Defunct Canadian comics and graphic novel publisher
Speakeasy Comics
was a Canadian publishing company of
comic books
and
graphic novels
which operated from 2004?2006. Based in
Toronto, Ontario
, Speakeasy published monthly comics, creator-owned independent series,
original graphic novels
, and collected out-of-print
creator-owned
comics series that had originated with other companies. Its best-known titles were
Atomika
,
Beowulf
,
The Grimoire
, and
Rocketo
.
Although Speakeasy made a big public relation splash and announced a large lineup of monthly titles, it had trouble almost from the beginning in following through with its plans.
Warren Ellis
characterized the short-lived company as "one publisher getting it wrong from start to finish: releasing too many books, without a support structure, releasing comics without a dedicated marketing plan."
[1]
History
[
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]
Beginnings
[
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]
Adam Fortier founded Speakeasy Comics in August 2004. Previously, Fortier had worked for comics publishers
Dreamwave Productions
(where he revived the
Transformers
licence in comics),
Devil's Due Publishing
,
UDON
, and
IDW Publishing
.
[2]
In March 2005, the company published its first titles, the debut issues of
Atomika
and
The Grimoire
.
In a sign of trouble to come, however, that same month,
Yoshitaka Amano
's
Hero
, a highly anticipated
graphic novel
, was cancelled and postponed one year. It was resolicited in February 2006 for tentative publication in April 2006, but cancelled again in May 2006, and was eventually published by
Boom! Studios
in November 2006. In October 2005, creator
Frank Espinosa
announced the moving of his
Rocketo
series to
Image Comics
.
In November 2005, Speakeasy announced it had concluded a financing deal with Los Angeles-based
Ardustry Entertainment
: Speakeasy would now also develop comics based on licenses brought by Ardustry, while Ardustry would represent Speakeasy's comics properties in the entertainment industry (movies, videogames, etc.)
[3]
[4]
Troubles
[
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]
Also in November 2005, Speakeasy-owned titles
Beowulf
,
The Grimoire
, and
Spellgame
went through several creative team changes. In that same period, only a few months after signing with the publisher,
Atomika
creator
Sal Abbinanti
split from Speakeasy to self-publish future issues
Atomika
.
[5]
under his own
Mercury Comics
label.
[6]
In December 2005, Speakeasy canceled orders on two months' of previously ordered comics.
[7]
Creator allegations of non-payment
[8]
and mismanagement of projects
[9]
started circulating.
Speakeasy published no titles in January 2006. That month, creator
Sal Cipriano
announced he had cancelled his
Bio Boy
series, but was keeping
The Hill
there.
[10]
Creator Matt Maxwell announced he had amicably parted with Speakeasy for his
Strangeways
series.
[11]
Four issues had been solicited but never published.
Also in January,
Chimaera Studios
announced they were moving their eight series ?
Mutation
,
Of Bitter Souls
,
Super Crazy TNT Blast
(renamed
Twilight Men
),
Smoke & Mirror
,
Lonebow
,
Wargod
,
Project Eon
, and
Silent Ghost
? from Speakeasy to the British publisher
Markosia
.
[12]
Creators Jose Torres and Chris Dibari announced they were also moving their series
The Hunger
to Markosia.
[13]
In addition, Jonathan Martin's Speakeasy Comics Archive (a blog dedicated to Speakeasy-related news)
[14]
[15]
was shut down, presumably under "trademark infringement" litigation.
In February 2006, creators of the series
O.C.T. - the
Occult Crimes Taskforce
announced their move to Image Comics.
[16]
Closure
[
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]
On February 27, 2006,
Vito Delsante
, Speakeasy's "unofficial" public relations director, announced via email
[17]
the immediate closure of Speakeasy, with all March-solicited books still shipping, April and May's being tentative, and June's being cancelled.
[18]
The company, however, didn't file for bankruptcy, officially in order to try to pay its outstanding bills.
[
citation needed
]
Comics reporter
Tom Spurgeon
characterized the company's demise this way: "... right now you have to have sustainable capital, publishing skill, marketing ability, something some people want, and enough perspective to let those factors and not personal ambition define the enterprise. I didn't see any of that with Speakeasy...."
[1]
It was later revealed (according to Ardustry Entertainment's business affairs manager, Wayne Williams)
[
citation needed
]
that the November 2005 deal between Speakeasy and Ardustry had only been an option to buy Speakeasy, which expired without materialization. Cash-flow problems led to Speakeasy's demise before they could materialize various potentially lucrative licensing deals, such as with HBO (
The Sopranos
and
Deadwood
).
[19]
Speakeasy intended to collect some series in trade paperbacks (such as
Atomika
,
Grimoire
, and
Beowulf
), but all solicited TPBs were eventually cancelled. In March 2006, only
Beowulf
#7
was published. In May 2006,
Diamond Comic Distributors
's monthly list of cancelled comics listed all the remaining unpublished Speakeasy comics, with the terminal cancel code 10 ("Supplier Out of Business").
