Category: Comic Publishers

Conan license will leave Marvel later this year

The license owners plan to publish their own Conan comics in the future.

It looks like Marvel’s license to publish new comics based on Robert E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian is coming to end.

Bleeding Cool first reported that Marvel’s licensing of the character will end, which was confirmed by Heroic Signatures CEO Fred Malmberg in an article on ComicBook.com. Heroic Signatures manages the Conan license in addition to other Howard-created properties like Solomon Kane and Kull of Atlantis.

Marvel seemingly confirmed the change in a vague press release, which states “Jason Aaron’s epic King Conan #6 will mark the end of Marvel Comic’s new adventures into the Hyborian Age, but the fan-favorite character will continue to appear in several exciting stories including the upcoming trade collections and omnibuses.”

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IDW adds three to editorial staff

Jamie S. Rich, Charles Beacham and Russ Busse join the publisher.

IDW Publishing has added three new faces to their editorial staff, they announced in a press release today.

Longtime comics fan will recognize the name Jamie S. Rich, a former editor at places like Dark Horse, Oni Press, DC Comics and Tapas Media, his most current workplace. Rich is also an accomplished comics writer and prose novelist, having worked on books like 12 Reasons Why I Love Her, You Have Killed Me and Lady Killer, among many others.

“IDW has a tremendous legacy for bringing people’s favorite characters from across genres and media to life in new and exciting ways,” Rich said. “I am excited to be a part of that and enhance that legacy. The editorial team has been doing some phenomenal work, and I look forward to innovating with them further.”

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Frank Miller, Dan DiDio team to form ‘Frank Miller Presents’

The new publishing venture plans to release a sequel to Miller’s ‘Ronin,’ ‘Sin City’ and more.

Frank Miller, whose career has led him from comics to movies and TV and from Marvel to DC to Dark Horse and more, has announced plans to form his own comics company, Frank Miller Presents.

Miller will serve as president and editor-in-chief, according to The Hollywood Reporter, while former DC Comics publisher Dan DiDio will serve as publisher for the new company. Silenn Thomas, the CEO of Frank Miller Ink, joins them as COO of the new venture.

Per the article, the new company will not only serve as the home for a new Ronin sequel series and a Sin City prequel set in the Old West, it’ll also be the home of new titles by new creators — something Miller says is important to him.

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Matt Kindt + Dark Horse team for new Flux House imprint

New imprint will kick off with a new Mind MGMT comic and will be the exclusive home of Kindt’s creator-owned comics.

Matt Kindt will team with his longtime publisher Dark Horse on a new imprint, Flux House, that will become the exclusive home of his creator-owned comics.

“Flux House is inspired by Fluxus – an avant-garde art movement from the 1950s that was an extension of Surrealists and Dadaists,” Kindt said in the press release. “The Fluxus movement focused on the creative process and experimental art forms. Their trademarks include accessibility, absurdism, and a sense of humor. If you’ve seen me burn or cut one of my books apart at a signing, you already have a sense of where I’m going with this. Flux House aims to embody all of these elements. It won’t be limited by traditional forms of books and print. And the story format will, as the name implies, always be in flux.”

The first title to be published by the new imprint will be Mind MGMT: Bootleg, which is set in the same universe as the previous Mind MGMT series. Written by Kindt, he’ll be joined by artists Farel Dalrymple, Jill Thompson, David Rubín and Matt Lesniewski for the four-issue series.

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Humanoids will donate some proceeds from new graphic novel to benefit Ukraine

Portions of proceeds from ‘Makhno: Ukrainian Freedom Fighter’ will benefit the Ukrainian nonprofit Razom.

Makhno: Ukrainian Freedom Fighter arrives in stores this week, and publisher Humanoids has announced plans to donate some of the proceeds they make from it to the Ukrainian nonprofit Razom, which supplies medical aid to Ukrainian fighters on the front lines.

The graphic novel was created by Philippe Thirault and Roberto Zaghi, and was published through Humanoids’ Life Drawn imprint. It arrived in stores today.

It’s a fitting choice, as the graphic novel spotlights Nestor Makhno, the real-life Ukrainian revolutionary from the early 20th century, who served as the commander of an independent anarchist army in Ukraine. They fought the Ukrainian National Republic, the Central Powers of Germany and Austro-Hungary, the Hetmanate state, the White Army, the Bolshevik Red Army and other factions that sought to impose their authority over southern Ukraine.

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Controversial ‘Red Room’ variant cover won’t be published

Fantagraphics, Ed Piskor and Jim Rugg decide not to release a cover that parodies Art Spiegelman’s cover to ‘Maus.’

A variant cover for the third issue of Ed Piskor’s “splatterpunk” comic series Red Room: Trigger Warning has been cancelled by its publisher, Fantagraphics, and the creators involved.

The cover, for Red Room: Trigger Warnings #3, was one of several covers that debuted in a post at The Beat yesterday — which they’ve since removed. It parodied Art Spiegelman’s Maus, the multiple award-winning autobiographical comic about his father’s experiences as a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor. It’s not the kind of comic that would be a good idea to parody on a splatterpunk gore comic, given the subject matter or the recent controversy in Tennessee.

