Michael Catron
| Michael Catron | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 9, 1954 |
| Nationality | American |
| Area(s) | Publisher |
Notable works |
Fantagraphics Books Apple Comics |
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Official website | |
Michael Catron (born October 9, 1954)[1] is former publisher of Apple Comics and co-founder of Fantagraphics.
Catron met Gary Groth while they were both enrolled at the University of Maryland. In 1974, Catron and Groth put on a Washington, DC-area rock and roll convention that ended in financial failure. Nonetheless, he and Groth dabbled in music publishing with the short-lived magazine Sounds Fine,[2] which they co-published until 1979. (During this period, Catron also worked as a public relations assistant for Mike Gold, at the time employed by DC Comics.)[3]
In 1976 Catron and Groth co-founded Fantagraphics Books, at that point located in College Park, Maryland. They took over an adzine named The Nostalgia Journal, quickly renaming it The Comics Journal.[4] Catron acted as Fantagraphics' co-publisher until 1985, also handling advertising and circulation for The Comics Journal from 1982–1985, when he left the company.[3]
In 1986, Catron established Apple Comics, which began as a packager for Wendy & Richard Pini's WaRP Graphics but with its own financing structure.[5] Soon, Apple branched out to publishing original titles, and became known for publishing war comics, particularly the long-running title Vietnam Journal (as well as many spin-offs and one-shots). Apple Comics went defunct in 1994.
From 2000 to 2008 he served as a board member for the Grand Comics Database.[6]
In recent years, Catron has been the agent for the estate of Superman co-creator Joe Shuster.[7]
In early 2012, Catron relocated to Seattle and returned to Fantagraphics as editor with the publishing company he co-founded 36 years earlier. Asked by Tom Spurgeon at The Comics Reporter about the trepidation of relocating, Catron said: "Yes, I'm now in Seattle. And yes, there was quite a bit of trepidation on that score. But I ultimately decided comics is where I need to work. It just feels right to me and I missed it terribly when I was doing other things. I like Seattle so far. It does seem to rain a lot. But, strangely, I like rain."[8][9]
References
- ↑ Miller, John Jackson. "Comics Industry Birthdays", Comics Buyer's Guide, June 10, 2005. Accessed February 1, 2011. WebCitation archive
- ↑ Matos, Michelangelo. "Saved by the Beagle," Seattle Arts (September 15, 2004).
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999.
- ↑ "...transforming it from an adzine into a magazine of news and criticism that just happened to carry advertisements." The Comics Journal Message Board :: View topic - The Comics Journal #32 (January 1977).
- ↑ WaRP Titles Now Under Apple Aegis," The Comics Journal #110 (August 1986), p. 17.
- ↑ GCD Documentation: The Board
- ↑ Kaye, Edward. "Winners of the 2011 Joe Shuster Awards Announced!" Hypergeek (June 18, 2011).
- ↑ Spurgeon, Tom. "CR Newsmaker Interview: Mike Catron" The Comics Reporter (Fefruary 5, 2012).
- ↑ Baehr, Mike. "Welcome back Mike Catron & Preston White!" The Comics Journal Blog (Fefruary 6, 2012).
External links
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