David Campiti | |
---|---|
Born | Wheeling, West Virginia, U.S. | May 9, 1958
Area(s) | Writer, Editor, Publisher |
Notable works | Campiti and Associates Innovation Publishing Glass House Graphics/Glass House Studios |
Spouse(s) | Cynthia "Cynthy" Wood [1] [2] Meryl Campiti |
glasshousegraphics ghsanimation |
David Campiti (born May 9, 1958) is an American animation producer, comic book writer, talent agent, and packager. He was deeply involved with a number of comics publishers in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including Eternity Comics, Pied Piper Comics, and his own entity, Innovation Publishing. As CEO of Glass House Graphics, [3] Campiti oversees an international animation studio and agency of illustrators, writers, painters, and digital designers.
Campiti is the adopted son of Charles H. and Rose Campiti. [4] [5] He graduated from Warwood High School and West Liberty University. He began writing as a child.
Campiti sold his first writing to the Wheeling News-Register while still in college, and to such magazines as Writer's Digest and Comics Buyer's Guide soon after. [5]
He was an on-air news reporter at WKWK radio, where he also wrote, performed, and produced humorous radio commercials. He soon moved on to WANJ-FM Radio. [4]
In 1982, Campiti moved from his hometown of Wheeling, West Virginia, to North Attleboro, Massachusetts, where he worked as chief copywriter at the L.G. Balfour Company and, later on, as a writer for the United Way of New England. [4]
Campiti sold comic book scripts to Pacific Comics in 1982. In 1985, Campiti wrote a short story for Action Comics #573 at DC Comics, then turned to freelance editing and comics packaging full-time.
Campiti's packager, Campiti and Associates (also known as Creative Concepts) supplied content for a number of small publishers launched during the so-called "black-and-white boom" of the mid-1980s, employing creators like Mark Beachum, Rick Bryant, Ron Lim, and David Lawrence. [6]
Campiti first provided content for the short-lived publisher Sirius Comics (1985–1986), where he spearheaded the creation of the superhero team Hero Alliance. Early in 1986, Campiti and writer-editor Brian Marshall co-founded the comics packager TriCorp Entertainment. [7] With private financing from Sunrise Distribution's Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, [8] Marshall and Tony Eng formed Eternity Comics; [9] Campiti packaged material for Eternity to publish, including Lawrence & Lim's Ex-Mutants . [10]
Beginning in the summer of 1986, after disputes arose between Marshall and Campiti, [10] Rosenberg and some investors [8] provided capital for Campiti to form two new small publishers: Amazing and Wonder Color. [8] Meanwhile, Campiti, Mark L. Hamlin, and Roger McKenzie formed Pied Piper Comics, with Hamlin, McKenzie, and Campiti sharing the title of Publisher and Campiti also holding the title of Editor-in-Chief. [10] Campiti personally edited most of Pied Piper's comics as well as writing a number of titles. [6] The plan was that Campiti would package comics for all three publishers through Campiti and Associates, [11] with Pied Piper handling "special projects such as posters and graphic novels; black-and-white [comics] were Amazing's domain, and Wonder Color would product strictly color comics." [8]
In the spring of 1987, Rosenberg revealed his involvement with the various small publishers he was financing. [12] [8] The resulting fallout led to the consolidation of the various Rosenberg properties, with Amazing and Wonder Color both being shut down and a few of their titles moving to Pied Piper. [6]
Pied Piper collapsed in 1988, but Campiti wrote a business proposal that helped raise $400,000 to finance the launch of his own venture, [13] Innovation Publishing. [14] Innovation brought literary, film, and TV tie-in series and adaptations, such as Anne Rice's The Vampire Lestat , Dark Shadows , Quantum Leap , and Lost in Space . Innovation also continued a number of titles from Pied Piper/Amazing/Wonder Color, including Hero Alliance and Power Factor. [9] Under Campiti's leadership, Innovation was one of the first companies to delve heavily into recruiting talents from Brazil, starting the American careers of Mike Deodato [13] and Joe Bennett. According to Campiti, Innovation became number four in market share, below Marvel Comics, DC Comics, and Dark Horse Comics. [13]