The backlash on Twitter was swift, with a tweet from artist Ramon Villalobos garnering several responses from other comics creators. His tweet also includes an image of the cover in question.

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Humanoids will preview ‘The Incal Universe’ on Free Comic Book Day

Mark Russell, Yanick Paquette, Pete Woods and more will contribute new stories based on ‘The Incal.’

Humanoids’ Free Comic Book Day offering for 2022 will preview an ambitious new graphic novel line based on The Incal, the classic graphic novel by Alejandro Jodorowsky and Mœbius.

“Four decades after its publication, the world of The Incal remains a shock to the system and a transcendent work,” said Humanoids CEO Fabrice Giger. “This new Incal Universe project, to which Alejandro Jodorowsky has given his blessing, will open the door for a new generation of readers to discover all new adventures featuring John Difool, the Metabaron, Kill Wolfhead and the Incal.”

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Anne Leung DePies replaces Daniel Cherry as DC’s general manager

DePies will be responsible for the operations, revenue, legal, marketing, brand management, and strategic planning of the DC business, with a special focus on driving DC’s international and digital expansion.

DC has announced via press release that Anne Leung DePies has been named senior vice president and general manager, following the departure of Daniel Cherry III earlier this month. DePies will report to Pam Lifford, President, WarnerMedia Global Brands and Experiences.

“Anne’s deep knowledge and appreciation of the DC business, legacy and people will be invaluable in this new leadership role,” Lifford said “She understands our fans, characters and stories, and along with Jim, will passionately build our DC publishing business to even greater heights.”

DePies has been with DC since 2011 and was most recently SVP of global brands and franchises. Prior to DC, DePies worked on acquisitions across Warner Bros. theatrical, television and video games units.

“It is incredibly humbling to step into this role at a place I’ve been for a while now,” DePies said. “I feel like I partially grew up at DC, and I’ve seen how important we are to our fans. To get the chance to lead our company to do even more for them is a dream come true.”

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Report: Daniel Cherry III leaves DC

DC’s SVP and GM leaves after 16 months at the company.

Multiple outlets are reporting that Daniel Cherry III has left DC after serving as SVP and general manager for 16 months.

The reason for his exit, which was described as “quitting” by The Hollywood Reporter, was not given.

Cherry joined DC in September of 202o, where he was responsible for business affairs, editorial, talent services, marketing, sales, brand and direct to consumer for the company. While there, he oversaw several new initiatives, including the Batman/Fortnite crossover, a partnership with Webtoon, the launch of the Milestone Initiative and a second DC FanDome event. His hiring was followed very quickly by another round of layoffs at the company as part of a larger restructuring by parent company WarnerMedia.

Prior to his time at DC, Cherry served in several marketing roles at various companies, including Activision, the New Jersey Devils, Diageo and the New York Cosmos soccer team.

Image staff unionize in historic move for the comics industry

Employees vote to form Comic Book Workers United.

The staff members of Image Comics have voted to form a union, Comic Book Workers United, “making Image Comics the FIRST unionized comic book publisher in the United States,” their website reads.

Of the 12 Image staffers who submitted ballots, seven voted yes, two voted no and three ballots were not counted due to questions around eligibility. “Although these three ballots were not opened, their challenge had no impact on our supermajority win. CBWU and the CWA continue to push for their inclusion in the democratic process,” their statement reads.

The staffers had hoped Image Comics would voluntarily recognize the union, which did not happen, leading to the vote. The CBWU is represented by the Communications Workers of America, a union that represents employees in the communications and information industries, as well as those in airlines, public service, higher education, health care and more.

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Embracer Group announces plans to acquire Dark Horse

The acquisition is expected to be completed next year; Mike Richardson will continue to lead the publisher.

The Embracer Group, which is the Sweden-based holding company that owns several video game companies, has announced its intention to buy Dark Horse Media, LLC, who comic fans know better as Dark Horse Comics.

The purchase includes not only the comic publishing business, but also Dark Horse Entertainment, the film/TV arm, as well as comic retailer Things From Another World, which is owned by Dark Horse.

Dark Horse CEO Mike Richardson will continue to lead the company, which will become Embracer’s “10th operative group,” alongside THQ Nordic, Koch Media, Coffee Stain, Amplifier Game Invest, Saber Interactive, DECA Games, Gearbox Entertainment and Easybrain. If these names don’t seem familiar, they are mostly game design studios, who make games like Saints Row, Dead Island, Darksiders, Kingdoms of Amalur, Borderlands and, my personal favorite, Goat Simulator.

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TKO goes Rogue with new prose imprint

New novels by Joshua Dysart with MK Perker and Alex Grecian with Andrea Mutti will debut in January.

TKO Studios has announced TKO Rogue, a new prose imprint that will release illustrated novels by authors and artists “from the literary and pop culture worlds.”

The first two books they plan to release are Brood X by Joshua Dysart with art by MK Perker, and One Eye Open by Alex Grecian and Andrea Mutti.

“The launch of TKO Rogue is the next step in the evolution of TKO Studios and bridges the vibrant worlds of novelized fiction and comics with works from a renowned pair of award- winning, bestselling authors and internationally recognized artists,” said Tze Chun, co-founder of TKO Studios, in a statement. “We invite readers to enjoy these new books and join us as we develop an exciting roster of original prose titles.”

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