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Current Comic Book Publishers from Z-A – entry #27

Dec 27, 2015

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Did you survive the Boxing Day experience?? Sarcasm aside, there were fisticuffs in the parking lots of the major mall within my vicinity. Did you know that Boxing Day originated in England and was intended to put away all the Christmas decorations?? How things have changed!!

At any rate, perhaps it’s just a fluke that there are twenty-publishers listed under B. It’s a lengthy showing, therefore I divide this entry like I have done for some others. We’re at the penultimate letter of the English alphabet but four more presentations are coming your way. Interestingly enough, when it comes to the actual book companies, there are roadblocks since they’ve merged with or been absorbed by larger enterprises. Aside from that, I’m still aghast that some comic book publishers do not have any social media access only an official site. I do not need to justify my sources but the more common ones are what I’ve got to fill in some blanks. Going in, I already knew one entry is Canadian. I was thrown for a loop to discover another one from my country of origin ^_<

You will find that this daily directory is derived from Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc.’s monthly PREVIEWS catalog.

Established: 2013

Official Name: Bad Kids Press

Place of Origin: Somerville, MA

Distinction: Independent people love independent comics. Bad Kids Press is a collective of comic book writers, artists and novelists working together to spotlight their individual stories, as well as dabble in some light to moderate world domination[1].

The independent, creative-owned publishing division of Comicazi, (voted Boston’s Best Comic Book Store 4 years running!), Bad Kids Press is looking for new voices and fresh talent to join their merry menagerie. A growing roster of innovative misfits who’d rather make origami birds out of instructional manuals than be told one more time how to assemble their own toys[2].

Offering unique publication resources, in-store signings, special events, prorated convention invitations and an extensive network to help promote your work or fundraising effort, Bad Kids Press has the knowledge base and the necessary dedication to help you take your story where you need it to be[3].

That’s because Bad Kids Press has already helped successfully fundraise Kickstarter projects including Gwf, Nefarious Twit and Rogan. Joining Bad Kids Press means the same level of support and commitment towards your own project[4].

Moving forward, as comic book publishing continues to change Bad Kids Press continues to evolve right along with it. Digital Reader Access, the future of Bad Kids Press, will be the next step towards that evolution[5].

Now is a particularly exciting time to be a storyteller in any medium, let alone the comic book industry. There are unprecedented opportunities and resources available to anyone who believes their work deserves a larger audience. Unfortunately this also means it’s become even harder to distinguish oneself and call attention to quality storytelling[6].

What you need is something to direct readers to your work. A home where the success of likeminded creators actually brings more readers to your project instead of taking them away from it. So that now instead of working against each other you and all these other storytellers are actually working for each other. All you need is a place that can bring you together, funnel your efforts and focus the attention of your various readers[7].

Not just a virtual site but an actual physical place that not only supports but showcases your story with a designated space on the shelf designed just for it[8].

Operations: Unknown

Output: http://badkidspress.bigcartel.com/

Current Titles: The Advenutres of the GWF; Nefarious Twit; Rogan

Branches: Creative-owned publishing division of Comicazi. http://comicazi.com/site/

Social Media: Facebook

Multi-Media: Bad Kids Go to Hell was released as a motion picture in 2012 by BKGTH Productions. The sequel Bad Kids Go 2 Hell (official title Bad Kids of Crestview Academy) is slated for 2016.

Established: 1952

Official Name: Ballantine Books

Place of Origin: New York, NY

Distinction: Publishing original works of both award-winning fiction and nonfiction in both hardcover and paperback formats under one umbrella, including such bestselling novelists as Jodi Picoult, Emily Giffin, Debbie Macomber, Jonathan Kellerman, Tess Gerritsen, Justin Cronin, Jeff Shaara, Alison Weir, and Paula McLain as well as bestselling nonfiction authors including Bob Harper, David Zinczenko, and Kelly Corrigan.

