As Things Go Boom!
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since the company first started publishing comics in June 2005, but as the
company nears the first anniversary of its earliest releases we thought it might
be a good idea to catch up with him and get his reflections. What has made Boom!
a success thus far and what are they looking to today in the future? Richie gave
Scoop some insight.
Scoop: When you started out, what were your
goals for Boom Studios?
Ross Richie: I wanted to create a new company
that was doing new, fresh, innovative work and working with the best creators in
the business. But rather than launch a new “indie” comic book company that would
do more black and white “indie” books, I wanted to create full color comics that
could appeal to a more mainstream audience.
Hero Squared was my
launch book, and really represented the kind of projects I wanted to stand
behind — Giffen and DeMatteis have a 30+ year track record of constantly doing
smart, ground-breaking work and they delivered a hit that had heart, a great
high concept, and a fun, accessible story.
Scoop: How quickly did you
sense that things might be going well for Boom?
RR: Hero Squared
was a hit right off the bat, so that was really encouraging. Our second
book, Zombie Tales, was an immediate hit as well. So I was very fortunate
that the first two efforts we had performed well and encouraged me to go further
and push onward.
Scoop: It seemed like you got pretty good coverage
from some of the comics websites starting off. What did you attribute that
to?
RR: I think that Boom! was working with creators that they were
interested in. I don’t think anyone really knew the company as a well-defined
brand, but people were interested in Keith Giffen and JM DeMatteis and they were
interested in someone like Mark Waid working in Zombie Tales for this
upstart Boom! Studios company. So we caught some attention with a creator-driven
line-up, published with good production values and some really appealing
art.
Scoop: Likewise, a lot of recognizable creators brought projects
to you. How did that happen?
RR: Honestly, I don’t know. I have a
background of having worked in comics from 1993 to 1995 at Malibu Comics in
their marketing department before it was acquired by Marvel. I am also a feature
film producer, and am involved in projects like Matt Wagner’s Mage movie.
So I knew professionals and had long-standing, decades-long
relationships with them, and I think that gave me a bit more credibility than
most start-ups.
Once they saw what I was doing, many wanted to find a
home for their work that wasn’t being taken care of other places.
I also
have a tendency to pick up the phone and cold call people and see if we can work
together. My relationship with J.M. DeMatteis began like that — prior to my
call, he had no idea who I was.
Scoop: What was your first hit,
surprise or otherwise?
RR: One of the fun, surprising hits for me is
What Were They Thinking. Each time an issue comes out, sales go up and
more people get excited about it. It’s a blast to put out.
X Isle
sold extremely well for us — I think that Eureka TV series writer Andrew
Cosby had a lot to do with that, coming up with a really cool idea that was very
catchy.
Cthulhu Tales really sold well, also.
Scoop:
What was your reaction when Wizard named you best new
publisher?
RR: Shock and disbelief. It was all the more surprising
considering that we shipped our first books in the last week of June, and they
went to press in November on that. So really, they’d only seen four months of
books from us and they gave us that recognition.
It was staggering. And I
can’t thank them enough.
Scoop: Did that attract a lot more creators
wanting to work with you?
RR: Word had kind of gotten out in the creative
community by then. I think the reaction was a sales increase for us across the
board. Maybe some stores and fans that had not really noticed us yet started to
want to try us out.
Scoop: How many books a month are you publishing
now?
RR: Four books. This spring and summer we’re putting one comic book
out per week. We might have a catch-up week or two where we’re putting out two
comics, but we put out four titles a month right now.
Scoop: Are you
looking to change that or keep it where it is?
RR: We’ll “play it as it
lays.” When I create the publishing schedule, I look for projects to take off
the schedule. What can I live without? What’s essential? What shows off a
different aspect of what Boom! is? What do we really believe
in?
Publishing comics is difficult, taxing, tough business. So you’ve got
to put out books that you’d fight for, defend to the end. So we only put out
material that we’re 1000% committed to.
I am in no hurry to grow our
title count. I am not interested in a big line-up. I’m interested in putting out
a book that has an audience, and growing it one step at a time. Too much, too
fast, and you’ll have a Crossgen where it all collapses.
Scoop: What’s
the book you’re proudest of thus far?
RR: There are so many. Hero
Squared is such a labor of love for all involved. Zombie Tales is a
great accomplishment — an anthology that sells in today’s marketplace, filled
with my favorite writers and my favorite artists. Where else are you going to
read a story about a talking zoo animals during a supernatural apocalypse?
Second Wave: War of the Worlds is one of the best-written comics on the
stands right now, and Chee is a revelation of storytelling and draftsmanship.
Jeremiah Harm is good old fashioned butt-kicking fun. Talent makes me
smile. You’re asking me which baby I’d give up for adoption. I love ’em
all!
Scoop: Which book surprised you the most and why?
RR:
Zombie Tales: Death Valley #1 and #2 really clicked, garnering
universally great reviews and really attaining a life of its own. It was great
fun watching that book get an audience.
Why did it surprise me? Because
the interior artist wasn’t a well-known creator. Andrew Cosby, who’s an
accomplished screenwriter and a great TV show creator, wasn’t an established
name in comics. Johanna Stokes, his co-writer, was an unknown. But Kaare Andrews
created some eye-popping covers and the story really delivered. It was a
blast.
Scoop: What’s new in your line-up?
RR: We’re soliciting
Yoshitaka Amano’s Hero. The guy is like a Jack Kirby of Japanese comics
— he created Vampire Hunter D, Battle of the
Planets/G-Force, Final Fantasy, the list just goes on and on.
He worked with Neil Gaiman on Sandman: Dream Hunters and on
Elektra-Wolverine: The Redeemer. He’s a legend, and it blows me away that
he’s come to my company. It’s going to be a big summer.
We’ve got Mark
Waid warming up for a mini-series, the only work he’s doing outside of DC Comics
for 2006 and 2007.
Meanwhile, the Hero Squared ongoing is debuting
in stores soon, and the sales of Second Wave: War of the Worlds is
actually increasing issue-to-issue as we ship issue #2.
Scoop: What
are your plans for the future of Boom?
RR: We’ve got big plans. This
fall, we’re announcing two major licenses from a company that does $500 million
worldwide every year. It’s going to be huge.
You’ll see us get into
licensed comics with some of the biggest properties in any medium, and intensify
our commitment to fresh new projects in the vein of X Isle, Hero
Squared, and our Tales books.
Scoop: Even though you have a
film background, you don’t spend a lot of time talking about the Hollywood
interest in Boom’s projects… yet we know there’s been some. Why is
that?
RR: Boom! Studios is a comic book publisher. We publish comics.
That’s our business. Will there be studio interest? Of course there will be. But
our first job is to put out great books. People who create comic book companies
to put out intellectual property they can sell to Hollywood need to get out of
the business — they’re not in this to create great comics.
We’re here
for comics first.
Scoop: Anything else you’d like to add?
RR: I
want to thank the retailers and fans who have supported us and made this company
a hit in a marketplace where there’s a lot of competition. A lot of new
publishers launched in 2005 — a lot of people with more money than we have, a
lot with more titles, and we want to thank the base of support that’s appeared
to give us space when there were lots of other choices.
If you’ve enjoyed
what you’ve seen from Boom! so far, it’s really only the start of things. We’ve
got some very exciting things under wraps and as we approach our first birthday,
we’re going to be unveiling some of them. It’s going to be a blast!
