Titan Entertainment

Last updated

Titan Entertainment
Company type Retailer
Publisher
Industry Retail
Publishing
Founded1993;31 years ago (1993)
Founders Nick Landau
Vivian Cheung
Headquarters London, England, United Kingdom
Subsidiaries Forbidden Planet Limited
Titan Publishing

Titan Entertainment is a British entertainment company. It was founded from Forbidden Planet London in 1993 by Nick Landau and Vivian Cheung. The company comprises Forbidden Planet Limited and Titan Publishing Group, which has four divisions: Titan Books, Titan Comics, Titan Magazines, and Titan Merchandise. [1]

Contents

History

Titan Entertainment is the brand name of the group, outside of Forbidden Planet, and a number of different companies and subsidiaries have been established, utilising the Titan name. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7]

Titan Distributors

In the early 1970s, Landau started trading his magazine Comic Media with US retailers. This evolved into a US fanzine importation service operating under the name Comic Media Distribution Service. On a trip to the US, an opportunity arose to expand this service into importing US newsstand comics into the UK. At this time, a Brooklyn teacher named Phil Seuling took the first steps towards creating the direct market by setting up a direct sales service for US comic book retailers, creating a direct sales service between them and Marvel and DC. Landau was a vocal supporter of Seuling's initiative and Comic Media Distribution Service became Seuling's first international customer. After first being assisted by Richard Burton and then Mal Burns, Landau was joined by Mike Lake and Mike Luckman at Comic Media Distribution Service. [8] Landau and his partners came to feel that the company had grown out of its original name and re-branded their operation with Landau's choice of company identity: Titan Distributors.

Forbidden Planet

In order to support their distribution business, Landau, Lake, and Luckman opened the first Forbidden Planet bookstore, on Denmark Street in London, in 1978. [9] From 1978 through to 1993, Forbidden Planet grew to be a chain of stores in the UK, in addition to US stores in New York and Los Angeles. The Forbidden Planet chain comprised a number of mega stores in the UK, with the flagship store in London (which, over the years, has become world-renowned to fans of comic-books, movies, television, animation and gaming). As of 2023, Forbidden Planet London store has hosted over 2,000 signings. [7]

Titan Books

In 1981, Landau started Titan Books, publishers of both new and licensed graphic novels and film and TV tie-ins. Titan Books' first title was a trade paperback collection of Brian Bolland's Judge Dredd stories from 2000 AD . This was one of the earliest high-quality, book-format publications of comic material in the UK and Titan Books followed this first title with many other 2000 AD reprints. Subsequently, Titan Books expanded operations, putting out its first original title in 1987. As of 2023, Titan Books is a global publishing company comprising illustrated and fiction divisions. Titan Books originally focused on film, TV and gaming tie-ins - and now both publishes in these categories and creates a wide range of original horror, science-fiction, fantasy, crime and thrillers. [10] [2] [3]

Titan Productions

Titan Productions (which produced the West End stage play Thunderbirds: F.A.B. [11] between 1989 and 1993) was originally part of the group, until it was sold to the John Gore Organization. [12]

Transformation into Titan Entertainment

In 1993, Landau became sole owner of Titan Books and Forbidden Planet (UK), establishing Titan Entertainment with his partner Vivian Cheung. [6]

Titan Magazines

Titan Magazines was the first division launched under Titan Entertainment in 1995, as a UK and later international newsstand publisher of genre titles. Titan Magazines originally published Star Trek Magazine, the Wallace and Gromit comic, UK editions of Simpsons Comics and a slew of licensed TV & film fantasy titles ( Buffy the Vampire Slayer , Battlestar Galactica , Star Wars , etc). Featuring articles written by key entertainment industry figures such as J. J. Abrams and J. Michael Straczynski. [13]

Titan Merchandise

Titan Merchandise was launched in 2012 and produces licensed merchandise for global properties, including Marvel Comics, Star Wars , Doctor Who , The Beatles, Star Trek , Alien , Breaking Bad , Ghostbusters , and Hammer Horror. [14] [15]

