Boom! Studios

'''Boom! Studios (styled BOOM! Studios''') is a comic book and graphic novel publisher headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States co-founded by Ross Richie and Andrew Cosby in 2005. The BOOM! Studios imprint publishes full-color science fiction, fantasy, action, horror and super-hero titles. Additional imprints include the all-ages KaBOOM! label and BOOM! Town, which publishes comix and literature-focused comics.

History
Before co-founding BOOM! Studios, Richie and Cosby worked at Malibu Comics from 1993 to 1995. The duo left the comic book business to pursue careers in feature films and were involved producing the feature film adaptation of Mage by legendary comic book creator Matt Wagner with Spyglass Entertainment, and had various projects with Mike Medavoy (Phoenix Pictures), Mark Canton (The Canton Company), Akiva Goldsman, and Casey Silver. Working with Dark Horse Comics, the duo set up "Damn Nation" at MTV Films/Paramount Pictures, a comic book Cosby created with the partnership attached to produce.

Immediately prior to starting BOOM!, Ross Richie worked with Dave Elliot and Garry Leach to re-launch Atomeka Press in 2004. Andrew Cosby was Executive Producer and Showrunner for Syfy's award-winning series, Eureka, which Cosby co-created.

BOOM!’s first publication was Zombie Tales #1, a horror zombie anthology released on June 22, 2005.

BOOM! announced during the 2007 San Diego Comic Con the appointment of Mark Waid as Editor-in-Chief. Waid launched Irredeemable in April 2009 with an afterward from Grant Morrison and a cover from John Cassaday. The first issue sold out on the opening day, which caused the publisher to send the series into a second printing. A spin-off titled Incorruptible, launched in December 2009, follows former supervillain Max Damage on his journey to become a super hero in the wake of the events depicted in Irredeemable. Waid also created Potter's Field, featuring a cover from J.G. Jones and interior art from Paul Azaceta. Another title created during Waid's tenure was The Unknown and The Unknown: The Devil Made Flesh, illustrated by Dutch artist Minck Oosterveer.

After three years in the position, Waid was promoted to Chief Creative Officer with former Managing Editor Matt Gagnon promoted to Editor-in-Chief. In December 2010, Waid announced he would be leaving his role as Chief Creative Officer to return to freelance work though he will continue writing for the publisher.

Andrew Cosby left the company in 2010 to pursue his career in features and television.

Comics industry
BOOM! Studios has worked with the following writers and artists in the comics industry:


 * Dan Abnett
 * Kurt Busiek
 * Howard Chaykin
 * J.M. DeMatteis
 * Ian Edginton
 * Eric M. Esquivel
 * Keith Giffen
 * Kieron Gillen
 * Jaime Hernandez
 * Phil Hester
 * Sam Humphries
 * Dave Johnson
 * Roger Langridge
 * Stan Lee
 * Mike Mignola
 * Steve Niles
 * Mike Ploog
 * Chris Roberson
 * Mark Waid
 * Shannon Wheeler

Entertainment industry
BOOM! Studios has also collaborated with the following actors, writers and other creatives:
 * Clive Barker
 * Andrew Cosby
 * Chris Gorak
 * Daryl Gregory
 * Samuel L. Jackson
 * Blake Masters
 * Michael Moorcock
 * Rockne O'Bannon
 * Adam Rifkin
 * John Rogers
 * Warren Spector
 * James Wan

Awards
The company was named Wizard magazine's Best New Publisher of 2005, four months after their first book was published.

BOOM! was awarded "Best Publisher" in 2010 for 2009 by Diamond Comic Distributors in an award voted on by Direct Market retailers.

In 2010, BOOM! was nominated for seven Eisner Awards and five Harvey Awards. The Muppet Show Comic Book won Roger Langridge a Harvey for "Best Original Graphic Publication for Younger Readers." that year.

In 2011, Shannon Wheeler's I Thought You Would be Funnier was nominated for an Eisner Award for Best Humor Publication. The first book by BOOM! Studios' alt-lit imprint BOOM! Town, Wheeler's I Thought You Would Be Funnier took home the Eisner Award and was accepted by Wheeler and BOOM! Studios Marketing Director Chip Mosher, who edited the volume. BOOM! was also nominated for five Harvey Awards that year including an award for Roger Langridge's work on The Muppet Show.

