| C. B. Cebulski | |
|---|---|
 Cebulski at a "Meet the Publishers" Q&A atMidtown Comics Downtown in Manhattan, April 14, 2011 | |
| Born | Chester Bror Cebulski[1] |
| Area | Writer, Editor |
| Pseudonym | Akira Yoshida |
Notable works | Marvel Fairy Tales |
Chester Bror Cebulski (/səˈbʌlski/[2]) is an American writer and editor forMarvel Comics, known for his work on titles such asMarvel Fairy Tales. As of November 2017, he holds the position of editor-in-chief.[3]
Chester Bror Cebulski[1] is of Polish descent.[4] Since he was 20 years old, C. B. Cebulski has lived off and on in Japan, where members of his family reside.[5]
Cebulski's early career included working as a translator and a freelance writer.[6]
Cebulski started his comics career in 1997 editingmanga forCentral Park Media in New York City, bringing titles such asRecord of Lodoss War,Slayers,Plastic Little,Geobreeders,Nadesico, andKia Asamiya'sDark Angel to U.S. audiences.[7] Cebulski remained with Central Park Media until 2001, after which he worked briefly as freelance editor on books such asJay Faerber'sNoble Causes.[6][8]
In the early 2000s, Cebulski did his first work atMarvel Comics, assisting Associate Editor Brian Smith as a consultant on theMarvel Mangaverse, a line of books that reimagined classic Marvel heroes like Spider-Man and the X-Men in the style ofmanga (Japanese comics).[7][9] In January 2002, he was hired full time as an Associate Editor underRalph Macchio,[7][6][8] in part because of his fluency inJapanese and his ability to recruit top artists from Japan to work for Marvel.[7][9] As he rose through the ranks, he oversaw the launch of titles such asRunaways,Wolverine: Snikt, andNYX.[7][6][8]
In 2003, Cebulski created the pseudonymAkira Yoshida, under which he began soliciting work from other companies. His work on theDark Horse Comics booksConan andHellboy impressed another Marvel editor who, unaware of Yoshida's real identity, asked Cebulski to pitch as well.[9] Cebulski continued to use the pseudonym for a number of Japanese-themed comic books he wrote for Marvel in 2004 and 2005, includingThor: Son of Asgard,Elektra: The Hand, and several X-Men titles.[10][11][12] Cebulski did this to circumvent a company policy prohibiting Marvel's editorial staff from writing or drawing comic books without special permission, or in the case of being granted such permission, being paid for doing so. BeforeJoe Quesada became editor-in-chief in 2000, editors used to write comics for other editors' departments, though this was seen as a corrupt practice, since it gave such editors an advantage over other writers.[5][9] Cebulski created an elaborate backstory for Yoshida, stating in interviews that he was a Japanese man who grew up reading manga, and had discovered American comics when he lived in the United States as a result of his father's career as a traveling businessman.[12] When questioned about whether or not he was actually Yoshida, Cebulski separately claimed to have met Yoshida and cited unspecified office visits and convention appearances.[5][13] When Cebulski took a position at Marvel that allowed him to openly write as well as edit, Yoshida abruptly disappeared, leading to persistent rumors that Yoshida had been a pseudonym used by a Marvel staffer. WhenBleeding Cool'sRich Johnston asked Cebulski in early 2006 if he was Yoshida, Cebulski said he was not. Marvel also denied the rumors, with editor Mike Marts stating that he had lunch with Yoshida when he visited the U.S. Former Marvel staffer Gregg Schigiel stated in a podcast that several people at Marvel knew about the deception, though he did not give the author's real name, and his superiors took no action on the matter.[9]
Cebulski was the head writer on the 2006 video gameMarvel Ultimate Alliance, which features a character named after him. In a sub-quest, the player needs to recommend one of two hackers to helpWeasel hack into S.H.I.E.L.D. files and determine whether theBlack Widow is a double agent. One of them is named after Cebulski, and is revealed to be the correct choice, since the other, Beroge, is a squealer.[14]
