IDW: The First Decade Chapter 1 by IDW Publishing

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Page 1

THE FIRST DECADE

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D E D I C AT I O N S :

TA B L E

O F

C O N T E N T S

For my family: Mom, Dad, Jenny, Steph, and S am. –TA

Introduction

................................................................................................................. 4

To my Mom, for the const ant support and enthusiasm; to my Dad, for believing in me;

C H A P T E R

1 .................................... Idea and Design Works, LLC ..................................... 6

to my kids, Rohan and Malia, for being the joys of my life;

2 .......................................................... Games ....................................................... 18

and to my everything, my wife Katrina. –KO

3 .................................................... Art & Design .................................................. 36 For my Family: Mom, Dad, Tami, Earl, and

4 ......................................................... Bar Talk ...................................................... 46

my lovely ladies at home, Keri and Madalynn –R R

5 ................................. Ash Wood: Uno Fanta & Popbot ............................... 54 To Julie and Lucy, for the non-comic normalcy.

6 ..................................... Steve Niles & Cal McDonald ................................... 74

–C R

7 ................................................ 30 Days of Night .............................................. 90 8 ......................................... CSI & More: TV at IDW ..................................... 108 9 ........................... Konami & IDW’s Video Game Comics ....................... 122 WRITTEN BY

EDITED BY

TE D

ADAMS,

KR IS

OPR ISKO,

AND

CH R IS

R YA L L

10 ..................................... First Comics Returns at IDW ................................ 140 11................................................... The Art of IDW ............................................. 156

ADAMS

12 ................................... Ben Templesmith & Wormwood ............................. 170 DESIGNED BY

ROB B I E

ROB B I NS

13 ..................................... Zombies, Zombies, Zombies ................................ 180 Special thanks to: A l l o f t h e p e o p l e w h o p a r t i c i p a t e d i n t h i s p r o j e c t , i n c l u d i n g : M a r c A n d r e y k o , C l i v e B a r k e r, J o h n B y r n e , S c o t t C i e n c i n , M a x A l l a n C o l l i n s , Pe t e r D a v i d , S i m o n F u r m a n , M i k e G o l d , J o e H i l l , B r i a n Ly n ch , J e f f M a r i o t t e , D e a n M u l l a n e y, S t e v e N i l e s , G a b r i e l R o d r i g u e z , G e n e S i m m o n s , B e n Te m p l e s m i t h , D a v e Vi n d i o l a , a n d A s h l e y Wo o d

14 ............................................................ Angel ...................................................... 190 15 ............................................. Literary Adaptations ........................................ 202 16 ............................................... IDW at the Movies ......................................... 216

Marci Hubbard for transcribing many hours of interviews N i ck R o ch e f o r p r o v i d i n g t h e c a r i c a t u r e s

17 ............................................... The Transformers ........................................... 224

S c o t t Ti p t o n f o r p r o o f r e a d i n g

18 .................................. The Library of American Comics ............................ 238 19 ......................................... Simmons Comics Group .................................... 250 ISBN: 978-1-60010-429-9 HC 12 11 10 09

20 ........................................................ Star Trek ................................................... 260

01 02 03 04

WWW.IDWPUBLISHING.COM IDW: THE FIRST DECADE © 2009 Idea and Design Works, LLC. All Rights Reserved. IDW Publishing, a division of Idea and Design Works, LLC. Editorial offices: 5080 Santa Fe Street, San Diego, CA 92109. The IDW logo is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. All Rights Reserved. Any similarities to persons living or dead are purely coincidental. With the exception of artwork used for review purposes, none of the contents of this publication may be reprinted without the permission of Idea and Design Works, LLC. Printed in Korea. For the full list of copyright acknowledgments, please see Page 295. IDW Publishing does not read or accept unsolicited submissions of ideas, stories, or artwork.

