Jenette Kahn (; born May 16, 1947) is an American comic book editor and executive. She joined
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
in 1976 as publisher, and five years later was promoted to president. In 1989, she stepped down as publisher and assumed the title of editor-in-chief while retaining the office of president. After 26 years with DC, she left the company in 2002.
Early life
Jenette Kahn grew up in Boston. Her father was a
rabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as ''semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form of ...
. Her brother, Si Kahn, is a singer-songwriter and activist. She was an avid comics fan, a practice supported by her parents, with particular favorites being Batman, Superman,
Little Lulu
''Little Lulu'' is a comic strip created in 1935 by American author Marjorie Henderson Buell. The character, Lulu Moppet, debuted in ''The Saturday Evening Post'' on February 23, 1935, in a single panel, appearing as a flower girl at a wedding ...
After graduating from Radcliffe College with a degree in art history, Kahn eventually founded three magazines for young people. The original publication, '' Kids'', was entirely written by children for one another. Its subject matter included drug abuse, diversity, animal protection, and the environment. Kahn's second magazine was '' Dynamite'', for Scholastic Inc. Kahn followed with '' Smash'' for Xerox Education Publications.
DC Comics
Kahn was 28 years old on February 2, 1976, when she became publisher of
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
, a division of
Warner Bros.
Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...
and home to over five thousand characters, including Superman, Batman and
Wonder Woman
Wonder Woman is a superhero created by the American psychologist and writer William Moulton Marston (pen name: Charles Moulton), and artist Harry G. Peter. Marston's wife, Elizabeth Holloway Marston, Elizabeth, and their life partner, Olive Byr ...
. Sol Harrison served as the company's president. Kahn stated in a 2012 interview that "I can't really say that Sol and I had much of a working relationship. He, more than anybody, resented my being hired because he felt that the job f publisherwas rightfully his." In February 1981, she became president following the retirement of Harrison. She was the youngest person in the company to become president of a division, and the first woman. Furthermore, before Kahn began her new position, she was instrumental in dissuading the head of Warner Publishing from simply ending National's publishing in favor of simple license maintenance, and kept it a going concern.
To mark her new direction for the company, Kahn officially renamed National Periodical Publications to DC Comics, complete with a bold new company logo, nicknamed the DC Bullet, designed by
Milton Glaser
Milton Glaser (June 26, 1929June 26, 2020) was an American graphic designer. His most notable designs include the I Love New York logo, a 1966 poster for Bob Dylan, and the logos for DC Comics, Stony Brook University and Brooklyn Brewery. In 195 ...
. Furthermore, she moved to centralize editorial from its individual fiefdoms to place the characters in a more interactive
DC Multiverse
In DC Comics, the Multiverse is a "cosmic construct" composed of the many fictional universes the stories of DC take place in. The worlds in this multiverse share a space and fate in common, and its structure has changed several times in the h ...
with a more systematic approval process for the artistic staff to produce fewer and commercially sounder titles. To that end, Kahn sought to hire young staff to revitalize the content such as an unsuccessful attempt to recruit Marvel Comics mainstay artist, John Buscema, and a successful recruitment of major Marvel writer,
Steve Englehart
Steve Englehart (; born April 22, 1947) is an American writer of comic books and novels. He is best known for his work at Marvel Comics and DC Comics in the 1970s and 1980s. His pseudonyms have included John Harkness and Cliff Garnett.
Early lif ...
. Later in her administration, Kahn's recruitment goals became easier for the fact that Marvel Comics' Editor-in-Chief,
Jim Shooter
James Shooter (born September 27, 1951) is an American writer, editor and publisher for various comic books. He started professionally in the medium at the age of 14, and he is most notable for his successful and controversial run as Marvel Comic ...
, was proving alienating to much of his company's creative staff and they consequently proved receptive to Kahn's offers including major talents like Roy Thomas,
Marv Wolfman
Marvin Arthur Wolfman (born May 13, 1946) is an American comic book and novelization writer. He worked on Marvel Comics's '' The Tomb of Dracula'', for which he and artist Gene Colan created the vampire-slayer Blade, and DC Comics's ''The New Te ...
, and George Perez.
Kahn initiated the "DC Explosion" of new titles and formats which was followed in 1978 by a company downturn referred to as the " DC Implosion. Along with editor and executive vice president
Paul Levitz
Paul Levitz (; born October 21, 1956) is an American comic book writer, editor and executive. The president of DC Comics from 2002–2009, he worked for the company for over 35 years in a wide variety of roles. Along with publisher Jenette Kahn ...
and managing editor Dick Giordano, Kahn then revitalized the company through the remainder of the decade and the 1980s, including the introduction of " Dollar Comics" publications, as well as limited series to allow for more flexible arrangements for the talent. Kahn supported creators' rights in an industry in which royalties and other traditional publishing rights were not the norm, thus giving the talent a stake in the commercial success of their work that the industry's traditional work-for-hire arrangements never encouraged. In 1989, she assumed the title of editor-in-chief while retaining the office of president but stepped down as publisher.
