Rebirth in America

In order to tie talents to his own ship, Alex has a way, and one of the ways is to give employees stock options.

These options may not be worth much before the company goes public, but they can be enough to attract outstanding employees to stay. Crucially, Alex also invested $400,000 in the company to expand its scale.

Facing the company that is about to develop rapidly, a group of company backbones such as Goodman and Stan Lee are also willing to stay in the company.

"$500,000? Then please contact me!"

Alex has the style of a nouveau riche. When he sees something good, he will spend money to buy it. At least that's how it seems to others, spending money uncontrollably and buying things you like when you see them. In fact, this amount of money is just a drop in the bucket to him, nothing at all.

Goodman sadly feels that no one is optimistic about the comics industry now, and they think the industry is hopeless. Now we are just hanging on for a while, waiting for the day when wages can no longer be paid, everyone can disperse.

In fact, they were right. It would be at least the 1960s before Marvel Comics started to take off. It is said that in 1961, something happened that changed everything.

When Marvel CEO Goodman and DC CEO Leibovitz were playing golf, Leibovitz mentioned that DC had just launched the popular "Justice League", a team that brings together all the star characters. Inspired, Goodman made a decision that would forever rewrite comic book history: he would create his own team.

He told Stan Lee the idea. Stan Lee originally planned to write a work that was close to his heart before retiring from comics. After listening to Goodman's request, he came up with a story outline, and then worked with artist Jack Kirby to create a new combination of heroes: the Fantastic Four. It was this comic that led to the resurgence of Marvel Comics.

Prior to this, the American comics industry had been struggling in a dark period, and Dr. Weihant's influence has never disappeared.

Goodman seemed a little reluctant about DC being acquired. He asked Alex a question: "But... what are you going to do after you buy DC?"

Alex glanced at him and understood what the other person was worried about, so he said: "Don't worry, I won't merge these two companies into one. I just plan to use their channels, Marvel Comics is still It’s up to you.”

After receiving Alex's guarantee, Goodman was still a little worried, but he had no reason and had no choice but to help contact DC boss Leibovitz. They were good friends, often played golf together, and could be called out with just one phone call.

"Acquiring DC?" After hearing this, Leibovitz was also very surprised that there are still people who dare to jump into the comics trap. That person is either a madman or a fool. But this person happens to be the famous genius Alex, so it is worth considering.

"Yes, I want to acquire your company, please set a price." Alex didn't waste any time and let the other party make the decision straight to the point.

Goodman explained the details of the acquisition conditions clearly to prevent Leibovitz from being confused and agreeing in a hurry. If you regret leaving the company after being acquired, you may never be able to work in the comics industry again.

After hearing this, Leibovitz immediately decided: "No way! I will never let anyone acquire my company!"

Alex was not angry either. He said calmly: "Then what do you want to do? I think based on the current situation, your company is also in danger. If you don't have money to pay wages, you probably won't be able to survive."

This is indeed to the point. Nowadays, companies in the comics industry are closing down one after another, and DC does not know how long it can last. If you sell the company now, you will still have at least hundreds of thousands of dollars to get. If it really goes bankrupt, you will probably not only have no money, but also be in debt.

Leibovitz thought for a while and said: "I heard that you just want to use our publishing channels, so be it. I will sell you 40% of the shares of DC Company, and at the same time, our publishing channels will be shared with you for free. . All you need is $300,000."

After hearing this, Goodman felt that this method seemed better. He said to Alex, "What do you think of this method? I think it's pretty good."

Alex shook his head and said: "300,000 US dollars? That's too expensive. If I just want to maintain a publishing channel, I won't need that much money. I can do it better than you with 100,000 US dollars. As for DC Company The shares are not worth that much. I am willing to give you $500,000 mainly to buy out your entire company, and also to prohibit you from competing for employment in the contract."

This amount of money might not be a big deal when the comics market was booming, but now the American comics industry is basically in a state of bankruptcy. The comic market share has shrunk by more than 90%, and a large number of comic talents have left the industry. At this time, someone is willing to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in them. It is like seeing a clear spring for people who are dying of thirst in the desert.

