Marvel Entertainment has announced that editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics, Joe Quesada has been promoted to Chief Creative Officer. Quesada started out as an artist in the early 1990s and became editor-in-chief, following Bob Harras‘s departure in 2000.

Quesada will report to executive vice president Alan Fine and take on a creative role in the Marvel movie universe, in addition to his current work.

Quesada said,

“I am honored to take this new position at Marvel Entertainment and work with Alan to bring the rich history of Marvel to a brand new audience”

“Together with the incredible talent here at Marvel, in all our divisions, I look forward to making Marvel an even bigger part of the entertainment industry and showing why we’ve been an industry leader for over 70 years.”

Executive Vice President Alan Fine said,

“I am excited to have Joe join me as Marvel Entertainment enters the next chapter in our history. Joe has already played an instrumental role as editor-in-chief in changing the face of the comic book industry with bold new ventures and an unprecedented penetration of the mainstream consciousness.

“His love and passion for Marvel, along with his experience guiding publishing for the last decade, will be invaluable as we bring our characters to life in new media.”

[The Shakedown]

Due to the fact that Quesada and Geoff Johns now hold basically the same CCO positions at Marvel and DC respectively… I expect a gladiator-style fight to the death between them on pay-per-view, any day now.