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| Founded | 1988 |
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| Founders | Dave Elliott andGarry Leach |
| Headquarters location | London, England |
| Key people | Mike Lake |
Atomeka Press is a British publisher ofcomic books set up in1988 byDave Elliott andGarry Leach. Atomeka ceased publishing in 1997, was briefly revived from 2002 to 2005 and revived again in 2013.
Atomeka was established as a company offering creators complete freedom over their material, as well as the opportunity to own all the rights to their creations. Their first title,A1, was ananthology featuring the likes ofTed McKeever,Alan Moore,Glenn Fabry, andSimon Bisley. Seeing who was involved in the project it was natural thatA1 contained some stories that were continuations ofWarrior strips such asThe Bojeffries Saga andWarpsmith, written by Alan Moore with art bySteve Parkhouse and Garry Leach respectively. During its runA1 won several awards, including the 1990Harvey Award for best anthology.
During the 1990s, Atomeka continued publishingA1, as well as related specials such asA1: Bikini Confidential. They company also published some of Simon Bisley's creator-owned work during this period, in titles such asMonster Massacre andHeavy Metal. In 1992, Elliott solo-edited a four-issue sequel toA1 in colour forMarvel Comics'sEpic Comics imprint.
AsTundra UK's publisher, in 1992 Dave Elliott began using the Atomeka imprint to establish its own identity within the larger company; he was also responsible for titles with all the British comic creators. Elliott brought two titles he started at John Brown Publishing,Lazarus Churchyard andWhite Trash, with him to complete with Tundra UK/Atomeka.
With Tundra UK's demise in 1993, Elliott startedBlackball Comics.[1] In1997, Atomeka ceased publishing, as Elliott and Leach pursued other projects.
In 2002 Atomeka was resurrected to publishSimon Bisley'sMaximum Force. In2004 Elliott and Leach resurrected the company, in cooperation withRoss Richie, publishingA1 Big Issue Zero,Bricktop,Mister Monster: Worlds War Three, andStalkers, featuring a mix of reprint material. Richie generated his own new projects under the Atomeka banner, such asHero Squared andG.I. Spy as well as new work from the likes ofMike Mignola withJenny Finn. The team-up didn't last long, as Richie left to form his own company,Boom! Studios, takingSquared,Spy, andFinn with him.
In late 2004 theA1 Sketchbook was released in part by the artist responsible for re-creatingMarvelman withAlan Moore,Garry Leach and Atomeka Press. It contained fourMarvelman-related pin-ups (although the pin-ups were not directly said to beMarvelman for possible legal reasons). A variant of the sketchbook was also produced, and it featured aMarvelman front cover and KidMarvelman back cover by Leach.
In2005 the company published a three-part reissue ofTed McKeever'sEddy Current, and also one (of three planned) "Bojeffries Terror Tomes", reprintingThe Bojeffries Saga byAlan Moore andSteve Parkhouse, and featuring additional work byNeil Gaiman andMichael Zulli,Ramsey Campbell andDavid Lloyd,Michael T. Gilbert andDave Dorman,Warren Ellis andSteve Pugh, and also includingTed McKeever'sEddy Current and a solo tale of Eddy Current's Nun.
In 2013 Atomeka relaunched their flagship titleA1 in two formats throughTitan Books. The first was a six-issue limited series serializing three strips —Carpe Diem,Odyssey, andWeirding Willows — over six months that were collected in 2014. Then came a separate 160-page tome,A1 Volume 1: World's Greatest Comics. Also relaunched at the same time wasMonster Massacre, an anthology for those who love B.E.M. (Bug Eyed Monsters) comics.Monster Massacre is a twice-yearly anthology whileA1 is an annual.
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