Distribution
All of BOOM! Studios single-issue comic books are collected in graphic novels — including KaBOOM! and BOOM! Town — and distributed to retailers through Simon and Schuster in the United States and HarperCollinsCanada in Canada.

Digital comics
On January 3, 2008, BOOM! became the first comic book company to offer a digital download of a comic book on the day and date of its release, partnering with MySpace Comic Books. As a result, the first issue sold out and went to second printing. Sales on issues four and five increased.

One year later, on January 6, 2009, BOOM! teamed with MySpace Comic Books again to offer a free digital day-and-date release for Hexed along with the "5 for 500" program, sending five copies at no cost to the top 500 retailers in the direct market.

On March 23, 2011, the same day as the publication of the first issue of the comic book series based on Hellraiser, BOOM! released a free original Prelude to Hellraiser short story co-written by Clive Barker as a downloadable PDF to promote the release.

To promote the release in July 2011 of the first issue of Elric: The Balance Lost, BOOM! published the Elric Free Online Prelude featuring a free eight-page web comic.

In anticipation of the opening of the film Rise of the Planet of the Apes, BOOM! serialized a free digital comic story that served as a prelude to the film.

Games Workshop series
In 2006, BOOM! began publishing a line of comic books based on the Games Workshop line of characters and series written by the following creatives:


 * Dan Abnett and Ian Edginton
 * Damnation Crusade (6 issues, December 2006 to May 2007)
 * Blood and Thunder (4 issues, October 2007 - February 2008)
 * Exterminatus (5-issue mini-series from June - October 2008)


 * Graham McNeill
 * Fire and Honour (August - October 2008)
 * Defenders of Ultramar (4 issues, November 2008 to February 2009)

Warhammer

 * Dan Abnett and Ian Edginton
 * Forge of War featuring Empire vs. Chaos (5 issues, June 2007 to January 2008)
 * Condemned by Fire featuring the Witch Hunters (5 issues, April - November 2008)


 * Kieron Gillen
 * Crown of Destruction featuring Empire vs Skaven (4 issues, September - December 2008)

Blood Bowl

 * Killer Contract (5 issues, May - October 2008)

The Amory Wars with Coheed and Cambria
BOOM! publishes a series of comic books written by the lead singer/songwriter of Coheed and Cambria, Claudio Sanchez, set in the mythology and the continuity of the band’s storytelling songs.

Kill Audio and The Key of Z
Aside from publishing material around the band Coheed and Cambria’s mythology, BOOM! also publishes comic books written by Claudio Sanchez that are not connected to the band. In October 2009, BOOM! released Kill Audio, a series that "follows the adventures of an immortal little troll who struggles to find purpose in a land where creativity is a controlled substance." In October 2011, BOOM! released The Key of Z, a new four-issue zombie story set in New York City written by Sanchez.

Alternate Reality Gaming
On March 4, 2009, BOOM! Studios announced Mark Sable's latest series Unthinkable. To promote the launch of the book, BOOM! created an Altered Reality Game to be played during the time pre-orders were due.

BOOM! App
On June 15, 2010, BOOM! was the second comic book company to launch a branded app following Marvel's April app launch.

Licenses
Notable intellectual property holders that have licensed their series to BOOM! include 20th Century Fox, Cartoon Network, Clive Barker, Games Workshop, The Jim Henson Company, Michael Moorcock, Peanuts Worldwide, The Philip K. Dick Estate and The Walt Disney Company.

20th Century Fox licenses
BOOM! publishes a number of licensed comic books in partnership with 20th Century Fox in a deal announced on February 27, 2009.

Planet of the Apes
In April 2011, BOOM! launched an ongoing comic book series written by award-winning novelist Daryl Gregory set in the original continuity of the original five films but hundreds of years before the first movie.

Betrayal of the Planet of the Apes
A four-issue mini-series launched in November 2011 featuring Dr. Zaius, written and drawn by Inception and Hulk artist Gabriel Hardman taking place a few decades before the events of the original first Planet of the Apes film.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Two weeks prior to 2011’s San Diego Comic-Con International, BOOM! released a free digital comic book prequel to Rise of the Planet of the Apes. The series told the story of Caesar’s parents in the wild before their capture leading up to the opening scene of the film.

