Dark Horse has been acquired by Embracer Group. What does this mean for the comics? Probably not much. A lot of acquisitions like this are about a holding company gathering IP so they can get some more profits. But that's just me pulling thoughts out of thin air.
In theory Dark Horse owns a ton of properties (I've seen the number 300 thrown around but can't verify that at this time) so I can see why someone would want to buy that kind of access. I say "in theory" because Dark Horse properties are also creator owned so it's more like Dark Horse has first dibs on those properties. The distinction there is largely semantics.
From Mike Richardson, founder and CEO of Dark Horse:
I can’t express the excitement I feel as Dark Horse moves into this new chapter in our history. The synergies that exist with the Embracer network of companies promises exciting new opportunities not only for Dark Horse, but also for the creators and companies we work with. I’ve had a number of compelling conversations with Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors and I’m very impressed with him and what he and his team have built. I have to say, the future for our company has never looked brighter.
What will be fun is on the video game front. Embracer is a Swedish video game holding company, having a stake in (amongst others) Asmodee, THQ Nordic, Gearbox Entertainment, DECA Games, Koch Media, and Saber Interactive.
Combined with Dark Horse starting to publish new Star Wars comics next year this could make for a very interesting pairing.
Dark Horse has been acquired by Embracer Group. What does this mean for the comics? Probably not much. A lot of acquisitions like this are about a holding company gathering IP so they can get some more profits. But that’s just me pulling thoughts out of thin air.Continue Reading
Sometimes calling something a game is a rather strong use of the word. Especially when you’re looking at it through American eyes. Double especially back in the early to mid 1990s when we just didn’t really have the concept of visual novels over here.
Listen in as Nick Weaver, creator of the Thumbles comic on Webtoon, joins the show to help take a look at a portion of the gaming medium that we didn’t have much context for based on a manga that we also didn’t have much context for over on this side of the world.Continue Reading
It takes a lot to get me this excited about a public domain character. Not that don’t think people should make Frankenstein or Sherlock Holmes things, but anyone can so there isn’t a novelty there.
So what does get me excited about these? A great creative team. A super unique concept as opposed to Yet Another Public Domain Character Story.
Or possibly getting to use the notes written by the creator of the property. Legacy Comix is bringing another banger to the table with bringing the Strokerverse into the fold.Continue Reading
I’ll come right out and say it, the first Sonic the Hedgehog movie had no right being as good as it was. I was expecting something stupid and fun and instead it was good and fun. So of course we’re getting a sequel. And while I think the symmetry inContinue Reading
Sometimes books don’t have pictures. Or rather they have a few pictures that can’t in any way be considered a comic. But that doesn’t mean that those books are any less complicated than the art form we love over here at Play Comics. And with that comes a way for people to actually look things up without worrying about getting spoiled. Enter Spliki, the spoiler free wiki. I finally made the name connection while I was writing these show notes because I’m a dummy.
Good thing we have Brett from The Wheel Weaves podcast to help dig into why people should check out both this book series in particular, and the dangers of getting into a franchise that already has year and years and years and years and years of lore just waiting to be spoiled for you because the internet is a dangerous place.Continue Reading
After some time away due to mysterious circumstances (more on that in a bit), A Dark Interlude is returning in January 2022 from Vault with Piotr Kowalski taking over art duties. The creative time now consists of writing from Ryan O’Sullivan, art from Piotr Kowalski, colors Vladimir Popov, letters by Andworld Design, and is designed by Tim Daniel. Continue Reading
In a wonderful move from such a new publisher, Legacy Comix is working with Lebeau Underwood on inks for the cover of Athos. You might know Lebeau’s work from The Union, Daredevil, and Scream: Curse of Carnage.
To put it bluntly, this is a big deal. For Legacy Comix to have someone of this caliber wanting to work with them before a book has even come out is a giant testament to the work that Patrick, John, and the entire team is doing over there.
To quote Patrick in a very short impromptu interview:
We ain’t done yet
Continuing with our love for Legacy Comix is a look at an interview with Legacy Comix Editor in Chief and writer of Condrey, Kroom, and The Job. Patrick Hickey Jr is someone who is hungry for success and won’t let anyone get in his way. He even fired his own children from the role of Chief Cuteness Officer!Continue Reading
Play Comics is a proud supporter of Legacy Comix and all of the creators over there. So it makes perfect sense that we’d want to make sure you know who is working on those comics.
