If you’re familiar with Boom! and Archaia as comics publishers, it could be for any of more than two dozen licensed lines of comics based on television, animation, movies and kids fare, as well as any of the original creator owned books the two comics publishers put out. Boom! especially, has acquired the comic making rights to a lot of our favorite stuff, like Adventure Time, The Muppet Show, and The Regular Show, and done very good work with them. Any fans of genderswap Adventure Time characters Fionna and Cake really owe it to themselves to check out their comic book miniseries, for example. Today, Boom! announced that they’ll be expanding with the acquisition of Archaia Studios, the publisher behind Mouse Guard and the comic adaptations of Jim Henson Productions IP like Fraggle Rock and The Dark Crystal.
From the press release:
The addition of Archaia positions BOOM!’s catalog of intellectual property as the largest independent company-controlled comic book and graphic novel library, behind only industry titans DC Entertainment (Warner Bros.) and Marvel Entertainment (Disney). BOOM!’s comic books and graphic novels pioneer a new business model, sharing intellectual property ownership between the company and the creators who generate the content. BOOM!’s Chief Executive Officer and founder, Ross Richie, noted, “Our creator-friendly model ensures that creatives are rewarded financially as they generate the franchises of tomorrow. Archaia operates with the same philosophy and objectives, which is one of the many reasons this combination is such a great fit.”
The Archaia name will still exist as an imprint under Boom!’s publishing label.
I think it is interesting that the press release should so specifically mention expanding their library of third party licenses as the big sell for this business transaction, and it’s especially interesting that Boom! should take this moment to measure themselves against the titanic shapes of Marvel and DC, who make up 70% of the American comics market. Usually when companies start bragging about how many licenses they have for adaptation, it gets one worried about the homogenization and monopolization of an area of entertainment. But frankly, I’ve been very impressed with Boom!’s work on Adventure Time comics.
Their approach to the Adventure Time main title and subsequent miniseries (finding young, internet literate talent in the form of various internet or Tumblr famous cartoonists, webcomic, and even actual show artists to head up all aspects of the books, and making certain that the off shoots from the main book focus on fan favorite characters) shows a clear understanding of what will pique the interest of Adventure Time‘s audience, and also develops areas that the show hasn’t yet, making the comics more attractive to folks who’re already consuming that setting in one form. All in all, I hope this means nothing but good things for Archaia, Boom! and comics readers.
If nothing else, at least all the Muppets comics are under one roof!
(via Deadline.)
Published: Jun 24, 2013 02:45 pm