[20]
Publications
[
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]
Monthly titles
[
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]
- Athena Voltaire: Flight of the Falcon
#1 (2006) ? moved to APE Entertainment
- Atomika
#1-4 (2005) ? moved to
Mercury Comics
- Beowulf
#1?7 (2005?2006)
- The Adventures of Bio Boy
#1?2 (2005)
- Butternutsquash
#1 (Nov. 2005) ? webcomic planned for quarterly publication
- Death Valley
(2005) by
Scott O. Brown
and
Horacio Lalia
[
es
]
- Elk's Run
#4 ? creator-owned series
- The Gatesville Company
#1-2 (2005)
- The Grimoire
#1-7
- Helios
: In With the New
#1-2
- Hero@Large
#1-2 (2005)
- The Hunger
#1?5 (2005) ? moved to Markosia
- Lonebow
#1 (2005) ? moved to Markosia
- Mutation
#1?3 (2005) ? moved to Markosia
- Of Bitter Souls
#1?3 (2005) ? moved to Markosia
- Rocketo
#1?6 (2005?2006) ? moved to Image Comics
- Seasons of the Reaper
#1 (2005)
- Shotgun Wedding
#1 (2005)
- Smoke & Mirror
#1?2 (2005) ? moved to Markosia
- Spellgame
#1-3
- Super Crazy TNT Blast
#1 (2005) ? moved to Markosia as
Twilight Men
- Wargod
#1 (2005) ? moved to Markosia
Cancelled/debuted with other publishers
[
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]
- Hero
by
Yoshitaka Amano
? TPB published by Boom Studios in 2006
- The Hill
by Sal Cipriano and Jok ? TPB published by Markosia in 2006
- O.C.T.: Occult Crimes Taskforce
[21]
? #1?4 published by 12 Gauge Comics and Image in 2006
[22]
- Phantom Jack
: The Nowhere Man Agenda
? TPB published by IDW in 2010
- Project Eon
? #1?3 published by Markosia in 2006
- Silent Ghost
? #1?2 published by Markosia in 2006
- Superunknown
[
citation needed
]
- Strangeways
? TPB published by Highway 62 Press in 2008
Graphic novels/graphic novellas
[
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]
Collections
[
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]
Circulation
[
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]
Based on pre-order sales through
Diamond Comic Distributors
reported by industry resource site ICv2,
[26]
Speakeasy's top-selling monthly comics during its period of operation were:
- (2005.03) 7,756 copies (rank 190) for
Atomika #1
[27]
- (2005.04) 6,116 copies (rank 187) for
Atomika #2
[28]
- (2005.05) 3,305 copies (rank 213) for
Grimoire #3
[29]
- (2005.06) 5,726 copies (rank 231) for
Atomika #3
[30]
- (2005.07) 3,717 copies (rank 208) for
Beowulf #3
[31]
- (2005.08) 6,381 copies (rank 203) for
Atomika #4
[32]
- (2005.09) 2,019 copies (rank 251) for
Smoke & Mirror #1
[33]
- (2005.10) 2,946 copies (rank 250) for
The Grimoire #6
[34]
- (2005.11) 3,130 copies (rank 248) for
Beowulf #5
[35]
- (2005.12) 2,463 copies (rank 273) for
The Grimoire #7
[36]
- (2006.01) -- no comics published this month
[37]
- (2006.02) 2,718 copies (rank 246) for
Beowulf #6
[38]
- (2006.03) -- one issue published but not ranked in Top 300 (i.e. less than 2,632 copies)
[39]
- (2006.04) -- no comics published this month
[40]
- (2006.05) -- no comics published this month
[41]
References
[
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]
Sources consulted
[
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]
- Ellis, Jonathan.
"Speaking Easy with Adam Fortier,"
PopImage
(Jan. 2005).
- Lander, Randy.
"Spotlight on Speakeasy Comics"
The Fourth Rail
(Dec. 5, 2005) ? overview of Speakeasy's output at the end of 2005
- Gonzalez, Guy LeCharles.
"Speakeasy Shakes Things Up,"
Buzzscope
(Dec. 2005).
- MacDonald, Heidi.
"The Class of 2005: A Tough Year for Comics Start-Ups,"
Publishers Weekly
(Jan. 2006) ? look at
Alias
' and Speakeasy's problems
- Weiland, Jonah.
"Speakeasy Comics Shuts Its Doors, Fortier Speaks"
Comic Book Resources
(Feb. 27, 2006).
- Doane, Alan David.
"The Rise and Inevitable Fall of Speakeasy Comics,"
Comics Book Galaxy
(Feb. 28, 2006)
- "Speakeasy Closes Its Doors"
February?March 2006 discussion between comics pros (at
Warren Ellis
' forum The Engine)
- MacDonald, Heidi.
