Blackthorne Publishing

Last updated
Blackthorne Publishing Inc.
Industry Comics
Founded1985
Founder Steve Schanes, Ann Fera
Defunct1990
Headquarters El Cajon, California, U.S.
Key people
 John Stephenson, editor-in-chief

Blackthorne Publishing Inc. was an American comic book publisher that flourished from 1986 to 1989. They were notable for the Blackthorne 3-D Series, their reprint titles of classic comic strips like Dick Tracy, and their licensed products. Blackthorne achieved its greatest sales and financial success with their licensed 3-D comics adaptations of the California Raisins, but the financial loss suffered by the failure of their 3-D adaptation of Michael Jackson's film Moonwalker was a major contributor to the publisher's downfall.

Contents

History

Blackthorne was established in 1985 by husband-and-wife team Steve Schanes and Ann Fera, formerly associated with Pacific Comics (which had gone out of business in 1984). Schanes explained, "My abilities have always been to sell and promote, and I needed to have a job to pay my debts and to maintain a minimum life-style with my family. Since I could not locate enough work where I was living, I decided to start up another company, so I borrowed on my credit cards and started Blackthorne." [1] Schanes and Fera raised $16,000 to start Blackthorne (naming the company after the street on which they lived), [2] mostly using their credit cards. [3]

Blackthorne's first title was Jerry Iger's Classic Sheena, with a cover date of April 1985, featuring Sheena, Queen of the Jungle reprints and a new Dave Stevens cover. (The book had originally been slated as a Pacific Comics release.) [2] Despite early struggles due to their limited funds, Blackthorne steadily expanded during its first years. To increase their profitability and visibility, the company employed sales representatives which sold their comics to retail stores not covered by any comic book distributors, such as Hallmark Cards, Spencer Gifts, and 7-Elevens nationwide. [1] [4] By the end of 1987, according to Schanes, the company was publishing 22 comic books a month and was distributing to 900–1,200 gift stores not covered by comics distributors. [1] Meanwhile, Blackthorne earned praise from critics and hobbyists for its reprints of classic newspaper comic strips. [5] Schanes chose to do newspaper strip reprints because they required less financial investment and because there was little competition in the field at the time. Blackthorne immediately bought the rights for 60 different newspaper strips, even though they knew they wouldn't be able to produce most of them for years at best, to lock out any competition in the field. [1]

In addition to their comic book line, Blackthorne published paperback books and created faux books for movie props; for instance, the comic books and technical manuals seen in the movie Russkies are all props crafted by Blackthorne Publishing. [1]

In 1987, however, with the company losing money on its color line, it canceled those titles to focus on its 3-D books and black-and-white licensed products. [6] Blackthorne also suffered from the contemporaneous financial troubles of the Los Angeles–based distributor Sunrise Distribution. [7] Sunrise went bankrupt in 1988, and although Blackthorne (along with fellow West Coast publisher Fantagraphics) sued the distributor, [8] [9] they were never able to recoup their losses. This in turn led to Blackthorne being audited by the federal government in 1988. [10] [11]

In early 1989, the company was still the fifth-largest U.S. comics publisher, bringing in about $1 million in sales and boasting a staff of eight full-time editorial and production employees. They published about 240 different titles a year, with an average print run of about 10,000 copies each. [3] The company made a fatal error, however, when they signed on to adapt the Michael Jackson film Moonwalker to a 3-D comic book. The publisher paid a large licensing fee for the property and when the Moonwalker comic flopped later that year, they experienced a large financial loss. [12]

By mid-1989 the company was outsourcing its operations, [13] and in November the company laid off eight of its nine employees, including editor-in-chief John Stephenson. $180,000 in debt, Blackthorne limped into 1990 before it finally folded. [14] [15]

