Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg becomes a comic book hero
Mark Zuckerberg – the king of social networking – will now star in a comic book.
The comic book makers promise “a more balanced portrayal of Zuckerberg” than was offered in the movie "The Social Network."
Wham, bam, pow! Move over Superman, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg is the new comic book hero.
Most guys his age are only reading comic books, but this 26-year-old accidental entrepreneur is already the king of social networking, has a book and Oscar-nominated movie about him, was named Time’s magazine’s Person of the Year, is the youngest billionaire on the planet – and is now the subject of a glossy comic book.
“Mark Zuckerberg: Creator of Facebook” is the 48-paged saga of the self-made billionaire. Publisher Bluewater Productions promises “a more balanced portrayal of Zuckerberg” than the not-so-sympathetic movie “The Social Network.”
Former staff reporter for the Philadelphia Daily News Jerome Maida and illustrator Sal Field collaborated on the biographical comic that hit shelves Wednesday – just in time to take advantage of the Oscar-buzz swirling around “The Social Network.”
“This is a fascinating story,” Maida said. “I enjoyed researching it because it’s extremely compelling. Think about it. Mark Zuckerberg is the youngest billionaire on the planet and created something that has already had a profound impact on the world. Yet hardly anyone knows much about him.”
“Rightly or wrongly, Mark dealt harshly with some people on his way to where he is today,” Maida said. “As we see, he left many people feeling betrayed. I try my best to be fair here. No one is totally innocent in this story.”
Facebook did not cooperate with Bluewater in producing the comic book.
A Facebook spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal, “We’ve said all we’re going to say about the movie and the books. We’ve moved on from this discussion, and we think others have, too.”
Bluewater Productions has a healthy share of the biographical comic market, it seems. It has released other biographical comics, including stories about pop star Justin Bieber, First Lady Michelle Obama, Fox News commentators Sarah Palin and Bill O’Reilly, and actor William Shatner. Upcoming comics will feature Richard Nixon and Fox News personality Glenn Beck.
The Zuckerberg comic book is available in stores and online for $6.99.
And it’s already spawned a movie spin-off.
Publisher Bluewater says a production company called Hayden 5 Media has already optioned the comic book for an animated movie. The movie will use real characters in an animated setting, according to Hayden 5, to achieve a “unique comic book aesthetic,” similar to Charles Schwab ads.
Clearly, Superman’s days are numbered.
Husna Haq is a Monitor correspondent.