Three-year old Dynamite Entertainment has licensed Buck Rogers for a new comic series and other tie-in products.
Anthony “Buck” Rogers, “a man accidentally thrust into an extraordinary future,” first appeared in two novellas in Amazing Stories in 1928, written by Philip Francis Nowlan. After those print appearances, John F. Dille, the president of the National Newspaper Service syndicate, approached Nowland to turn his character into a comic strip, and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century A.D. debuted on 7 January 1929, drawn by Dick Calkins. The comic strip ran until 8 July 1967, and then came back from 1979 to 1983. The Buck Rogers radio show aired four times a week from 1932 to 1947, and his movie serials and television appearances began in 1939 (the last, starring Gil Gerard and Erin Gray, ran from 1979 to 1981).
Television and videogame writer and producer Flint Dille, the grandson of John F. Dille, oversees the Buck Rogers franchise. “My family and I have always considered the Buck legacy a sort of ‘sacred trust’,” Dille said, “and we are absolutely confident that this collaboration with Dynamite honors that trust.”
Nick Barrucci, Publisher and President of Dynamite Entertainment, is excited to be working on one of his “dream projects since childhood.” Barrucci said that Alex Ross and John Cassaday will be integral to Dynamite’s Buck launch, with both Ross and Cassady providing character designs, Ross providing a cover to issue #1, and Cassaday serving as regular series cover artist starting with issue #1. “Dynamite’s job right now,” Barrucci said, “is to find the writer and the artist who share my and my team’s respect and affection for Buck Rogers, and who can help bring Buck, once again, into an exciting new future.”
Dynamite’s agreement with the Dille Estate covers new Buck Rogers comics, collections (including classic material), comics-based fine art prints, posters, action figures, trading cards, statues, and other high-end collectibles.