Operations: Ian & Betty Ballantine (Founders)

Output: http://www.randomhousebooks.com/new-releases/

Current Titles: http://www.randomhousebooks.com/new-releases/

Branches: Imprint of Random Books.

Social Media: N/A

Multi-Media: N/A

Established: 1990

Official Name: newly christened Del Rey/Spectra

Place of Origin: New York, NY

Distinction: The science-fiction division of Bantam Books, Spectra publishes “science-fiction, fantasy, horror, and speculative novels from recognizable authors”. Spectra authors have collectively won 31 such awards in the fields of science fiction and fantasy, and been nominated on 132 occasions[9].

Spectra has been publishing the finest science fiction, fantasy, horror, and speculative novels from recognizable authors including Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, George R. R. Martin, Kim Stanley Robinson, and M. John Harrison[10].

Operations: Unknown

Output: http://sf-fantasy.suvudu.com/ http://star-wars.suvudu.com/

Current Titles: http://graphic-novels-manga.suvudu.com/

Branches: formerly Bantam/Spectra

Social Media: @DelReySpectra ; Facebook

Multi-Media: http://gaming.suvudu.com/

Established: Unknown

Official Name: Benitez Productions

Place of Origin: Unknown

Distinction: Joe Benitez is an American comic book artist who has worked on such titles as “Titans” (DC Comics), “Magdalena” (Image Comics), and “Soulfire” (Aspen Comics). He is also the creator of the modern fantasy “Wraithborn” and the steampunk series “Lady Mechanika”.[11]

Publisher of fine comic books and home to artist Joe Benitez and the best-selling steampunk series Lady Mechanika. In a Victorian world filled with flying dirigibles, clockwork automatons, and elegantly fashionable attire, Lady Mechanika, a young woman with mechanical limbs and no memory of how she got them, searches desperately for the secrets to her past[12].

Operations: Joe Benitez (Founder, Publisher, Creator)

Output: http://www.joebenitez.com/?product_cat=books

Current Titles: Lady Mechanika: the Tablet of Destinies

Upcoming Title: Wraithborn

Branches: http://www.joebenitez.com/?post_type=product

Social Media: @ELJoeBenitez ; Facebook

Multi-Media: N/A

Established: Unknown

Official Name: Benjamin Rivers Inc.

Place of Origin: Toronto, Ontario, CANADA

Distinction: Benjamin Rivers (Inc.) develops original, narrative-focused games for consoles, Steam and iOS. Its games are thought-provoking, accessible, and aim to give players something to talk about long after they finish[13].

BR (Inc.)’s games have appeared in Edge, The Globe & Mail, the CBC and most gaming news outlets. Game Developer Magazine and Gamasutra listed director Benjamin Rivers as a “Power 50” Developer”. Benjamin also writes and illustrates graphic novels and teaches at OCAD University in Toronto[14].

Rivers was raised in Barry’s Bay, Canada and is now based out of Toronto, Canada. He is a member of the Hand Eye Society and a graduate of the Artsy Games Incubator program. Rivers has been an active and early member of the Toronto independent gaming scene and has been creating games for download and display since 2008.[15]

His games span multiple genres but often focus on similar visual styles. The various titles have appeared in Edge magazine, Game Developers Magazine and on Gamasutra, GameSetWatch, Destructoid, Maisonneuve, among others[16].

Destructoid called one of Rivers’ games, Snow, “an American Splendor comic delivered by way of Monkey Island.”[17]

Operations: Benjamin Rivers (Founder, Creator, Publisher, Writer, Artist)

Output: http://www.benjaminrivers.com/

Current Titles: Snow

Branches: N/A

Social Media: @BenjaminRivers ; Facebook

Multi-Media: Snow was made into a feature film by Ryan Couldrey. The film stars Nina Iordanova as Dana and was released October 2014. The film was free to watch, but there exists a paid version with bonus content. For the first 90 days of Snow’s release, 100 % of the proceeds from each purchase went toward the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, which serves as the premier cancer research institute and hospital in Canada[18].

