MattBrady
09-11-2006, 10:48 AM
<i>Press Release</i>
<blockquote> Today, on the showroom floor of the Baltimore Comic-Con, came the announced formation of Th3rd World Studios, a new comic book publisher which will launch two limited series next winter; “Omega Chase” and “Space Doubles.”
“We are currently targeting an early 2007 release for ‘Omega Chase’ and ‘Space Doubles,’ which are both very near completion.” Th3rd World Studios Co-Publisher Mike DeVito said. “We instituted a policy from the beginning that requires we get everything done before solicitation. We hate when books are late and refuse to let ours be.”
“Omega Chase” begins with a horde of zombie gunslingers swarming a town in the old west. Gritty sheriff, Mack Baron, is the only lawman willing to put up a fight and just as his home is being attacked by the undead, he finds himself commanding a 24th century starship. With reality seeming to fall apart around him, all Mack wants is to return home in time to save it. The limited series is being written by Keith Dallas and drawn by Julio Molina-Muscara.
“Space Doubles” is a five issue series with each issue featuring two unique stories in flip book format told by two teams of the industry’s most innovative young talent. There series is being helmed by Scott Closter, a former employee of Arcana Studio.
“Space Doubles was really a no brainier for us,” DeVito said. “It was a project that Scott had mentioned to me before in passing and we had talked at length about the endless possibilities that a series like that could offer. The big thing was making sure that the talent roster for a project like that would draw people in to give it a chance. When we finally decided to get Th3rd World running, I approached Scott and asked him if he thought he could come through on the roster. He said he would certainly try and the next day I had confirmation from Mike Baron, Mark Smith, Leah Moore and John Reppion sitting in my lap.”
DeVito and his co-publisher Jon Conkling are no strangers to the comic book world. The two have worked as colorists and have done logo work on several comic books, trading cards, and children’s books. DeVito was also the assistant editor of “Dead Men Tell No Tales,” which was put out by Arcana.
“The desire to tell stories was a huge driving factor and actually evolved by the time we were ready to start Th3rd World,” DeVito said. “Very quickly in fact, Jon and I went from wanting to tell our own stories to deciding we would rather be a place where
we welcome people that are on the cusp of blowing up and give them a home. Not just our stuff, but anyone and everyone who we thought were telling a cool story.”
Launching an independent comic book company is not an easy task but DeVito and Conkling knew that from the early development stages.
“Everybody says this, but we hope to make our own path taking the lessons from our past experiences and using them to forge ahead,” DeVito said. “We’re a little bit different than some of the other publishers out there in that we have been very hands on. We are editing, designing, coloring; basically we’re jumping right in there with the creative teams to help lift them up whenever it is needed. Our multimedia production backgrounds have really helped to facilitate us being able to do this kind of stuff. It also makes it so that we don’t have to wait if we need a logo created, an ad designed, or even if our website needs maintenance.”
Not only is Th3rd World Studios delving into the print world, but it is trying to build a presence on the web by offering online columns and an original web comic, “Eskimo Dave,” at their site http://www.th3rdworld.com.
The web comic follows Eskimo Dave and his traveling companion, Steve the polar bear, through a series of adventures and misadventures as they attempt to save their village from the destructive forces of evil.
“I joined up with Th3rd World because it is a fun, innovative place to be,” Eskimo Dave Creator Mike Hartigan said. “And you can tell your friends you were there when it all started. Personally, I just like the people. It’s a very supportive place and it’s all about pushing the envelope.”
Also on the Th3rd World site is “The Rant Aisle” a weekly entertainment column by Justin “Captain Supermarket” Robison. His pieces are stuffed pack with pop culture references with everything from features on local bands to detail looks at upcoming films.
Although Th3rd World Studios is looking to expand into more web comics, it is holding back before publishing additional print material.
