This month sees the welcome return of British indie publisher Com.X, whose success was torpedoed by a series of unfortunate events shortly after it launched in the early Noughties.
Com.X kicks off its new projects with a hardcover collected edition of Cla$$war, comprising the first six issues of the superhero tale initially drawn by Trevor Hairsine back in 2002.
In a candid interview for ComicBookResources, publisher Eddie Deighton and Cla$$war writer Rob Williams reveal the story behind Com.X’s woes that put paid to its initial publishing plans, which included the loss of two of its top artists to industry heavyweight Marvel Comics and a devastating burglary that saw all their equipment stolen and effectively brought an end to the company.
After launching its flagship sampler Issue#Zero in April 2000, Com.x released its first titles into the comic marketplace in February 2001. The first wave of titles were Bazooka Jules, John Higgins‘ Razorjack and Puncture, followed by Cla$$war, Sky Between Branches, Codename: Babetool, N-jin, and the collected edition of The Last American – titles whose art and production values were as high or higher than those of industry leaders like Marvel and DC Comics.
The company foundered, but is now back in business, with a collected edition of John Higgins’ Razorjack set to debut by the end of March and a brand new original superhero graphic novel, 45, planned for this summer.
“45 is well on it’s way to complete,” publisher Eddie Deigton told CBR. “The script is finished, and we’ve gotten maybe about 35 artists on board for the whole project.” You can view work in progress here
“The concept is that a normal Joe Public journalist finds out his wife is about to give birth to a baby that may have the S-gene — or ‘the super gene’ — and he has to face reality and accept the kid may change the whole course of his life,” Eddie explains. “So he decides to go and interview 45 different superheroes.”
• For more on Cla$$war and other upcoming Com.X projects, check out the publisher’s blog at comxcomics.blogspot.com
• Read the CBR interview with the Com.X team
- About the Author
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The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: British Comics
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