Mama said knock you out!! It’s Boxing Day, suckas!! No excuse not to shop. Just do it!!
Here is the second half of the third letter – another dazzling dozen. Unfortunately, some details are lacking. It is a curious thing and a minor irritant. Rest assured I do not simply rely on Google, Wikipedia, and Facebook. Just like collecting, the quest for knowledge motivates me!!
These comic book publishers are name-dropped because they have an exclusive arrangement with Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. The monthly catalog PREVIEWS features all these companies.
Established: 1965 (independent), 1977 (HMH)
Official Name: Clarion Books
Place of Origin: New York, NY
Distinction: Clarion Books publishes picture books, nonfiction, and fiction for infants through grade 12. Clarion is looking for quality and well-executed ideas[1].
Clarion Books began publishing children’s fiction and picture books in 1965 with a list of six titles. In 1979 it was bought by and became an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Company. Since then the list has expanded to nearly sixty titles a year and includes nonfiction as well as fiction and picture books. In 1987 Clarion received its first Newbery Honor Medal, for On My Honor by Marion Dane Bauer, and in 1988 it had its first Newbery Medal winner, Lincoln: A Photobiography by Russell Freedman. Since then Clarion books have received children’s book honors and awards nearly every year. Clarion’s award-winning titles include The Three Pigs (2002 Caldecott Medal), Tuesday (Caldecott Medal), and Sector 7 (Caldecott Honor), all written and illustrated by David Wiesner; A Single Shard (2002 Newbery Medal) by Linda Sue Park; The Midwife’s Apprentice (Newbery Medal) and Catherine Called Birdy (Newbery Honor), both by Karen Cushman; Sir Walter Raleigh and The Quest for El Dorado (the inaugural Sibert Medal) by Marc Aronson; and My Rows and Piles of Coins (Coretta Scott King Honor for illustration) by Tololwa M. Mollel, illustrated by E. B. Lewis[2].
Specifically interested in books with these subjects or themes: board books, picture books, biographies, non-fiction, fiction, poetry and fairy tales for ages 5-15.[3]
Operations: Dinah Stevenson (Publisher), Joann Hill (Art Director)
Output: http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/authors/clarionlist.shtml
Branches: Imprint of Houghton Mifflin Company
Social Media: N/A
Multi-Media: N/A
Established: 2006
Official Name: Classic Comics Press
Place of Origin: Unknown
Distinction: Classic Comics Press has been reprinting classic American comic strips since 2006 with its debut publication Leonard Starr’s Mary Perkins On Stage. Currently Classic Comics Press is reprinting the following titles:
- Leonard Starr’s Mary Perkins On Stage
- Stan Drake’s The Heart of Juliet Jones
- The Cisco Kid by José Luis Salinas & Rod Reed
- John Cullen Murphy’s Big Ben Bolt
- Dondi by Gus Edson & Irwin Hasen
- Buck O’Rue by Dick Huemer & Paul Murry[4]
Operations: Unknown
Output: http://www.classiccomicspress.com/collections/all
Upcoming Titles: Kelly Green: the Complete Collection; Rusty Riley Dailies vol. 1: 1948-1949
Branches: N/A
Social Media: Facebook
Multi-Media: N/A
Established: 1941-1942 (Eliot Publishing Co.), 1942-1967 (Gilberton Company, Inc.), 1967-1971 (Twin Circle)
Official Name: Classics Illustrated
Place of Origin: New York, NY
Distinction: A comic book series featuring adaptations of literary classics such as Moby Dick, Hamlet, and The Iliad.[5]
Operations: Albert Lewis Kanter (Founder, Publisher)
Output: http://www.classiccomicstore.com/portal.asp
http://www.tkinter.smig.net/classicsillustrated/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classics_Illustrated
Branches: Classics Illustrated Junior (imprint)
Social Media: Facebook
Multi-Media: N/A
Established: 2009
Official Name: Coffee Table Comics
Place of Origin: Idaho
Distinction: Coffee Table Comics is about beautiful, amazing cloth-bound comics made to be displayed proudly on your coffee table – hence the name “coffee table comics.”[6]
Coffee Table Comics was created by artist/comic creator Jason Brubaker to self-publish his graphic novels. His first graphic novel, reMIND was published in 2011 and won the Xeric Award. It was also included on the Great Graphic Novels for Teens list 2012. In 2014 he quit his full-time job as a Visual Development artist at Dreamworks Animation to pursue publishing his own comics full-time. He now has a semi-legit office in a small town in Idaho, a really fantastic part-time art assistant, and an even more fantastic Sales and Marketing manager (just saying). His new work, SITHRAH, is being hosted on Webtoons[7].
