If Only It Were True: Hashtag Comics’ Dream Investors

By John Freeman on April 1, 2016

Whoever tells you there’s no money in comics clearly doesn’t appreciate the potential value of a good Intellectual Property – a value that comic publishers large and small are more than happy to remind us of, especially when there’s some good news for them that helps them get their books out.

Sadly, it’s more often than not the stuff that dreams are made of – and some very wishful thinking. A case in point is indie US publisher Hashtag Comics‘ CEO Drew Crowder announced $55m partnership with Abu Dhabi’s Maloof Lirpa Investment Authority to be put toward a slate of feature films based on the company’s existing library of graphic novels.

It is, perhaps, one of the more convincing comic related April Fools of the day, especially when it arrives in mailboxes as an official-looking press release at, for us, a busy day working out the real costs of creating and publishing a comic (answer: not cheap if, rightfully, you’re going to pay people a decent page rate).

(Certainly more convincing than Beano cartoonist Nigel Auchterlounie‘s announcement that he was writing and drawing Superman, or an Irish comic discovery, anyway).

Hashtag Comics – Souls Eternal Promotional Art

Still, give them credit – they almost got me, so let’s give the team a plug for their new book, Souls Eternal, currently in PreviewsWorld, Diamond Order Code APR161692. Created by Drew Crowder, Bohdan Neswiacheny and Roberto Torres (Tailwands), written by Bohdan with art by Roberto Torres, the book centres around a group of friends in a fictional city in Japan called Izanami. These children are special and destined to have huge roles in their world as either saviours, or destroyers…

Hashtag Comics was founded in 2013 and has been on the shelves of comic shops, schools and libraries since 2015. As an independent comic book publisher they focus on innovative stories and amazing worlds built around a team of fantastic artists and writers.

These include the horror title Carpe Noctem, along with Cloud Riders, Tailwinds and new titles Souls Eternal and Time to Die.

“We’re very happy with the partnership and the opportunities it provides,” Drew said in a press conference Friday morning. “The growth potential of our brand is huge now with the injection of cash from Maloof Lirpa and their funding partners.”

Yeah, right… I’ve got some Spaghetti Trees to sell you, right here…

• Hashtag Comics: hashtagcomics.com | Find them on Facebook | Follow Hashtag Comics on Twitter @hashtag_comics

About the Author
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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as 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.