Operations: Ted Adams, Chief Executive Officer • Greg Goldstein, Chief Operating Officer • Matthew Ruzicka, CPA, Chief Financial Officer • Alan Payne, VP of Sales • Lorelei Bunjes, Dir. of Digital Services • Marci Hubbard, Executive Assistant • Alonzo Simon, Shipping Manager • Editorial: Chris Ryall, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief • Scott Dunbier, Editor, Special Projects • Andy Schmidt, Senior Editor • Justin Eisinger, Editor • Kris Oprisko, Editor/Foreign Lic. • Denton J. Tipton, Editor • Tom Waltz, Editor • Mariah Huehner, Associate Editor • Design: Robbie Robbins, EVP/Sr. Graphic Artist • Ben Templesmith, Artist/Designer • Neil Uyetake, Art Director • Chris Mowry, Graphic Artist • Amauri Osorio, Graphic Artist • Gilberto Lazcano, Production Assistant

21 ..................................................... Locke & Key ................................................ 270 22 ............................................... The Future of IDW ......................................... 290

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D E D I C AT I O N S :

TA B L E

O F

C O N T E N T S

For my family: Mom, Dad, Jenny, Steph, and S am. –TA

Introduction

................................................................................................................. 4

To my Mom, for the const ant support and enthusiasm; to my Dad, for believing in me;

C H A P T E R

1 .................................... Idea and Design Works, LLC ..................................... 6

to my kids, Rohan and Malia, for being the joys of my life;

2 .......................................................... Games ....................................................... 18

and to my everything, my wife Katrina. –KO

3 .................................................... Art & Design .................................................. 36 For my Family: Mom, Dad, Tami, Earl, and

4 ......................................................... Bar Talk ...................................................... 46

my lovely ladies at home, Keri and Madalynn –R R

5 ................................. Ash Wood: Uno Fanta & Popbot ............................... 54 To Julie and Lucy, for the non-comic normalcy.

6 ..................................... Steve Niles & Cal McDonald ................................... 74

–C R

EDITED BY

TE D

ADAMS,

KR IS

OPR ISKO,

AND

CH R IS

R YA L L

ADAMS

12 ................................... Ben Templesmith & Wormwood ............................. 170 DESIGNED BY

ROB B I E

ROB B I NS

Marci Hubbard for transcribing many hours of interviews N i ck R o ch e f o r p r o v i d i n g t h e c a r i c a t u r e s

17 ............................................... The Transformers ........................................... 224

S c o t t Ti p t o n f o r p r o o f r e a d i n g

20 ........................................................ Star Trek ................................................... 260

01 02 03 04

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INTRODUCTION BY TED ADAMS

CEO, IDW PUBLISHING

I always knew that I wanted to start my own business, but even though I’d been an avid comic-book reader as a child and young adult, it wasn’t my intention to start a comic-book company. As you’ll learn in this book, when the four founders of IDW started our business, we had no intention of publishing comic books. So, it’s not a stretch to call IDW an accidental comicbook publisher; a company that has seen one of its titles turned into a major motion picture; a company that has been named “Publisher of the Year” five out of the last six years by the country’s comic-book retailers; and a company that has published over 1,200 titles. IDW wouldn’t have accomplished any of those things or be the company it is today without a lot of luck and the hard work of the many men and women who have worked for it over the past 10 years. We’ve had the good fortune of working with some very talented people. You’ll hear from Chris Ryall– IDW’s Publisher/Editor-in-Chief–in this book, but his contribution to the company can’t be overstated. He works as hard as anyone I’ve ever met and is fiercely loyal to the company that he’s helped build. Before Chris joined the company, Jeff Mariotte was the company’s Editor-in-Chief and he was also instrumental in building our comic-book business. Every IDW publication includes a masthead of employees. Some of the names you may recognize, while others work in positions that don’t receive much public attention. Here’s a “behind-the-scenes” look at the people who make IDW the company I’m proud to run. Greg Goldstein, IDW’s Chief Operating Officer, oversees the day-to-day operations of the business. He helps me manage our employees and freelancers and works closely with the company’s licensors. Matt Ruzicka, IDW’s Chief Financial Officer, oversees IDW’s receivable and payables. He handles all of the company’s accounting, which includes royalty statements for creators and licensors. Matt also works closely with Greg and the company’s editors, evaluating the financial viability of new projects. Alan Payne, VP of Sales, handles all of IDW’s sales outside of the comic-book direct market. He’s often on the road meeting with buyers or attending trade shows. 4

