Shirrel Rhoades
Shirrel Rhoades (; born May 19, 1942) is an American writer, publisher, professor, filmmaker, and the former executive vice president of Marvel Entertainment. Early life Shirrel Rhoades was born in rural Wilkes County, North Carolina. His father owned a furniture store where his mother helped out. He has a brother, Bill, and a sister, Dawn, both younger by ten and thirteen years. Rhoades was raised in Mulberry, North Carolina, and attended Wilkes Central High School. He was voted Most Versatile and was a member of the yearbook staff. After graduating in 1960, he attended Wake Forest University on the George Foster Hankins Scholarship, before transferring to Stetson University, where he received his BA in Fine Arts in 1964. He also holds graduate credits in children's literature from Chapman University. Early writing After college, Rhoades started out as a layout artist with The Florida Times-Union. He quickly became the Sunday Magazine's assistant editor and chief feature writer, as well as the newspaper's film and theater critic. There he won Associated Press and Florida Press Association awards for feature writing. Magazines and comics In 1968, Rhoades became the executive editor of Etienne Dupuch Jr. Publications, the Nassau-based publisher of The Bahamas Handbook