Dark Horse, ReelArt Expand Deal

Corrected:

For well over a year now, Dark Horse Deluxe has been distributing the beautiful work of ReelArt Studios. From the stunning Snow Giants statue, inspired by the work of Frank Frazetta, to Frank Cho's beautiful Babe & Ape, ReelArt studios has brought some of the most beautiful works to life with painstaking attention to detail. With the help of Dark Horse, ReelArt Studios has carved out a place in the marketplace amongst of the top producers of collectible statues. Now, the company ventures to move into the publishing world, utilizing an already established relationship with one of comics' top brands.

ReelArt president, Michael Hudson came to Dark Horse with a proposal for a new imprint under the Dark Horse umbrella to transition well known pulp properties into traditional American comics. Fredric Brown's Martians Go Home and Otis Adelbert Kline's Swords of Venus will be the first two properties to receive this treatment. Both properties are licensed directly from the author's estates and will feature contribution from such industry stalwarts as Bruce Jones, Martin Powell, Mike Ploog, Eduardo Barreto and Thomas Yeates. Longtime comics writer and editor, Christopher Mills will serve as Sequential Pulp's Editor-in-Chief.

ReelArt's president, Michael Hudson is a life long comics fan and collector whose interests have always been outside the mainstream of super heroes. His passions have been lost civilizations, detective noir, sword and planet, science fiction, horror, jungle tales and even western stories.

States Hudson, "Aside from the very few big names such as Doc Savage, The Shadow, Conan and Tarzan I've just never understood why so many of these, in my opinion, wonderfully exciting tales have never been transitioned into comics. ReelArt has not been a company that follows the same path as others in collectibles and I thought why not follow that same path in publishing. There are a lot of stories I want to tell."

The books will be released as full color 22-page stories on a bi-monthly basis. "Our plans at this time are to introduce our line in San Diego next year" states Hudson. The books will be marketed by Dark Horse Comics as a specialty imprint in late 2009. In addition, Dark Horse Entertainment will represent these projects to Hollywood studios for big screen adaptation.

Hudson says, "I'm amazed at the number of calls we've received from folks wanting to be a part of this." States Hudson, "After we get these first two books up and running our plans are to venture into other genres. I love a good story and there are so many waiting to be told. Dark Horse is an amazing company, well managed and staffed with people who love what they do. The company has stood the test of time and has never forgotten its roots. With a sales and marketing staff that is second to none, unparalleled product quality, like-minded business principles and a matching love for pop culture, I couldn't imagine a better union for our new venture."

Dark Horse president Mike Richardson states, "Michael Hudson and ReelArt Studios have produced some of the finest products in the business. We've been very pleased with our existing relationship and are excited by the prospect of expanding our partnership to the printed page. Comic fans are going to see a slate of amazing original projects."

© C Harris Lynn, 2008