Lorelei Bunjes, Director of Digital Services, oversees IDW’s Web site and acts as a one-woman IT department. She’s also an integral part of our plan to broaden our reach via digital distribution of our content. Marci Hubbard, Executive Assistant, is my assistant but that’s only part of what she does for IDW. She keeps the office organized and handles a variety of things including copyright registration and publishingagreement tracking and organization. She also transcribed all the interviews that appear in this book. Alonzo Simon, Shipping Manager, receives and ships every package that comes to IDW’s main office. We publish a lot of titles and he’s constantly juggling hundreds of boxes. In addition to sending out creator comps and review copies, he also runs IDW’s online store. Scott Dunbier, Editor/Special Projects, oversees a variety of projects for IDW. In 2008, he edited IDW’s unbelievably successful presidential-candidate biographies, Presidential Material: Barack Obama and Presidential Material: John McCain. In 2009, he’ll be working on projects as diverse as Darwyn Cooke’s Parker adaptations and the Complete Bloom County. Andy Schmidt, Senior Editor, focuses on the titles we do with Hasbro–G.I. Joe and The Transformers. He works closely with the brand team at Hasbro and has developed full lines for both franchises. Justin Eisinger, Editor, oversees IDW’s books– everything from original titles like Fishtown, to collections of IDW titles like Dead, She Said, to collections of other companies material like Journey, to prose novels like Nightwings. Justin’s also responsible for making sure that we meet the insanely early deadlines that our bookstore customers require. Kris Oprisko, Editor/Foreign Licensing, as you’ll learn in this book, is one of IDW’s founders. He currently handles the company’s foreign licensing and works on a variety of creative service projects. Kris has also written many comics for the company, including The Transformers movie adaptation.

Denton J. Tipton, Editor, edits our line of Doctor Who comics and works closely with Chris, Scott, Andy, and Tom on all of IDW’s comic-book titles. Denton is also writing IDW’s G.I. Joe movie adaptation. Tom Waltz, Editor, edits a variety of titles for IDW, including the books we published with Gene Simmons under the Simmons Comics Group banner. Tom also regularly writes for the company and his original graphic novel, Finding Peace, is one of my favorite IDW books. Mariah Huehner, Associate Editor, works with Justin on all IDW’s books and recently started working with Chris on our line of Angel comics. Robbie Robbins, EVP/Senior Graphic Artist, is also one of the company’s founders and currently oversees the company’s production/design department. Ben Templesmith, Artist/Designer, is well known to comic fans worldwide for his work on 30 Days of Night, Welcome to Hoxford, and Wormwood. Ben’s currently working on Groom Lake, a new series written by Chris Ryall. Neil Uyetake, Art Director, designs and letters IDW titles, and works with Robbie in setting the look and feel of IDW titles. Neil also produces the ads we run in Diamond’s monthly Previews catalog. Chris Mowry, Graphic Artist, also designs and letters a variety of IDW titles. Chris also writes Transformers comics for IDW and recently wrapped two prequels to The Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Amauri Osorio, Graphic Artist, preps lettering files for the other members of the production department and does a wide range of production tasks. Amauri worked closely with Robbie on IDW: The Covers, tracking down and pulling the files for all the covers that appear in the book.

That’s the gang that works in San Diego. Outside of our home office, we’ve got a team dedicated to our Worthwhile Books division, which includes Rob Kurtz, Creative Director, Megan Bryant, Editor, and Jennifer O’Donohue, Sales. I wish I could also single out all of the talented freelancers who work for the company, but if I did that, this introduction would end up being longer than the rest of the book. Suffice to say that everyone at IDW knows we can’t publish anything without the hard work of the writers, artists, and colorists who produce the books we publish. Most of this book is written as an oral history, featuring interviews with many of the creators who’ve been part of the company’s success. In this day of e-mail-conducted interviews, I think it’s worth pointing out that every interview in this book was done on the phone by me, Kris Oprisko, or Chris Ryall. It may be old-fashioned, but I think a live conversation between two people is more interesting than a series of e-mails. I hope you’ll enjoy learning more about IDW. Many fans know IDW for the books they like the most. To some fans we’re Ash Wood or Ben Templesmith’s publisher. For other fans, we’re the home of The Transformers, Star Trek, or Doctor Who. For many fans, we’re the home of original horror comics like 30 Days of Night or Locke & Key. And other people only follow the comic-strip reprints published under the Library of American Comics. However you know IDW, this book will tell you how we got started, what it’s like to run a comic-book business, and provide some insight into the creative processes of some of our best writers and artists. The other integral parts of IDW are the comic shops who carry our books–and you, our readers. We can’t publish books unless someone buys and reads them. Everyone at IDW appreciates the support we’ve received from retailers and readers. I hope you enjoy learning more about IDW and that you’ll join us for our next 10 years.

