Nets owner Prokhorov gets a comic book

Would you believe that Russian oligarch/billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, principal owner of the Brooklyn Nets, now has his own comic book, joining such luminaries (see bottom) as Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, and Gabrielle Giffords.

It's another example of how a relatively modest investment in an American sports franchise has layered respectability on a controversial figure.

According to the promotion:

As a leading industrialist in Russia’s precious metals sector, Mikhail Prokhorov quickly rose to become the 7th richest man in the country. He ran against the mighty Vladimir Putin in the 2012 presidential elections and purchased the NBA team the Nets, moving the former Garden Staters to Brooklyn this year. As the center of his fair share of controversies over the years, the Russian billionaire has become one of the most talked about figures in Europe and beyond.

Looking more closely

I haven't seen the comic book (available in print and via iTunes) but can't say the sample pages are necessarily well-researched. As noted in the sample panel below, Prokhorov is described as owning "45% of the real estate project currently developing Brooklyn's Atlantic Yards, where the NBA's Nets will relocate in September 2012, playing at Barclays Arena. He also owns the Nets."

Actually, he owns 45% of the arena (holding company), not the full Atlantic Yards project. nor is the real estate project "developing Brooklyn's Atlantic Yards," since the latter is a project, not a place. And, if we're talking percentages, Prokhorov owns 80% of the Nets--and that more prominent role should've come first.

Also, the panel could be updated to account for the fact that the Nets have already relocated and, to be graphically precise, to include the corporate logos on the seats.

Prokhorov Comic Book page