Alias Enterprises

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).

Alias Enterprises is a US publishing company. Their main divisions are Alias Comics (all-ages comic books) and Cross Culture (Christian comic books). Based in San Diego, California, it was founded in January 2005 by Brett Burner and Mike S. Miller. They publish comics such as Lullaby, The 10th Muse, The Legend of Isis, and Sixgun Samurai.

Contents

[edit] History

Alias was founded by artist Mike S. Miller and publisher Brett Burner (also owner of Lamp Post Publications [1]). In January 2005, they launched their first productions through Image Comics filling a virtually untapped market with three all-ages titles: Lullaby: Wisdom Seeker, Lions, Tigers and Bears, and The Imaginaries. All three were successful projects in the independent marketplace, particularly Lullaby, which has seen continuing success since its initial release. Soon thereafter in May of 2006 Alias expanded into a self-publishing company with allegedly "the largest number of new titles of any independent publisher in comic book history". Their releases landed them a spot with Diamond Comic Distributors as a Top 20 Publisher, a position they held for some time.

Alias Comics broke ground in marketing efforts, offering 25 cent preview issues, 75 cent introductory issues, and even circulated 50 thousand copies of free (to retailer) preview books called 'the Comic Book Digest' or CBD. In mid 2005, Alias chose to move its comic printing stateside, but due to the accumulation of problems at the Domestic printer, decided to go back to its original partner in South Korea. The subsequent lapse in shipping, going from a domestic printer to a South Korean printer resulted in a two to three month lapse in delivery of Alias comic books to comic stores. Being gone from the shelves for so long created several problems for the fledgling company, not the least of which was a loss in retailer and fan confidence.

Another problem which arose from this situation was that nearly a year after opening their doors, several Alias comic book creators began to leave the publisher, citing causes that the publisher had not paid them fairly for their work. The allegations of unfair payment were never firmly established, and no legal challenges were ever brought to light. In 2005, studios Monkey Pharmacy, Runemaster Studios, and Dabel Brothers Productions stopped producing books for publication by Alias.

In November 2005, Alias underwent a restructuring plan (PR). Its publisher, Brett Burner, purchased majority shares of the company in order to take control of the company's financial records.

In March 2006, Alias announced a new policy toward its creators requiring work to be completed and in-hand before being solicited for publication, citing an effort to maintain a more exact release schedule (PR).

In 2006, Alias signed an agreement [2] with Christian publisher Zondervan to produce twenty-four mangas or graphic novels to be released over the next few years through its Cross Culture division, consisting of three eight-book series. These titles include: Hand of the Morningstar, Kingdoms, and The Manga Bible.

Also in 2006, Alias' Christian division 'Cross Culture Entertainment' began publication of Bubblemag, a Christian pop culture magazine http://www.bubblemag.com

In Fall 2006, Alias executives announced his intention to rebrand Alias Comics as a Christian comic company. Within a few weeks, Abacus Comics opened for business. Abacus Comics is owned solely by Miller, and was opened for the express purpose of publishing several of his "creator-owned" titles which were initially run through Alias Comics.

[edit] Publications

In alphabetical order:

  • ArmorQuest: Genesis (2005-2006) by Ben Avery and Sherwin Schwartzrock
  • Atomik Mike (2006+) by Stephan Nilson
  • The Blackbeard Legacy (2006+)
  • Chrono Mechanics (2006+) by Art Thibert and Richard Birdsall
  • David: The Sheperd's Song (2005) by Royden Lepp
  • David's Mighty Men (2005) by Javier Saltares
  • Deal with the Devil (2005) by Mike S. Miller and Sherwin Schwartzrock
  • The Devil's Keeper (2005+) by Mike S. Miller/Sean Jordan and Carlos Paul
  • The Dreamland Chronicles (2005+) by Scott Christian Sava
  • The Hammer Kid (2006) by Kevin Grevioux
  • Hyper-Actives volume 1 (2005-2006) by Darin Wagner & Clint Hilinski
  • Judo Girl (2005+) by Darren G. Davis, Terrance Griep, Nadir Balan
  • Killer Stunts, Inc. (2005) by Scott Kinney
  • Legacy Manga Digest (2005) by Carmen Trifilleti and Edu Francisco
  • The Legend of Isis (2005) by Ryan Scott Ottney, Darren G. Davis, et al.
  • Lethal Instinct (2005+) [3]
  • Lullaby volume 2 (2005+) by Mike S. Miller & Hector Sevilla
  • Monkey in a Wagon vs. Lemur on a Big Wheel (2005) by Ken Lillie-Paetz and Chris Moreno
  • Opposite Forces volume 2 (2005) by Tom Bancroft
  • Orion the Hunter (2006)
  • OZF5 (2005) by Ramon Madrigal and Ryan Ottley
  • Pakkins' Land volume 2 (2005+) by Gary Shipman
  • Psi-Kix (2005+)
  • Revere (2006+) by Ed Lavallee and Grand Bond
  • Sixgun Samurai (2005+) by Mike S. Miller, Sean Jordan and Harold Edge
  • Super Teen*topia (2006+) by Kirk Kushin
  • Ted Noodleman: Bicycle Delivery Boy (2005) by Jim Keplinger & Ryan Ottley
  • Tenth Muse volume 2 (2005+) by Darren G. Davis and various
  • Twin Blades (2006+) by Adrian Todd and Ryan Odagawa
  • Valkyries (2006+) by Kevin Grevioux
  • Victoria's Secret Service (2005) by Darren G. Davis & Nadir Balan
  • Yenny volume 2 (2005+) by David Alvarez

Comics that went to other venues after publication at Alias:

Comics that came to Alias after initial publication at another venue:

Cancelled Alias comics:

  • The Gimoles

[edit] Circulation

According to the sales estimates from industry resource site ICv2 [4], Alias' top-selling monthly comics for their first year were:

  • (2005.05) 4,945 copies (rank 188) for 10th Muse Volume 2 #1 [5]
  • (2005.06) 7,836 copies (rank 214) for Lethal Instinct #1 [6]
  • (2005.07) 4,005 copies (rank 203) for Legend of Isis #2 [7]
  • (2005.08) 3,546 copies (rank 242) for Legend of Isis #3 [8]
  • (2005.09) 3,286 copies (rank 222) for XIII #2 [9]
  • (2005.10) 3,352 copies (rank 243) for Legend of Isis #4 [10]
  • (2005.11) 7,432 copies (rank 195) for Lullaby #1 [11]
  • (2005.12) 3,038 copies (rank 251) for Legend of Isis #7 [12]
  • (2006.01) 3,886 copies (rank 208) for Lullaby #2 [13]
  • (2006.02) -- no issue shipped, only a TPB [14]
  • (2006.03) 3,909 copies (rank 261) for Victoria's Secret Service #1 [15]
  • (2006.04) 4,701 copies (rank 210) for Lullaby #3 [16]
  • (2006.05) 2,959 copies (rank 291) for Blackbeard Legacy #1 [17]

(Those are only initial pre-order sales via Diamond U.S. and do not include possible reorders or sales through other channels.)

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../a/l/i/Alias_Enterprises_f7ff.html"