KANDORA PUBLISHING LAUNCHES IN MARCH [Archive]

View Full Version : KANDORA PUBLISHING LAUNCHES IN MARCH

MattBrady

12-01-2004, 02:37 PM

<img src="http://www.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/Kandora/bb01cov.jpg" width="175" height="252" border="0" align="right">Early 2005 will see the debut of a new publisher, as Kandora Publishing rolls out its debut title, Barbarossa and the Lost Corsairs by Brian Augustyn, art by H.S> Park, colors by Transparency Digital, and letters by Dave Lanphear.

The company is seeking to fill a void it sees for a specific type of entertainment, one that was recently vacated.

“With the unfortunate demise of CrossGen, there was an opening for a publisher to create genre stories and an audience that was looking for them,” said Kandora vice-president, Tom Lee in a release. “Kandora wants to fill that need. And in doing so, we guarantee high-quality full color art, compelling stories, more pages on a monthly basis than any other publisher and all at a reasonable cover price. I think we’ll have something that everyone will want to read and I hope that the package will be attractive enough for readers to try.”

<a href="http://www.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/Kandora/bb02ink07.gif" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/Kandora/bb02ink07_t.jpg" width="165" height="237" border="0" align="left"></a>Case in point, Barbarossa is, according to Kandora, “a pirate fantasy tale that begins on the high seas of Earth during the Middle Ages but winds up on a strange world in which the waterways are filled with giant, dangerous sea monsters. Barbarossa and his crew must figure out where they are, how they got there and how they can get home. But first, they’ll pillage and plunder as much as they can.”

<a href="http://www.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/Kandora/jf0101.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.newsarama.com/Other_Publishers/Kandora/jf0101_t.jpg" alt="Jade Fire" width="165" height="237" border="0" align="right"></a>Barbarossa will be the first of four new titles from Kandora, which is planning to start one new series a month, beginning in March. April will see the release of Jade Fire, a martial arts story; Savage World in May, a dark fantasy story set on a future earth; and in June, Monarch of Manhattan, described as a “modern day urban sword and sorcery comedy.”

Other creators named with the company include C. Edward Sellner, and “some of the finest artistic talent in Asia who are combining the look of traditional American comics with Asian style drawings to offer the US market a unique product.”

Each Kandora issue will carry a cover price of $3.50, and offer 32 pages of color story.

Kandora’s website can be found at: www.kandorapublishing.com

whoME?

12-01-2004, 02:47 PM

i'm glad to hear this. i liked the genre stories CG was publishing. I just hope Kandora doesn't get too big for it's britches and publishes too many titles too quickly.

easy does it should be their motto. and if they do it that way... i'll easy does it right along with them.

good luck!

Solamon

12-01-2004, 02:57 PM

WOOHOO!!!! This is the best news I've heard all month! I was one of the few remaining CrossGen diehards (I'm still buying their comics even now! :)) and when they fell, I didn't know what to do. Fortunately, Kandora Publishing has appeared to fill the void CrossGen left in my pull-list. Good luck Kandora! I hope you have more success then CrossGen.

FIG

12-01-2004, 02:58 PM

Sounds great.

BriGuy

12-01-2004, 03:01 PM

Barbarossa certainly sounds interesting, there's not enough info on the others to really gauge those. And 32 pages of actual story for $3.50 is a fair price.

whoME?

12-01-2004, 03:04 PM

Originally posted by whoME?
i'm glad to hear this. i liked the genre stories CG was publishing. I just hope Kandora doesn't get too big for it's britches and publishes too many titles too quickly.

easy does it should be their motto. and if they do it that way... i'll easy does it right along with them.

good luck!

And let me add that the art for Barbarrosa is gorgeous... almost makes me NOT miss Steve Epting's work on El Cazador.

Jason Seaver

12-01-2004, 03:06 PM

I'm in, at least for the pirates and martial arts. Looks like a fun, pretty line-up, and as much as the $3.50 price point is a lightning rod, with 32 story pages that's fairly competitive with a $2.25 comic with 22 story pages.

Space Canuck

12-01-2004, 03:35 PM

Attention Canadian Comic Fans. Notice that the cover price on this title is only $4.25! This is good news for us Canucks, since it seems at least one publisher actuallly checks what the exchange rate between the US and CN dollar is before setting the price. A $3.50USD comic from DC costs $5.25CND, when the exchange rate calls for about $4.15CND. That is an extra $1.05. My fellow Canadians do not spend your money on DC products until they repair this injustice. Marvel is better at all price points but also overpriced.

