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| Industry | Comics |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1989 |
| Founder | Gary Reed |
| Headquarters | Wayne County, Michigan |
Key people | Gary Reed, Jim Pruett |
| Parent | Stabur Corporation |
| Subsidiaries | Gauntlet Iconografix New Worlds Stabur Tapestry Comics |
| Website | Official website |
Caliber Comics orCaliber Press is an Americancomic book publisher founded in 1989 byGary Reed. Featuring primarily creator-owned comics, Caliber published over 1,300 comics in the decade following its inception and is ranked as one of America's leading independent publishers. Caliber ceased publishing in 2000, but resumed operations in 2015, and continued after Reed died in 2016.[1][2]
Gary Reed, who previously owned a chain of bookstores, began publishing with the release of two titles acquired fromArrow Comics—Deadworld andThe Realm. Other initial launches includedCaliber Presents, featuring the work ofVince Locke,Mark Bloodworth,Tim Vigil,James O'Barr, andGuy Davis; the first issue ofBaker Street, co-created by Reed and Guy Davis; and the initial appearance of O’Barr’sThe Crow.
Reed arranged with "Pocket Classics", a series of illustrated books similar in design toClassics Illustrated, to be released to thedirect market via Caliber Press. Over forty titles were distributed. The interest in literary works continued for Caliber when in 1991 the new imprintTome Press was launched. Tome featured historical and biographical material in addition to literature. Over 65 different Tome Press titles would be released on subjects as diverse as theRussian Revolution,The Alamo,Amelia Earhart,El Cid,Jack London stories, reprints of classic art print series, and dozens of others.
After its initial launch, Caliber expanded by bringing in new creators and projects.Jim Calafiore was first published with his graphic novella,Progeny. InGrafik Muzik,Mike Allred introduced hisMadman character,Kevin VanHook'sFrost series which was the storyline for the film released in 2002,Ted Slampyak'sJazz Age Chronicles,Philip Hester'sFringe,Stuart Immonen'sPlayground,John Bergin'sAshes, and other titles such asGo-Man,Northguard,Varcel's Vixens, and more.
In the early 1990s, Caliber launched three new imprints,Gauntlet andIconografix. Gauntlet was an action-based line whose leading titles wereU.N. Force,Berzerker (featuring work fromRob Liefeld andAngel Medina),Patrick Zircher'sSamurai Seven, andSerpent Rising (based on the stage play). Iconografix dealt with more obscure and cutting-edge material that included humor comics as well as comics often referred to as the "slice of life." Included here were the first issues ofEd Brubaker'sLowlife,Meatcake fromDame Darcy,Bound & Gagged from Michael Aushenker, and a number of projects fromDave Cooper,Jason Lutes, andMatt Howarth.
Caliber had ventured into licensed comics with their early release ofMoontrap, the science fiction film starringStar Trek'sWalter Koenig, and the production of a comic forTroma Films calledFrostbiter: Wrath of the Wendigo; but it was the full-color adaptation ofThe Rocky Horror Picture Show, written and drawn by Kevin VanHook that proved the most successful.
Another licensed property wasMechanoid Invasion, a 1981 RPG fromPalladium Books made into a 3-book comic calledThe Mechanoids beginning in Spring 1991.[3] Another comic property affiliated with Caliber calledJustice Machine had also been adapted into aHeroes Unlimited sourcebook by Palladium. This was based on the originalNoble Comics version by Gustovich in 1981, while Caliber distributed theNew Justice Machine sequel by Ellis from 1989.[4]
The expansion of Caliber continued with projects includingMichael Lark'sAirwaves,Silencers fromMark Askwith andR. G. Taylor, andNegative Burn, the anthology title that would run for 50 issues and was picked up byDesperado Publishing.
In late 1993, Caliber merged with Paul Burke's[5]Stabur Corporation/Stabur Press.[6] Reed became president of Stabur as well as staying on with Caliber. (Stabur had been founded in 1983, and was known for publishing monographs ofMad magazine cartoonists likeJack Davis andMort Drucker.)[5] At the time of the merger, Stabur and Burke were involved in starting up a new toy company withSpawn creatorTodd McFarlane. Reed was named vice president ofMcFarlane Toys while still running Stabur andCaliber.[citation needed] Reed would stay withMcFarlane Toys until May 1996.
Writer Jim Pruett was hired to take over some of the editorial duties of Caliber,[citation needed] which began to produce special comics forWal-Mart, including the seriesBig Bang Comics (which later would have a long run atImage Comics),Stormquest, and a number of literary adaptations, including a version ofFrankenstein. Caliber also produced some records and a specialty magazine,ARC, for distribution outside comics.
Caliber expanded in the mid-1990s with titles such asDavid W. Mack'sKabuki,Brian Bendis'A.K.A. Goldfish andJinx,Mark Ricketts'Nowheresville,Mike Carey andMichael Gaydos onInferno, and in 1995, Caliber launched the sub-imprint ofNew Worlds. New Worlds' titles were loosely connected, and includedRaven Chronicles,Helsing,Seeker,Saint Germaine,Red Diaries,Black Mist, and others. Although not an actual shared universe, the settings and characters could cross over with each other and often did.
In the mid-1990s, Caliber's Stabur imprint published two advocacy comics written byJoyce Brabner —Activists! (originally commissioned by theFellowship of Reconciliation)[7] andAnimal Rights Comics (published as a benefit forPeople for the Ethical Treatment of Animals; 2 issues).
As Caliber expanded, more editorial staff was hired to handle the growing line of comics.Moebius Comics launched and fan favoritesMr. Monster andMaze Agency returned. Caliber handled the distribution of Howard Feltner'sAmazing Comics Group, which featured the work ofMike Deodato.Brian Lumley'sNecroscope andWhitley Strieber'sCommunion series were signed on for comic releases.Jon Sable fromMike Grell was announced[8] but never came out. Caliber also started a new imprint in 1997,Tapestry Comics, that featured an "all ages" approach.
As the overall comic market declined with the consolidation of the distribution system, Caliber slowly cut back on the number of titles. Caliber found some success of producing comics that appealed outside the usual comics market with some of the Tome Press titles including theSherlock Holmes Reader, which had the majority of its sales outside the traditional comic stores.
The demise of Caliber can be attributed primarily to the problems associated with theSpawn PowerCardz game. Caliber had invested heavily in time and money to launch the collectible card game and had great potential with purchase orders. However, the printer of the card game was running behind in production and outsourced the collation of the game to another printer who didn't understand the random assortment of the cards. When the game appeared with improper collation, the purchase orders, which exceeded over two million dollars, were cancelled. Although a lawsuit was filed and Caliber won, by the time the judgment came, it was too late. In addition, the printer declared bankruptcy and Caliber was left only with portions of the unusable product.[citation needed]
In 2000, Caliber released the last of its titles, and Gary Reed moved on to concentrate on teaching college biology and freelance writing. Many of Caliber's top titles continued on with new publishers, includingBaker Street,Deadworld,Saint Germaine,Kilroy Is Here,Negative Burn,Raven Chronicles, andRed Diaries. Reed had been reviving many of the Caliber titles with reprints of collections and all new series, initially fromImage Comics, then fromDesperado Publishing andTransfuzion Publishing.[9]Deadworld continued to be printed in new volumes via Desperado but now under theIDW banner.
In 2015, Gary Reed undertook a relaunch of Caliber, and solicited orders in the summer of 2016 for several new and reprint publications; however, he died suddenly in October 2016.[10] Caliber has continued publishing, as of 2018, with graphic novels and comics such asWeirdsdale,Knights of the Skull,Nightlinger,The Shepherd, andInfinite.[11]
