Caliber Comics
Parent Stabur Corporation | | |
Subsidiaries | Gauntlet Iconografix New Worlds Tapestry Comics | |
---|---|---|
Website | Official website |
Caliber Comics or Caliber Press is an American comic book publisher founded in 1989 by Gary Reed. Featuring primarily creator-owned comics, Caliber published over 1,300 comics in the decade following its inception and is ranked as one of America's leading independent publishers. Caliber ceased publishing in 2000, but resumed operations in 2015, and continued after Reed died in 2016.[1][2]
History
Beginnings
Gary Reed, who previously owned a chain of bookstores, began publishing with the release of two titles acquired from
Expansion
Reed arranged with "Pocket Classics", a series of illustrated books similar in design to
stories, reprints of classic art print series, and dozens of others.After its initial launch, Caliber expanded by bringing in new creators and projects.
In the early 1990s, Caliber launched three new imprints, Gauntlet and Iconografix. Gauntlet was an action-based line whose leading titles were
Caliber had ventured into licensed comics with their early release of
Another licensed property was
The expansion of Caliber continued with projects including Michael Lark's Airwaves, Silencers from Mark Askwith and R. G. Taylor, and Negative Burn, the anthology title that would run for 50 issues and was picked up by Desperado Publishing.
Stabur merger and further expansion
In late 1993, Caliber merged with the
In 1993, the principles of Stabur were involved in starting up a new toy company with
Caliber expanded in the mid-1990s with titles such as
As Caliber expanded, more editorial staff was hired to handle the growing line of comics. Moebius Comics launched and fan favorites Mr. Monster and Maze Agency returned. Caliber handled the distribution of Amazing Comics, which featured the work of Mike Deodato. Brian Lumley's Necroscope and Whitley Strieber's Communion series were signed on for comic releases. Jon Sable from Mike Grell was announced[6] but never came out. Caliber also started a new imprint in 1997, Tapestry Comics, that featured an "all ages" approach.
Decline and demise
As the overall comic market declined with the consolidation of the distribution system, Caliber slowly cut back on the number of titles. Caliber found some success of producing comics that appealed outside the usual comics market with some of the Tome Press titles including the Sherlock Holmes Reader, which had the majority of its sales outside the traditional comic stores.
The demise of Caliber can be attributed primarily to the problems associated with the Spawn PowerCardz game. Caliber had invested heavily in time and money to launch the collectible card game and had great potential with purchase orders. However, the printer of the card game was running behind in production and outsourced the collation of the game to another printer who didn't understand the random assortment of the cards. When the game appeared with improper collation, the purchase orders, which exceeded over two million dollars, were cancelled. Although a lawsuit was filed and Caliber won, by the time the judgment came, it was too late. In addition, the printer declared bankruptcy and Caliber was left only with portions of the unusable product.[citation needed]
In 2000, Caliber released the last of its titles, and Gary Reed moved on to concentrate on teaching college biology and freelance writing. Many of Caliber's top titles continued on with new publishers, including banner.
Relaunch and death of Gary Reed
In 2015, Gary Reed undertook a relaunch of Caliber, and solicited orders in the summer of 2016 for several new and reprint publications; however, he died suddenly in October 2016.[8] Caliber has continued publishing, as of 2018, with graphic novels and comics such as Weirdsdale, Knights of the Skull, Nightlinger, The Shepherd, and Infinite.[9]
Selected titles
- A.K.A. Goldfish
- Alan Moore's Songbook
- Ashes
- Baker Street
- Beck & Caul
- Big Bang Comics
- Black Mist
- Boston Bombers
- Brian Lumley's Necroscope
- Caliber Presents
- Cavewoman: Rain
- The Crow
- Daemonstorm
- Deadworld
- Death Sin
- Dicks
- Disciples
- Fire
- Golgothika
- The Hanged Man (1998), #1–2 (reprints the "Mazeworld" stories from 2000 AD)
- Helsing
- Inferno
- Jinx
- Kabuki
- Kaos Moon
- Kilroy Is Here
- Kingdom of the Wicked
- Legendlore
- Level X (1996), #1–2 (collected in 2017 as Level X: Machine of Dreams)
- Lori Lovecraft
- The Lost
- Magus
- The Marquis
- Maze Agency
- Mike Deodato Comics
