In order to tie talents to his own boat, Alex has a way, and one of the ways is to give employees options.

These options may not be worth much money until the company goes public, but they can be enough to attract good employees to stay. Crucially, Alex has also invested $400,000 in the company to expand the company.

In the face of the rapid development of the company, Goodman and Stan Lee and a group of company backbones are also willing to stay in the company.

"$500,000? Then you can help me get in touch! ”

Alex has the air of an upstart and sees something good and buys it. At least in the eyes of others, spending money indiscriminately and buying what you like when you see it. In fact, this amount of money is just a drop in the bucket for him, and it is nothing at all.

Goodman sadly felt that no one was optimistic about the comics industry right now, and they thought that the industry was no longer saved. Now it's just a matter of breathing, and when the day comes when the salary can't be paid, everyone can disperse.

In fact, they are also right, at least until after the 60s, Marvel comics will take off. It is said that in 1961, an incident happened that changed all that.

When Goodman, the boss of Marvel Comics, and the boss of DC, Lebovitz, play golf, Lebovitz mentions that DC has just launched the popular "Justice League", a team that brings together all the star characters. Inspired, Goodman made a decision that would forever rewrite the history of comics: he wanted to build his own team.

He told Stan Lee about the idea. Stan Lee had originally intended to write a work on his mind before retiring from the comics industry. At Goodman's request, he came up with an outline of the story and, together with painter Jack Bryant, created a new group of heroes: the FantasticFour. It was this manga that led to the revival of Marvel comics.

Prior to this, the American comic book industry had been struggling during a dark period, and Dr. Weihant's influence had not gone away.

Goodman was a little reluctant about the acquisition of DC Corporation, and he asked Alex a question: "But...... What are you going to do when you buy DC? ”

Alex glanced at him, understood what the other party was worried about, and said, "Don't worry, I won't merge these two companies into one." I'm just going to use their channels, and Marvel Comics is still in your hands. ”

With Alex's assurance, Goodman was still a little worried, but he had no reason to help contact DC boss Lebowitz. They were good friends, often played golf together, and a phone call was all it took to call someone out.

"Acquisition of DC Corporation?" After hearing this, Lebovitz was also very strange, and now there are still people who dare to jump into the pit of comics, and that person is either a madman or a fool. But this person is the famous genius Alex, so it's worth considering.

"Yes, I'm going to buy your company, you can make a price." Alex doesn't talk nonsense either, and lets the other party make a decision straight to the point.

Goodman explained the details of the terms of the acquisition on the side, so that Lebovitz would not know the situation and would be hot-headed and agreed. If you regret leaving the company after being acquired, you may never be able to engage in the comics industry again.

Hearing this, Lebovitz immediately decided: "Impossible! I'm not going to let anyone buy my company! ”

Alex wasn't angry either, he said calmly, "Then what do you want to do?" I think that according to the current situation, your company is also in danger, and if you don't have the money to pay your salary, it probably won't be able to survive. ”

This is indeed to the point, now that companies in the comic industry are closing down one after another, DC doesn't know how long it will last. If you sell the company now, you will have at least a few hundred thousand dollars to go, and if it really goes out of business, it is estimated that not only will you have no money, but you will also have to owe a lot of debt.

Lebovitz thought for a moment and said, "I heard that you just want to use our publishing channels, so be it." I'm selling you 40% of DC's shares, and we're sharing our publishing channels with you for free. All you need to do is pay $300,000. ”

When Goodman heard this, he thought it seemed better. He said to Alex, "What do you think of this method?" I think it's not bad. ”

Alex shook his head and said, "$300,000? That's too expensive, and if I just want to maintain a publishing channel, I can't spend that much money, and $100,000 can do even better than you. As for the shares of the DC company, they are not worth that much money. I'm willing to pay $500,000 mainly to buy your entire company, and to prohibit you from competing for jobs. ”

This amount of money may not have been a big deal when the comic market was booming, but now the American comic industry is basically in a state of bankruptcy. The comic market share has shrunk by more than 90%, and a large number of comic talents have left the industry, and at this time, someone is willing to invest hundreds of thousands of dollars in them, which is really like a person dying of thirst in the desert has seen a clear spring.