Operations: Jason Brubaker (Owner, Artist), Gabriel Whitney (Art Assistant)
Output: Unknown
Branches: N/A
Social Media: @Jason_Brubaker ; Facebook ; Instagram
Multi-Media: Coffee Table Comics Podcast
Established: 2006
Official Name: ComicMix
Place of Origin: Norwalk, CT
Distinction: ComicMix.com is the new site for readers who enjoy all types of fantastic media, from comic books television and movies to video games and more. Every day, visitors find news, facts, reviews, commentary, columns and a community environment that reaches across the globe, across decades and into the future[8].
This is the best place for news about comics, movies, television, music, games and more, plus columns and blogs from Dennis O’Neil, Michael Davis, Elayne Riggs, John Ostrander, Mike Gold and many others[9].
“EZ Street” Harvey Award nominated for best digital comic, 2008
“The Original Johnson”: 4 Glyph Award nominations[10].
Operations: Mike Gold (Founder, President, EIC), Brian Alvey (Founder, Chairman), Glenn Hauman (Founder, VP, Operations & Production Manager)
Output: Free, original comics by popular creators, including White Viper, EZ Street, Jon Sable Freelance, Demons of Sherwood, GrimJack, Black Ice, The Adventures of Simone & Ajax and Munden’s Bar.
Current Titles: Demons of Sherwood; Grimjack Omnibus vol. 1; Jon Sable Freelance Omnibus vol. 3; Ukiyo; The Whisper Campaign
http://www.comicmix.com/buy-our-books/
Branches: N/A
Social Media: @comicmix ; Facebook ; FriendFeed ; MySpace ; LinkedIn ; Pinterest ; Reddit ; Tumblr
Multi-Media: N/A
Established: Unknown
Official Name: ComixTribe
Place of Origin: Newburyport, MA
Distinction: ComixTribe’s mission is simple: Creators helping creators make better comics.[11]
The grand vision of what ComixTribe will become is extremely ambitious. The ultimate goal is to make ComixTribe a premier online community and resource for comic creators serious about improving their craft[12].
We have an ambitious and exciting roadmap laid out for the development of the site. However, we’re starting small and simple, with an initial focus on producing quality content geared toward comic creators. We are curating a small selection of quality columns, podcasts, and resources we’re confident will appeal to the comic creating community at large. Through frequent, consistent, and quality content updates, we hope to establish ComixTribe as a voice worth listening to. As the community builds, we’ll incorporate new features that will go beyond content, to meet the many needs of comics creators[13].
Operations: Unknown
Output: And Then Emily Was Gone; Epic; Oxymoron; The Red Ten; SCAM; The Standard
Current Titles: Deep Space Tragedy; Exit Generation; Find; Oxymoron: the Loveliest Nightmare
Branches: http://comixtribe.storenvy.com/
Social Media: @comixtribe ; Facebook
Multi-Media: Columns, forum.
Established: 1996
Official Name: Conundrum Press
Place of Origin: Montréal, Québec, CANADA ; currently Wolfville, Nova Scotia, CANADA
Distinction: Conundrum is renowned in Canadian publishing for its innovative, wide-ranging, often genre-defying, books of fiction, cultural history, graphic novels, spoken word and artist projects. Conundrum authors include Dana Bath, Marc Bell, Elisabeth Belliveau, Lance Blomgren, Shary Boyle, Howard Chackowicz, Joey Dubuc, Golda Fried, Corey Frost, Philippe Girard, Lesley Johnson, Valerie Joy Kalynchuk, Liane Keightley, Catherine Kidd, Suki Lee,Amanda Marchand, Billy Mavreas, Chandra Mayor, Maya Merrick, Nathaniel G. Moore, Marc Ngui, Stéphane Olivier, Joe Ollmann, Meg Sircom, Victoria Stanton, Julia Tausch, Marc Tessier, Vincent Tinguely[14].
Conundrum Press was founded in 1996 in Montreal to publish under-represented writing and art. Since moving to Nova Scotia a few years ago we have focused on publishing exclusively graphic novels, zine collections, and art books[15].
2015 Doug Wright Spotlight Award: Photobooth: A Biography by Meags Fitzgerald
2014 Doug Wright Award for Best Book: Paul Joins the Scouts by Michel Rabagliati
2013 Doug Wright Award for Best Book: The Song of Roland by Michel Rabagliati
2013 Doug Wright Spotlight Award: Nina Bunjevac for Heartless
Operations: Andy Brown (Founder, Publisher)
Output: http://www.conundrumpress.com/category/backlist/
Current Titles: Towerkind; http://www.conundrumpress.com/category/new-titles/
Branches: BDang (imprint)
Social Media: @ConundrumCanada; Facebook
Multi-Media: N/A
Established: Unknown
Official Name: Cosmic Times
Place of Origin: Lake Worth, FL
Distinction: Florida based nationally distributed comic book publisher.
Operations: Unknown
Output: Deep Space Tragedy; Giant Robot Warrior Maintenance Crew; Souled; What I.F.
