| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Comic books |
| Founded | 1969; 56 years ago (1969) |
| Founder | Bill Black |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
| Owner | Bill Black |
| Website | http://www.accomics.com |
AC Comics (formerly known asParagon Publications andAmericomics) is acomic book publishing company started by Bill Black.[1][2]
AC Comics specializes in reprints ofGolden Age comics from now-defunct companies whose properties lapsed intopublic domain and were not reprinted elsewhere. It also publishes a number ofModern Age adventures starring the Golden Age superheroes that appeared in those stories. The most famous of those titles isFemforce, which features the adventures of an all-female superhero team, one of the first teams of this nature in the comics industry.
Based on its focus on Golden Age reprints and stories inspired by that style, AC has developed a reputation for straightforward, fun, and action-packedsuperhero tales which often avoid the darker themes of many modern comics. AC artists often make use of a style known as "good girl art", made popular in the Golden Age era, which combines attractive, clean linework with elements ofcheesecake and humor. In addition to superheroes, AC has attempted to preserve other comic book genres inspired by the series of the past, such as Westerns and jungle adventure.
AC Comics was founded as "Paragon Publications" in 1969, and released the first issue ofParagon Illustrated magazine in Fall of that year, followed by its first comic titles—Paragon Presents andWhite Savage—in 1970. Other titles from Paragon's beginnings includedFem Fantastique andParagon Golden Age Greats (1971),Macabre Western andCaptain Paragon (1972),Paragon Magazine andParagon Super Heroes (1973),Tara on the Dark Continent (1974), andParagon Western Stars (1975). The company's early titles were cheaply published black-and-white comics. Though the company published several titles simultaneously, they were only able to produce a total of three issues a year, since nearly all writing, inking, and editing on the comics was done by Bill Black himself during this period.[3]
In 1982, the company changed its name to "Americomics" before settling on "AC Comics" in 1984. The original plan behind the reintroduction as Americomics was to narrow the lineup to a single full-color anthology series,Americomics, which the publisher could put out on a consistent basis, rather than the earlier model of several black-and-white titles published sporadically.[3]
The first issues ofAmericomics coincided with the independent comics boom, and the publisher responded to this unexpected success by expanding its lineup of titles to include several creator-owned series, such asDragonfly. However, most of these titles were produced and funded by the creators themselves, with minimal creative oversight from Americomics.[3]
In 1985, AC debutedFemforce, which it still publishes today. Other AC series includeBest of the West (1998–2009) and the ongoingMen of Mystery Comics. Following the popularity of size-changing Femforce membersGarganta andTara, AC made thegiantess concept a recurring theme in their comics. Tapping into this cult following, AC has released stories and anthologies specifically catered to fans of giant women, as well as DVD releases which embrace this theme in the tongue-in-cheek style of 1950sscience fiction B-movies. An ongoing giantess feature known asGargantarama has even been added to the company'sFemforce title.
By 1986, AC Comics had expanded to a staff of roughly 25 people. Production was largely handled through the mail, since only a handful of staff resided anywhere near AC's Florida headquarters.[3]
AC has expanded into other DVD projects which collect classicmovie serials and other material now in the public domain, as well as low-budget films based on their own characters.
AC Comics had usedCharlton Comics characters, particularly theBlue Beetle andCaptain Atom, in the comic titleSentinels of Justice. When the rights for these characters were sold toDC Comics, AC Comics created a second Sentinels of Justice team (writing the first out of continuity), composed of some of its original characters as well as ones from thepublic domain. Many of these arehomages to Charlton and Quality Comics heroes, such as theScarlet Scorpion (a stand-in forBlue Beetle) and the Blue Bulleteer (laterNightveil) who is based on theFox Comics version ofPhantom Lady. Still anotherPhantom Lady-inspired character was The Black Mistress, whose first episode was scripted by formerVampirella writerT. Casey Brennan.[4]
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