Dynamite Entertainment

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Dynamite Entertainment
Dynamite logo.png
StatusActive
Founded2004; 17 years ago (2004)[1]
FounderNick Barrucci
Country of originUnited States
Headquarters locationMount Laurel, New Jersey
DistributionDiamond Book Distributors (books)[2]
Key people
  • Nick Barrucci
    (CEO, Publisher)
  • Juan Collado
    (President, COO)
  • Brandon Dante Primavera
    (VP, IT and Operations)
  • Alan Payne
    (VP, Sales and Marketing)
  • Jim Kuhoric
    (VP, Product Development)
Publication typesComics
Fiction genres
Official websitewww.dynamite.com

Dynamite Entertainment is an American comic book publisher founded by Nick Barrucci[3] in 2004 at Mount Laurel, New Jersey. It is best known as the owners of The Boys franchise across all the IP medias.[4] Dynamite primarily publishes adaptations of franchises from other media. These include licensed adaptations of film properties such as Army of Darkness, Terminator and RoboCop, and licensed or public domain literary properties such as Zorro, Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, Alice in Wonderland, Red Sonja, Tarzan (as Lord of the Jungle) and John Carter of Mars (as Warlord of Mars). It also publishes superhero books such as Project Superpowers.

Creators who have produced Dynamite's books include Alex Ross, John Cassaday, Matt Wagner, Garth Ennis, Howard Chaykin and Frank Miller. Dynamic Forces, a distribution of comics and books of Dynamic, announced a partnership with Diamond Distribution in 2008, when Diamond had the rights to publishing the international versions of books made by Dynamite Entertainment.[5]

In February 2007, Dynamite Entertainment bought the brand and rights of following editions of The Boys after a abrupt cancellation of the comic book series by DC Comics' WildStorm imprint.[6] In July 2019, Sony Pictures Television and Amazon Studios launched an adapted television series of The Boys for Amazon Prime Video after a brand licensing agreement granted by Dynamite.[6]

History[]

Dynamite Entertainment was founded by Nick Barrucci in 2004, first producing two Army of Darkness limited series published through Devil's Due Publishing until self-publishing its titles later that year. After devoting itself to publishing only Army of Darkness, a year later Dynamite published Red Sonja, starting with a 25-cent issue #0. It sold 240,000 copies. Issue #1 of Red Sonja, the first to sell at the full cover price of $2.99, sold 100,000 in initial orders, securing a stable position in the American comic book industry.[7] By 2009, Dynamite was publishing 14–20 comic books and 2–10 collections per month.[8]

Dynamite Publishing[]

Dynamite Entertainment focuses primarily on comic book adaptations of existing properties, with most of its original properties being new interpretations of the classic monsters Dracula, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde, Frankenstein's Monster and the Wolfman. The company holds or has held the rights to publish titles based on films (Army of Darkness, Darkman, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, RoboCop, and Highlander), television series (Xena: Warrior Princess) and literature (Sherlock Holmes,[9] Alice in Wonderland, Dracula and Zorro). It also has a license based on Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Terminator: Infinity and the sequel Terminator: Revolution produced by the writer Simon Furman.[10] Other properties include Buck Rogers.[11][12]

Two additional crossovers have been released through other companies. One, titled Monster War released through Image Comics in 2005, pitted its monsters against Top Cow published characters Witchblade, the Darkness, Magdalena and Tomb Raider. The other was a 2006 crossover between DC Comics' Claw the Unconquered and Red Sonja via WildStorm Productions.

In 2007, Dynamite took over the publication of Garth Ennis' The Boys after it was dropped by WildStorm.

Among its licensed properties are Red Sonja, Army of Darkness, Battlestar Galactica and the Lone Ranger.

In 2010, Dynamite began publishing comic books based on The Green Hornet, beginning with a miniseries written by Kevin Smith and followed by Green Hornet: Year One, which was written by Matt Wagner, and another written by Brett Matthews.[13]

It is also due to publish new stories featuring Lee Falk's The Phantom.[14]

In May 2010, Dynamite Entertainment acquired Chaos! Comics' library and all associated assets (with the exception of Lady Death). These include the publishing labels Black Label Graphics, Infinity Comics and the properties Evil Ernie, Smiley The Psychotic Button, Chastity, Purgatori, Jade, Omen, Bad Kitty, Cremator, Lady Demon and many more.[15]

In October 2013, it was announced that Dynamite would relaunch several titles originally published by Gold Key Comics and that Magnus: Robot Fighter, The Occult Files of Doctor Spektor, Solar: Man of the Atom and Turok would be the first titles of the new line.[16]

