ALIAS REORGANIZES, UPDATES BUSINESS PLAN

[MattBrady]

Press Release

In reaction to the lateness and the continued mishandling of certain financial responsibilities, Alias Publisher, Brett Burner, has effectively bought out the partners responsible for these setbacks to instead assume all accounting and production duties internally. In doing so, Alias has gained fundamental control over financial concerns and will now work more efficiently to see a quick turnaround of publishing responsibilities. Additionally, certain editorial changes have been made which are designed to lessen production costs, thereby increasing the profit potential of each Alias title.

"The problem was that these individuals were acting on their own judgment, making crucial decisions irregardless of our input," said Burner. "We are not, however, looking for a scapegoat. Alias assumes complete responsibility for the late shipping of books which over the past few months has affected the trust of our readership and retailers. Once we recognized the problem, we immediately began a process of removing those responsible, as well as pruning projects that were a financial drain, either by alteration or elimination, which has sadly resulted in the loss of some of our titles; though no studio has moved on without being offered the option to stay under more equitable terms. Unfortunately, these steps take time and require a degree of silence- which to some can be, and has been, misinterpreted as non-action on our part. We apologize for that confusion, and we hope that fans will now understand the situation we were placed in, and why things happened the way they did."

Burner hastened to add as well that he still maintains a good relationship with his former partners.

While a few creators have parted from the Alias line, the majority has chosen to stay the course, demonstrating their unyielding faith and support for the publisher.

"I have worked with two other publishers - both of which ended up being very unsatisfactory experiences. Because of this, I planned to release SUPER TEEN*TOPIA on my own. But after talking to Alias, their enthusiasm for the project won me over. To date my experience with Alias has been great and, to be very honest, my editor and I have very high expectations in regards to what we consider 'professional behavior'. I think SUPER TEEN*TOPIA has found a great home at Alias," said Alias creator, Kirk Kushin ("Super Teen*Topia").

Alias writer, Ryan Scott Ottney ("The Legend of Isis"), has been hired as Alias' Communications Coordinator to prepare all internal and external communications, as well as media relations and other matters of communications.

The Communications Coordinator is an administrative position, designed to keep the media and the readers informed on current Alias updates.

"We want people to know about all the great things we're doing," said Ottney, "but also in the event of any mishap-even as small as a late shipping book-you're going to hear about that, too. We can't expect people to buy our books if they can't trust us. We've lost some readers because of that already, but we believe we can win them back."

These new changes are only the first in a series of major announcements soon to be released by Alias Comics in the coming weeks and months designed to establish a new direction and a renewed chance at success.

Mike S. Miller, Executive Director and partner, chimed in with this, "It has been difficult enduring the public speculation about Alias without correcting the matter, but it has been worth it as we've finally gotten Alias back on track and are heading in the direction we should have been going all along. I think patience has paid off better than any amount of bickering ever would have, and that's an important lesson learned from all of this."

It's also extremely important to note that with this move by Burner, Alias has reached another milestone: that of financial independence. Alias Comics is now running completely on generated income, a feat most of the failed comic publishers to whom Alias has so often been compared have never managed to accomplish.

"Is Alias going anywhere?" asked Miller. "Yes, second star to the right, and straight on 'till morning!"

For more information on Alias Comics, please visit them online at http://www.aliasenterprises.com

[spyflip]

I hope they can work things out, am not really a fan but I've heard good things about thier books and our industry doesn''t need failures.

[Skinshark]

Their production values are very nice. I wish them luck sorting this out and getting a sound foundation.

=s=

[Aaron Weisbrod]

Cool beans... glad to hear they're getting things sorted out.

Of course, they also have a heck of a good guy lined-up in Ryan, so that will help...

Tippin' da hat,
Aaron Weisbrod

[Wolverooni]

Congrats to Alias for finally becoming financially indepdent, but...


[quote=Mike S. Miller}"Is Alias going anywhere?" asked Miller. "Yes, second star to the right, and straight on 'till morning!"[/QUOTE]

What the hell is that supposed to mean? Alias is headed straight to Neverland?

[Derek Ruiz]

[quote]Originally posted by Wolverooni
[b]Congrats to Alias for finally becoming financially indepdent, but...




Boldly going where no man has gone before.

[nyhardcore]

I wonder if they would have kept Elsinore if they had done this sooner. That was the only title they published that I picked up. Hopefully they'll be able to put out a few more of Elsinore's caliber and get the company on solid footing.

[Egg]

Congratulations!

Egg Embry
Editor - DEAD MEN TELL NO TALES

[Campbell77]

All I know of this company is that they put out about 25 issue #1's of unexciting titles. Seriously, how many of their comics actually saw a second issue? I'm all for the small companies, but seriously, you need to pick just a few titles and do them well if you want to build a brand.

[matchesmalone]

Originally posted by Campbell77
I'm all for the small companies, but seriously, you need to pick just a few titles and do them well if you want to build a brand.

Megadittoes (to coin a phrase).

[Cray_ws]

Originally posted by MattBrady
"Is Alias going anywhere?" asked Miller. "Yes, second star to the right, and straight on 'till morning!"

Excuse me for the skepticism, but I'll believe it when I see them put out their books in a timely fashion, and their titles don't resort to T&A to sell variants.

[CUSam98]

MM, I have a copy of XIII #2 in my hands right now.

Originally posted by Campbell77
All I know of this company is that they put out about 25 issue #1's of unexciting titles. Seriously, how many of their comics actually saw a second issue? I'm all for the small companies, but seriously, you need to pick just a few titles and do them well if you want to build a brand.