Current Titles: Metal Locus; Scales of Time
Branches: http://www.cosmictimes.net/shop.html https://squareup.com/market/cosmic-times
Social Media: @CosmicTimes ; Facebook ; Flickr ; Kickstarter ; Tumblr ; Vimeo ; YouTube
Multi-Media: N/A
Established: 2012
Official Name: Creative Mind Energy
Place of Origin: Bethesda, MD
Distinction: An emerging family business, Creative Mind Energy, LLC develops original creative content for print, film, television and video games. Our projects range from comic books, to young adult novels, to feature length screenplays. We think of ourselves as a creative think tank, and we approach our projects with one overriding goal: to create something absolutely amazing. At CME, we imagine extraordinary things[16].
We are a creative consortium of artists, designers, inventors, story-tellers and writers who pool their educations, talents and creative abilities to bring outstanding new products to all media markets and industries[17].
Operations: Damian Wassel (Founder, President), Damian Wassel, Jr. (EIC), Nathan Gooden (Art Director), Adrian Wassel (Managing Editor)
Output: http://creativemindenergy.com/portfolio/
Current Titles: Dixie Vixens
Upcoming Titles: Deadeye: Begun in Blood
Branches: N/A
Social Media: @CME_Media ; Facebook
Multi-Media: N/A
Established: 2009
Official Name: Creature Entertainment, LLC
Place of Origin: Miami, FL
Distinction: We are a group of artists and filmmakers based in Miami, Florida who publish graphic novels and produce short and feature films[18].
Creature Entertainment is embracing new media, video, and good old print to create a unique niche in the market for our stories. We work on a modest budget as most independent publishers/filmmakers do and have a grassroots approach to putting our product into the hands of the comic book and movie aficionado[19].
Operations: John Ulloa (Founder), Julio Alvarez (Founder, Publisher, Editor)
Output: Bubba the Redneck Werewolf: Night of the Living Bubba; Forgive Me Father; Killswitch Billy; Rez; Tommy; TS-101; Zombie Years
Current Titles: Burnt Comix; Bubba the Redneck Werewolf; The Gun; Ravenous
Branches: http://creaturestore.storenvy.com/
Social Media: @CreatureComix ; Facebook
Multi-Media: Four films – Reservoir Bats; TS-101; Wall of Shame; Zombie Years
http://www.creatureentertainment.com/films/
Established: Unknown
Official Name: Crumb Comics
Place of Origin: (?)Madison, WI(?)
Distinction: Robert Dennis Crumb (born August 30, 1943) is an American cartoonist and musician who often signs his work R. Crumb. His work displays a nostalgia for American folk culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and satire of contemporary American culture[20].
In 1991, Crumb was inducted into the comic book industry’s Will Eisner Comic Book Hall of Fame.
http://www.crumbproducts.com/pages/about/time.html
Operations: Unknown
Output: http://www.crumbproducts.com/pages/books_comics.html
Branches: Collectibles, T-shirts
Social Media: N/A
Multi-Media: N/A
Established: 2010
Official Name: Cryptozoic Entertainment
Place of Origin: Lake Forest, CA
Distinction: Cryptozoic Entertainment, Inc. is a premier developer and publisher of original and licensed board games, card games, comics and trading cards, including the DC Comics™ Deck-Building Game, The Walking Dead™ Board Game, The Big Bang Theory: The Party Game and Ghostbusters™:The Board Game, the 8th most funded tabletop game in Kickstarter history. Following a philosophy and core principle of “Fans First”, the dedicated gamers and fans of the Cryptozoic Entertainment team are focused on producing fun and amazing products along with epic events that bring all gaming fans together as part of the Cryptozoic community[21].
Operations: Cory Jones (Founder, President, CCO), Scott Gaeta (Founder), John Nee (Founder co-COO), John Sepenuk (Founder, co-COO)
Output: Hugh Howey’s Wool; The Lookouts
Branches: https://www.cryptozoic.com/games https://www.cryptozoic.com/tradingcards
Social Media: @Cryptozoic ; Facebook ; Instagram ; Pinterest ; YouTube
Multi-Media: N/A
[1] http://www.jacketflap.com/clarion-books-publisher-1079
[2] Ibid
[3] Ibid
[4] http://www.classiccomicspress.com/pages/about-us
[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classics_Illustrated
[6] https://www.facebook.com/coffeetablecomics/info/?tab=page_info
[7] Ibid
[8] http://www.comicmix.com/about-us/
[9] Ibid
[10] https://www.facebook.com/ComicMix/info/?tab=page_info
[11] http://www.comixtribe.com/about/
[12] Ibid
[13] Ibid
[14] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conundrum_Press_%28Canada%29
[15] https://www.facebook.com/ConundrumPressCanada/info/?tab=page_info
[16] http://creativemindenergy.com/creativemindenergy/
[17] Ibid
[18] https://www.facebook.com/creatureentertainment/info/?tab=page_info
[19] Ibid
[20] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Crumb#Personal_life
[21] https://www.cryptozoic.com/about-us
Come, crazy collectors!!