Titles

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Borax, Mark (January 1988). "Steve Schanes (part 1)". Comics Interview . No. 54. Fictioneer Books. pp. 33–39.
  2. 1 2 Sanford, Jay Allen (September 14, 2008). "The History Of Comic Books In San Diego: The '80s,"". San Diego Reader blog. Archived from the original on 2008-10-15.
  3. 1 2 "Comics publisher pins stellar hopes to Moonwalker". San Diego Business Journal . March 6, 1989.
  4. ↑ "Blackthorne in 7-11s". The Comics Journal . No. 108. May 1986. p. 19.
  5. ↑ Harvey, R.C. (September 1986). "Bringing Back the Reprints". The Comics Journal . No. 111. pp. 56–61. Reviews of reprints of newspaper comic strips by Blackthorne Publishing.
  6. ↑ "Blackthorne Cancels Color Comics Line, Will Refocus on Licensed Product". The Comics Journal . No. 117. September 1987. p. 15.
  7. ↑ "Sunrise announces it may not pay some publishers until July". The Comics Journal . No. 115. April 1987. p. 24.
  8. ↑ "Two Publishers Sue Sunrise Distributors". The Comics Journal . No. 120. March 1988. p. 8.
  9. ↑ "Sunrise Creditors Meet". The Comics Journal . No. 122. June 1988. p. 22.
  10. ↑ "Blackthorne Audited". The Comics Journal . No. 124. August 1988. pp. 12–13.
  11. ↑ "IRS Pursues Blackthorne". The Comics Journal . No. 125. October 1988. p. 13.
  12. ↑ Hudson, Laura. "The 5 Greatest Michael Jackson Moments in Comics," Archived 2010-04-07 at the Wayback Machine Comics Alliance (June 26, 2009).
  13. ↑ "Blackthorne Temporarily Contracts Operations". The Comics Journal . No. 130. July 1989. pp. 27–28.
  14. ↑ Hardie, Mary (January 22, 1990). "Cash-strapped comic book maker hits hard times again". San Diego Business Journal .
  15. ↑ "Blackthorne Struggles to Stay Afloat". The Comics Journal . No. 134. February 1990. pp. 7–8.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">British comics</span> Comics originating in the United Kingdom

A British comic is a periodical published in the United Kingdom that contains comic strips. It is generally referred to as a comic or a comic magazine, and historically as a comic paper. As of 2014, the three longest-running comics of all time were all British.

First Comics is an American comic book publisher that was active from 1983 to 1991 and then from 2011 to present, known for titles like American Flagg!, Grimjack, Nexus, Badger, Dreadstar, and Jon Sable. Along with competitors like Pacific Comics and Eclipse Comics, First took early advantage of the growing direct market, attracting a number of writers and artists from DC and Marvel to produce creator-owned titles, which, as they were not subject to the Comics Code, were free to feature more mature content.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheena, Queen of the Jungle</span> Comic-book heroine

Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, is a fictional American comic book jungle girl heroine, originally published primarily by Fiction House during the Golden Age of Comic Books. She was the first female comic book character with her own title, with her 1941 premiere issue preceding Wonder Woman #1. Sheena inspired a wealth of similar comic book jungle queens. She was predated in literature by Rima, the Jungle Girl, introduced in the 1904 William Henry Hudson novel Green Mansions.

Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. is an American comic book distributor serving retailers in North America and worldwide. They transport comic books and graphic novels, as well as other popular culture products such as toys, games, and apparel from comic book publishers or suppliers to retailers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pacific Comics</span> Defunct comic book distributor and publisher

Pacific Comics was a comic book distributor and publisher active from the 1971 to the 1984. The company began as a San Diego, California, comic book shop owned by brothers Bill and Steve Schanes, later moving into comics distribution and then publishing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eclipse Comics</span> American comic book publisher

Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book specialty store market. It was one of the first to offer royalties and creator ownership of rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harvey Comics</span> American comic book publisher

Harvey Comics was an American comic book publisher, founded in New York City by Alfred Harvey in 1941, after buying out the small publisher Brookwood Publications. His brothers, Robert B. and Leon Harvey, joined shortly after. The company soon got into licensed characters, which, by the 1950s, became the bulk of their output. The artist Warren Kremer was closely associated with the publisher.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kitchen Sink Press</span> American comic book publisher

Kitchen Sink Press was a comic book publishing company founded by Denis Kitchen in 1970. Kitchen Sink Press was a pioneering publisher of underground comics, and was also responsible for numerous republications of classic comic strips in hardcover and softcover volumes. One of their best-known products was the first full reprint of Will Eisner's The Spirit—first in magazine format, then in standard comic book format. The company closed in 1999.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jerry Iger</span> American cartoonist and art-studio entrepreneur