28 Days Later
In July 2009, BOOM! released the first of 24 monthly issues based on the zombie film and published in cooperation with the original producers of 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later, DNA Films and written by Michael Alan Nelson, with covers from Tim Bradstreet and Sean Phillips, drawn by Declan Shalvey. The series wrapped up its run in July 2011.

Die Hard: Year One
In August 2009, BOOM! published eight issues of Die Hard: Year One focusing on John McClane's first year as a beat cop in New York City. The series was originated by Andrew Cosby, written by Howard Chaykin and featured cover art from Jock, John Paul Leon, and Joe Jusko.

Jennifer’s Body
In August 2009, BOOM! released a film tie-in for the Diablo Cody-scriped, Megan Fox-starring horror film Jennifer’s Body. The book featured a cover by Frank Cho, a script by Rick Spears, and interior artwork by Tim Seeley, and Jim Mahfood.

Literary Series
BOOM! has published series based on characters and stories from science fiction, fantasy and horror authors including award winners like Clive Barker, Philip K. Dick and Michael Moorcock.

Hellraiser
In December 2010, BOOM! announced it had acquired the rights to publish comic books based on Hellraiser. Unlike the previous Marvel Comics series from the late 1980s and early 1990s, Clive Barker himself would co-write the series, marking only the third time he has updated the series in 25 years. Previously, Barker wrote the novella Hellbound Heart and the first Hellraiser film.

On the same day as the publication of the first issue of the comic book series, BOOM! released a free original Prelude to Hellraiser short story as downloadable PDF. The first and second issues sold out and went into second printings.

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
In June 2008, BOOM! began a 24-issue comic book series based on a Philip K. Dick novel that served as the basis for the film Blade Runner. The comic book retained all of the original text to the novel, transplanting it into comic book form without adapting the prose. The series finished in June 2010 and garnered a nomination for Best New Series from the 2010 Eisner Awards.

In May 2010, BOOM! published an eight-issue prequel to Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? subtitled "Dust to Dust", fully authorized by the Philip K. Dick Estate written by Chris Roberson and taking place in the days immediately after World War Terminus. The series ended in December 2010.

Elric: The Balance Lost
In May 2011, BOOM! launched Elric: The Balance Lost with a free original prelude story written by Chris Roberson and released during Free Comic Book Day starring Michael Moorcock's character Elric with appearances from other Moorcock characters such as the Eternal Champions Corum and Dorian Hawkmoon.

In July 2011, with the release of the first issue of The Balance Lost, BOOM! published the Elric Free Online Prelude featuring a free eight-page web comic and also made commercially available the first issue of the comic book series digitally on the same day. The first issue subsequently sold out and went into a second printing.

Television licenses
BOOM! has published a number of series based on popular television shows.

Eureka
Based on the hit Syfy television series, BOOM!’s Eureka comics and graphic novels were co-written by show creators Andrew Cosby and Jaime Paglia, alongside comic scribes Brendan Hay and Jonathan L. Davis, with art by Diego Barreto and Mark Dos Santos. Each 4-issue mini-series takes place within official series continuity.
 * Eureka (4-issue mini-series, October 2008 to January 2009)
 * Eureka: Dormant Gene (4-issue mini-series, February - May 2009)

Farscape
All of BOOM!’s Farscape series are co-written by show creator Rockne S. O’Bannon and Keith R. A. DeCandido, author of the 2001 Farscape novel "House of Cards", except for the Farscape: Scorpius series, written by O’Bannon and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine screenwriter David Alan Mack, and take place in official show continuity immediately after the Peacekeeper Wars.
 * Farscape (4-issue mini-series, November 2008 to February 2009)
 * Farscape: Strange Detractors (4-issue mini-series, March - June 2009)
 * Farscape: Gone and Back (4-issue mini-series, July - October 2009)
 * Farscape Ongoing Series (24 issues, November 2009 to November 2011)
 * Farscape: D’Argo’s Trial (4 issues, August - November 2009)
 * Farscape: D’Argo’s Quest (4 issues, December 2009 to March 2010)
 * Farscape: D’Argo’s Lament (4 issues, April - July 2010)
 * Farscape: Scorpius (8 issues, August 2010 to March 2011)

TV’s The Avengers
On January 28, 2012, BOOM! released a reprint of a previously-published Grant Morrison and Ian Gibson six-issue series based on The Avengers television series under the title Steed and Mrs. Peel so as not to be confused with the Marvel Comics series.