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3563630/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1a http://www.snowtoronto.com/

Established: Unknown

Official Name: Bergen Street Press

Place of Origin: Brooklyn, NY

Distinction: Michel Fiffe is the creator of the monthly action series Copra as well as the one-man anthology Zegas, both of which he produces and self publishes under Copra Press, est. 2011. On top of making comics, Fiffe has also edited the comics anthology Twisted Savage Dragon Funnies and has conducted in-depth creator interviews for several institutions including The Comics Journal.[19]

Operations: (?)Tom Adams(?)

Output: http://michelfiffe.com/comics/

Current Titles: COPRA: Round Three

Upcoming Title: Revenger vol. 1

Branches: N/A

Social Media: @BSC_Press ; @BergenStComics ; @MichelFiffe

Multi-Media: N/A

Established: 2008

Official Name: Berserker Comics

Place of Origin: Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK

Distinction: Berserker Studios hit the UK comic scene running back in 2008 with the launch of their debut comic: THE DEAD: Kingdom of Flies, written by Alan Grant with art by Simon Bisley. Having gone on to produce a wealth of comic book material, written and illustrated by some of the top names in the business, their recently launched online-store seeks to move the Berserker brand forward into the original art market, providing unique art by some of the comic world’s biggest idols (Kirby, Kane, Toth, Keown, Chiodo, Langley) for outstanding value[20].

Publishing predominantly Horror comic books.

Operations: Ryan, Adam, & Andy Brown (Founders)

Output: Channel Evil; Church of Hell; The Dead: Kingdom of Flies; Glenn Fabry Sketchbook; Maura; Simon Bisley’s Sketch Book

Current Titles: N/A

Branches: Original Comic Art, Cover Paintings, Comissions, Comic & Art Books and Publication.

Social Media: @BerserkerCo ; @Facebook

Multi-Media: N/A

Established: 2009

Official Name: Big Dog Ink

Place of Origin: Arlington, IL

Distinction: Big Dog Ink is an independent publisher of diverse comic book properties such as PENNY FOR YOUR SOUL, URSA MINOR, CRITTER, KNIGHTINGAIL, and REX: ZOMBIE KILLER. Since its inception, Big Dog Ink has quickly become a top publisher in the industry with its hit series, THE LEGEND OF OZ: THE WICKED WEST, which has consistently charted in the “Diamond Top 300” list. BDI has gained a loyal fan following due to our high quality art, stories, and dedication to elevating the art of small press and creator owned publishing[21].

A collaborative dedicated to creating unique and high quality comic book properties[22].

Operations: Tom Hutchinson (Founder, Creator, Writer), Kim Hutchinson (Founder, Everything other than writing)[23]

Output: http://bigdogink.com/?page_id=1667

Current Titles: An imprint of Aspen MLT as of 2015.

Branches: Online store http://bigdogink.com/?page_id=1159

Social Media: @tjhbigdogink ; Facebook

Multi-Media: N/A

Established: 1986 (Big Planet), 2011 (Retrofit), 2013 (combined)

Official Name: Big Planet/Retrofit Comics

Place of Origin: Bethseda, MD (Big Planet)

Distinction: Big Planet Comics is a chain of comic stores in the Maryland/DC area which opened their first store in 1986.

Retrofit Comics publishes short alternative-comics, roughly one every month or two. We are revitalizing the floppy comic format as a publisher with a diverse set of artists who have a strong dedication to quality of work and to comics as a medium. In 2015 we will publish work by Matt Madden, Yumi Sakugawa, Sophie Franz, Laura Lannes, Kate Leth, Andrew Lorenzi, Laura Knetzger, Maré Odomo, Box Brown, Steven Weissman, and an issue of the Future Shock anthology edited by Josh Burggraf[24].