[CitC]

I have liked some of their stuff. Judo Girl was fun and the David and Daniel books have been really good. But they do seem to rely too heavily on T+A (not that they are the only ones).

Check out my new all ages comic site for parents/teachers/librarians comicsintheclassroom.net

[Howard]

Isn't Super Teentopia the name of an Evil Angel movie?

[Blind Assassin]

Originally posted by Campbell77
All I know of this company is that they put out about 25 issue #1's of unexciting titles. Seriously, how many of their comics actually saw a second issue?

Let me see:

Penny and Aggie saw a 2nd issue
So did

Grimoire, The Hunger, Atomika, Pakkins Land, Rocketo, Six Gun Samurai, Deal With the Devil, 10th Muse, Dreamland Chronicles, XIII, Judo Girl, ......

I could go on if you'd like.

[wishlish]

Alias is a strange company. They launched a bunch of series at the same time, which guarantees that certain retailers just won't touch the line. Too much investment without any idea of what customer response will be.

Add to that all the public bickering with creators who either left or were pushed out of Alias, and I'm not sure these guys know what they're doing. Hopefully this reorg gets them back on track.

[evilelvis696]

Blind Assasin, you might need glasses. Grimoire, Atomika, Rocketo are all Speakeasy books, though their best seller Atomika has left to self publish now. Not sure of the rest you mentioned.
I read this as more media spin. These guys are in deep and will try and say anything to stay afloat.

[Leland]

Looks like they forgot to mention they jacked the price on many (all?) of their titles to $3.50 effective January '06

http://previews.diamondcomics.com/su...rforms/cof.txt

[OcCaM]

Well after so many companies come and gone, and hearing the same old promises from other companies. (Inc. the recent CrossGen sniff) it's hard for me not to be a cynic.

After CG in fact, I swore never to get sucked into a 5 out of 6 part story and never see the ending. Pretty much when I switched to trades only.

It may be cruel but this is an entertainment industry and singles just don't really excite me much anymore.

If, Alias pulls through and some of their stuff makes it to trade like Lullaby, I'll support it. I know trying some of the 75 cent issues, that someone in this family would like an Opposite Forces trade. Personally, I'd have bought Elsinore and will consider Sixgun Samauri (that was fun actually!)

So, I'm always rooting for the small companies, I just am too cynical to really support them anymore, except when I get a full story. (Actually, if the comics could stay 75 cents I'd re-consider. Yeh pipe dream!)

[earth2tom]

Someone give me a nail, so I can hammer the coffin shut.

I started out as a huge supporter of Alias, but as soon as Miller started showing his true radical right-wing agenda, I dropped all of their titles like a turd.

[Kep]

Originally posted by OcCaM

If, Alias pulls through and some of their stuff makes it to trade like Lullaby, I'll support it.

Both Ted Noodleman and Soulcatcher are trades from Alias and quite worth your support.

[Leland]

Originally posted by earth2tom
Someone give me a nail, so I can hammer the coffin shut.

I started out as a huge supporter of Alias, but as soon as Miller started showing his true radical right-wing agenda, I dropped all of their titles like a turd.

It bothered me that Miller was critical of Jack Lawrence's past artwork (I tried to find the exact article to reference, but couldn't), but then Miller was willing to put out T&A books like TENTH MUSE and ISIS. To be fair, I haven't read ISIS and TENTH MUSE; they may be some of the best books out there. - But the covers are definitely meant to grab attention based on T&A.

[Aaron]

Originally posted by MattBrady

"The problem was that these individuals were acting on their own judgment, making crucial decisions irregardless of our input," said Burner.

UGH! Pet peeve. Irregardless is not a real word.

Aside from that, I agree with the above posters who have commented that this company has been plagued with issue after issue since it started. Not a good sign for future health. Also not terribly encouraging to anyone who might want to sample their books.

[Aaron]

Originally posted by Leland
It bothered me that Miller was critical of Jack Lawrence's past artwork (I tried to find the exact article to reference, but couldn't), but then Miller was willing to put out T&A books like TENTH MUSE and ISIS. To be fair, I haven't read ISIS and TENTH MUSE; they may be some of the best books out there. - But the covers are definitely meant to grab attention based on T&A.

Yeah, it's a classic double standard, and pretty nasty business, too.

[Leland]

Originally posted by Leland
It bothered me that Miller was critical of Jack Lawrence's past artwork (I tried to find the exact article to reference, but couldn't), but then Miller was willing to put out T&A books like TENTH MUSE and ISIS.

Ok, I found the quote from Miller. "Regarding our policy on pornography, we do not work with artists who currently produce or promote pornographic works. Maybe for a cover or pin-up, but not as a main artist on a book (ala Jack Lawrence doing a cover for 'Lullaby'). It's just contrary to what we want to promote in the comic market, since we focus on all ages titles so much. As well as having dealings in the Christian market, it's just bad business.
It's not a contract, it's a policy. We've chosen not to work with several artists, and some have chosen not to work with us, because of this policy." - (http://comicbookresources.com/column...g&article=2266)

As far as T&A books, here's Miller's comment: "The Girls of Alias promotion is directed at the Direct Market. And yes, it's directed at the core audience of 20-30 something fanboys. What we are doing outside the DM will be a different animal altogether. There won't be alternate covers and variant this-or-that's. But for the DM, we play by the rules of the DM. Variant covers sell, and beautiful women sell. If you look at the books, none of the covers are sexually gratuitous in any way. None of them show any more skin than the characters basic outfits. So I'd say they're more Cosmo than Maxim, albeit they're still beautiful women any way you slice it. " (http://www.buzzscope.com/features.php?id=1004)

So the D cups on 10TH MUSE aren't gratuitous? Ummmm.... ok.