Jenette Kahn
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Portrait of Jenette Kahn by Neal Adams |
Jenette Kahn is an
American comic book editor and executive. She joined
DC Comics in 1976 as
publisher, and five years later was promoted to President and
Editor-in-chief. After 26 years with the oldest comics company in the
United States, she stepped down in 2002 to pursue other endeavors, including publishing her book
In Your Space Personalizing Your Home and Office (ISBN 0789207559).
Kahn grew up in Pennsylvania with her parents (her father was a Rabbi) and brother Si. After graduating from
Harvard with honors in art history, she went on to found
Kids,
Dynamite!, and
Smash magazines. Though she was just 25 years old when she founded Smash, Kahn was savvy enough to convince legendary designer
Milton Glaser to become the magazine's art director.
Kahn was the driving creative force behind the growth of a small comic book imprint into the multi-billion dollar home of some of the most recognized iconic characters in the world, including Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman. Along with editor and executive vice president
Paul Levitz and managing editor
Dick Giordano, she was responsible for the 1980s revitalizing of the company's entire line of heroes. Others who played vital roles in the process were writers
Marv Wolfman and
Alan Moore, artists
George Perez and
Keith Giffen, and editor
Karen Berger.
Kahn received the
Library of Congress Living Legends award in the "Writers and Artists" category in April 2000 for her significant contributions to America's cultural heritage.
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