Lebovitz is really worried about the comics now, but he has always been optimistic about the future of the comics, and now he is just running into difficulties and wants to make some money to hold on. He didn't intend to sell the comic company, he would rather go out of business than sell it. He also knew that the price he offered was indeed too high, and Alex was not a fool, so he would definitely not agree. But he didn't want to miss this opportunity, so everyone began to bargain.

After talking for half an hour, Alex felt that time could not be wasted like this, and he stood up: "Sorry, Mr. Lebowitz, you may have a lot of time, but I am very busy. If you insist on not giving in, then I will have to take my leave. I'm still on that condition, either you accept $100,000, 40% of the shares and a shared sales channel, or we'll say goodbye. ”

Seeing this situation, everyone knows that if we continue to talk about it, it will collapse. In the end, Lebowitz backed down, and the $100,000 did not reach his psychological price, but for him, it was life-saving money.

"Well, you win! I promise you terms! Lebovitz gritted his teeth. He knew that he didn't accept Alex's shares, and he had to find someone else to join the shares, and the conditions might not be so good.

The two parties called a lawyer, immediately signed the share transfer contract, and Alex's check was cashed.

After taking over DC and gaining access to publishing, Alex turned his full attention to Marvel Comics. He knew that if he didn't want to find a way now, he didn't know how long he would have to last. He didn't know how Marvel Comics got out of the predicament, so he had to figure out how to solve the problem on his own.

Among so many employees, the one that Alex pays the most attention to is the famous Stan Lee! When he found out that Dostein Leigh was working at Marvel Comics, he immediately pulled this guy over.

It turned out that Stan Lee was Goodman's wife's cousin named Stanley Lieber, who joined Marvel Comics at the age of 16. As editor and lead author. In the original history, he not only created 80% of the well-known characters of Marvel Comics, but also accompanied the vicissitudes of Marvel Comics for more than 60 years. It can be said that it was Stan Lee who really created the miracle of Marvel Comics, and he is also known as the leading boss of the American comics industry.

Alex knows Stan Lee because he likes to make cameos in his comic book adaptations, such as "The Incredible Hulk", "X-Men", "Spider-Man", "The Avengers", "Thor", "Captain America" and many other movies.

At this time, Stan Lee was 32 years old and was already an old bird in the field of comics. But even so, he is concerned about the current situation. He was already planning to quit the comics business, and if Goodman's wife wasn't his sister, he would have quit a long time ago.

Alex summoned Goodman, Stan Lee, and others to the conference room. He plans to brainstorm a solution to his current dilemma.

"Why don't we draw children's comics? It's Disney's kind, and such cartoons shouldn't be opposed by those people. One employee proposed.

"Or we can cut down on the violence and no one gets hurt or dies in every episode." Another employee said.

Everyone was gossiping and talking. But every proposal has problems of one kind or another.

Alex got really impatient and said, "I think you should draw the Harry Potter comics." Adopt a realistic fantasy style, reduce the little muscle and plasma. In this way, there will definitely be no objection from parents. ”

When Goodman heard this, he thought it was a little interesting, and he asked, "You mean the novel "Harry Potter" that you wrote?" ”

"Yes, I'm talking about the book I wrote! Do you think there are any problems? ”

Stan Lee pushed his black-rimmed glasses and said, "I've got a problem, I don't think anyone here is good at drawing the kind of comics you said." ”

Alex understood as soon as he heard it, Stan Lee was referring to the fact that none of their people were suitable for drawing Harry Potter, at least in terms of character design. He thought for a moment and said, "Have you read the novel I wrote?" ”

Stan Lee nodded and said, "Yes, my nephew loves to read your books. After I read it, I like it too. ”

"And has any of you read my novel?" Alex asked the others.

Soon, many people said they had watched Harry Potter and said they liked it. As for how many people really like it, I don't know. In terms of numbers, at least half of the people present have seen Harry Potter. These people are adults, and it already surprises Alex that they can read this kind of book. I didn't expect so many people to see it.

Alex thought for a moment and said, "In terms of character design, I'll draw it." The style is also based on me, and all you have to do is draw according to the style I have determined. I can even get a draft of the first issue of the comic out and you can work it out in detail. ”

Stan Lee and the others looked at Alex like a monster, and they were all amazed. They shouted at Alex in their hearts, "Oh my God, what else can't you do!"