In 1993, Campiti resigned from Innovation [15] and founded Glass House Graphics, [16] [13] a new comics packager. Campiti gave comics workshops at conventions and art schools in Brazil and the Philippines, [17] cementing further relationships with Brazilian comics artist, including Al Rio. [18]
In 1995, Campiti briefly served as art director of Pop Comics, a publisher of unauthorized comic book biographies. [19]
In 1997, Campiti and Glass House Graphics packaged material for the short-lived publisher Amazing Comics Group, founded by Howard Feltman. Amazing Comics released three crossover titles in 1997 (most of it using talent Campiti recruited in Brazil), all of which told the story of the "Jewels of the Rising Sun." The company was based in Shepherd, Michigan, [20] and had a publishing agreement with Gary Reed of Caliber Comics. [21]
In the early 2020s Campiti/Glass House Graphics produced graphic novel adaptations for two middle-grade series for Simon & Schuster: The Goddess Girls [22] and Heroes in Training . [23]
Campiti holds the position of CEO/Manager — USA & South America at Glass House Graphics. The company has offices in the U.S., Brazil, Manila, Jakarta, and various locations in Europe, coordinating a roster of worldwide talents that produce art, stories, and digital graphics for a range of publishers and studios.
From March 2013 [24] to 2018,[ citation needed ] Campiti served on the board of directors and as COO of Red Giant Entertainment, a comic book publisher and "transmedia" entertainment company.
Campiti was listed as producer and character actor for Journey to Magika , the first animated film from Red Giant Entertainment, which aired on Hulu in 2014. [25] His Glass House Studios animation animated The Grubbs, a TV pilot for Keenspot Entertainment.
Campiti's credits as writer include Action Comics #573, Exposure and Jade Warriors for Image Comics and Keenspot. Most of his work in comics was as an editor on titles like T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents , Magnus, Robot Fighter , Beauty and the Beast , Dark Shadows , and Hero Alliance .
He was a "contributing writer" to Stan Lee's How to Draw Comics, released in November 2010 by Watson-Guptill/Dynamite Entertainment. [26] [27]
The Silver Age of Comic Books was a period of artistic advancement and widespread commercial success in mainstream American comic books, predominantly those featuring the superhero archetype. Following the Golden Age of Comic Books, the Silver Age is considered to cover the period from 1956 to 1970, and was succeeded by the Bronze Age.
Colleen Doran is an American writer-artist and cartoonist. She illustrated hundreds of comics, graphic novels, books and magazines, including the autobiographical graphic novel of Marvel Comics editor and writer Stan Lee entitled Amazing Fantastic Incredible Stan Lee, which became a New York Times bestseller. She adapted and did the art for the short story "Troll Bridge" by Neil Gaiman, which also became a New York Times bestseller. Her books have received Eisner, Harvey, Bram Stoker, Locus, and International Horror Guild Awards.
Keenspot is a webcomics/webtoons portal founded in March 2000 by cartoonist Chris Crosby, Crosby's mother Teri, cartoonist Darren Bleuel, and Nathan Stone.
William Francis Messner-Loebs is an American comics artist and writer from Michigan, also known as Bill Loebs and Bill Messner-Loebs. His hyphenated surname is a combination of his and his wife Nadine's unmarried surnames.
Malibu Comics Entertainment, Inc. was an American comic book publisher active in the late 1980s and early 1990s, best known for its Ultraverse line of superhero titles. Notable titles published by Malibu included The Men in Black, Ultraforce, and Night Man.
Deodato Taumaturgo Borges Filho, better known by his pen name Mike Deodato, is a Brazilian comic book artist.
