member of the

Weehawken, New Jersey Weehawken is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located on the Hudson Waterfront and Hudson Palisades overlooking the Hudson River. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's po ...

Hall of Fame. Massarsky first owned and operated an artist management company handling artists such as

The Allman Brothers Band The Allman Brothers Band was an American rock music, rock band formed in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1969. Its founding members were brothers Duane Allman (slide guitar, lead guitar) and Gregg Allman (vocals, keyboards), as well as Dickey Betts ( ...

and

The Wailers Bob Marley and the Wailers (previously known as the Wailers and prior to that the Wailing Rudeboys, the Wailing Wailers and the Teenagers) were a Jamaican ska, rocksteady and reggae band. The founding members, in 1963, were Bob Marley (Rober ...

, and is responsible for launching the career of

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...

. He next operated an

entertainment law Entertainment law, also known as media law, encompasses legal services provided to the entertainment industry. These services often overlap with intellectual property law, which includes key components such as trademarks, copyright, and the right ...

practice with such diverse clients as

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

, The Wailers, Cabbage Patch Dolls,

the Psychedelic Furs The Psychedelic Furs are an English rock band founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler (singer), Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from ...

Collins Management Collins may refer to: People Surname Given name * Collins O. Bright (1917–?), Sierra Leonean diplomat * Collins Chabane (1960–2015), South African Minister of Public Service and Administration * Collins Cheboi (born 1987), Kenyan middle ...

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

Tom Chapin Tom Chapin (born March 13, 1945) is an American musician, entertainer, singer-songwriter, and storyteller. Chapin is known for the song " Happy Birthday", released in 1989 in his ''Moonboat'' album. It takes its melody from "Love Unspoken", a so ...

and

Willie Mays Willie Howard Mays Jr. (May 6, 1931 – June 18, 2024), nicknamed "the Say Hey Kid", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of ...

. Massarsky next co-founded Voyager Communications in 1989, with

growing into the third largest comic book publisher in the United States behind only

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

and

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

during the comic boom of the 1990s. The company was later sold to

Acclaim Entertainment Acclaim Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game publisher based in Glen Cove, New York. Originally founded by Greg Fischbach, Robert Holmes, and Jim Scoroposki from a storefront in Oyster Bay in 1987, the company built a global develop ...

, with Massarsky remaining on as President and Publisher of the resulting

Acclaim Comics Valiant Comics is an American comic book publisher, the first incarnation of which was founded in 1989 by former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter along with lawyer and businessman Steven Massarsky. In 1994, the company was sold to A ...

. He died from complications of cancer on October 5, 2007, aged 59.

References

1948 births 2007 deaths People from Weehawken, New Jersey American entertainment industry businesspeople Brown University alumni Rutgers School of Law–Newark alumni Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Weehawken High School alumni {{US-business-bio-1940s-stub 20th-century American businesspeople Businesspeople from Hudson County, New Jersey