Titan Comics

Titan Comics was launched in 2012, with the intention of championing creators and original material publishing high quality comics, trade paperbacks and graphic novels across the UK and United States. Film, TV and gaming comics establishing itself as a high quality publisher of licensed properties. As of 2023, their publications include Gun Honey, Heatseeker, Doctor Who , Bloodborne , Blade Runner and Conan the Barbarian . [16] [17]

Titan Manga

Titan Manga was officially launched in 2023. [18] Titan had already pioneered English language manga publishing throughout the 1990s and 2000s (publishing English-language editions of Akira , Crying Freeman , Ghost in the Shell , etc). Titan Manga now publishes a variety of world English editions of celebrated Japanese manga, including Atom (the origin of Astro Boy ), Kamen Rider , Afro Samurai , and Western-originated Americanised manga adaptations such as Cowboy Bebop and Robotech . [19]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dark Horse Comics</span> American comic book and manga publisher

Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon, comic book shops known as Pegasus Books and founded in 1980.

Image Comics is an American comic-book publisher and is the third-largest direct-market comic-book and graphic-novel publisher in the industry by market share.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tokyopop</span> German-American entertainment company

Tokyopop is an American distributor, licensor and publisher of anime, manga, manhwa and Western manga-style works. The German publishing division produces German translations of licensed Japanese properties and original English-language manga, as well as original German-language manga. Tokyopop's US publishing division publishes works in English. Tokyopop has its US headquarters near Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California. Its parent company's offices are in Tokyo, Japan and its sister company's office is in Hamburg, Germany.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forbidden Planet (retail chain)</span> UK-based science fiction, fantasy and horror collectible shop chain

Forbidden Planet is the trading name of three separate businesses with online and retail bookstores selling science fiction, fantasy and popular culture products. The original store was opened in London in 1978 named after the 1956 feature film of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oni Press</span> American comic book and graphic novel publisher

Oni Press is an American independent comic book and graphic novel publisher based in Portland, Oregon, best known for publishing such series as Scott Pilgrim and Rick and Morty. In 2019, it became an imprint label following the company's merger with Lion Forge Comics. The merged company, Oni–Lion Forge Publishing Group (OLFPG), is owned by Polarity. Oni Press has remained the "predominant name used for publishing comics" by OLFPG.

Titan Publishing Group is the publishing division of the British entertainment company Titan Entertainment, which was established as Titan Books in 1981. The books division has two main areas of publishing: film and television tie-ins and cinema reference books; and graphic novels and comics references and art titles. Its imprints are Titan Books, Titan Comics and Titan Magazines.

Panini Comics is an Italian comic book publisher. A division of Panini Group, which also produces collectable stickers, it is headquartered in Modena, Italy. The company publishes comic books in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom, as well as manga in several non-English-speaking countries through the Planet Manga publishing division.

An original English-language manga or OEL manga is a comic book or graphic novel drawn in the style of manga and originally published in English. The term "international manga", as used by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, encompasses all foreign comics which draw inspiration from the "form of presentation and expression" found in Japanese manga. This may also apply to manga-inspired comics made in other languages.

VIZ Media, LLC is an American entertainment company headquartered in San Francisco, California, focused on publishing manga, and distribution and licensing Japanese anime, films, and television series. It was founded in 1986 as VIZ, LLC. In 2005, VIZ, LLC and ShoPro Entertainment merged to form the current VIZ Media, LLC, which is owned by Japanese publishing conglomerates Shueisha and Shogakukan, as well as Japanese production company Shogakukan-Shueisha Productions (ShoPro). In 2017, Viz Media was the largest publisher of graphic novels in the United States in the bookstore market, with a 23% share of the market.

Alias Enterprises is an American publishing company. Their main divisions are Alias Comics and Cross Culture. Based in San Diego, California, it was founded in January 2005 by Brett Burner and Mike S. Miller. They publish comics such as Lullaby, The 10th Muse, The Legend of Isis, and Sixgun Samurai.

<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:

Svetlana Chmakova is a Russian-Canadian comic book artist. She is best known for Dramacon, an original English-language (OEL) manga spanning three volumes and published in North America by Tokyopop. Her other original work includes Nightschool and Awkward for Yen Press. She has been nominated for an Eisner Award twice. Previously, she created The Adventures of CG for CosmoGIRL! magazine and the webcomic Chasing Rainbows for Girlamatic.

