Top Shelf Productions recently announced a deal with two new partners, who have purchased 33% of the company. The main players are John S. Johnson and film producer Andrew Bregman. Johnson is now serving on the board of Top Shelf and Bregman's film production company has first crack at Top Shelf's titles. The main reason for this is, as stated by co-owner Chris Staros, "Two years ago, I casually mentioned that while I loved every aspect of running Top Shelf, Brett and I were starting to get worn out with being the 'personal banks' for the company, and by the stress that this brought during the rocky periods that publishing undergoes."
Some might say this is just Top Shelf jumping on the film production bandwagon, but really I see this as getting Staros and Warnock out of the production arena and firmly back into publishing. Any wise publisher will seek to get their products as much exposure as possible, and the film and tv world have deep pockets that can greatly help smaller publishers. Any small business has to massage new revenue streams and putting all their eggs in one stream as it were is just bad business. I've met Warnock on more than one occasion, being from the Portland area, and it is really cool to see this young company go through so many hurdles and accomplishments. From partnering with Alan Moore, to publishing edgy independent comics, to this deal, these guys have really seemed to navigate the troubling waters of the comics business.
Top Shelf Nabs Capital Investment Deal originally appeared on About.com Comic Books on Friday, January 15th, 2010 at 23:49:15.
Permalink | Comment | Email this
View full post on About.com Comic Books
Comic book fans are always looking for cool ways to accessorize their lives with comic related material. T-shirts and other clothing are the obvious choice, but lately there have been many new ways to showcase your favorite comic characters. Tattoos, desktop wallpapers, and art on the wall are just a few. I recently got a press release about GelaSkins, a company that makes cell phone and laptop skins. They have just garnered a deal to make skins based on Marvel characters.
I run a Blackberry Curve, and even went so far as to download the application to make my own background, locked screen, and icon layout. Yes, Captain America populates all of them. Take a look at some of their new line and see if something catches your fancy. I plan on getting a review item to report back on later.
X-Men
Spider-Man
Iron Man
I'm really digging the classic skins. Now if I can find a Captain America skin, I'll be all set!
Smartphone and Laptop GelaSkins originally appeared on About.com Comic Books on Sunday, January 17th, 2010 at 00:35:39.
Permalink | Comment | Email this
View full post on About.com Comic Books
The largest convention in the northwest, the Emerald City Comic Con, is making another milestone by having Stan Lee come for his first appearance to the convention. I've always wanted to meet Stan Lee, or in this case admire from afar as it were, and hope I get the chance to attend. I've heard ECCC described as one of the last good comic conventions where the major focus is about the actual comics. With the economy the way it is and money being so tight, I was doubting my attendance, but this one is going to be so hard to miss.
I've always wanted to meet Stan Lee as he has given so much to the world of comics. He still works hard to be an ambassador for the comic book world and whether you agree with him or not, without him comic books would not be the same.
Stan Lee's Coming to the ECCC originally appeared on About.com Comic Books on Monday, January 18th, 2010 at 01:23:57.
Permalink | Comment | Email this
View full post on About.com Comic Books