Gilberto Lazcano, Production Assistant, works with Lorelei on the IDW Web site. He also reformats files for a variety of digital distribution formats.

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INTRODUCTION BY TED ADAMS

CEO, IDW PUBLISHING

Gilberto Lazcano, Production Assistant, works with Lorelei on the IDW Web site. He also reformats files for a variety of digital distribution formats.

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IDEA AND DESIGN WORKS, LLC C

Idea and Design Works, LLC, was started on April

10, 1999, by four former WildStorm Productions

employees: Ted Adams, Alex Garner, Kris Oprisko,

and Robbie Robbins. Adams tells us what led to the creation of the company: “IDW really came out of a series of calls that Alex and I had over the course of late 1998 and early 1999. I was working at Todd McFarlane Entertainment and Alex was inking Danger Girl for WildStorm. We both wanted to do bigger things and I’d always wanted to start and run my own business.

“Over the course of many months, I created a business plan and with the help of many friends and family members formalized what we wanted the company to do. At its most simple: IDW was initially founded to provide artwork and graphic design to entertainment companies. Alex is the one who came up with the name.

______________________________________________________________________________ Opposite Page: IDW Founders (clockwise from top left): Adams, Robbins, Garner, Oprisko.

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IDEA AND DESIGN WORKS, LLC C

Idea and Design Works, LLC, was started on April

10, 1999, by four former WildStorm Productions

employees: Ted Adams, Alex Garner, Kris Oprisko,

______________________________________________________________________________ Opposite Page: IDW Founders (clockwise from top left): Adams, Robbins, Garner, Oprisko.

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___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ One of IDW’s first jobs was this art for the Law Enforcement Quarterly, published by the San Diego District Attorney’s Office.

_________________________________________ IDW’s first logo and promotional item, a sticker announcing the formation of the company.

____________________________ The document that started IDW.

“This type of work is generally known as ‘Creative Service’ work and when I worked at WildStorm, I ran a department that provided those services. When Alex and I were hashing out the company, I knew that I wanted to approach Kris Oprisko, who was then running the creative service department at WildStorm (WildStorm Premium Products). Kris and I worked together for many years at WildStorm and I knew he’d be a huge asset to the business. “Our timing was good because Jim [Lee] had recently sold WildStorm to DC Comics and they were planning to phase out their creative service

department. So, not only did Kris want to join us but he was also going to be able to set us up with our first accounts. “Kris also recommended Robbie to us. Our plan was to have four main jobs at the company: business (me), product management/writing (Kris), art (Alex), and design. I’d approached several close friends, who were also terrific designers, but they all passed on joining a new venture and we were getting close to starting the company with nobody in the design slot. Luckily for us, Robbie jumped at the chance of being the fourth partner and has been an integral part of the company ever since. “We signed our LLC Operating Agreement and opened our bank account on April 10, 1999, which was also Robbie’s birthday. We secured our first office space, which was really a glorified closet (with

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_________________________________________ IDW’s first logo and promotional item, a sticker announcing the formation of the company.

____________________________ The document that started IDW.

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____________________________________________________________________________ Adams was elected as a board member to Discover PB, a San Diego-based nonprofit, and IDW provided the art for the organization’s Annual Report (above).

no windows), and were up and running by the middle of the summer. “IDW has always focused on close cost control, and one of the things that makes me the most proud is the fact that we’ve always been profitable. We made money our first year in business and we’ve made money every year since then. The failure rate for startup businesses is very high and I tried to be

careful about how we managed the company’s expenses and, equally as important, the company’s quick growth. “Some of our earliest jobs were character sketches for Activision’s Street Sk8er and MLB and NFL comics for Ultimate Sports, but the future held even bigger and better work with several different types of games.” IDW

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Opposite Page: One of San Diego’s biggest tourist attractions is the San Diego Zoo. IDW proposed doing comic-book stories for the Zoo’s Zoonooz magazine, but were turned down. 11

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IDW LIGHT BULB LOGO

____________________________________ IDW provided the cover art and character design for EA’s Street Sk8er.

This logo has become the icon for IDW publishing. Within the logo are a couple of fun hidden meanings. The four spikes above the eye, represent the four original owners. Using the eye as an “I” the light bulb filament spells IDW.

