Carol Kalish was an American writer, editor, comic book retailer, and sales manager.
16 Facts About Carol Kalish
2.
Carol Kalish worked as Direct Sales Manager and Vice President of New Product Development at Marvel Comics from 1981 to 1991.
3.
Carol Kalish is credited with pioneering the American comics direct market when it was in its adolescence, in part through a program wherein Marvel helped pay for comic book stores to acquire cash registers.
4.
Carol Kalish was the winner of an Inkpot Award in 1991, and in 2010 was posthumously awarded the first ComicsPRO Industry Appreciation Award, beating nominees such as Will Eisner, Julius Schwartz and Phil Seuling.
5.
Carol Kalish graduated from Radcliffe College with Honors in Geology and a specialty in History.
6.
Carol Kalish was known as Marvel's "Mistress of Propaganda," and "discovered" Alex Ross and Peter David, who worked with Kalish as Assistant Sale Manager in Marvel Comics' Sales Department, along with Sandy Schechter.
7.
Carol Kalish conducted numerous trips to comic book shops during the course of her work and on her vacation time, during which she would offer advice to retailers on how to improve their stores.
8.
I'll still always remember being 16 years old, working at another person's store, and Carol Kalish was in town for a vacation, and she took the time to come in and make a half-dozen practical and direct suggestions as to how that store could be made better; not specifically for Marvel, but just a better store in general.
9.
That was a powerful memory for me, and the lessons that Carol Kalish taught us have stuck with me all of these years later.
10.
Carol Kalish set the official Marvel direct sales policy regarding retailer orders of back issue stock, emphasizing to retailers that they should order only what they could sell within a month's time, and not order additional copies intended solely for back stock, as this would merely tie up their money.
11.
Carol Kalish was preparing to leave Marvel to start her own publishing firm.
12.
Carol Kalish commuted to the Marvel offices in the city, and I worked out of our house, drawing full-time.
13.
Carol Kalish died on September 5,1991, from a pulmonary embolism, at the age 36.
14.
Tributes to Carol Kalish were generally complimentary, including a Peter David-written eulogy in the Comics Buyer's Guide, in which he credited her with making him a comics industry professional, and a memorial service arranged by Marvel Comics president Terry Stewart.
15.
In 2010, Carol Kalish was awarded the first ComicsPRO Industry Appreciation Award in the posthumous category, a "Hall of Fame"-type award that was created to honor behind-the-scenes publishing personnel for helping to promote the comics market, beating fellow nominees Will Eisner, Phil Seuling and Julius Schwartz.
16.
In 2018, Carol Kalish was voted into the Will Eisner Hall of Fame.