In July 2016, prior to Comic-Con International, The New York Times ran a story about Dynamite Entertainment. In it, best-selling author Andy Mangels was revealed to be writing a prestigious new intercompany crossover mini-series for the company, in conjunction with DC Comics: Wonder Woman '77 Meets the Bionic Woman, bringing together the Lynda Carter television character with Lindsay Wagner's fellow 1970s television super-heroine. The series was set to start in the fall of 2016.[17]

Titles[]

Comic books published by Dynamite in the format of ongoing or limited series include:

Public domain[]

Some of the titles published by Dynamite are based on franchises whose early stories are now in the public domain. In cases where Dynamite did not have a licensing agreement with the related trademark holders (Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., for example), Dynamite did not use trademarked terms in the comic book titles.[61] Dynamite and ERB, Inc. eventually reached an agreement by which the latter agreed to let Dynamite publish material based on Burroughs' work.[62]

  • Warlord of Mars – based on John Carter of Mars[63]
    • Warlord of Mars: Dejah Thoris
    • Warlord of Mars: Fall of Barsoom
    • Warriors of Mars
    • Dejah Thoris and the White Apes of Mars
    • Dejah Thoris and the Green Men of Mars
    • Dejah of Mars
  • Lord of the Jungle – based on Tarzan
  • Lords of Mars – a "Warlord of Mars" / "Lord of the Jungle" crossover

Notes[]