Nick Landau is a British entertainment entrepreneur. He co-owns Titan Entertainment, with his partner Vivian Cheung, which comprises the Forbidden Planet Limited store chain and Titan Publishing Group.

Landau, Luckman, and Lake or LLL is a fictional holding company appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, particularly in the pages of the Wolverine, Uncanny X-Men and Deadpool comic books. Created by writer Chris Claremont, the company was first mentioned in Wolverine #5.

Dark They Were and Golden Eyed was a science fiction bookshop and comic book retailer in London during the 1970s; the largest of its kind in Europe. Specialising in science fiction, occultism, and Atlantis, the central London shop also played a key role in bringing American underground comics to the United Kingdom. It also sold American editions of mainstream science fiction books that were not easily obtained anywhere else.

Titan Distributors was a British comic book distributor which existed from 1978 to 1993, when it was acquired by a larger U.S. distributor. Operated by Nick Landau, Mike Lake, and Mike Luckman, Titan Distributors supplied comics, science fiction, and other genre products to retailers all over the United Kingdom. Titan also operated the retailer Forbidden Planet, produced the bimonthly Westminster Comic Marts, and operated Titan Books.

Vivian Cheung is a British entertainment entrepreneur. She is the co-owner of the Titan Entertainment Group, with her partner Nick Landau, which comprises the Forbidden Planet Limited store chain and Titan Publishing Group.

References

  1. ↑ "Nick Landau's Titan Entertainment Group ownership listing at Companies House" Retrieved 1 February 2023
  2. 1 2 "Nick Landau and Vivian Cheung" Retrieved 14 December 2022
  3. 1 2 "At Work with the FT: Nick Landau, co-owner, Titan Entertainment" Retrieved 15 December 2022
  4. ↑ "Den of Geek: Nick Landau discusses his Titan/Forbidden Planet partnership with Vivian Cheung" Retrieved 1 February 2023
  5. ↑ "Review Graveyard interview with Titan's Vivian Cheung and Nick Landau" Retrieved 2 February 2023
  6. 1 2 "ICV2: Titan's Vivian Cheung and Nick Landau discuss Titan Publishing's roots and expansion" Retrieved 2 February 2023
  7. 1 2 "ICV2: Titan's Vivian Cheung and Nick Landau discuss Titan Entertainment's various channels, their merchandise business and future plans" Retrieved 2 February 2023
  8. ↑ Burton, Richard. "Meditorial", Comic Media News #15 (Sept. 1974)
  9. ↑ Barnett, David. "How cult comic book shop Forbidden Planet changed the way we consume geek culture: Four decades on, the institution is still enjoying a position both at the top of the market and in the hearts of nerds across the land", The Independent (7 September 2018).
  10. ↑ "Deadline: Titan Books' Vivian Cheung & Nick Landau discuss their partnership with Alcon Entertainment" Retrieved 2 February 2023
  11. ↑ "Thunderbirds F.A.B." Theatricalia. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  12. ↑ "Producer John Gore". Broadway World. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  13. ↑ "The Simpsons go Cornish for Christmas". BBC. December 2004. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
  14. ↑ "Titan Gets Its Teeth Into Hammer Films!" Archived 27 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine Hammer Films. 1 April 2010.
  15. ↑ "Titan partners with Apple Corps to launch Beatles Yellow Submarine collectibles"". ToyNews. 12 May 2014. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
  16. ↑ "Titan Comics previews Conan the Barbarian". ICv2 . 26 April 2023.
  17. ↑ McMillan, Graeme (4 October 2018). "'Blade Runner 2049' Screenwriter Expands Story with Comic Book (Exclusive): Michael Green will collaborate with Mike Johnson on Titan Comics' upcoming expansion of the 'Blade Runner 2049' series". The Hollywood Reporter .
  18. ↑ Alverson, Brigid (2 September 2022). "Titan Comics Expands into Manga". Publishers Weekly .
  19. ↑ Alverson, Brigid (1 March 2019). "ICV2 INTERVIEW: MANGA AT TITAN COMICS: Crime Manga 'Ryuko' Joins 'Sherlock' and 'Assassin's Creed'". ICv2 .

Further reading

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.