Dynamite Entertainment Acquires Chaos Comics Library

Dynamite Entertainment has acquired the Chaos! Comics’ library and all associated assets which include the publishing labels Black Label Graphics, Infinity Comics and the properties Evil Ernie, Smiley the Psychotic Button, Chastity, Purgatori, Jade, Omen, Bad Kitty, Cremator, Lady Demon and many more (with the exception of Lady Death).  Chaos! Comics was the leading independent comics publisher of the 1990’s, achieving over thirty million dollars in sales in eight languages. The Chaos! library was known for its dark yet seductive characters that pushed the boundaries of horror comics.

Chaos! featured such prominent writers such as Peter (Incredible Hulk) David, Brian (Lady Death) Pulido, Alan (Watchmen) Moore, and Christopher (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) Golden, and artists such as Jae (Dark Tower) Lee, Greg (Spawn) Capullo, Mike (Dark Avengers) Deodato, Art (Ultimate X) Adams, Boris (Conan the Barbarian) Vallejo, Steven (Lady Death) Hughes, Adam (Wonder Woman) Hughes,  Joseph (Dawn) Michael Linsner, Berni Wrightson and many more.  

“After announcing our acquisition of Vampirella, and now the Chaos! properties, Dynamite Entertainment is in possession of some of the most iconic horror characters in comic book history, with Evil Ernie and Chastity arguably being the most iconic” says Dynamite Entertainment President Nick Barrucci.  “Dynamite Entertainment has grown significantly these past several months with our acquisition of Dabel Bros., our publishing relationship with Liquid and Grant Morrison, and with several other more surprises coming up, we are aiming to be the most diverse publisher in comics!”

For art and more information, please visit: dynamiteentertainment.com

IDWs Library of American Comics Website

Fans of classic newspaper strips now have a website dedicated to offering everything they want to know about all new and upcoming releases from IDW’s Eisner nominated imprint, The Library of American Comics.

“We often come across backstory items in our research that don’t necessarily make it into the books,” Creative Director Dean Mullaney said. “We’ll post them here so this website becomes an ephemeral addendum to the Library’s releases.”

The new website features a blog written by Mullaney and Associate Editor Bruce Canwell, offering behind the scenes production notes, links to reviews and interviews, plus plenty of web exclusives. The website also contains a convenient “Buy Now” button, and will soon be adding a “Search inside” feature.

Since it was established in 2007, The Library of American Comics has been nominated for a total of six Eisner Awards, including two this year for “Best Archival Collection/Project-Strips.” Bringing Up Father collects the most famous of George McManus’s storylines and was edited by Canwell, while Bloom County: The Complete Library Volume One begins the first comprehensive reprinting of Berkeley Breathed’s 1980s classic strip and was edited by Scott Dunbier.

Please visit IDWPublishing.com to learn more about the company and its top-selling books.

IDW achieves Premier Publisher status

Diamond Comic Distributors and IDW Publishing announced today that IDW has become the first publisher to advance to “premier” status since the classification was implemented in 1996. Diamond and IDW have signed a new, multi-year agreement that features a number of fresh initiatives, including premier status, in recognition of IDW’s success as a top tier comic book and graphic novel publisher. Under the agreement, Diamond will continue to be the exclusive distributor of IDW comic books and graphic novels to the comic book specialty market, and to the bookstore market through its Diamond Book Distributors division.

“This change recognizes the growth and importance of IDW Publishing,” said Diamond President and CEO, Steve Geppi, “and we look forward to working with them for many years to come.” Diamond VP Purchasing Bill Schanes added, “Since IDW began publishing, they have grown consistently each and every year, while at the same time establishing one of the best editorial, marketing, and business teams in our industry. They’re easy to work with, understand our market, and are forging ahead with new strategies and plans to grow the consumer appetite for comics and graphic novels.”

In April, Diamond’s PREVIEWS catalog and PREVIEWSworld.com website will showcase IDW’s new vendor status as the company moves to the “Premier Comics” section. IDW will have an exclusive section in the front of the catalog each month, highlighting their new offerings to comic shop retailers and customers.

“We are very pleased to have completed this groundbreaking agreement with Diamond,” said Ted Adams, CEO of IDW Publishing. “By combining Diamond’s leadership in distribution with IDW’s ten-plus years in developing, creating and marketing comic books and graphic novels, we have created an ideal relationship for each of our companies. The comic book medium is trending upward in all parts of consumer awareness and we are proud to be a partner with Diamond for the future.”

For more information about Diamond Comic Distributors please visit DiamondComics.com. For more information on IDW Publishing please visit IDWPublishing.com.

Disney Completes Marvel Acquisition

image by J Chris CampbellAdvancing its strategy of delivering great branded content to people around the world, Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company announced today that Disney has completed its acquisition of renowned character franchise company, Marvel Entertainment Inc.

“We’re thrilled to welcome to the Disney family the talented team at Marvel,” said Iger. “We believe the creative and business potential of this combination is substantial and can help us grow both our top and bottom line, leading to a significant increase in long-term shareholder value.”

Under the terms of the agreement and based on the closing price of Disney on Thursday, December 31, Marvel shareholders will receive a total of $30 a share in cash, plus approximately 0.7452 Disney shares for each Marvel share they own. Marvel’s assets include a library of over 5,000 characters featured in a variety of media over 70 years and businesses, including licensing, movie production and publishing.

Desperado Joins IDW Publishing

IDW Publishing and Desperado today announced a publishing agreement, which will bring Desperado’s impressive roster of talented creators and expansive catalog of books to IDW under a new imprint. Founded in January 2005 by Eisner Award-winning comics veteran Joe Pruett, Desperado quickly established itself as a high-end publisher of art books, graphic novels, and comics. Desperado titles have been nominated for five Eisner Awards and won two since 2007, and repeatedly feature the comic industry’s top creative talent.

“We are very excited to have Desperado join us,” said IDW chief operating officer, Greg Goldstein. “Desperado’s books and roster of creators are both very impressive, and as an IDW imprint, Joe will have the flexibility and support to expand both. It’s really a win-win situation.”

IDW’s new imprint will continue to offer the high quality books and feature the talented creators for which Desperado is known. The 2010 line up already includes industry greats, such as Dave Dorman, Brian Bolland, Tony Harris and George Perez. These books, as well as Desperado’s comics and graphic novels, will be released under the new imprint.

“I was sold from the first conversation,” said Pruett. “If there was one company that I would admit to being envious of, it would be IDW. Watching them transform from a start-up company to the present-day publishing beast has been nothing if not inspiring. Everything about IDW speaks to how much they love this industry and love what they are doing. We at Desperado look forward to a long, prosperous relationship. As the famous quote goes, ‘I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

More information about this and other exciting projects involving these two companies can be found at IDWPublishing.com.