ReelArt Studios, which up until now has been a producer of collectible statues inspired by sf/f/h artists, is moving into the pubishing realm. Dark Horse, which has been distributing ReelArt’s three-dimensional art, will now distribute their two-dimensional art under the new imprint Sequential Pulp.
ReelArt president Michael Hudson proposed the new venture to “transition well known pulp properties into traditional American comics.” Comics writer and editor Christopher Mills has been named Editor-in-Chief of the new venture. The first two publications will be Fredric Brown’s Martians Go Home and Otis Adelbert Kline’s Swords of Venus. The works, licensed from their authors’ estates, will be turned into comics through the efforts of Bruce Jones, Martin Powell, Mike Ploog, Eduardo Barreto, and Thomas Yeates.
Current plans are for full-color, 22-page issues published bi-monthly, with an expected launch at next year’s San Diego Comic-Con. Dark Horse will market the books as a specialty imprint, and also represent them to Hollywood studios for possible big screen adaptation.
Hudson said, “Aside from the very few big names such as Doc Savage, The Shadow, Conan and Tarzan I’ve just never understood why so many of these… wonderfully exciting tales have never been transitioned into comics. ReelArt has not been a company that follows the same path as others in collectibles and I thought why not follow that same path in publishing. There are a lot of stories I want to tell.” Hudson plans to expand into other genres after the launch of the first two titles.
Dark Horse Preisdent Mike Richardson said “Michael Hudson and ReelArt Studios have produced some of the finest products in the business. We’ve been very pleased with our existing relationship and are excited by the prospect of expanding our partnership to the printed page. Comic fans are going to see a slate of amazing original projects.”