BOOM Kids! and KaBOOM!
At the 2007 San Diego Comic Con, BOOM! announced plans to launch a new all-ages imprint producing comics for children, originally announced with the name ZOOM!, but when the imprint launched in 2009, the imprint debuted as "BOOM Kids!". BOOM! also signed a deal with Disney/Pixar to produce comic books based on their properties and secured newsstand distribution. The first included The Muppet Show by Roger Langridge and The Incredibles: Family Matters by Mark Waid and artist Marcio Takara. In February 2011, BOOM! re-branded the imprint as KaBOOM!, re-focusing the imprint to be truly appealing to all ages rather than only children.

Pixar
BOOM Kids! published a number of Pixar series featuring nearly the entire catalog of the company’s characters:
 * The Incredibles written by Mark Waid and Landry Walker (4 issue mini-series from March - June 2009, 16-issue ongoing from July 2009 to October 2010)
 * Cars (two 4 issue mini-series by Alan J. Porter from March - June 2009 and July - October 2009, 8-issue ongoing November 2009 to June 2010)
 * Toy Story (4 issue mini-series from May - August 2009, 8-issue ongoing November 2009 to June 2010, 4-issue Tales from the Toy Chest from July - October 2010)
 * Wall-E (8 issues from November 2009 to June 2010)
 * Finding Nemo (2 mini-series: May - August 2009 and July - October 2010)
 * Monsters, Inc. (4 issues, June - September 2009)

The Muppets
BOOM Kids! released a number of series based on The Muppets with two different editorial approaches: a series featuring Roger Langridge writing and drawing stories based on the television series The Muppet Show (4 issue mini-series from March - June 2009)
 * The Muppet Show Comic Book (4 issues, March - June 2009)
 * The Muppet Show: The Treasure of Peg-Leg Wilson (4 issues, July - October 2009)
 * The Muppet Show Ongoing Series (12 issues, November 2009 to October 2010)

The second featured a rotating line-up of writers and artists doing Muppet classic public domain characters:
 * Muppet Robin Hood (4 issues, April - July 2009)
 * Muppet Peter Pan (4 issues, August - November 2009)
 * Muppet King Arthur (4 issues, December 2009 to March 2010)
 * Muppet Snow White (April - July 2010)
 * Muppet Sherlock Holmes (4 issues, August - November 2010)

Mickey, Donald, & The Gang
In September 2009, BOOM Kids! began publishing a line of comic books featuring the Disney “Standard Characters” such as Mickey & Minnie Mouse, Donald & Daisy Duck, Goofy, and Pluto, the earliest characters animated by Walt Disney Studios. The line ultimately grew to six ongoing series before ending.

Donald Duck
BOOM! Kids picked up the numbering from the Gemstone Publishing Donald Duck and Friends series with issue #347 from October 2009. Early issues featured the Italian-created Donald subseries entitled "Double Duck." From issue #363 to the series' end with #367, Donald Duck refocused on reprinting past classics from Carl Barks, Don Rosa, Jack Hannah, and William Van Horn along with new-to-the-US stories by Federico Pedrocchi and Giovan Battista Carpi.

Uncle Scrooge
BOOM! Kids continued the numbering from Gemstone Publishing series with issue #384 from September 2009 to issue #404 in June 2011. From issue #392 to issue #399, the series reprinted DuckTales comics from the early 1990s featuring Uncle Scrooge before spinning off a stand-alone DuckTales series featuring new original stories. With issue #400 to its ending with #404, the series re-focused on reprinting past classics from Carl Barks, Don Rosa, Daan Jippes, and Romano Scarpa.