32 pages of story for $4.25 and pirates? Count me in!

Space Canuck

The Canadian dollar is mighty!!!!!!!

whoME?

12-01-2004, 03:39 PM

skeletorjr

12-01-2004, 03:43 PM

Count me in, I just checked out their website, these books look like a lot of fun.:)

idkidd

12-01-2004, 04:16 PM

And 32 pages of actual story for $3.50 is a fair price.

This all sounds great and I'm happy to see this attempt fill the void but I'd much rather see the standard length book @ $2.95. I know the value is the same but that $2.95 per issue barrier is something I just don't want to cross. I would probably end up waiting for the trade at that price. Just giving feedback as I wish these guys a lot of luck.

Batfink

12-01-2004, 04:24 PM

This is the best news I heard all day! I really missed Crossgen. I loved their variety and and production values. When they first went under I was sure it was gonna be quite a long while before anybody would try to fill the void left by them but I'm so glad somebody has the guts to try.One thing I really hope they go for is books that aren't connected to each other, books that stand completely on their own. That was the only thing that I never really cared for about Crossgen, although it never really was that big of deal. Great news!

Vyper

12-01-2004, 04:47 PM

I'm in! I love genre comics, and hated to see CrossGen go under. Hopefully these guys don't repeat CG's mistakes

OcCaM

12-01-2004, 04:47 PM

Originally posted by idkidd
This all sounds great and I'm happy to see this attempt fill the void but I'd much rather see the standard length book @ $2.95. I know the value is the same but that $2.95 per issue barrier is something I just don't want to cross. I would probably end up waiting for the trade at that price. Just giving feedback as I wish these guys a lot of luck.

HAHAHAHA sorry, but you must have been one of those kids I laughed at in school who couldn't even do simple arithmetic.

I mean it's obvious that 22 pages to 33 pages would be 50% more product right? So 32 pages is ALMOST 50% more product.

Yet, obviously the increase in page count is a mere 50 cents of $3 or 1/6.

Hell, I wish all companies would add 50% more product for 1/6th of the price. (You're saving about a buck by the way.)

I used to love those annuals that Marvel did because it meant twice the page count almost for a mere 50% increase usually.

I won't pay over $3 for a mere 22 pages, but $3.50 for 32 pages? Hell yeah!

Now, too bad they aren't really filling the void left by CG. For me that translates to my victorian Detective book and my cold war Horror book. Actually, IDW and Dark Horse do enough horror, but I really miss a good Detective story. Ruse was awesome under Waid's command.

Anyway, not a fan of pirates and martial arts, so big pass there. Love a good fantasy tale that breaks the norm ala Aria from Image or Fables from Vertigo, so I'm definately going to try that Monarch of Manhatten book. I'll look at the dark fantasy one too, don't know if it'll interest me though.

And yes, that's some nice b/w artwork! :)

Jumpin' Monkey

12-01-2004, 05:26 PM

Originally posted by Space Canuck
Attention Canadian Comic Fans. Notice that the cover price on this title is only $4.25! This is good news for us Canucks, since it seems at least one publisher actuallly checks what the exchange rate between the US and CN dollar is before setting the price. A $3.50USD comic from DC costs $5.25CND, when the exchange rate calls for about $4.15CND. That is an extra $1.05. My fellow Canadians do not spend your money on DC products until they repair this injustice. Marvel is better at all price points but also overpriced.

32 pages of story for $4.25 and pirates? Count me in!

Space Canuck

The Canadian dollar is mighty!!!!!!!

same here for about the same reasons ( the art looks fantastic ) ! To make even I'll drop the title among my "pulls" that offers the worse exchange rate . The title most at risk today would be "Ex Machina" ( $2.95 US $ 4.50 Can ? are you &*$#@ kidding ? ) . I love that series but that price doesn't love me. But there's still a month to go before I take a decision .

Kudos to Kandora and to Image for taking care of their Canadian customers.

Jerry Smith

12-01-2004, 05:33 PM

Kandora is a much welcome company to fill the void left by CrossGen. At first glance, it's products look fun and well-produced. I'm intrigued enough to buy. The books are a little pricey, but hopefully they will be worth the money.

Looking forward to them.

BriGuy

12-01-2004, 05:34 PM

Originally posted by OcCaM
HAHAHAHA sorry, but you must have been one of those kids I laughed at in school who couldn't even do simple arithmetic.

I mean it's obvious that 22 pages to 33 pages would be 50% more product right? So 32 pages is ALMOST 50% more product.

