Producer Eric Gitter has spent many years bringing comics and graphic novels to the screen and has worked on films such as Extraction, Atomic Blonde And Scott Pilgrim vs. World. Now he’s diving even deeper into the genre as co-founder of a new comic and graphic novel publishing company, teaming up with several veterans of independent publishing houses.
Joining Gitter on the new project are former Boom! Studios head Filip Sablik as publisher, former IDW head Jamie S. Rich as editor-in-chief, and comic book writer Jeremy Haun as creative director.
The as-yet-unnamed company will forego superheroes and instead focus on horror, science fiction, crime and fantasy. The company has not announced its funding or unveiled a program, but hopes to sign authors by the end of the year or early next year, with the goal of starting to publish books sometime in 2025.
Due to Gitter’s experience in Hollywood, the company will have an eye on film adaptations. Gitter previously headed the film division of Oni Press and was a producer of film adaptations such as Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World and Chris Hemsworth extraction Action films, the latter based on the works of the publisher Danger Graphic Novel. Gitter has been running his own production company for the past few years and the business will be integrated into the new company.
The release comes amid a crisis in the comics publishing landscape. Sales suffered a significant decline last year, with a few bright spots coming from licensed editions such as Transformers And Teenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesIndependent publisher Boom! Studios was acquired by Random House Publishing in the spring, while indie company AfterShock filed for bankruptcy in December 2022 and IDW had to make layoffs this year.
Nevertheless, the partners are convinced that readers and retailers will be ready for a change when their books are launched.
“The entire media landscape, including comics, has been reshaped in recent years, and we’re all excited to build a comics publisher that meets the needs of today’s audiences, creators, and the market at large, as opposed to those of decades past,” Sablik said. “We believe that audiences and retailers in 2025 will be hungry for fresh stories that will launch the next generation of original franchises, and we can’t wait to meet them there!”
Sablik is a publishing industry executive with nearly 25 years of experience in distribution, editorial, marketing, sales, business development and operations. After previous stints at Diamond Comic Distributors and Top Cow, Sablik most recently served as President of Publishing and Marketing at Boom! for 12 years. Sablik was a key member of the leadership team that built the indie publisher into a prominent publisher that was eventually acquired by Random House. Boom! tripled its market share during his tenure. The executive is credited with leveraging Kickstarter for comic book publishing, particularly Brzrkrthe title created by Keanu Reeves about an immortal warrior. The book became one of the biggest indie hits of the decade.
Rich is an award-winning editor, writer, and comic book publishing executive with 30 years of experience, including serving as group editor of Batman and Justice League comics for DC and as head of Vertigo/DC’s Young Animal imprint. He has also worked at Dark Horse Comics, Oni Press, and Tapas Media, holding the position of Editor-in-Chief at the last two. Most recently, he was Editor-in-Chief at IDW, leading the editorial team through a critical restructuring period. He left the company shortly after the revival of the The page contains the lyrics and the German translation of the song “TMNT” by The Movie. book series and was instrumental in the publication of Patrick Horvath’s original comic Under the trees where no one seesa success with critics and at the box office.
Haun is a prolific, fan-favorite comic book writer and artist who has worked with numerous publishers in a career spanning over 20 years. He is best known for his works, which he owns, such as The Beauty and the Empirepublished by Image Comics, and Red Mother And The approachboth from Boom! He has worked on comics featuring characters ranging from Batman to Captain America to Spawn.
The new company is represented by WME and attorneys Fred Goodman and Rich Marin of Marin Goodman.
Eric Gitter
Lauren Elisabeth Photography