- Moebius Comics
- Mr. Monster
- Nature of the Beast
- Negative Burn (1993–1997), #1–50
- New Worlds Anthology (1996), #1–6
- Nowheresville
- Nowheresville (1995), #1
- Death by Starlight (1995), #1–4
- The History of Cool (1997), #1
- Oz
- Oz (1994–1997), #0–20
- Oz Special 1: Scarecrow (1995), #1
- Oz Special 2: Lion (1995), #1
- Oz Special 3: Tinman (1995), #1
- Oz Special 4: Freedom Fighters (1995), #1
- Romance in Rags (1996), #1–3
- Straw and Sorcery (1997), #1–3
- Raven Chronicles (1995–1997), #1–14
- Red Diaries
- Renfield
- The Realm
- v1 (1989–1991), #14–21
- v2 (1993–1995), #1–13
- The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1990–1991), #1–3
- Saint Germaine
- Scarlet in Gaslight (1996), TPB (reprints #1–4 of the Eternity Comics series)
- Seeker
- The Searchers (1996), #1–4
- The Searchers: Apostle of Mercy (1997), #1–2
- Sherlock Holmes
- Ship of Fools (1996), #1–2
- Silencers (1991), #1–4
- The Silent Invasion (1996), #1–6 (reprints the first half of the Renegade Press series)
- Silverfawn (1989), #1 (a The Realm character)
- Sinergy: A Journey Through Hell (2015), #1–5
- Spawn PowerCardz
- Startling Crime Illustrated (1991), #1
- Stormquest (1994–1995), #1–6
- Strange Attractors: Moon Fever (1997), #1–2 (continues from the RetroGrafix series Strange Attractors #1–15)
- Sudden Gravity
- The Sussex Vampire (1996), #1
- Swords of Shar-Pei
- Technopolis
- Untouchables
- The War of the Worlds (1996), #1–5 (collected in 2002 by Arrow Press as The War of the Worlds: Haven and the Hellweed)
- Whitley Streiber's Beyond Communion
- The Worlds of H.P. Lovecraft (continued under Tome imprint)
- Arthur Jermyn (1993), #1
- Dagon (1993), #1–2
- The Music of Erich Zaan (1993), #1
- The Picture in the House (1993), #1
- The Statement of Randolph Carter (1996), #1
Imprints' titles (selected)
Amazing Comics
- Angel Heat: The Ninth Order (1997), #1
- Dangerous Secrets (1997), #1
- The Experimentals (1997), #1
Tome Press
- The Dance of Death (1992), #1
- Dante's Inferno (1992), #1–2
- Dinosaurs: An Illustrated Guide (1991), #1
- Erewhon (1992), #1
- Hunting of the Shark (1992)
- Jack London
- Chinago and Other Stories (1991)
- Koolau the Leper (1991)
- A Piece of Steak (1991)
- Jack the Ripper (1998), #1
- The Man Who Would Be King (1993), #1
- Medieval Tales: Murder of Thomas Becket
- Pre-Raphaelite Persuasion
- Professor Challenger: The Poisoned Belt (1997)
- Sherlock Holmes: Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Holmes (1998)
- Siege of The Alamo
- Song of the Cid(1991), #1–2
- Suppressed! (1991), #1
- True Spy Stories (1991), #1
- Troy (1997), #1–2
- The Worlds of H.P. Lovecraft
- The Alchemist (1997), #1
- The Lurking Fear (1997), #1
- The Tomb (1997), #1
- Beyond the Walls of Sleep (1998), #1
- Zulunation (1991), #1–3
New Worlds
- Black Mist
- Helsing
- Raven Chronicles
- The Red Diaries
- Saint Germaine
- Seeker
Gauntlet
- Berzerker
- Samurai Seven
- Serpent Rising
- U.N. Force (1993), #1–5
Iconografix
- Bound & Gagged
- Lowlife
- Meatcake
- Very Vicky
Tapestry Press
- BoonDoggle
- Dreamwalker (1996–1997), #1–4 (from Dreamwalker Press; see Avatar Press)
- Explorers v2 (1996–1997), #1–3 (from Explorer Press)
- The Hoon
- Pakkins' Land
- Patty Cake (1996–1997), #1–2
- A Patty Cake Christmas (1996), #1
- Shades of Gray Comics and Stories
- Tapestry Anthology (1997), #1
- Terror Tots
- Trollords v4 (1997), #1–2 (from Apple Press)
References
- ^ "Gary Reed". Caliber Comics. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
- ^ "Gary Reed, Founder Of Caliber, Dies Aged 60 - Bleeding Cool News And Rumors". Bleeding Cool News And Rumors. 2016-10-03. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
- ^ "History of Caliber". Archived from the original on 2014-12-04. Retrieved 2014-11-28.
- ^ "Justice Machine on CaliberComics.Info". Archived from the original on 2014-12-04. Retrieved 2014-11-28.
- ^ "Caliber Merges with Stabur," The Comics Journal #163 (November 1993), p. 30.
- ^ Butler, Don (August 1997). "Grell Resurrects Jon Sable". Wizard. No. 72. p. 26.
- ^ Home page for Transfuzion Publishing
- ^ "Gary Reed, Founder Of Caliber, Dies Aged 60". Bleeding Cool Comic Book, Movie, TV News. 2016-10-03. Retrieved 2016-10-03.
- ^ "Caliber Comics". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2018-02-08.
External links
- Official website
- Caliber Comics at the Grand Comics Database
- Caliber Comics at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
- Caliber Comics at the Big Comic Book DataBase
- Archival Caliber Comics official websites.