An entrepreneur and attorney, Cummins was a graduate of DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, and owned a law firm, Cummins & Associates, Ltd. He grew up reading “Fantastic Four” and was a comic book collector, and joined Archaia Entertainment in March 2010 as a financial advisor to then-President and Chief Operating Officer P.J. Bickett.
In 2012, after the publisher had some financial troubles, Cummins took over those positions from Bickett – who remained as Chairman – and a year later, sold the company to BOOM! Studios. As part of the deal, Cummins became co-owner and President of BOOM!, before stepping down in March 2014, remaining as part of the company’s board of directors.
Cummins held a number of positions at other companies, serving as manager of Club 9 Sports, Inc., and was co-founder and owner of the National Independent Soccer Association. He was General Counsel for the Chicago Red Stars when they were part of the Women’s Professional Soccer league, and served as Chairman of the Expansion & Ownership Committee for Women’s Professional Soccer.
Stephen Christy, BOOM!’s President of Development, paid tribute to Cummins on Facebook, stating:
One of my favorite memories was watching him masterfully negotiate the deal for Archaia to do our “Cyborg 009” graphic novel with a giant Japanese conglomerate and seeing how – even with a language barrier – he was able to bring people together and figure out an agreement that made all parties happy and made instant friends out of our Japanese counterparts. He was a people person and once you were in the friend circle you were in for life.
NISA co-founder Peter Wilt stated on Twitter:
I am sorry to pass on news this morning that NISA Co-founder Jack Cummins has died unexpectedly after a brief illness.
Jack lived life passionately and will be missed by all who knew him. Life is short. Like Jack, make the most of it and leave the world a better place.
Peace
— peter wilt (@PeterWilt1) February 13, 2018