Álvaro Araújo Lourenço do Rio – known professionally as Al Rio – was a Brazilian comic book artist, best known for his "good girl" illustration work, particularly on the American comic book series Gen¹³ and DV8, published by Wildstorm Comics.
The Alley Award was an American annual series of comic book fan awards, first presented in 1962 for comics published in 1961. Officially organized under the aegis of the Academy of Comic Book Arts and Sciences, the award shared close ties with the fanzine Alter Ego magazine. The Alley is the first known comic book fan award.
Brian Anthony David-Marshall, often credited as Brian Marshall, is an American comic book and collectible card game industry figure. He has worked in all facets of both industries, from publishing to retail, from writing to editorial. He was a founding partner of Eternity Comics, a comic book publisher active in the late 1980s and early 1990s; and is currently president and publisher of the Web3-based digital entertainment company InterPop.
Pied Piper Comics was a short-lived American comic book publishing company that operated from 1986 to 1988. The company was founded by Mark L. Hamlin and Roger McKenzie, with writer/editor David Campiti playing a major role.
Ex-Mutants was a comic book series created by writer David Lawrence and artist Ron Lim, along with comics packager David Campiti in 1986. It was first published by Eternity Comics and then Amazing Comics, Pied Piper Comics, and finally Malibu/Eternity. Malibu created a shared universe called Shattered Earth with the characters. In 1992, Malibu comics rebooted the franchise with a new continuity. A video game for the Sega Genesis based on the rebooted version was released in 1992, being developed by Malibu Interactive and published by Sega of America, Inc.
The Hero Alliance is a fictional American team of comic book superheroes in an eponymous series mostly published by companies associated with David Campiti, including his own Innovation Publishing. The group was created by writer Kevin Juaire and artists Ron Lim (pencils), Mike Witherby (pencils), Bart Sears (inks), and Rick Bryant (inks).
Roger McKenzie is an American comic book writer best known for his work on Daredevil with Frank Miller. McKenzie has also written for a variety of independent comics publishers, such as Pacific Comics, Comico Comics, Sirius Comics, Pied Piper Comics, and Eclipse Comics.
Innovation Publishing was an American comic book company based in Wheeling, West Virginia. It was co-founded by David Campiti in 1988 after writing a business proposal and raising US$400,000 to finance its launch. Innovation became number four in market share, below Marvel Comics, DC Comics, and Dark Horse Comics.
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.
David Lawrence is an American writer most notable for his work in comics.
Red Giant Entertainment, Inc. is a Florida-headquartered comic book publisher and "transmedia" entertainment company established in 2005. Red Giant was founded by Benny R. Powell, former marketing writer for Priceline.com. Other key players included David Campiti, director and COO; and Chris Crosby, CTO and the CEO of Keenspot Entertainment. Mark "Markiplier" Fischbach joined the board in November 2014.
Sunrise Distribution a.k.a. Sunrise Comics and Games 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.
Sirius Comics, also known as New Sirius Productions and Prelude Graphics, was a small comic book publisher based in Queens, New York, that operated from 1985 to 1986. Owned and operated by brothers Juan Collado (Editor-in-Chief), Leopaldo Collado (President), and Jose Collado, the company specialized in fantasy comics and science fiction comics.
Comics packaging is a publishing activity in which a publishing company outsources the myriad tasks involved in putting together a comic book — writing, illustrating, editing, and even printing — to an outside service called a packager. Once the comics packager has produced the comic, they then sell it to the final publishing company.
Of [Rosenberg]'s four original secret companies, Amazing and Wonder were run out of West Virginia by David Campiti.... Amazing, and Wonder were closed down, and Campiti went on to his own company, Pied Piper (and later Innovation). Ex-Mutants had been created by David Lawrence and Ron Lim, and was published by Campiti through the Amazing imprint. But they lost control of the title in a bizarre dispute with Scott that I could never figure out – this had all happened just before I signed on to Malibu.