Peter Sanderson

Peter John Sanderson, Jr. (born April 25, 1952 in Milton, Massachusetts) is a comic book critic and historian ["Vital Statistics", "The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe: Deluxe Edition", #4 (March 1985)] , as well as an instructor/lecturer in the New York area concerning the study of graphic novels/comic books as literature [http://comics.ign.com/articles/595/595630p1.html Comics in Context #58: Crisis of Conscience] ] .

He is best known for his work as a researcher at the two main American comics companies, DC and Marvel, where he helped to catalog the various fictional characters that comprised their respective continuities.

A graduate of Columbia University, Sanderson became involved in the field during the early 1980s as a writer for comic fanzines. From there, Sanderson broke into the comic book industry proper; he was first hired by DC Comics, where he was given the task of reading every comic book published by the company since 1935. His research was used by Marv Wolfman in writing "Crisis on Infinite Earths" and by Len Wein in writing "Who's Who in the DC Universe". Sanderson then went to work for Marvel as their first (and only) archivist, and contributed as a researcher on the various "Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe" series in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Sanderson was also the writer of the "Marvel Saga" and "Wolverine Saga" limited series. These titles did not follow the typical art-centered comic book format; instead, the two series focused on text chronicling the fictional histories of comic book characters - rather than writing new exploits of the characters - that Sanderson culled from previous titles Marvel had published over the years. The text was supplemented by individual panels excerpted from the comic books that served as Sanderson's sources.

He currently writes an online column entitled "Comics in Context", which (in Sanderson's own words) is "a weekly series of critical essays on comics, cartoon art, and related subjects" [http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/2006/06/23/comics-in-context-134-cineplex-men/print/ Comics in Context #134: Cineplex-Men] ] (those "related subjects" can run the gamut from film adaptations of comic books, to other media that have been influenced by comics, such as "Star Wars"). The series started on July 8, 2003 on the website "IGN.com", but has since moved to the Kevin Smith-affiliated website "Quickstop Entertainment". According to Mr. Sanderson, the "Powers That Be" in charge of IGN's comics section began to tamper with the titles of his columns and complain about some of the topics he covered, whereby a "change of scenery" was necessary . The first article to appear on "Quick Stop Entertainment" was published on June 23, 2006.

Outside of his online writings, Sanderson has also had a number of books published (including "The Marvel Vault" and "The Marvel Travel Guide to New York") [ [http://pwbeat.publishersweekly.com/blog/2008/01/03/the-beats-annual-survey-2008-edition-part-2/ The Beat’s Annual Survey 2008 Edition Part 2] ] , taught the class "The Graphic Novel as Literature" at NYU [ [http://www.scps.nyu.edu/export/sites/scps/pdf/bulletin/spring-2008/scps-humanities.pdf NEWYORKUNIVERSITYBULLETIN] ] , curated an exhibition on Stan Lee for the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art [ [http://www.moccany.org/exhibit-stanlee.html MoCCA] ] , and reviews the latest in comics and comics-related material for "Publishers Weekly" [ [http://www.comicbookdb.com/creator.php?ID=2225 Comic Book DB] ] .

References

External links

* [http://comics.ign.com/index/features.html?constraint.topic_id.article=789&constraint.return_all=is_true "Comics in Context": IGN]
* [http://www.quickstopentertainment.com/?cat=18 "Comics in Context": Quick Stop Entertainment]
* [http://www.publishersweekly.com/search/siteall?q=peter+sanderson&s=date&t= "Publishers Weekly" articles]