Hot Property: BOOM! Studios

When you browse your local comic store shelves, amidst the most popular titles, stacked between DC and Marvel, you’re bound to find an indie publisher called BOOM! Studios. BOOM! Studios was founded in 2005 by two comic and film industry vets: Andrew Cosby and Ross Richie. Richie was part of the marketing department in the now defunct Malibu Comics. Cosby also worked at Malibu, but his resume also boasts executive producer and showrunner duties for SyFy’s Eureka. BOOM!’s first title was a horror anthology comic called Zombie Tales. From there the company has moved into all the big genres in the comics’ world, publishing action, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and superhero comics.
 
Several big name writers and artists in the comics world have partnered with BOOM!, such as Kurt Busiek, Howard Chaykin, J.M. DeMatteis, Mike Mignola, and Mark Waid (who was the editor in chief from 2007-2010). Waid brought the publisher critical and commercial success with his superhero deconstruction series Irredeemable.
 
BOOM! has also moved into the lucrative area of branded entertainment, publishing tie-in comics for properties like The Muppets, 28 Days Later, and Michael Moorcock’s Elric series. BOOM! recently introduced a kid imprint called KaBOOM!, which publishes comics based on several Disney properties, including a line of Pixar titles. In 2011, they began publishing a line of comic books based on the hit Cartoon Network series Adventure Time. BOOM! has also partnered with Claudio Sanchez, lead singer and guitarist of the rock band Coheed & Cambria, publishing his series The Amory Wars, which ties directly into stories told in the band’s songs. The Amory Wars trade paperback made it to the number four spot on the New York Times graphic novel best sellers. The Amory Wars is also being developed into a feature film by Stephen Levinson's Leverage(Boardwalk Empire, Entourage, Contraband) and Mark Wahlberg.

BOOM! is repped by Chris Harbert at CAA, and they currently have several productions in various stages of development. Talent, about a man who survives a plane crash and finds that he has inherited the abilities of the passengers who have died, is set up at Universal. The Fountain, about a top secret crew that uses Nostradamus’ prophesies to predict modern day threats to the world, is set up at Paramount. 2 Guns, an action/crime thriller, is currently in production with Mark Wahlberg and Denzel Washington in the lead roles, and will be released in 2013.
 
Since superhero stories are not going away anytime soon, a property that would make a great movie or series would be Mark Waid’s Irredeemable, about what happens when the world’s greatest superhero decides to become the world’s greatest supervillain. Another cool property is North Wind, written by screenwriter David DiGilio (repped by UTA and Industry), which is a post-apocalyptic action story set during the world’s next ice age.
 
With their impressive list of creative talent, BOOM! Studios is a great place to look for high quality comics with intriguing ideas. For more information, visit http://www.boom-studios.com/.

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