Mickey Mouse
BOOM Kids! picked up the numbering of Gemstone Publishing’s Mickey Mouse and Friends series with issue #296 by importing and translating the worldwide hit Wizards of Mickey series for the first time in English. The feature ran through issue #299 before BOOM Kids! spun Wizards of Mickey off into its own series. With issue #304 the title was renamed Mickey Mouse and shifted focus to reprinting classic work from Floyd Gottfredson and Paul Murry along with new-to-the-US stories by Noel Van Horn, Romano Scarpa, and Byron Erickson.

Wizards of Mickey
Spinning out of Mickey Mouse and Friends, Wizards of Mickey first debuted in January 2010 and ran for 8 issues.

Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories
BOOM Kids! continued the numbering from the Gemstone Publishing run with issue #699 in September 2009 through issue #720 in June 2011. BOOM Kids! also released an archival collection of Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories first few issues in one volume called Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories Archives.

Disney’s Hero Squad
Spinning out of Walt Disney's Comics and Stories, Disney’s Hero Squad featured the Ultraheroes in their own adventures for eight issues before the series ended.

Hardcover Specials
BOOM Kids! also put Don Rosa’s best-selling 1995 Eisner Award-winning The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck back into print in two hardcover editions along with The Life and Times of Scrooge McDuck Companion. Other hardcovers that collected past classics like Walt Disney’s Valentine’s Classics and Walt Disney’s Christmas Classics featured work from Carl Barks, Walt Kelly, Floyd Gottfredson, Daan Jippes, and Romano Scarpa.

The Disney Afternoon
In June 2010, BOOM Kids! began publishing a line of comic books based on series and characters from Disney Afternoon television shows. The line ultimately grew to three series starring Disney Afternoon characters.

Darkwing Duck
In June 2010, BOOM! began publishing comics based on the Darkwing Duck TV show. Eighteen issues were published before the series wrapped up in October 2011. A 4-part crossover story with Disney's DuckTales titled "Dangerous Currency" ran before the series ended, with parts 1 and 3 in DuckTales #5 and #6 and parts 2 and 4 running in Darkwing Duck #17 and #18.

Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers
In December 2010, BOOM! published an eight issue series based on Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers.

DuckTales
Launching in May 2011, KaBOOM! published six issues based on the television show DuckTales. The first issue sold out, prompting a second printing. Notable video game designer Warren Spector wrote the series and the fifth and sixth issues featured a crossover with Darkwing Duck in the storyline "Dangerous Currency".

Adventure Time
On December 27, 2011, KaBOOM! announced it had acquired the rights to publish comic books based on the TV show Adventure Time from Cartoon Network. The series is written by Dinosaur Comics’ Ryan North with art from Ice Age: Iced In artist Shelli Paroline.

Snarked!
KaBOOM! published an original series written and drawn by two-time Harvey Award winner Roger Langridge. The series launched with a stand-alone $1 #0 issue in August 2010. It ended in September 2012.

Ice Age
In December 2011, KaBOOM! announced it had acquired the rights to do comic books based on 20th Century Fox and Blue Sky Studios’ Ice Age movies. KaBOOM! plans to do quarterly stand-alone one-shots in the “children’s book” 8 inch by 8 inch format starting with an issue in February 2012 called Ice Age: Iced In.

Original Charles Schulz’s Peanuts comic books
In March 2010, KaBOOM! released an original Peanuts graphic novel that was an adaptation of the Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown animated special. Then in November 2011, KaBOOM! released a $1 stand-alone Peanuts #0 one-shot as an introduction to new, original stories debuting in Peanuts #1-4 (January–April 2012).

Garfield
In agreement with Paws, Inc., BOOM Studios launched in May a monthly Garfield comic book, with the first issue featuring a story written by Mark Evanier (who has supervised Garfield and Friends and The Garfield Show) and illustrated by Davis's long-time assistant Gary Barker.

Bravest Warriors
A comic book adaptation of Bravest Warriors Comics was announced at San Diego Comic-Con on July 12, 2012 by Boom!. The series began publication on October 24, 2012.

BOOM! Town
The publisher launched another imprint in early 2010 called BOOM! Town, which works with people such as Denis Kitchen and Shannon Wheeler and focusing on "literary comics." The first book published via the imprint, Wheeler’s I Thought You Would Be Funnier won the Eisner Award in 2011. Kitchen’s first release through the imprint was a set of Robert Crumb Trading Cards.