Action Lab Entertainment
C2E2 | Action Lab drops prices on all ongoing series
Here’s an announcement you don’t see very often — a price drop. Action Lab Entertainment, publishers of Princeless, NFL RushZone and the upcoming Molly Danger series, announced at C2E2 this weekend that they plan to drop prices on all their ongoing series later this year.
Starting with the titles in June’s Previews catalog, Action Lab’s ongoing, 32-page comics will drop from $3.99 to $2.99. The licensed NFL RushZone, which is 20 pages, will drop to $1.99 and come out twice monthly. This month sees the number of Action Lab’s ongoing titles almost double, as they launch several new mature readers comics under the Action Lab: Danger Zone imprint. These titles include Ehmm Theory, The Final Plague, Ghost Town and Night of the ’80s Undead.
Additionally, beginning with Jamal Igle’s Molly Danger in July, Action Lab will also offer “a number of 48 page oversized European style hardcovers at $19.99,” according to the press release.
Why ‘Pirate Eye’ should be in your spyglass
At some point I heard Joe Grahn and Carl Yonder’s Pirate Eye described as “pirate noir,” and for me, the words suggested a mash-up of Pirates of the Caribbean and The Maltese Falcon. I figured it must take place in a fantasy world where fedoras and jazz lived side by side with cutlasses and lace. That would be fun concept, appropriate to the silly title, but I’m grateful to have been wrong about it.
Despite the pun, Pirate Eye is a comic that deserves to be taken seriously. It’s set in the real world during the historical age of piracy, and there’s nothing goofy about it. The main character Smitty is a former buccaneer who now uses his talents for good – or at least, legal – purposes. As he explains it, there’s not a lot of difference between seeking out treasure to take it from someone, and finding it on that person’s behalf. The big distinction is that Smitty gets paid for the latter instead of risking the gallows. Using that premise, Grahn and Yonder will be able to tell all sorts of noir-ish detective stories in the seedy streets of a Caribbean town.
Action Lab launches mature readers line, merger with Super Real
Fresh off the success of the creator-owned series PrinceLess by Jeremy Whitley, the enterprising Pittsburgh-based publisher Action Lab Entertainment is expanding — by teaming up with the fellow indie publisher Super Real Graphics.
Action Lab announced Monday it’s merging with Super Real, and that the latter’s founder Jason Martin will come on board Action Lab to spearhead a new mature readers line called Danger Zone. Action Lab has been a quick riser in comics, with PrinceLess making a name for itself and garnering an Eisner nomination along the way, and industry veterans like Jamal Igle choosing the company to publish creator-owned work. But Action Lab has up until now been strictly focused on all-ages material, so this announcement of a mature readers line is a big jump for the small publisher.
According to the press release, Action Lab’s Danger Zone imprint already has several titles lined up, including a book by Tony Fleecs and Tone Rodriguez called American Gothic Chick.
As part of the merger with Super Real, that company’s titles such as Zombie Tramp and Super Real will be be re-issued and potentially expanded upon at Action Lab.
Jamal Igle to launch Kickstarter campaign for Molly Danger
Seven months after announcing the end of his exclusive contract with DC Comics, fan-favorite artist Jamal Igle is venturing into his own all-ages adventure series he’s hoping to fund through Kickstarter.
Called Molly Danger, the four-volume hardcover story follows “the world’s most powerful 10-year-old girl,” who’s protected the city of Coopersville for the past 20 years, but longs for a real life with a real family. Things change when D.A.R.T. (The Danger Action Response Team), an organization created to assist and monitor Molly, recruits a new pilot named Austin Brigg,s who hopes to impress his stepson, a fan of Molly Danger.
“As the father of a young girl, I’ve found myself disheartened that there isn’t a female superhero character for my daughter to read that hasn’t been turned into a killer, or overtly sexualized,” Igle said in a press release. “A character that isn’t joined at the hip to a male hero or subservient to one.”
Igle, best known for his work on DC’s Supergirl and Firestorm, will kick off the 30-day Kickstarter campaign Aug. 1, with a fund-raising goal of $45,000. Action Lab Entertainment, which publishes Princeless, will handle release and distribution of Molly Danger. Igle’s also created a teaser trailer (below) and production blog.
Princeless leads 2012 Glyph Comics Awards
Princeless, the all-ages comic about a princess who’s tired of waiting to be rescued, led the 2012 Glyph Comics Awards, taking home honors for story of the year, best writer and best female character. The awards, which recognize “the best in comics made by, for, and about people of color from the preceding calendar year,” were presented this weekend at the 11th annual East Coast Black Age of Comics Convention in Philadelphia.
The winners are:
Story of the year: Princeless, by Jeremy Whitley and M. Goodwin (Action Lab Entertainment)
Best writer: Jeremy Whitley, Princeless (Action Lab Entertainment)
Best artist: Sara Pichelli, Ultimate Comics Spider-Man (Marvel)
Best cover: Chew #27, Rob Guillory (Image Comics)
Best male character: Miles Morales, Ultimate Spider-Man; Brian Michael Bendis, writer, Sara Pichelli, artist; inspired by the character created by Stan Lee and Steve Ditko (Marvel)
Best female character: Adrienne, Princeless; created by Jeremy Whitley, writer, and M. Goodwin, artist (Action Lab Entertianment)
Rising star award for best self-publisher: Whit Taylor, Watermelon
Best comic strip or webcomic: Fungus Grotto, by Ms. Shatia Hamilton