Yet, obviously the increase in page count is a mere 50 cents of $3 or 1/6.

Hell, I wish all companies would add 50% more product for 1/6th of the price. (You're saving about a buck by the way.)

I used to love those annuals that Marvel did because it meant twice the page count almost for a mere 50% increase usually.

I won't pay over $3 for a mere 22 pages, but $3.50 for 32 pages? Hell yeah!

While your math may be more accurate, the mentality of idkidd is common and understandable. Future Comics had books that were 28 pages of story with a cardstock cover for $3.50, yet they only lasted about 9 months publishing comics... and even cut the extra pages to lower the cover price to $2.99 at the request of retailers. I believe Moonstone books also has more than the standard 22 pages in at least some of their books for $3.50 and IDW has extras in their books for $3.99, yet there are a lot of people that pass on those books because of the price alone. "Regular" comics are too expensive as is, so a better value at a higher price isn't that enticing because fans don't want to be paying as much as they are already. If you really want to appeal to fans give the same amount of story for less (Beckett Comics has AT LEAST 22 pages of story, plus either more story or some kind of extra like a preview, interview or whatever, for only $1.99) or give them more story for the same price (the new Legion of Super-Heroes book is gonna be 40 pages, including ads, for $2.95). Readers want a better value for what they're paying now, they don't want to have to pay more to get the better value.

Switch

12-01-2004, 05:47 PM

But what? I thought all stories were genre typified. No?

Smeggy

12-01-2004, 06:27 PM

I'm in. At least for the Monarch of Manhattan book. Everything else would probably just line my garbage can.

Bakema NL

12-01-2004, 06:45 PM

I missed out on crossgen. Kandora looks very interesting I must say.

dr_doomy

12-01-2004, 07:10 PM

I've read this line 4 or 5 times:

“Kandora wants to fill that need. And in doing so, we guarantee high-quality full color art, compelling stories, more pages on a monthly basis than any other publisher and all at a reasonable cover price. "

I still don't get how the "more pages on a monthly basis than any other publisher" can be even remotely true. Is this just a fancy way of saying they have more (32 or whatever) pages in each of their pamphlets/titles?

Kristin

12-01-2004, 07:12 PM

Good luck to Pandora!

Crossgen is who got me started collecting comics again. I'll buy 2 copies of each one to help out a little extra.

Jason Seaver

12-01-2004, 07:40 PM

Originally posted by dr_doomy
I've read this line 4 or 5 times:

“Kandora wants to fill that need. And in doing so, we guarantee high-quality full color art, compelling stories, more pages on a monthly basis than any other publisher and all at a reasonable cover price. "

I still don't get how the "more pages on a monthly basis than any other publisher" can be even remotely true. Is this just a fancy way of saying they have more (32 or whatever) pages in each of their pamphlets/titles?
Yes. I'm guessing that they'll be 40-page singles, meaning 32 pages of story, 2 of cover art, 1 of credits, and 5 "other" (sketches, letters, "also from Kandora", ads).

Master Samos

12-01-2004, 09:07 PM

Count me in! With CrossGen gone, I have some extra cash to spend anyway. Wish their website has more info, but what I saw looked good.

Vyper

12-01-2004, 10:18 PM

Originally posted by Smeggy
I'm in. At least for the Monarch of Manhattan book. Everything else would probably just line my garbage can.

Are you basing this on the previews? Or is this reflex bashing?

Reliant

12-01-2004, 10:53 PM

I'm very intrigued with what I've seen so far, and I always did like CrossGen's idea of books with self-contained genre worlds. Hopefully, Kandora will tread carefully and not make the mistake of expanding beyond their grasp, but Barbarossa and the Lost Corsairs and Jade Fire both look fun and definitely something I want to try out. I'm also curious about the other two titles Kandora are planning as well.

Since the majority of 22-page books I buy are nearly three dollars anyway, fifty extra cents for ten extra pages of actual content (and not ads) is more of a value to me...

Posco

12-02-2004, 06:17 AM

I like the idea. There is really a need for a upscale publisher for so called genre books after crossgen folded. Then I saw the price and thought oh no, it´s over my 3$ barrier. But with more story pages the price is good. And I like the idea of longer stories each month. (More story pages are the only reason why I would spent more money on a monthly title. Cardstock covers etc. would never entice me to spent more.) The only bad thing is that pirates and martial arts are two genres I´m not that much interested in. But I will at least check them out. The later fantasy books could be interesting too. Hopefully they will be publishing a western or mystery/crime title sooner or later.

