Early career

Rosenberg began his career in the comic-book industry at age 13 when he started a mail order company^[3] called Direct Comics.^[4]

Rosenberg graduated from the University of Denver.^[5]

Sunrise Distribution and Malibu Comics

In the mid-1980s, Rosenberg was running the small Commerce, California-based comics distributor Sunrise Distribution. In 1986, income from his distribution business allowed Rosenberg to privately finance a number of independent comics publishers, including Eternity Comics and Malibu Comics.^[6] Eternity's first launch, Ex-Mutants, as Rosenberg once said in an interview, "turned out to be a hit" and "all on a $400 marketing budget."^[2]

Sunrise began to suffer cash-flow issues in the spring of 1987.^[7] At the same time, Rosenberg personally took over his various publishers, shutting most of them down and folding Eternity into Malibu as its primary imprint.^[6]

In the summer of 1998, during the "black-and-white implosion,"^{[citation needed]} Sunrise abruptly folded^[8] and went out of business. This left a number of small publishers without the cash flow to continue, and they, too, went out of business.^[9] Rosenberg turned his focus to Malibu Comics.

During his time at Malibu, Rosenberg led comic spin-offs into toys, television, and feature films, including the billion-dollar film and television franchise Men in Black,^[3] based on the Marvel/Malibu comic The Men in Black by Lowell Cunningham. He also acquired a number of other independent publishers, including Aircel Comics^[10] and Adventure Comics,^[11] also folding them into Malibu.

In 1992, Rosenberg brokered a deal in which seven top-selling artists defected from Marvel Comics to form Image Comics.^[12] Rosenberg signed the artists to a label deal which made Malibu the publisher of record for the first comics from Image, giving the upstart creator-run publisher access to the distribution channels.^[13][14] This subsequently led to Rosenberg and his Malibu Comics breaking all sales records for independent comics; in 1992 Malibu grabbed almost 10% of the American comics market share,^[15] temporarily moving ahead of industry giant DC Comics.^[16] By the middle of 1993, Image's financial situation was secure enough to publish its titles independently, and per the agreed upon distribution agreement with Malibu, ventured out on its own.^[17]

During this period, Rosenberg also worked with Adobe Photoshop software to develop the then-leading standard for the computer coloring of comic books.^[18]

Rosenberg sold Malibu to Marvel Comics in 1994.^{[3][12][19][20]} As part of the deal, Rosenberg was given the title senior executive vice president of Marvel.^[21]

Platinum Studios

Rosenberg left Marvel in January 1997, and purchased half of Platinum Studios from European rights agent Ervin Rustemagić.^[21] Platinum produces based on two distinctive categories: Those from the "Macroverse Bible," a multi-thousand-page bible of related comic characters created by Rosenberg,^[18] including titles such as Cowboys & Aliens,^[3] and properties acquired from other companies or creators such as Dylan Dog: Dead of Night and Jeremiah.^[21] Rustemagić left Platinum Studios in 2000.^{[citation needed]} The company’s comic publishing philosophy is for the original publishers or rights holders to continue publishing their comics with Platinum Studios handling all other rights and development.^[22] Comics have been published based on Platinum’s properties continuously since inception, whether by Platinum itself or the original rights holders. Film productions in 2009–2011 were Cowboys & Aliens and Dylan Dog.

Platinum Studios posted net losses of $4.3 million in 2006 and $5.1 million in 2007, and grew to a revenue of $10.5 million.^[23] The company became a public company, trading continuously since February 2008.^[24]

In early 2012, Platinum Studios moved to new offices in West Los Angeles.^[25] In 2014, 27 million shares of Platinum were acquired by KCG Holdings.^[26]

Producer

• Ultraforce (comics) (1995)
• Men in Black (1997) (Special Thanks)
• Night Man (1997)
• Jeremiah (2002–2004)
• Dylan Dog: Dead of Night (2011)
• Cowboys & Aliens (2011)