Kahn oversaw the launch in 1993 of the
Vertigo
Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties w ...
imprint and of Milestone Media, a minority-founded and ethnically diverse line of comic books that DC published for several years and from which ''
Static Shock
''Static Shock'' is an American superhero fiction, superhero List of animated television series, animated television series based on the Milestone Media/DC Comics superhero Static (DC Comics), Static. It premiered on September 23, 2000, on the W ...
'', the animated show on
The WB
The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on terrestrial television, broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture be ...
television network, was developed. Kahn is credited with overseeing a successful period of reinvention for DC's classic characters, including the death and rebirth of Superman. Giordano commented that Kahn had no editorial restrictions on creators, as far as he could tell. Under Kahn's leadership, DC became known for pushing boundaries in subject matter by addressing issues of domestic violence, sexual orientation, gun violence, homelessness, racism, and AIDS in the company's mainstream titles. One exception to this editorial stance was Kahn cancelling an issue of ''
Swamp Thing
The Swamp Thing is a superhero in American comic books published by DC Comics. A humanoid/plant elemental creature, created by writer Len Wein and artist Bernie Wrightson, the Swamp Thing has had several humanoid or monster incarnations in v ...
'' where the title character interacts with Jesus, which led to the writer and artist
Rick Veitch
Richard Veitch (born May 7, 1951) is an American comics artist and writer who has worked in mainstream, underground, and alternative comics.
Early life
Rick Veitch is a native of the small town of Bellows Falls, Vermont. One of six children, he ...
quitting, citing censorship concerns.
She oversaw a diversification of the originally overwhelmingly male staff at DC, to the point where when she left, almost half the employees were women. Kahn left DC Comics in 2002 after 26 years with the company to pursue a career as a film producer.
Double Nickel Entertainment
Kahn is a partner in Double Nickel Entertainment, a film production company she co-founded with Adam Richman after leaving DC Comics. Double Nickel's first film was '' The Flock'' (2007) starring
Richard Gere
Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in '' Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Heaven'' (1978). He came to prominence with ...
Andrew Lau
Andrew Lau Wai-keung ( zh, t=劉偉強, born 4 April 1960) is a Hong Kong film director, producer, and cinematographer. Lau began his career in the 1980s and 1990s, serving as a cinematographer to filmmakers such as Ringo Lam, Wong Jing and Wo ...
. Its second was ''
Gran Torino
''Gran Torino'' is a 2008 American drama film directed and produced by Clint Eastwood, who also starred in the film. The film co-stars Christopher Carley, Bee Vang, and Ahney Her. This was Eastwood's first starring role since 2004's ''Million D ...
'' (2008), starring Clint Eastwood, who also directed.
In addition, Kahn serves on the boards of
Exit Art
Exit Art was a non-profit cultural center that ran from 1982 to 2012 that exhibited contemporary visual art, installation, video, theater, and performance in New York City, United States. In its last location in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan, it was ...
Abbeville Press
Abbeville Publishing Group is an independent book publishing company specializing in fine art and illustrated books. Based in New York City, Abbeville publishes approximately 40 titles each year and has a catalogue of over 700 titles on art, ar ...
in 2002.
Awards
Kahn received the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...
'' Living Legends'' award in the "Writers and Artists" category in April 2000 for her significant contributions to America's cultural heritage. She received an
Inkpot Award
The Inkpot Award is an honor bestowed annually since 1974 by Comic-Con International. It is given to professionals in the fields of comic books, comic strips, animation, science fiction, and related areas of popular culture, at CCI's annual conv ...
in July 2010.
President Ronald Reagan honored Kahn for her work on drug awareness, and she has been honored by the Clinton Administration, Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright
Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political scientist who served as the 64th United States secretary of state from 1997 to 2001. A member of the Democratic ...
land mine
A land mine is an explosive device concealed under or on the ground and designed to destroy or disable enemy targets, ranging from combatants to vehicles and tanks, as they pass over or near it. Such a device is typically detonated automati ...
s.
The
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
honored Kahn for her efforts on gun control, as did former Governor Douglas Wilder of Virginia, who credited her with helping to pass stricter gun control legislation in his state. She was honored by the World Design Foundation for outstanding creative achievements.
Kahn created The Wonder Woman Foundation in honor of Wonder Woman's 40th Anniversary. In its three years of existence, the foundation contributed more than $350,000 in grants to women over 40 in various categories.
Bibliography
* ''In Your Space: Personalizing Your Home and Office'' (
Abbeville Press
Abbeville Publishing Group is an independent book publishing company specializing in fine art and illustrated books. Based in New York City, Abbeville publishes approximately 40 titles each year and has a catalogue of over 700 titles on art, ar ...