Robert Harras (born January 11, 1959''

Comics Buyer's Guide ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' (''CBG''; ), established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010. The public ...

'' #1650; February 2009; page 107) is an American

comics a medium used to express ideas with images, often combined with text or other visual information. It typically the form of a sequence of panels of images. Textual devices such as speech balloons, captions, and onomatopoeia can indicate ...

writer and editor, who was editor-in-chief of

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

from 1995 to 2000 and editor-in-chief 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 ...

from 2010 to 2020.

Career

Harras started his career at Marvel as assistant editor for

Ralph Macchio Ralph George Macchio Jr. ( ; born November 4, 1961) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Daniel LaRusso in three ''Karate Kid'' films and in ''Cobra Kai'', a sequel television series. He also played Johnny Cade in '' The Outsiders' ...

, where he worked on such titles as ''

The Saga of Crystar ''The Saga of Crystar, Crystal Warrior'' was an 11-issue fantasy-based comic book published by American company Marvel Comics in 1983. It was associated with a toy line from Remco, consisting of seven figures, some vehicles and accessories. Produ ...

'', '' Dazzler'', ''

ROM Rom, or ROM may refer to: Biomechanics and medicine * Risk of mortality, a medical classification to estimate the likelihood of death for a patient * Rupture of membranes, a term used during pregnancy to describe a rupture of the amniotic sac * ...

'', '' U.S. 1'', and ''

Micronauts Micronauts is a North American science fiction toyline manufactured and marketed by Mego Corporation, Mego from 1976 to 1980. The ''Micronauts'' toyline was based on and licensed from the ''Microman'' toyline created by Japanese-based toy compan ...

''. Later, Harras was chief editor of Marvel's ''

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, first appearing in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 by artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby and writer/editor Stan Lee in 1963. Although initially cancelled in ...

'' and ''

Midnight Sons The Midnight Sons is a fictional team of supernatural superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Including Ghost Riders Danny Ketch and Johnny Blaze, Blade, and Morbius, the original team first formed as part of ...

'' lines. Harras also worked as writer on a number of comics, including a run on '' The Avengers'' lasting from 1992 to 1995, and the best-selling 1988 limited series ''

Nick Fury vs. S.H.I.E.L.D. ''Nick Fury vs. S.H.I.E.L.D.'' is a six issue comic book miniseries published by Marvel Comics in 1988. It was written by Bob Harras and drawn by Paul Neary. Each issue is 48 pages long and are referred to as books. The series was the first time in ...

'' His brief run on ''

Namor, the Sub-Mariner Namor (), also known as the Sub-Mariner, is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Debuting in early 1939, the character was created by writer-artist Bill Everett for comic book packager Funnies In ...

'' in 1992–93 was unique for the time, taking the form of a mostly standalone Tolkienesque epic. Harras's tenure as editor-in-chief occurred during the time which Marvel teetered on bankruptcy around 1996 and 1997 (financial trouble became significantly worse during his time at Marvel). During his tenure, Harras oversaw titles such as ''

Captain America Captain America is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by cartoonists Joe Simon and Jack Kirby, the character First appearance, first appeared in ''#Golden Age, Captain America Comics'' #1 (cover ...

'', '' Daredevil'', '' Ka-Zar'' and ''

Deadpool Deadpool is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Fabian Nicieza and artist/writer Rob Liefeld, the character first appeared in ''New Mutants'' #98 (cover-dated Feb. 1991). Initially, Deadp ...

''. However, the Spider-Man "

Clone Saga The "Clone Saga" is an extended comic-book storyline published by Marvel Comics, revolving around the superhero Spider-Man and clones of him, as well as of other characters. The second and best-known story arc of this name ran from October 1994 t ...

", in which

Norman Osborn Norman Osborn is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character, created by writer Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, first appeared in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' #14 (July 1964) as the first ...

was brought back as the

Green Goblin The Green Goblin is the alias of several supervillains appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The first and best-known incarnation Norman Osborn, created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, is generally regarded as one of the a ...

despite the opposition of many of the writers, received enough negative reception that it overshadowed his critical successes. After leaving Marvel, Harras joined

WildStorm Wildstorm Productions, (stylized as WildStorm), is an American comic book imprint. Originally founded as an independent company established by Jim Lee under the name "Aegis Entertainment" and expanded in subsequent years by other creators, Wilds ...

as contributing editor on November 15, 2001. Harras worked from his New Jersey home office, and reported to

Jim Lee Jim Lee (Korean 이용철; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean American comic-book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. He is currently the Publisher and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work, Lee has received a Harvey ...

, WildStorm's editorial director. Until late September 2010, he was the group editor for

collected editions and editor of DC's new ''

Who's Who ''Who's Who'' (or ''Who is Who'') is the title of a number of reference publications, generally containing concise biography, biographical information on the prominent people of a country. The title has been adopted as an expression meaning a gr ...

'' series. On September 27, 2010, DC Comics named Bob Harras as the company's new editor-in-chief and Vice President. Harras oversaw editorial for all ''DC Comics'', ''

DC Universe The DC Universe (DCU) is the fictional shared universe where most stories in American comic book titles published by DC Comics take place. Superheroes such as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Robin, Martian Manhunter, The Flash, Green Lant ...

'', ''

MAD Magazine Mad, mad, or MAD may refer to: Geography * Mad (village), a village in the Dunajská Streda District of Slovakia * Mád, a village in Hungary * Adolfo Suárez Madrid–Barajas Airport, by IATA airport code * Mad River (disambiguation), several r ...

'' and ''

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 ...

'' publications. He became DC's first Editor-in-Chief after

Jenette Kahn Jenette Kahn (; born May 16, 1947) is an American comic book editor and executive. She joined DC Comics 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 ...

, who had held the position from 1989 to 2002. He was laid off from DC on August 10, 2020.McMillan, Graeme, Borys Kit
"DC Comics, DC Universe Hit By Major Layoffs,"
''The Hollywood Reporter'' (AUGUST 10, 2020).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Harras, Bob 1959 births People from New Jersey DC Comics people Living people Comic book editors Marvel Comics editors-in-chief