arun narayanan Archives - Graphic Policy

AMP Comics Launches with partnerships with The Op, Script2Comic, and Kodansha

Posted on July 23, 2024 by Graphic Policy Team

AMP Comics has announced its planned launch in 2025 with distribution through Diamond in the direct market and Simon & Schuster in the bookstore market. AMP brings together several film and comic industry veterans to establish a sustainable, creator-first publishing model. With a focus on quality over quantity and effective marketing, AMP is dedicated to benefiting both creators and readers alike.

AMP has secured a first-look deal with The Op aka USAopoly, giving the board game giant the first opportunity to create games based on AMP’s books. Additionally, AMP is now the official publisher of the Script2Comic Contest, with the 2024 winner’s work set to be financed and published in partnership with Kodansha Japan.

Leading AMP Comics as CEO is Don Handfield, a seasoned comic creator whose first book, The Rift, was adapted for television by Steven Spielberg for the Amazing Stories reboot on Apple+. Handfield is also a successful film producer and TV creator. His extensive entertainment industry experience, combined with his roles as a partner in comic financier Thunder and former board member of Scout Comics, uniquely position him to guide AMP Comics into board games, videogames, film, television, and other mediums.

Joshua Starnes, a founding partner of Red 5 Comics, takes on the role of President. David Byrne, creator of indie hits such as Stake and former co-publisher at Scout Comics, will oversee release and development strategy as Publisher. Joining them are Joel Rodriguez as Design Director, Joshua Malkin as Editor-in-Chief, and Jordan Moore as Director of Development. Additional partners and advisory board members will be announced in the coming weeks.

AMP Comics will operate as a boutique creator-based label, focusing on a select number of high-quality titles that are marketed effectively and provide transparent and timely royalties to creators. Among its exciting lineup of launch titles, MC Foley’s LoveStruck has already been picked up for development as a television series by Ryan Reynolds’ production company Maximum Effort.

Other AMP launch titles include House of Lowther by writer-artist K Lynn Smith, Lost Boy: The Origin of Peter Pan, Kronos, a sci-fi thriller by Alain Soussokho, and Saving Santa, a Christmas story by Arun Narayanan.

Additionally, Honour Bound, an origin story of Robin Hood by Omri Rose, Ambergris, a World War II historical epic by Jacobo Fe Gismera, and the recent Horror2Comic winner Hillbillies vs. Alien Chickens from Nicholas Tana will be featured. Indie hit She Bites will also see all future volumes published by the new label.

Scout Comics Announces the Winners of the Script2Comic Contest

Posted on December 20, 2020 by Graphic Policy Team

Winners of the inaugural Script2Comic contest have been chosen. The winning scripts will be made into comics and published by Scout Comics as well as put into development as a film or television series.

The prize winners will all receive special CGC Award Trophy slabs with Holofoil, Gold, Silver, Bronze, and White labels specially designed for the contest. The top prize winners will also receive a slabbed and CGC graded copy of their published comic when they are published.

Here is the complete list of winners:

GRAND PRIZE WINNER

The Vampire’s Babysitter by Heather Hale

A 134-year-old vampire, with the body of an 11-year-old girl forms an unlikely friendship with the awkward teenager she hires to be her babysitter.

1st PRIZE WINNER

Charm City by Josh Eiserike

A serial killer stalks the streets of modern-day Baltimore — but what the police don’t know is all of the victims are witches, part of an underground secret society living among us for centuries. And when yet another body turns up, it falls on the victim’s sister– a witch who left the community years ago and hasn’t used magic since– to use her contacts as a reporter for the Baltimore Sun to unravel the mystery and catch the killer.

2nd PRIZE WINNER

The West Moon Chronicle by Frank Kim

Shortly after moving to a small town in the pine forests of east Texas, a Korean immigrant and his grandson suffer a family tragedy and must grapple with the aftermath – all while dealing with a supernatural threat that emerges from the haunted woods near their home.

3rd PRIZE WINNER (TIE)

HEX by Joey Capuana

While investigating his ex-lover’s disappearance amidst a string of murders in Savannah’s gay community, a broken-hearted drag queen taps into the magic of his coven of queer witches only to uncover a powerful evil lurking closer than he ever imagined.

3rd PRIZE WINNER (TIE)

Vectors by Grant Fraggalosch & Timothy Bacon

A NASA capsule unexpectedly crashes back to Earth after having been presumed
lost in space over 40 years ago. But its sudden return raises more questions than answers when it’s revealed that its crew of three is not only still alive, but haven’t aged since their launch.

SPECIAL JURY PRIZE WINNER

Santa Claus Incorporated by Arun Narayanan

Idealistic office assistant elf Lucy Goodshoe tries to bring the Christmas spirit back to the now-corporate world of the North Pole.

The books will printed by Comic Impressions and published by Scout Comics, one of the top indie comic publishers in North America, with hit series such as Stabbity Bunny, White Ash, The Mall, The Source, Long Lost and Solar Flare, many of which have been optioned for television.

The 2020 Script2Comic Contest was sponsored by Scout Comics, Motor Content, Armory Films, Thunder Comics, Comic Impressions and CGC. Jordan Moore from Motor Content will help coordinate production of all the comics and serve on the development team to transition the scripts to comics and film and television.

Judges for the contest included Elgin James, showrunner of Mayans MC; Josh McLaughlin, former President of Focus Features; Trevor Engelson, EP of “Snowfall” on FX; longtime CAA agent Jon Levin who is now head of film & TV at Fourward; Adhrucia Apana, EP of Tom Hardy starrer Capone; Pop Mhan, comic artist of Flash, Aquaman, and Shazam; and Lauren Vilchik, Producer of the horror franchise Cabin Fever.