Michael Catron

Last updated
Michael Catron
BornJ. Michael Catron
(1954-10-09) October 9, 1954 (age 68)
Nationality American
Area(s)Publisher
Notable works
Fantagraphics Books
Apple Comics
Awards Inkpot Award (2015) [1]
Official website

Michael Catron (born October 9, 1954) [2] is an American comic book editor and publisher. He is former publisher of Apple Comics and co-founder of Fantagraphics.

Contents

Biography

Catron met Gary Groth while they were both enrolled at the University of Maryland. In 1974, Catron and Groth put on a Washington, DC-area rock and roll convention that ended in financial failure. Nonetheless, he and Groth dabbled in music publishing with the short-lived magazine Sounds Fine, [3] which they co-published until 1979. During this period, Catron also worked as a public relations assistant for Mike Gold, at the time employed by DC Comics. [4]

In 1976, Catron and Groth co-founded Fantagraphics Books, at that point located in College Park, Maryland. They took over an adzine named The Nostalgia Journal, quickly renaming it The Comics Journal . [5] Catron acted as Fantagraphics' co-publisher until 1985, also handling advertising and circulation for The Comics Journal from 1982 to 1985, when he left the company. [4]

In 1986, Catron established Apple Comics, which began as a packager for Wendy & Richard Pini's WaRP Graphics but with its own financing structure. [6] Soon, Apple branched out to publishing original titles, and became known for publishing war comics, particularly the long-running title Vietnam Journal (as well as many spin-offs and one-shots). Apple Comics went defunct in 1994.

From 2000 to 2008, Catron served as a board member for the Grand Comics Database. [7]

Catron has been the agent for the estate of Superman co-creator Joe Shuster. [8]

In early 2012, Catron relocated to Seattle and returned to Fantagraphics as editor with the publishing company he co-founded 36 years earlier. [9] [10] There he has edited such projects as collections of Warren Publishing's Blazing Combat (featuring Wallace Wood); Donald Duck and Uncle Scrooge stories by Carl Barks and Don Rosa; and EC Comics artists' collections.

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References

  1. Inkpot Award
  2. Miller, John Jackson (June 10, 2005). "Comics Industry Birthdays". Comics Buyer's Guide . Archived from the original on February 18, 2011. Retrieved February 1, 2011.
  3. Matos, Michelangelo (September 15, 2004). "Saved by the Beagle". Seattle Weekly . Archived from the original on November 5, 2013.
  4. 1 2 Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999.
  5. Maheras, Russ. The Comics Journal Message Board :: View topic – The Comics Journal #32, Jan. 1977 (July 2, 2007): "... transforming it from an adzine into a magazine of news and criticism that just happened to carry advertisements."
  6. WaRP Titles Now Under Apple Aegis," The Comics Journal #110 (August 1986), p. 17.
  7. GCD Documentation: The Board
  8. Kaye, Edward. "Winners of the 2011 Joe Shuster Awards Announced!" Hypergeek (June 18, 2011).
  9. Spurgeon, Tom. "CR Newsmaker Interview: Mike Catron" The Comics Reporter (Fefruary 5, 2012).
  10. Baehr, Mike. "Welcome back Mike Catron & Preston White!" The Comics Journal Blog (February 6, 2012).