Com.x
Encyclopedia
2000-2002
Com.x wwas founded in 2000 by Eddie Deighton, Russell Uttley and Neil GoogeNeil Googe
-Biography:Googe's early comics work include a Shotgun Mary mini-series and work on 2000 AD, including a number of Judge Dredd stories....
. Deighton later described how the group came together in 1999:
The company published a number of titles in the following couple of years like Cla$$war
Cla$$war
Cla$$war is a six-issue comic book limited series published by Com.x between 2002 and 2004. It was written by Rob Williams with art by Trevor Hairsine and Travel Foreman....
by Rob Williams and Trevor Hairsine
Trevor Hairsine
Trevor Hairsine is a British comics artist, whose detailed style has been compared to that of Bryan Hitch.In August 2005 Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada named him as one of Marvel Comics's "Young Guns", a group of artists who have the qualities that make "a future superstar...
, Puncture by Uttley and Ben Oliver
Ben Oliver
Ben Oliver is a British comics artist who has worked for 2000 AD on Judge Dredd as well as providing art for The Authority, The Losers, and Ultimate X-Men-Biography:...
, Razorjack
Razorjack
Razorjack is an independent comic book created, written and illustrated by John Higgins, published first by Higgins' own Jack Publishing and later by Com.X.-Publication history:...
by John Higgins
John Higgins (comics)
John Higgins is an English comic book artist and writer. He did significant work for 2000 AD, and he has frequently worked with writer Alan Moore, most notably as colourist for Watchmen.-Biography:...
and Bazooka Jules by Googe.
Rob Williams suggested that the relatively greater impact Com.x had on the American publishing companies was:
The downside of this for the company was that their artists, like Trevor Hairsine
Trevor Hairsine
Trevor Hairsine is a British comics artist, whose detailed style has been compared to that of Bryan Hitch.In August 2005 Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada named him as one of Marvel Comics's "Young Guns", a group of artists who have the qualities that make "a future superstar...
, Ben Oliver
Ben Oliver
Ben Oliver is a British comics artist who has worked for 2000 AD on Judge Dredd as well as providing art for The Authority, The Losers, and Ultimate X-Men-Biography:...
, Joshua Middleton
Joshua Middleton
Joshua Middleton is an artist and designer working in the animation, film, comics, and book industries...
and Neil Googe
Neil Googe
-Biography:Googe's early comics work include a Shotgun Mary mini-series and work on 2000 AD, including a number of Judge Dredd stories....
, were snapped up by Marvel
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
and DC
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
.
They ran into bigger problems in 2002 when their offices were burgled and it took them time to recover. Other named projects, like Battle Raven Six by Antony Johnston
Antony Johnston
Antony Johnston is an award-winning British writer. He is known for the post apocalyptic comic series Wasteland, his graphic novel adaptations of Anthony Horowitz' Alex Rider novels, and his work with Alan Moore.-Career:...
, were never published and the company went quiet for over a year.
2003-2004
The second phase of the company's activity took place in 2003 and 2004. The first three issues of Cla$$war were collected into a trade paperbackTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
in 2003 and the series was finished in 2004 with new artist Travel Foreman
Travel Foreman
-Biography:Travel Foreman gained attention with his work on Com.x’s Cla$$war, where he replaced original series artist Trevor Hairsine. He quickly moved on to work at Marvel Comics, illustrating the Supreme Power spin-off mini-series, Doctor Spectrum, and a Juggernaut story written by Lee Barnett...
. However, when interviewed in 2004 Googe said he did not feel the company had fully returned:
Other titles that were announced as returning, but never appeared, include Bazooka Jules with new artist LeSean Thomas
LeSean Thomas
LeSean Thomas A South Bronx, NYC native is an American animator, illustrator, comic book artist, writer, and character designer. He is currently working as animation production staff for Studio Mir in Seoul, Korea....
and Thomas' own Cannon Busters
Cannon Busters
Cannon Busters is an American fantasy comic book series by LeSean Thomas, launched in March 2005.-Publication history:The first issue of the series was due to be published by Com.x in 2003 but moved to Devil's Due in 2004 and was published in 2005....
.