Cebulski quit Marvel in 2006 to pursue freelance editing and writing work, including publishing several of his owncreator-owned books throughImage Comics, likeDrain[15] andWonderlost.[16] He returned to Marvel within a year as an editor and talent scout, establishing the Talent Management department, in which he oversaw a team of staffers to recruit and manage creators that includedJonathan Hickman,Skottie Young,Adi Granov,Sara Pichelli,Phil Noto, andSteve McNiven.[8][17] In 2007 Cebulski signed an exclusive deal with Marvel.[18]
As writer, Cebulski contributed three installments ofMarvel Fairy Tales:X-Men Fairy Tales,Spider-Man Fairy Tales, andAvengers Fairy Tales.[19]
Cebulski worked on theRunaways spin-offLoners,[20][21]What if the Runaways Became the Young Avengers?, and theNico Minoru portion of the seriesMystic Arcana.[22]
His other projects include the 2009 miniseriesX-Infernus, the sequel to the 1989 storyline "Inferno", which featured the return of the characterMagik,[23][24][25][26] and the miniseriesWar of Kings:Darkhawk, a character he had previously written inThe Loners.[27]
In 2013, Cebulski was named onIGN's list of "The Best Tweeters in Comics" for his advice on breaking into the industry.[28]
In 2016, Marvel sent Cebulski to work and live inShanghai as their Vice President of International Business Development & Brand Management, with which he was tasked with developing the company's brand in Asia. Cebulski brokered several deals during this tenure, including partnership with the Japan-based publisherKodansha, the Korea publisher Daum, and China'sNetEase. He also spearheaded Marvel's publication of localized stories that debuted in several Asian markets. That year during the August 26 to 28Asia Pop Comic Convention Manila, Cebulski hosted the inaugural Hall M, a showcase of Marvel content in the fields of gaming, television, and movies.[29][30]
On November 17, 2017, Cebulski was promoted to Editor-in-chief, succeedingAxel Alonso.[6] After the announcement of his promotion, Image Comics Branding Manager David Brothers challenged comics journalists on Twitter as to why Cebulski "chose to use the pen name Akira Yoshida in the early 2000s to write a bunch of Japanese-y books for them," prompting much discussion on social media. Rich Johnston resumed his investigation into the matter, having failed to definitively substantiate the rumors in 2006. On November 28, Bleeding Cool broke the story that Marvel determined that Yoshida was a pseudonym of Cebulski's in 2006 after Johnston reported on Gregg Schigiel's podcast. Cebulski confessed to Marvel executives that in 2003, he had been planning to leave Marvel, and devised the pseudonym to establish himself as a writer for other companies likeDreamwave and Dark Horse, only for another Marvel editor to hire him on the basis of that work.[5][9] Cebulski publicly admitted to having used the pseudonym Akira Yoshida, leading to accusations ofcultural appropriation andyellowfacing[5][10][13] because of the stereotypical tropes Cebulski employed in his Yoshida stories, such asninja,samurai, andyakuza. Comics critic and scholar Kelly Kanayama stated that in those stories, Cebulski "presented a vision of Japanese culture that was just different enough to seem exotic, but that aligned with Western biases about what Japanese culture—and Japanese people—were really like."[9]
Cebulski addressed his use of the pseudonym,[9] stating:
I stopped writing under the pseudonym Akira Yoshida after about a year. It wasn't transparent, but it taught me a lot about writing, communication and pressure. I was young and naïve and had a lot to learn back then. But this is all old news that has been dealt with, and now as Marvel's new Editor-in-chief, I'm turning a new page and am excited to start sharing all my Marvel experiences with up and coming talent around the globe.[12]
Cebulski lived inShanghai for 18 months as part of his duties as Marvel's Vice President of International Business Development & Brand Management. He returned to New York City when he was promoted to Editor-in-chief in November 2017.[6][8]
| Preceded by | Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief 2017– | Succeeded by Incumbent |
| Publications | |
|---|---|
| Universe | |
| Lines and imprints | |
| Editors-in-chief / executive editors | |
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| Related | |