  1. ^ "Dynamite founded in 2004". Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  2. ^ "diamondbookdistributors.com - Publishers". www.diamondbookdistributors.com. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  3. ^ "Details about foundation". Dynamite Entertainment. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  4. ^ "The Boys is a trademark of Dynamite Entertainment". Dynamite. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  5. ^ "Diamond Distribution, Dynamic Forces announce new international partnership" (Press release). Diamond Comic Distributors. CBR. May 12, 2008. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b "Inside The Boy's publisher Dynamite Entertainment after the series success". Forbes. October 17, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  7. ^ Manning, Shaun. "Dynamite Celebrates Five Years". Comic Book Resources. April 16, 2009
  8. ^ "Dynamite: Five Years and Counting". Publishers Weekly. November 16, 2009
  9. ^ "Dynamite's Nick Barrucci Talks Sherlock Holmes". Newsarama.March 9, 2009
  10. ^ Phegley, Kiel. "Furman on Making Dynamite's Terminator Revolutionary". Comic Book Resources. October 20, 2008
  11. ^ "Dynamite Debuts Buck Rogers for a Quarter". Newsarama. February 23, 2009
  12. ^ Brady, Matt. "Back to the Future: Barrucci and Beatty on Buck Rogers". Newsarama. February 23, 2009
  13. ^ Jump up to: a b Brady, Matt. "Dynamite Lands 'Green Hornet' Comic Book License". Newsarama. March 31, 2009
  14. ^ Phegley, Kiel. "CCC09: Dynamite Entertainment". Comic Book Resources. August 10, 2009
  15. ^ "Dynamite Acquires Chaos Comics". Comic Book Resources. May 19, 2010
  16. ^ "NYCC EXCLUSIVE: Gold Key Revived at Dynamite by Pak, Van Lente & More!" Comic Book Resources. October 11, 2013
  17. ^ Gustines, George Gene. "Dynamite Entertainment Taps '70s TV to Expand Lineup of Comics". The New York Times. Retrieved July 17, 2016.
  18. ^ "Dynamite Lands Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters License" Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. Newsarama. March 30, 2007
  19. ^ Renaud, Jeffrey. "Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters Return". Comic Book Resources. October 11, 2007
  20. ^ "The Return of Adolescent Radioactive Black Belt Hamsters". March 30, 2007
  21. ^ Bad Boy details Archived September 29, 2007, at the Wayback Machine at Dynamite Entertainment
  22. ^ Phegley, Kiel. "WW Philly: Ennis Tells Dynamite Stories of 'Battlefields'". Comic Book Resources. June 1, 2008
  23. ^ Callan, Jonathan. "WW Philly: Garth Ennis Q&A". Newsarama. June 2, 2008
  24. ^ "The Black Bat Like You Have And Haven't Seen Before - Bleeding Cool News And Rumors". bleedingcool.com. May 6, 2013. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  25. ^ Brady, Matt. "Drawing the Future: Carlos Rafael on Buck Rogers". Newsarama. March 9, 2009
  26. ^ Brownfield, Troy. "Moore & Reppion on Adapting Alice in Wonderland". Newsarama. May 29, 2009
  27. ^ Brady, Matt. "Moore & Reppion on 'The Complete Dracula'". Newsarama. January 30, 2009
  28. ^ Brady, Matt. "Colton Worley - Defining Dracula for Dynamite". Newsarama. February 3, 2009
  29. ^ Brady, Matt. "Moore & Reppion to Discuss The Complete Dracula in Dublin". Newsarama. February 24, 2009
  30. ^ "FULL ISSUE: Dan Dare #1 by Ennis & Erskine". Newsarama. December 22, 2008
  31. ^ "Soap Vampire Barnabas Collins Returns in DARK SHADOWS Comic". Newsarama. August 22, 2011.
  32. ^ Brady, Matt. "Story of a Bad, Bad Family: James Kuhoric on 'Dead Irons'". Newsarama. October 9, 2008
  33. ^ Phegley, Kiel. "Jae Lee Darkens 'Dead Irons'" Comic Book Resources. November 24, 2008
  34. ^ Phegley, Kiel. "Alexander Draws Sights on 'Dead Irons'". Comic Book Resources. December 1, 2008
  35. ^ "Elvira Returns to Comic Books With Her Own Line". Newsarama. April 5, 2018.
  36. ^ "WW: Chicago - Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash Coming in November" Archived September 25, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. Newsarama. August 12, 2007
  37. ^ Renaud, Jeffrey. "MANO-A-MANO-A-MANO: 'Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash'". Comic Book Resources. August 21, 2007
  38. ^ "Get Bundles of Horror Comics From Dynamite Entertainment and Groupees - Dread Central". www.dreadcentral.com. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  39. ^ Bernardin, Marc. EW Exclusive: "Kevin Smith takes on Batman and the Green Hornet". Entertainment Weekly. May 13, 2009
  40. ^ "Grimm Comic Series". Dynamite Entertainment. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  41. ^ "Killer Instinct Franchise Gets Comic Series by Ian Edginton & Cam Adams". bleedingcool.com. June 19, 2017. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  42. ^ Brady, Matt. "Christos Gage on Dynamite's 'The Man With No Name'". Newsarama. 15 August 15, 2008
  43. ^ "Wellington Dias Outdraws 'The Man with No Name'". Comic Book Resources. February 28, 2008
  44. ^ "Man With No Name: The Good, The Bad And The Uglier #1" Archived December 5, 2008, at the Wayback Machine. Newsarama. March 25, 2008
  45. ^ Phegley, Kiel. "Phil Hester Talks 'Masquerade'". Comic Book Resources. January 13, 2009
  46. ^ Brady, Matt. "Phil Hester on Masquerade & First Look at the Trailer". Newsarama. March 9, 2009
  47. ^ "Nancy Drew Reimaged As Femme Fatale in New Hardy Boys Comic". ew.com. Retrieved April 7, 2018.
  48. ^ "Ross! Krueger! Dynamite! 'SUPERPOWERS!'". Comic Book Resources. July 18, 2007
  49. ^ Moore, Leah; Reppion, John (February 10, 2008). Raise the Dead Vol. 1. ISBN 978-1-933305-56-1.
  50. ^ "Re-animator Dynamics Entertainment". DC. June 10, 2009. Retrieved June 17, 2009.
  51. ^ Brady, Matt (June 10, 2009). "RoboCop Returns to Comics with Dynamite". Newsarama. Retrieved June 17, 2009.
  52. ^ "Dynamite Opens the Stargate". Newsarama. July 20, 2009
  53. ^ Brady, Matt. "Guggenheim & Gonzales on Bringing 'Super Zombies' to Life". Newsarama. November 5, 2008
  54. ^ Phegley, Kiel. "Guggenheim Talks 'Super-Zombies'". Comic Book Resources. January 15, 2009
  55. ^ Brady, Matt. "Launching a World of Super Zombies at Dynamite". Newsarama. January 16, 2009
  56. ^ Brady, Matt (May 26, 2009). "And Doom is His Name: Arvid Nelson on 'Thulsa Doom'". Newsarama. Retrieved May 26, 2009.
  57. ^ Phegley, Kiel (May 29, 2009). ""Doom" Comes To Dynamite". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved May 29, 2009.
  58. ^ Brownfield, Troy (May 7, 2010). "L.A. Banks' VAMPIRE HUNTRESS Stalks Dynamite in July". Newsarama. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
  59. ^ Sunu, Steve (May 25, 2010). "L.A. Banks' "Vampire Huntress" Continues in Comics". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved June 6, 2010.
  60. ^ "Dynamite Entertainment Acquires Vampirella". Comic Book Resources. March 17, 2010.
  61. ^ Kevin Melrose (staff writer) (February 17, 2012). "Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. Sues Dynamite over John Carter, Tarzan" (Press release). Diamond Comic Distributors. CBR. Retrieved April 5, 2014.
  62. ^ Kevin Melrose, (Staff Writer) May 20, 2014 Dynamite, ERB Inc. partner for ‘John Carter: Warlord of Mars’ (Press Release). Diamond Comic Distributors CBR. Retrieved July 13, 2015.
  63. ^ "Dynamite Launches "Warlord of Mars"". CBR. July 19, 2010.

References[]

External links[]

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