Samuel Maxwell "Jerry" Iger was an American cartoonist and art-studio entrepreneur. With business partner Will Eisner, he co-founded Eisner & Iger, a comic book packager that produced comics on demand for new publishers during the late-1930s and 1940s period known to fans and historians as the Golden Age of Comic Books.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Direct market</span> Dominant distribution and retail network for American comic books

The direct market is the dominant distribution and retail network for American comic books. The concept of the direct market was created in the 1970s by Phil Seuling. The network currently consists of:

Scott Mitchell Rosenberg is an American film, television, and comic book producer. He is the chairman of Platinum Studios, an entertainment company that controls a library of comic-book characters and adapts them for film, television and other media. Through Platinum Studios he is affiliated with Moving Pictures Media Group. He is also the founder and former president of Malibu Comics, and is a former senior executive vice president for Marvel Comics.

Nantier Beall Minoustchine Publishing Inc. is an American graphic novel publisher. Founded by Terry Nantier in 1976 as Flying Buttress Publications, NBM is one of the oldest graphic novel publishers in North America. The company publishes English adaptations and translations of popular European comics, compilations of classic comic strips, and original fiction and nonfiction graphic novels. In addition to NBM Graphic Novels, the company has several imprints including ComicsLit for literary graphic fiction, and Eurotica and Amerotica for adult comics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eternity Comics</span> Comic book publisher

Eternity Comics was an American comic book publisher active from 1986 to 1994, first as an independent publisher, then as an imprint of Malibu Comics. Eternity published creator-owned comics of an offbeat, independent flavor, as well as some licensed properties. One of its most notable titles was Ex-Mutants. Eternity was also notable for reprinting foreign titles, and introducing Cat Claw, The Jackaroo, and the Southern Squadron to the U.S. market.

William D. Schanes is an American publishing executive, active for many years in the comic book industry. One of the founders of Pacific Comics, Schanes later worked for many years for Diamond Comic Distributors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steve Geppi</span> Comic book publisher

Stephen A. Geppi is an American comic book distributor, publisher and former comic store owner. Having established an early chain of comic shops in Baltimore in the mid-late 1970s, he is best known for his distributing business. Geppi founded Diamond Comic Distributors, the largest comic direct distribution service in 1982, and has served as the company's head to the present. Diamond Distribution became the successor to direct market pioneer Phil Seuling's distribution dream when Geppi took over New Media/Irjax's warehouses in 1982. He further bought out early-distributor Bud Plant in 1988, and main rival Capital City in 1996 to assume a near-monopoly on comics distribution, including exclusivity deals with the major comic book publishers.

Bud Plant Inc. was a wholesale comics distributor active in the 1970s and 1980s during the growth of the direct market. The company also published a selection of comics and zines during the same period. Starting in 1970 as a mail-order distributor specializing in underground comix, Bud Plant absorbed some of his smaller rivals in the 1980s, and then sold his business to Diamond Comics Distributors in 1988. He still, as Bud Plant's Art Books, sells quality reprints and graphic novels.

New Media Distribution/Irjax Enterprises was a comic book distributor and publisher active from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s. In 1978, the company's legal actions against the dominant distributor of the era, Sea Gate Distributors, widened the field for the direct market to expand. In 1982, when Irjax's distribution arm went out of business, its processing centers and warehouses formed the basis for Diamond Comics Distributors, the now-dominant comics distributor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dennis Francis</span> Comic book creator

Dennis Morales Francis is a comic book creator, artist, and writer. He created the Jax and the Hellhound and Major Lancer and the Starlight Squadron comic series that were published by Blackthorne Publishing. He also worked in advertising, film and television including Late Night with David Letterman.

Sunrise Distribution was a Commerce, California-based comic book distributor which operated in the early-to-mid 1980s. Owned by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, the company was intimately connected to a number of small comic book publishers from that era, including Eternity Comics and Malibu Comics, as well as three extremely short-lived publishers: Amazing, Imperial Comics, and Wonder Color.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Olbrich</span> American comic book editor

Dave Olbrich is an editor and executive in the American comic book industry. He was instrumental in the creation of two awards for achievement in comic books, voted on by professionals, the Kirby Awards and the Eisner Awards. He was a co-founder and publisher of Malibu Comics. While at Malibu, he helped launch Image Comics. Currently he produces and hosts a YouTube channel about comics and comic-related issues, Geekview Tavern, which began releasing episodes in 2020.

References

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.