Career
Joseph Quesada was born on January 12, 1962 and is a comic book editor. Joe Quesada was born in New York to Cuban parents and was raised in Jackson Heights, Queens. He went to the School of Visual Arts, where he earned a BFA in illustration in 1984. Quesada’s art was heavily influenced by Manga, Japanese style artwork, which was shown by his drawings. He and his inking partner Jimmy Palmiotti made up an inking company called Event Comics. While within this company, Quesada helped co-create some super heroes. One of his most notable creations was Ash, a firefighter with superpowers.
Quesada got his start in the early 90s working for Valiant Comics on titles Ninjak and Solar, Man of the Atom. Soon after, he and his inking partner Jimmy Palmiotti created the publishing company, Event Comics. During this time, Quesada also contributed to DC Comics for comics such as The Ray.
Marvel Comics
In 1998, Marvel Comics contracted Quesada and Event Comics to work on a new line, Marvel Knights. Using his personal contacts in the field, Quesada brought in names such as Brian Michael Bendis, Dave Mack, and Garth Ennis to bring an original flair to the properties involved. During this time, Quesada worked with screenwriter/director Kevin Smith, illustrating a new Daredevil series, intent on bringing the wayward hero back to his roots.
In 2000, Quesada became editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics after the departure of Bob Harras. He is the first artist to become editor-in-chief at Marvel. Quesada's ascension in the ranks occurred simultaneously with that of Bill Jemas, who became Marvel's president. The two worked closely together, and their efforts culminated in the all-new Ultimate line of Marvel Comics that modernized classic heroes such as Spider-Man and the X-Men for new, younger readers.
Quesada also imposed a moratorium on reviving characters who have died over the years and stated that "dead is dead." When asked about comics that revived deceased characters, Quesada stated that the policy wasn't an absolute mandate, but rather a rule of thumb to present to writers so that stories requiring a resurrection of a character wouldn't become frequent or produced without gravity.
In 2010, Quesada was named Chief Creative Officer of Marvel Entertainment and left his editor-in-chief role in January 2011, being replaced by Axel Alonso.
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