Talk:Mike Richardson (publisher)

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Contents

[edit] Notability

Currently this article does not demonstrate notability through reliable third party sources and is subject to deletion. Aboutmovies 03:26, 8 June 2007 (UTC)

[edit] If you're associated with Dark Horse Comics

Before you edit, please read about our conflict of interest guidelines and also about ownership of articles. Kthanx. Katr67 20:43, 25 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Removed from main page

These items should be cleaned up of copyvio and POV and put in their respective articles Dark Horse Comics and Dark Horse Entertainment. Katr67 20:49, 25 September 2007 (UTC)

I agree - both entries really need some work and something like the following reworked to be more neutral could be a big help. (Emperor 22:16, 25 September 2007 (UTC))

[edit] Removed

Dark Horse Comics

Dark Horse Comics is a solid example of how integrity and innovation combined with a dedication to success can help grow a unique medium and establish a small, homegrown company as an industry giant. The history of Dark Horse Comics explains why Hero Illustrated magazine named founder Mike Richardson “the most important person in comics.” By the mid-1980s, Mike Richardson had already established himself as a business leader in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area with the successful chain of retail comic-book shops he founded after graduating college. But something was bothering him –even the best comics his stores carried were below the standards Richardson believed the comics medium was capable of maintaining. For an industry that was already half a century old, there was very little innovation surfacing in the books he sold, and because of that, this medium that Richardson had loved since his youth was in danger of crumbling. Richardson knew that if he expected anything to change, he’d have to jump in and do it himself. In 1986, he invested profits from his chain of bookstores and with that money he founded Dark Horse Comics. Soon Dark Horse was publishing some of the most popular and groundbreaking comics ever to hit the market. With this dedicated approach, Dark Horse lured some of the most sought-after creators to their stable. One of the first titles published by Dark Horse –Paul Chadwick’s Concrete –went on to earn an unprecedented twenty-six awards and nominations within two years of its debut and continues to win awards to this day. In addition to publishing comics from top talent like Frank Miller (Sin City), Mike Mignola (Hellboy), Stan Sakai (Usagi Yojimbo), Sergio Aragonés (Groo), Neil Gaiman (Murder Mysteries), and comics legend Will Eisner (The Escapist), Dark Horse is also recognized as the world’s leading publisher of licensed comics. Their highly successful line of comics based on popular properties includes Star Wars, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Aliens, Conan, The Incredibles, and Peter Jackson’s King Kong. Today Dark Horse Comics is the third largest comic-book publisher in the U.S. and is recognized as the world’s leading publisher of licensed comics material.

[edit] Dark Horse Entertainment

Mike Richardson determined early on that great stories were great stories no matter the medium in which they’re told. This belief led the publisher to explore the world of filmmaking and he established his own filmmaking company, Dark Horse Entertainment, in 1992. The company’s first two major films—The Mask starring Jim Carrey and Cameron Diaz (putting both actors on the “who’s who in Hollywood” list), and Timecop, starring Jean Claude Van Damme—premiered to enthusiastic audiences who wondered where this hot new company had come from. Not only did Richardson produce both films, he was also responsible for creating the original characters. In addition to Dark Horse’s first two hits, Richardson has produced numerous other films, including Barb Wire (1996), based on an original Dark Horse comic book, and 1999’s sci-fi thriller Virus. In 1999 Richardson served as Executive Producer of Fox Kids’ new Saturday morning flagship series, The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot (based on a hit Dark Horse comics series by Frank Miller and Geof Darrow), and he shared production credits with Larry Gordon and Lloyd Levin on the 1999 all-star film, Mystery Men. More recently, Dark Horse Entertainment has produced Hellboy (2004)—based on Mike Mignola’s comics series—and was executive producer for both Alien vs Predator (2004) and Son of the Mask (2005). Dark Horse Entertainment is currently working on production for the much-anticipated Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, Steve Niles’s 30 Days of Night, and My Name Is Bruce, starring legendary B-movie superstar Bruce Campbell.