Leibovitz is indeed worried about comics now, but he has always been optimistic about the future of comics. Now he is just encountering difficulties and wants to make some money to persevere. He had no intention of selling the comics company; he would rather go out of business than sell. He also knew that the price he offered was indeed too high, and Alex was not a fool and would definitely not agree to it. But he didn't want to miss this opportunity, so everyone started bargaining.

The two sides talked for half an hour. Alex felt that time could not be wasted like this. He stood up: "Sorry, Mr. Leibovitz, you may have a lot of time, but I am very busy. If you insist on not giving in, Then I can only say goodbye first. I still have the same conditions, either you accept US$100,000, 40% of the shares and shared sales channels, or we say goodbye."

Seeing this situation, everyone knew that if we continued talking, it would collapse. In the end, Leibovitz gave in. The $100,000 did not reach his psychological price, but for him, it was life-saving money.

"Okay, you win! I agree to your terms!" Leibovitz said through gritted teeth. He knew that if he didn't accept Alex's shareholding, he would have to find someone else to buy shares, and the conditions might not be that good.

The two parties called lawyers and immediately signed a share transfer contract, and Alex's check was cashed.

After securing DC and publishing channels, Alex turned all his attention to Marvel Comics. He knew that if he didn't find a way now, he wouldn't know how long he would be able to hold on. He doesn't understand how Marvel Comics got out of trouble, so he can only find a way to solve this problem on his own.

Among so many employees, the one that Alex pays most attention to is the famous Stan Lee! When he learned that Stan Lee was working at Marvel Comics, he immediately pulled this guy over.

It turns out that Stan Lee is Goodman's wife's cousin, named Stanley Lieber, who joined Marvel Comics when he was 16 years old. Serves as editor and lead author. In the original history, he not only created 80% of Marvel Comics' famous characters, but also accompanied Marvel Comics through more than sixty years of vicissitudes. It can be said that Stan Lee truly created the miracle of Marvel Comics, and he is therefore known as the leader of the American comic industry.

Alex knows about Stan Lee because this guy likes to make guest appearances in his comic book adaptations. For example, he has appeared in "The Incredible Hulk", "X-Men", "Spider-Man", "Revenge" "The Alliance", "Thor", "Captain America" ​​and other movies.

At this time, Stan Lee was already 32 years old and already a veteran in the field of comics. But even so, he was worried about the current situation. He had already planned to quit the comics industry. If Goodman's wife hadn't been his sister, he would have quit long ago.

Alex summoned Goodman, Stan Lee and other people to the conference room. He planned to brainstorm and come up with a solution to the current predicament.

"Why don't we draw children's comics. Just like Disney. Such comics should not be opposed by those people." An employee suggested.

"Or we can reduce the violence so that no one is injured or killed in each episode." Another employee said.

Everyone was talking and talking. But every proposal has problems of one kind or another.

Finally, Alex got really impatient and said, "I think you should draw Harry Potter comics. Use a realistic fantasy style, with less muscle and blood. This way there will definitely be no objection from parents. UU Read www.uukanshu.net ”

Goodman found it interesting when he heard it. He asked: "You mean the novel "Harry Potter" you wrote?"

"Yes, I'm talking about the book I wrote! Do you think there's anything wrong with it?"

Stan Lee pushed up his black-rimmed glasses and said, "I have a problem. I don't think any of us here are good at drawing the kind of comics you're talking about."

Alex understood as soon as he heard it. Stan Lee meant that none of their people were suitable to draw "Harry Potter". At least there were big problems in terms of character design. He thought for a while and said, "Have you read the novel I wrote?"

Stan Lee nodded and said, "Yes, my nephew likes to read your book. After I read it, I also liked it."

"Then have any of you read my novel?" Alex asked the others.

Soon, many people said that they had seen "Harry Potter" and said they liked it. As for how many people really like it, I don't know. Judging from the number of people present, at least half of the people present have watched "Harry Potter". These people were adults, and Alex was surprised that they would read this kind of book. I never expected that so many people would watch it.

Alex thought for a while and said: "As for the character design, I will draw it. The style is also subject to me. All you have to do is draw according to the style I have determined. I can even draw the first issue of the comic Once it’s done, you can complete the details.”

Stan Lee and the others looked at Alex as if he were a monster, and they were all extremely surprised. They yelled at Alex in their hearts, God, what else can you not do!