"Speakeasy Comics Shuts Down,"
Publishers Weekly
(Mar. 7, 2006)
- ^
a
b
Spurgeon, Tom (28 February 2006).
"Speakeasy Comics Shuts Its Door"
.
The Comics Reporter
.
Archived
from the original on 26 March 2006.
- ^
Staff writer (2004).
"Welcome to Speakeasy Comics"
.
Speakeasy Comics
. Archived from
the original
on 2006-01-09.
- ^
"Speakeasy and Ardustry Join Forces"
(Press release). Speakeasy Comics. November 29, 2005. Archived from
the original
on 2005-12-23.
- ^
Weiland, Jonah.
"Looking inside the Speakeasy/Ardustry Deal with Adam Fortier,"
Comic Book Resources
(Nov. 28, 2005).
- ^
"ATOMIKA # 5 IN STORES NOW,"
Archived
2007-09-26 at the
Wayback Machine
COMICON.com (Dec. 15, 2005).
- ^
"Atomika Leaves Speakeasy To Self-Publish,"
[
permanent dead link
]
Newsarama
- ^
"Speakeasy Cancels Comics Order,"
[
permanent dead link
]
Comicon.com's
The Beat
(Jan. 2006).
- ^
Draper Carlsen, Johanna.
"Speakeasy Update,"
Comics Worth Reading
(Dec. 19, 2005).
- ^
"Even More on Speakeasy,"
Comic Commentary blog (Dec. 2005).
[
dead link
]
- ^
speakeasycomics.com
Archived
2006-02-08 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
Highway 62: "Strangeways News,"
Highway 62 blog (Jan. 2006).
Archived
2007-09-27 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"Chimera Leaves Speakeasy, Joins With Markosia,"
[
permanent dead link
]
Newsarama
.
- ^
"
The Hunger
Leaves Speakeasy For Markosia"
[
permanent dead link
]
,
Newsarama
.
- ^
MacDonald, Heidi (10 January 2006).
"Blogging Speakeasy"
.
The Beat
. Comicon.com. Archived from
the original
on 2007-02-05.
- ^
Lewis, A. David (10 January 2006).
"They Shoot Small Presses, Don't They?"
.
Loose Pages
. Archived from
the original
on 2006-01-16.
- ^
"ROSARIO DAWSON'S O.C.T MOVES TO IMAGE/12 GAUGE,"
[
permanent dead link
]
Newsarama
.
- ^
Vito, Delsante (27 February 2006).
"Delsante email"
. The Comics Reporter.
Archived
from the original on 30 September 2007.
- ^
"Speakeasy Closes Its Doors,"
[
permanent dead link
]
Newsarama
.
- ^
MacDonald, Heidi (7 March 2006).
"Speakeasy Comics Shuts Down"
. PW Comics Week.
Publishers Weekly
. Archived from
the original
on 2007-02-24.
- ^
Monthly list of cancelled comics
Archived
2012-07-13 at
archive.today
,
Previews
(May 2006).
- ^
Staff writer (8 January 2006).
"Speakeasy Announces Rosario Dawson Comic"
.
ICv2
. GCO, LLC.
Archived
from the original on 2023-11-06.
- ^
Olson, Kevin Noel (22 February 2006).
"Image Comics & 12 Gauge to Publish O.C.T. This July"
.
Silver Bullet Comics
. Archived from
the original
on 2006-09-09.
- ^
speakeasycomics.com
[
permanent dead link
]
- ^
Stevens, Tim (3 July 2005).
"Speakeasy Comics Press Release"
.
Inside Pulse
.
Archived
from the original on 2020-08-14.
- ^
Wright, Fred (11 December 2012).
"An Interview with Comics Writer Michael San Giacomo"
.
Fred Wright's Blog
.
Archived
from the original on 2020-10-01.
- ^
ICv2 News - ICv2's Top 300 Comics & Top 100 GN's Index
- ^
ICv2 News - Top 300 Comics Actual-March 2005
- ^
ICv2 News - Top 300 Comics Actual-April 2005
- ^
ICv2 News - Top 300 Comics Actual-May 2005
- ^
ICv2 News - Top 300 Comics Actual-June 2005
- ^
ICv2 News - Top 300 Comics Actual-July 2005
- ^
ICv2 News - Top 300 Comics Actual-August 2005
- ^
ICv2 News - Top 300 Comics Actual-September 2005
- ^
ICv2 News - Top 300 Comics Actual-October 2005
- ^
ICv2 News - Top 300 Comics Actual-November 2005
- ^
ICv2 News - Top 300 Comics Actual-December 2005
- ^
ICv2 News - Top 300 Comics Actual-January 2006
- ^
ICv2 News - Top 300 Comics Actual-February 2006
- ^
ICv2 News - Top 300 Comics Actual-March 2006
- ^
ICv2 News - Top 300 Comics Actual-April 2006
- ^
ICv2 News - Top 300 Comics Actual-May 2006
External links
[
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]