Founded | April 2015 [1] |
---|---|
Founder | Joe Pruett Mike Marts Lee Kramer Jon Kramer Michael Richter |
Defunct | December 2022 (bankruptcy [2] ) |
Country of origin | United States |
Headquarters location | Sherman Oaks, California |
Distribution | Diamond Book Distributors (books) |
Publication types | Comic books, graphic novels |
Official website | http://aftershockcomics.com/ |
AfterShock Comics was an American comic book publisher founded in April 2015. [1]
Senior executives included Jawad Qureshi. [3] In December 2022, AfterShock Comics filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy leaving many of their contributing artists unpaid for their work. [2] [4]
The company was co-founded by Joe Pruett, editor of the noted comic anthology Negative Burn and Mike Marts, the former executive editor in charge of Marvel Comics' X-Men franchise and DC Comics' Batman franchise. [5] Other co-founders include Lee Kramer, Jon Kramer, and Michael Richter. [3] Other senior executives include Jawad Qureshi. [3]
AfterShock's published works are creator-owned and its portfolio includes comics by Cullen Bunn, Warren Ellis, [6] Garth Ennis, [7] Marguerite Bennett, [8] and Adam Glass, [9] among others.
AfterShock Comics won the New Publisher of the Year Diamond Gem Award in 2017. [10]
The label attracted attention in 2016 when it published Paul Jenkins' comic Alters , featuring the character Chalice, touted as the first transgender superhero. [11] [12] In a column for The Mary Sue, transgender activist Jes Grobman dismissed Alters as "cliche". [13] Other critics were more positive; one noted that "[t]he visuals are beautiful and deserve attention, while the story looks to be addressing something avoided in American society." [14]
Garth Ennis is a Northern Irish-American comics writer, best known for the Vertigo series Preacher with artist Steve Dillon, his nine-year run on Marvel Comics' Punisher franchise, and The Boys with artist Darick Robertson. He has collaborated with artists such as Dillon and Glenn Fabry on Preacher, John McCrea on Hitman, Marc Silvestri on The Darkness, and Carlos Ezquerra on both Preacher and Hitman. His work has won him recognition in the comics industry, including nominations for the Comics Buyer's Guide Award for Favorite Writer in 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000.
Joseph Quesada is an American comic book artist, writer, editor, and television producer. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books, such as Ninjak and Solar, Man of the Atom. He later worked on numerous books for DC Comics and Marvel Comics, such as Batman: Sword of Azrael and X-Factor, before forming his own company, Event Comics, where he published his creator-owned character, Ash.
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Joe Pruett is an American comic book writer, editor, and publisher.
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Midnighter is an American comic book series published by WildStorm, first issued in November 2006. It is a spin-off from The Authority, a superhero team comic book created by Warren Ellis and Bryan Hitch, and follows the solo adventures of Midnighter, "the greatest tactician in the history of mankind". The first six issues were written by Garth Ennis, followed by three issues made by different writers; the last eleven final issues were written by Keith Giffen. Midnighter ended with its twentieth issue, followed by the limited series Number of the Beast. The series is also known as Midnighter to differentiate itself from the character's 12-issue latter series first published by DC Comics in 2015.
Artists, Writers & Artisans or AWA Studios is an American independent comic book publisher founded in November 2018 by Axel Alonso, Bill Jemas and Jonathan F Miller.
Alters was a superhero comic book series created and written by Paul Jenkins and drawn by Leila Leiz. It was published by AfterShock Comics from September 2016. The series concerns the emergence of a new Alteration named Chalice, who is navigating both the trials of becoming a superhero and - as alter-ego Charlie - is transitioning from male to female. The premise of the series gathered considerable mainstream attention ahead of the book's launch.