Does the name Legendary Entertainment sound familiar to you? It might, because they produced such films as Batman Begins, Superman Returns, 300, The Dark Knight, Watchmen, and Jonah Hex, as well as some non-comics movies like The Hangover, Inception and The Town.
Ringing a bell yet? Not a bad track record, or a bad company to hook yourself up with.
Now they're getting in to the comics publishing business, and to start, they've hired Bob Schreck, previously of IDW Publishing, Oni Press, Dark Horse, and DC Comics to be their Editor-in-Chief. He doesn't have such a bad track record himself, co-founding Oni Press, bringing Frank Miller back to DC Comics, introducing readers to names like Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka among others, and being the man behind dozens of other stories and creators. I spoke with Schreck earlier this year, as he was launching his Jurassic Park comic for IDW.
Legendary Comics plans to publish between four and six original graphic novels per year, for print and digital distribution. The first project should be released in the first half of 2011. Schreck will be working closely with Legendary Digital to produce projects that can be spun into other platforms, like film and television, which is obviously no surprise, and seems to be the driving force for new comics publishing ventures, such as Kickstart and Radical.
While this might sound like a yawn of an announcement on most days, the addition is Schreck raises my eyebrows. The guy is a proven veteran with both an amazing eye for talent, and a rolodex that would make most comic fans swoon. Keep your eyes on them, because we could be surprised with some very compelling content if Schreck pulls out his big guns.
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This has amazing potential. Can’t wait to see who they’re gonna be working with. I’m imagining there’ll be a balance of known creators and up-and-comers.
Ok I’m intrigued.
Interesting. oh and Legendary should not admit to producing Jonah Hex.
I think they’re allowed a stumble or two.
As long as it’s not just adaptations of their own films; I’m excited to see what they have cooking up.
@Bryce31 and @josh “Jonah Hex” qualifies as more than just a stumble. More like a train wreck! Regardless, interested to see what Legendary contributes to the market.
@TNC: I think they have it the otehr way around. They want to produce nw material in the hopes that they can option it for movies/tv. Besides all the movies they have made so far are licensed properties that belong to someone else.
Let’s hope they do well.
@JesTr Actually, besides The Hangover, Inception, and The Town as Josh mentioned above, Legendary has released a bunch of movies not based on prior material, like Lady in the Water, We Are Marshall, Observe and Report, as well as the upcoming Due Date and Sucker Punch. FYI.
i would love to see this work well. Even if their only goal is to produce books tha can also be marketed to TV and Film. Just like Nolan’s Bat films and the Iron Mans, the more legitimate comic films come out, the better. They just serve as the building blocks to show that getting a current hot lister (ie megan fox in jonah hex) doesnt sell tickets, but a good story with a good cast and good art direction can.
there the potential that this could be awesome