Marvel Comics Names Mark Paniccia Senior Editor

Former Top Tokyopop Editor To Spearhead Original Graphic Novel Development and Recruit New Talent

New York, New York - December 23, 2004 - In a move designed to significantly bolster Marvel’s presence and success in the hot teen graphic novel category, Marvel Comics has hired Mark Paniccia as a Senior Editor.

The former Senior Editor of New Development at leading U.S. based manga publisher Tokyopop, Mr. Paniccia joins Marvel in developing new properties and a new generation of comic book writers and artists. While at Tokyopop, he was a key player in the company’s successful original graphic novel program, and served as a talent recruiter. In 2004, he completed a successful talent search that included anime, manga and comic book conventions, museums and art schools across the country and headed a major national manga competition. Aside from signing new creators, he also brought in established pros to create new manga series.

“The manga category continues to be one of the most explosive growth segments of the comic industry. Having a person the caliber of Mark join Marvel really gives us one of the leading visionaries in the genre,” said Dan Buckley, Publisher, Marvel Comics. “We feel teaming Mark with the renowned Marvel Universe gives us the opportunity to truly take charge and further innovate the comic book market.”

In addition to Tokyopop, Mr. Paniccia has a long, successful track record in the comics industry. He started his comics career with Malibu Comics where he served as an editor for its manga imprint. Mr. Paniccia was also the Licensing Line Editor at Malibu Comics, where he oversaw comic lines based on such popular brands as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Terminator II, Bruce Lee and Mortal Combat. He originally worked for Marvel in 1995 as a Line Editor where he worked on comic books based on Paramount Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox licensed properties. In 2002, he served as a co-producer on the Chow Yun Fat movie, Bulletproof Monk.

Mr. Paniccia went to Holly Cross College in Notre Dame, IN. He now resides in NY.

With a library of over 5,000 proprietary characters, Marvel Enterprises, Inc. is one of the world's most prominent character-based entertainment companies. Marvel's operations are focused in four areas: entertainment (Marvel Studios), licensing, comic book publishing and toys (Toy Biz). Marvel facilitates the creation of entertainment projects, including feature films, DVD/home video, video games and television based on its characters and also licenses its characters for use in a wide range of consumer products and services including apparel, collectibles, snack foods and promotions. Marvel's characters and plot lines are created by its comic book division which continues to expand its leadership position in the U.S. and worldwide while also serving as an invaluable source of intellectual property.