“Our theory is that putting too many titles out as an indie publisher ends up creating competition amongst your own titles and ultimately they end up hurting each other,” DeVito said. “Eventually we would love to expand into other markets. As long as people are interested, we will keep coming up with fresh, interesting ideas and distribute them to you the best way we can.”</blockquote>
<blockquote> Today, on the showroom floor of the Baltimore Comic-Con, came the announced formation of Th3rd World Studios, a new comic book publisher which will launch two limited series next winter; “Omega Chase” and “Space Doubles.”
“We are currently targeting an early 2007 release for ‘Omega Chase’ and ‘Space Doubles,’ which are both very near completion.” Th3rd World Studios Co-Publisher Mike DeVito said. “We instituted a policy from the beginning that requires we get everything done before solicitation. We hate when books are late and refuse to let ours be.”
“Omega Chase” begins with a horde of zombie gunslingers swarming a town in the old west. Gritty sheriff, Mack Baron, is the only lawman willing to put up a fight and just as his home is being attacked by the undead, he finds himself commanding a 24th century starship. With reality seeming to fall apart around him, all Mack wants is to return home in time to save it. The limited series is being written by Keith Dallas and drawn by Julio Molina-Muscara.
“Space Doubles” is a five issue series with each issue featuring two unique stories in flip book format told by two teams of the industry’s most innovative young talent. There series is being helmed by Scott Closter, a former employee of Arcana Studio.
“Space Doubles was really a no brainier for us,” DeVito said. “It was a project that Scott had mentioned to me before in passing and we had talked at length about the endless possibilities that a series like that could offer. The big thing was making sure that the talent roster for a project like that would draw people in to give it a chance. When we finally decided to get Th3rd World running, I approached Scott and asked him if he thought he could come through on the roster. He said he would certainly try and the next day I had confirmation from Mike Baron, Mark Smith, Leah Moore and John Reppion sitting in my lap.”
DeVito and his co-publisher Jon Conkling are no strangers to the comic book world. The two have worked as colorists and have done logo work on several comic books, trading cards, and children’s books. DeVito was also the assistant editor of “Dead Men Tell No Tales,” which was put out by Arcana.
“The desire to tell stories was a huge driving factor and actually evolved by the time we were ready to start Th3rd World,” DeVito said. “Very quickly in fact, Jon and I went from wanting to tell our own stories to deciding we would rather be a place where
we welcome people that are on the cusp of blowing up and give them a home. Not just our stuff, but anyone and everyone who we thought were telling a cool story.”
Launching an independent comic book company is not an easy task but DeVito and Conkling knew that from the early development stages.
“Everybody says this, but we hope to make our own path taking the lessons from our past experiences and using them to forge ahead,” DeVito said. “We’re a little bit different than some of the other publishers out there in that we have been very hands on. We are editing, designing, coloring; basically we’re jumping right in there with the creative teams to help lift them up whenever it is needed. Our multimedia production backgrounds have really helped to facilitate us being able to do this kind of stuff. It also makes it so that we don’t have to wait if we need a logo created, an ad designed, or even if our website needs maintenance.”
Not only is Th3rd World Studios delving into the print world, but it is trying to build a presence on the web by offering online columns and an original web comic, “Eskimo Dave,” at their site http://www.th3rdworld.com.
The web comic follows Eskimo Dave and his traveling companion, Steve the polar bear, through a series of adventures and misadventures as they attempt to save their village from the destructive forces of evil.
“I joined up with Th3rd World because it is a fun, innovative place to be,” Eskimo Dave Creator Mike Hartigan said. “And you can tell your friends you were there when it all started. Personally, I just like the people. It’s a very supportive place and it’s all about pushing the envelope.”
Also on the Th3rd World site is “The Rant Aisle” a weekly entertainment column by Justin “Captain Supermarket” Robison. His pieces are stuffed pack with pop culture references with everything from features on local bands to detail looks at upcoming films.
Although Th3rd World Studios is looking to expand into more web comics, it is holding back before publishing additional print material.
“Our theory is that putting too many titles out as an indie publisher ends up creating competition amongst your own titles and ultimately they end up hurting each other,” DeVito said. “Eventually we would love to expand into other markets. As long as people are interested, we will keep coming up with fresh, interesting ideas and distribute them to you the best way we can.”</blockquote>