_____________________________________ IDW’s first office: 4 guys, one small space.

THE LAST PUZZLE PIECE: Robbie discusses joining IDW I don’t recall the exact conversation with Kris, which means it was either while surfing or over a few pints, but he asked if I was interested in meeting him, Alex, and Ted. They were starting a creative service business and needed one more partner. I knew Alex and Ted casually, mainly thru Wildstorm Happy Hours, but I never worked directly with them. I rode my skateboard to Kris’s house in Pacific Beach for the first meeting with all three of them. I was the last piece to their puzzle. Too many companies are started by partners that have the same skill-set. But they had a smart plan—four guys: one for business, one project manager, one artist, one graphic designer. After talking with them and looking at their completed business plan, it was a pretty easy decision for me. They were excited about starting this new company, I was excited they were interested in me, and as I rode home all I knew was I wanted “in.” _________________________________________________ IDW provided character design for Sony’s Ultima Online. 12

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IDW LIGHT BULB LOGO

____________________________________ IDW provided the cover art and character design for EA’s Street Sk8er.

_____________________________________ IDW’s first office: 4 guys, one small space.

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___________________________________________________________________ IDW’s only CD art was for these D.J. Mix releases.

___________________________________________________________________________________________ IDW’s first press, an article in the San Diego-based Beach & Bay Press. The Beach & Bay Press was also Robbie’s first graphic design job.

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___________________________________________________________________ IDW’s only CD art was for these D.J. Mix releases.

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THE OFFICES OF IDW

1st Office: 919 Garnet Avenue, Suite G IDW’s first home was the most classic. It was situated above a since-departed Wherehouse Music store on Pacific Beach’s main drag, two blocks from the Pacific Ocean. The entrance was a back alley often colonized by homeless people and fly swarms. The place itself was a tiny shag-carpeted room in a Vegas-style monstrosity of a second floor, replete with gaudy tan-tinted glass accents everywhere. Kris and Robbie could surf during their lunch break, but aside from that, there wasn’t much to recommend it.

2nd Office: 2168 Balboa Avenue #4 IDW’s second home was a short hop from the first, on the opposite end of Pacific Beach. As we grew and began to make many more trips to L.A., access to the I-5 North on-ramp was important! This was also a second-floor space but we all had separate offices for the first time, and best of all, windows that actually opened! We also hired our first employee, not in small part because we now had the space to put someone.

3rd Office: 2645 Financial Court, Suite E In IDW’s longest move to date, we actually relocated more than several blocks from our previous location! We left PB proper in favor of an industrial park on Morena Boulevard. Situated in the chaparral-filled valley which would be home to all our future offices, the space was bigger but light was at a premium. Beyond Ted’s front office and the reception area, there were no windows, openable or otherwise. But we gained much space and a kitchenette as well.

4th Office: 4411 Morena Boulevard., Suite 106 After outgrowing yet another space, we moved several hundred yards back down Morena, in the direction of PB again. This location harkened back to the design of the WildStorm offices, with a large central “pit” area with offices arrayed around it. It was a significant step up in presentability for us, being the first office we weren’t embarrassed to show people. We had a nice reception area to show off our products, and for the first time our logo was on the front window. The pit quickly became indispensable as a storage space, as we began to publish more and more comic titles.

5th Office: 5080 Santa Fe Street After continuing our tradition of moving to a new space near the old one, IDW is currently located in its largest space yet. This stand-alone building has a proper waiting area with a giant IDW logo and display cases. A life-size version of Ash Wood’s Bramble robot protects the bathrooms and everyone finally has some room to spread out. If you’re driving in San Diego on I-5 near the Balboa Avenue exit, you can see our building on the east side of the freeway (look for the IDW logo).

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THE OFFICES OF IDW