Operations: Big Planet – Joel Pollack (Founder), Jared Smith (Co-Owner) / / Retrofit – Box Brown (Founder)

Output: http://bigplanetcomics.storenvy.com/ http://retrofit.storenvy.com/

Current Titles: Butter and Blood; Drawn Onward; An Entity Observes Such Things; FUNGUS: the Unbearable Rot of Being; Ikebana; Ink for Beginners: a Comic Guide to Getting Tatooed; Mowgli’s Mirror; Sea Urchin [all published as Retrofit/Big Planet]

Upcoming Title: Future Shock Zero

Branches: N/A

Social Media: @BigPlanetComics ; Facebook ; Tumblr ; / / / @retrofitcomics ; Facebook

Multi-Media: Online comics – http://www.bigplanetcomics.com/category/comics Podcast.

Established: Unknown

Official Name: Big Wow! Art

Place of Origin: Unknown

Distinction: Big WOW! Comic Art represents some of the best talent in the business, like Frank Cho, Travis Charest, Brandon Peterson, Sanjulian, Jim Silke, David Williams, Michael Bair, Doug Sneyd and Ernie Chan[25].

Operations: Unknown

Output: http://www.bigwowart.com/Artists.asp

Current Titles: Freaky Project: the Making of the Animated Freak Kitchen Music Video; Nocturnals: Black Planet

Branches: N/A

Social Media: Facebook

Multi-Media: N/A

Established: 1997

Official Name: Black Library

Place of Origin: Nottingham, England, UK

Distinction: The Black Library is a division of Games Workshop (formerly a part of BL Publishing) which is devoted to publishing novels and audiobooks (and has previously produced art books, background books, and graphic novels) set in the Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Warhammer 40,000 fictional universes. The publishing company took their name from the fictional Black Library in Warhammer 40,000, where the Eldar race keep their stored knowledge of Chaos and the Necrons. Some of Black Library’s best known titles include the Gaunt’s Ghosts and Eisenhorn series of novels by Dan Abnett and the Gotrek and Felix series by William King and Nathan Long[26].

The authors of these novels, graphic novels, and comics created original storylines and characters that are based on playable armies in the main Warhammer 40,000 game and its many spin-offs (such as Inquisitor or Epic). These works are then promoted with contributions of stories, plot synopses, and rules in the White Dwarf magazine and at the official Games Workshop website. The result is a fusion of tabletop gaming with science fiction and fantasy writing[27].

Operations: Tom Kirby (Chairman, Games Workshop), Kevin Rountree (CEO, Games Workshop)

Output: http://www.blacklibrary.com/new-titles

Current Titles: http://www.blacklibrary.com/new-titles/new-novs

Branches: Division of Games Workshop Group PLC. Black Flame, Solaris Books (imprints)

Social Media: Facebook

Multi-Media: Board games, Warhammer – App Store, Warhammer – Google Play, Warhammer – Digital, iBooks,

Established: 2012

Official Name: Black Mask Studios

Place of Origin: Los Angeles, CA

Distinction: A comics publisher and media production company that supports and advocates for subversive artists, building bridges and breaking down barriers so their work can reach new audiences[28].

Designed as a new infrastructure to support comic book creators and a new pipeline for transgressive art.[29]

Operations: Brett Gurewitz, Steve Niles, Matt Pizzolo (Founders)

Output: http://kingsroadmerch.com/black-mask-studios/

Current Titles: Clandestino; The Disciples; Mayday; Space Riders; Transference; We Can Never Go Home; X’ed; Young Terrorists

Branches: N/A

Social Media: @blackmaskstudio ; Facebook ; YouTube

Multi-Media: In October 2014, Black Mask Studios announced its first two non-comics productions: a TV adaptation of Five Ghosts by Frank Barbiere and Chris Mooneyham, executive produced by Pizzolo and Gurewitz for Syfy and Universal Cable Productions with a pilot by Evan Daugherty[30]; and an animated feature film trilogy of Godkiller by Pizzolo, Anna Muckcracker Wieszczyk and Ben Templesmith[31].