That’s why we want to make sure that you can check out the profiles they have over there. First up is Afrim Gjonbalaj, writer of Legend of the Night Owl.Continue Reading
Do you like cheaper comics? Check out what Scout has to offer and be sure to use the code CYBER2021 to get 50% off comics, comic tags, trade Paperbacks, and graded Books.Continue Reading
Writing comics and making games is fun and all, but don’t you want other people to see them? You can probably sucker get friends to look at them but I have a feeling your dreams are bigger than just the people you know in real life. But how can you pull that off?
Kickstarter might be a good idea. Now if only I could get someone from over there on the show. I know, how about Oriana Leckert? Who better to help us understand the inner workings of Kickstarter than the Director of Publishing & Comics Outreach? Yeah, I can’t think of anyone better either.
There’s only about 2 reasons why people my age are into the X-Men. Either someone older (siblings, parents, whoever) exposed them to the greatness, or we watched X-Men the Animated Series. That’s it. There is no other reason at all.
Which makes this episode very special because we get to hear from Eric and Julia Lewald who between them wrote, developed, show ran, and generally shaped our views of the world through X-Men the Animated Series. I can’t even try to be witty here because I’m still so excited that this happened
And don’t miss the fact that there are books you can buy, one of which isn’t full of pictures. Because for some reason people like those.
I’d say most of the time, writers labor over a story for a while. Weeks, months, years, maybe their entire life. Heck I’ve been sitting on my idea for a while and I’m starting to suspect that y’all think I’m just making up the fact that I have an idea.
And then there’s Ryan Drost who just had Stealth Hammer fall into his head from that place where good ideas live. Listen in as we see what this story is all about and hear about some little quirks that went into it’s creation. And of course be sure to check out the Kickstarter page for Stealth Hammer #2.
We have a double winner here. A good story anyway, but also one that is a good introduction to Jewish mythology. Great for young readers and people who just like good stories.Continue Reading
Mark from Lesser Known Comics heard the last episode (Legacy Comix with Patrick Hickey Jr) and felt like some of the LKC team needed to come on the show to clear some of the air. So that’s what happened.
Listen to what Mark Bernal, Jackie Anne Wiedemeier, and Charlie Ragnorok had to say about that previous episode and about working with Lesser Known Comics.
We here at Play Comics stand behind the employees at Image Comics working to create a union and better working conditions for everyone working at Image.
Making comics is hard work and nobody needs to have the extra pressure of worrying about their livelihood hanging over their head while doing it. From workloads to payment to the coverage of work necessities like office supplies and utilities (covered if you work in the office but not if you work from home) there needs to be a set of standards that publishers are held to.
Play Comics has decided that in a show of solidarity with these people integral to the comics creation process, we will take the following actions until this has been resolved.
We hope for a speedy resolution that gives the employees of Image Comics everything they deserve and more.
There are a lot of good comic publishers out there. You know what the world needs? Another one. For real. Especially one where I’m friends with one of the founders.
How can we ever have one of those? Maybe Patrick Hickey Jr can help solve that problem with Legacy Comix. And of course, you can help make that happen by helping to support their Kickstarter launch which was fully funded in 5 hours. So yeah, I’d say things are off to a good start.
Editor’s Note: The interview was recorded before the Kickstarter went live and the team at Legacy decided to include the Remastered versions of Condrey 0-3 for their campaign, opting to not include them on the site store like Hickey Jr. indicated during our interview. We apologize for any confusion this may have caused.
We’re pretty much all familiar with magical girls, even if you don’t know the term itself. Be it a classic like Sailor Moon or something new that will capture the hearts and imaginations of people much younger than me. But what happens when all of these worlds get squished together?
Good thing we have Skyler from Blue Turtle Comics here to help us figure out what it’s like when worlds collide. Are you ready to go? Because I’m ready to go, with a pit stop by the Magical Girl Defense Force page on Kickstarter on the way.
For people familiar with World of Darkness this is a nostalgia inducing trip back to the 1990s. For those who aren’t get ready to be thrown into the pool and pray you know how to swim. If you’re cool with that though then jump on in.Continue Reading
If you’re a fan of true crime in any medium this is one to check out. Eric Powell and Harold Schedcter take a dark and gritty look at the real life story of Eddie Gein.Continue Reading