Christian

JONAS

12-02-2004, 09:30 AM

This sounds kind of cool to me...

Tinnitus Tim

12-02-2004, 09:33 AM

skeletorjr

12-02-2004, 11:09 AM

Originally posted by OcCaM
HAHAHAHA sorry, but you must have been one of those kids I laughed at in school who couldn't even do simple arithmetic.

What's the point of a comment like this? Why can't you contribute without being rude?:confused:

CBeranek

12-02-2004, 11:17 PM

Glad to see them doing 32 pages of story. Silent Devil is going the same route. More bang for your buck!

Smeggy

12-03-2004, 09:03 PM

Originally posted by Vyper
Are you basing this on the previews? Or is this reflex bashing? It's really not a very difficult concept for one to follow. The concepts do absolutely nothing for me. That's it.

Read it, try comprehending it, and move on. Stop trying to pick a fight.

Big_K

12-04-2004, 10:19 AM

Originally posted by dr_doomy
I've read this line 4 or 5 times:

“Kandora wants to fill that need. And in doing so, we guarantee high-quality full color art, compelling stories, more pages on a monthly basis than any other publisher and all at a reasonable cover price. "

I still don't get how the "more pages on a monthly basis than any other publisher" can be even remotely true. Is this just a fancy way of saying they have more (32 or whatever) pages in each of their pamphlets/titles?

Kandora can do this because their artists and colorists are all from the animation industry in Korea. They are used to producing at an unbelievably fast pace, and are also amazingly consistent.

Think of it this way: Kandora is producing comics using an "animation house" assembly-line model.

-K

TheMind

12-04-2004, 04:24 PM

Originally posted by Big_K
Kandora can do this because their artists and colorists are all from the animation industry in Korea. They are used to producing at an unbelievably fast pace, and are also amazingly consistent.

Think of it this way: Kandora is producing comics using an "animation house" assembly-line model.

-K

Actually this is far from true and I should know since I work for Kandora as a designer. Absolutely NONE of us are from the animation industry at all so what you are stating as supposed fact is 100% false. Our pencillers are die hard comic book pencillers with some of them having more than 25 years in the comic book industry, and the colorists were trained to color comic books and digital illustration from the very start. The artists are from different parts of Asia not just Korea and eventually we plan to use artists from U.S. as well. I am familiar with animation assembly houses and there is no way to achieve high quality comic book coloring using that method. Just wait to see some more sample pages on our site in a few days. I'm not sure where you got your information. BTW, we've just activated a FORUM for the site, so you guys are welcome to start posting and asking questions to Tomlee (VP).

Big_K

12-04-2004, 04:52 PM

Originally posted by TheMind
Actually this is far from true and I should know since I work for Kandora as a designer. Absolutely NONE of us are from the animation industry at all so what you are stating as supposed fact is 100% false. Our pencillers are die hard comic book pencillers with some of them having more than 25 years in the comic book industry, and the colorists were trained to color comic books and digital illustration from the very start. The artists are from different parts of Asia not just Korea and eventually we plan to use artists from U.S. as well. I am familiar with animation assembly houses and there is no way to achieve high quality comic book coloring using that method. Just wait to see some more sample pages on our site in a few days. I'm not sure where you got your information. BTW, we've just activated a FORUM for the site, so you guys are welcome to start posting and asking questions to Tomlee (VP).

You are construing my comments to be negative, when in fact I am not.

And I can also say that a statement you have made is not true: While at Wildstorm, I helped to train a number of colorists from Korean Animation houses and a few of them got really good. One got so good that she was hired at Wildstorm, and then later, hired on staff at Crossgen.

My comments were to point out how you would be able to produce quality art consistently and on a solid schedule, not to infer that they were lower-level artistic talent.

I have known Ken for almost 7 years now, and we have aften talked about what you are doing right now. I wish you guys all the best, and hope you have a great future.

-K

side_burned

12-06-2004, 03:39 PM

$3.50 you say

Let's start taking bets to see how long until this publisher gose the way of Crossgen

i give these guys 2 and half years tops

Karloffs Ghost

12-06-2004, 08:30 PM

Originally posted by side_burned
$3.50 you say

Let's start taking bets to see how long until this publisher gose the way of Crossgen

i give these guys 2 and half years tops

Thanks for the positive input.

Jason Seaver

12-06-2004, 11:29 PM

Originally posted by side_burned
$3.50 you say

Let's start taking bets to see how long until this publisher gose the way of Crossgen
Who cares? Enjoy pirates fighting sea monsters while it lasts.