2008-
The company returned fully to comics publishing in 2008, led by Eddie Deighton and business partner Benjamin Shahrabani, with a more sustainable business model. To avoid delays in the releasing of series, Deighton said that "[o]ur publishing model, at least for the time being, is going to focus on graphic novel format, collected editions, complete story-arcs, etc."This included the release of new original graphic novel Path by Gregory Baldwin, along with the collection of Razorjack and Cla$$war. Then they will roll out other titles, including Forty-Five written by Andi Ewington with forty-five comics artists, a softcover collection of Cla$$war and another creator-owned comic.
Titles
Titles published include:- Bazooka Jules by Neil GoogeNeil Googe-Biography:Googe's early comics work include a Shotgun Mary mini-series and work on 2000 AD, including a number of Judge Dredd stories....
- BlueSpear by writer Eddie Deighton/Andi Ewington, with art by Cosmo White (in production)
- Cla$$warCla$$warCla$$war is a six-issue comic book limited series published by Com.x between 2002 and 2004. It was written by Rob Williams with art by Trevor Hairsine and Travel Foreman....
by writer Rob Williams, with art by Trevor HairsineTrevor HairsineTrevor Hairsine is a British comics artist, whose detailed style has been compared to that of Bryan Hitch.In August 2005 Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada named him as one of Marvel Comics's "Young Guns", a group of artists who have the qualities that make "a future superstar...
/Travel ForemanTravel Foreman-Biography:Travel Foreman gained attention with his work on Com.x’s Cla$$war, where he replaced original series artist Trevor Hairsine. He quickly moved on to work at Marvel Comics, illustrating the Supreme Power spin-off mini-series, Doctor Spectrum, and a Juggernaut story written by Lee Barnett... - Codename: Babetool by writer Jose Luis Gaitan, with art by Walter Taborda
- Duppy'78 by writer Casey Seijas, with art by Amancay Nahuelpan (in production)
- Forty-Five by writer Andi Ewington, with art by various artists
- The Last AmericanThe Last AmericanThe Last American is a four-issue comic book mini-series released by Marvel's Epic imprint in 1990. It was written by John Wagner and Alan Grant with art by Mike McMahon.-Publication history:Wagner wrote the first two parts and Grant the last two...
by writers Alan Grant/John WagnerJohn WagnerJohn Wagner is a comics writer who was born in Pennsylvania in 1949 and moved to Scotland as a boy. Alongside Pat Mills, Wagner was responsible for revitalising British boys' comics in the 1970s, and has continued to be a leading light in British comics ever since.He is best known for his work on...
, with art by Mike McMahonMike McMahon (comics)Michael McMahon is a British comics artist best known for his work on 2000 AD characters such as Judge Dredd, Sláine and ABC Warriors, and the mini-series The Last American.... - N-jin by writer Guy Haley, with art by Dan Boultwood
- O:R:E by writer Eddie Deighton and Jim Alexander
- Path by Gregory Baldwin
- PrimalPrimal (video game)Primal is an action-adventure video game released in 2003 for the PlayStation 2. It was developed by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe aka SCE Studio Cambridge. It tells the story of Jennifer Tate, a 21-year-old woman searching for her boyfriend through a series of demonic realms...
by writer Russell Uttley, with art by Joshua MiddletonJoshua MiddletonJoshua Middleton is an artist and designer working in the animation, film, comics, and book industries...
/Ben OliverBen OliverBen Oliver is a British comics artist who has worked for 2000 AD on Judge Dredd as well as providing art for The Authority, The Losers, and Ultimate X-Men-Biography:... - Puncture by writer Russell Uttley, with art by Ben Oliver
- RazorjackRazorjackRazorjack is an independent comic book created, written and illustrated by John Higgins, published first by Higgins' own Jack Publishing and later by Com.X.-Publication history:...
by John HigginsJohn Higgins (comics)John Higgins is an English comic book artist and writer. He did significant work for 2000 AD, and he has frequently worked with writer Alan Moore, most notably as colourist for Watchmen.-Biography:... - SEEDS by Ross Mackintosh (in production)
- Sky Between Branches by Joshua Middleton
External links
- Com.x's blog
- http://twitter.com/comxcomicsOfficial TwitterTwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
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