It's going to be a banner summer for IDW Publishing when a new initiative brings a crop of comics from some serious creative talent, with the reveal of nine new comics, ranging in a wide variety of genres from sci-fi to fantasy, coming this July. IDW's new initiative isn't leaving it there, as the company has plans to help bring these stories into other entertainment mediums.
IDW Publishing was first created in 1999 and is one of the largest comic book publishers in the United States. The publisher has had several popular original series that have gone on to find success with film and television adaptations, such as 30 Days of Night and Wynonna Earp. In that spirit, IDW revealed their next batch of original stories the company hopes to develop into some exciting new franchises.
In an exclusive with Deadline, IDW announced it will begin releasing new series monthly from a pool of highly talented creative teams. The first series to hit the shelves will be Scott Snyder and Hayden Sherman's Dark Spaces: Wildfire, a story of inmate firefighters executing a heist in a burning mansion. Another exciting book is G. Willow Wilson and Chris Wildgoose's The Hunger and the Dusk, a fantasy centered around orcs and humans teaming up to fight a deadly new species. Other titles in this new blitz are Trve Kvlt by Scott Bryan Wilson and Liana Kangas, Crashing by Matthew Klein and Morgan Beem, Earthdivers from Stephen Gram Jones and Davide Gianfelice, Dead Seas by Cavan Scott and Nick Brokenshire, Golgotha Motor Mountain by Matthew Erman and Lonnie Nadler, Arca by Van Jensen and Jesse Lonergan, and The Sin Bin from Robbie Thompson and Molly Murakami. The company even put a trailer together to show off the exciting, new comics that were on the way.
This crop of unique titles are just the beginning as IDW has plans for more projects in 2023, including one with lauded entertainment figure previous series such as Locke & Key. IDW's confidence in this new initiative speaks to how comic books have become a valuable tool in determining what could be the next hit movie or show. Comics can bring a creative team's vision to life while also doubling as a fleshed-out pitch. Sales and word of mouth generated by comics can also provide evidence for a potential audience.
IDW recognizes the entertainment industry has been turning to comics for some time when looking for a property that could be the next big thing. The new initiative from IDW may just be the beginning of some bold, new franchises.
