 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Event Comics" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(July 2016) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
| Industry | Comics |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1994 |
| Founder | Jimmy Palmiotti,Joe Quesada |
| Defunct | 1999 |
| Headquarters | Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
Event Comics was an American independentcomic bookpublisher founded by veteran artistsJimmy Palmiotti andJoe Quesada. The company published during the years 1994 to 1999. In 1998, it was contracted to form theMarvel Knights imprint forMarvel Comics.
Penciller Quesada andinker Palmiotti, after working well together on various projects such asValiant Comics'X-O Manowar, and following the creation of their first joint project inKid Death & Fluffy for a "Creators Universe" card series, decided to create their own studio with their own original characters. They spent two weeks in theFlorida Keys developingAsh, their flagship character.[citation needed]
Event published several series starring Ash, as well as stand-alone crossovers with another Event title,22 Brides. The initial series, simply titledAsh, ran for a total of seven issues, with issue #6 leading directly into issue #0. The second series,Ash: The Fire Within ran for three issues. The final series to focus on the title character wasAsh: Cinder & Smoke, which ran for a total of six issues. Ash also co-starred in theintercompany crossoverAzrael/Ash, co-published withDC Comics in 1997.
Another popular Event character wasPainkiller Jane, who made her first appearance in22 Brides #1 (1995). Originally a five-issue mini-series, Painkiller Jane went on to star in numerouscrossover books with the likes ofPunisher,The Darkness,Darkchylde,Vampirella, andHellboy.
In 1997, Event launchedCrimson Plague, the first creator-owned comic by popular veteran cartoonistGeorge Pérez. Originally intended as a six-issue mini-series about an alien with ultra-toxic blood, Pérez produced only one issue. He later temporarily revived the title withImage Comics in 2000.
Other Event Comics titles includedThrax (1996), theKid Death & Fluffy Spring Break Special (1996), theKid Death & Fluffy Halloween Special (1997),Legends of Kid Death & Fluffy (1997), andHere Come the Big People (1997).
In 1998, the Event Comics team was contracted byMarvel Comics to breathe new life into some of their second-tier characters. Under the designation of "Marvel Knights", Palmiotti and Quesada were given creative control ofBlack Panther,Daredevil,ThePunisher andThe Inhumans. Event hired the creative teams for the line while Marvel published them, and in September the Marvel Knights imprint was born.
As Marvel Knights editor, Quesada encouraged experimentation and used his contacts in theindie comics world to bring in new creators such asDavid W. Mack,Michael Avon Oeming,Brian Michael Bendis,Garth Ennis, andSteve Dillon. The Event Comics creative teams eventually produced popular, well-regarded Knights runs likeKevin Smith & Quesada'sDaredevil andChristopher Priest'sBlack Panther.
Once Marvel Knights was implemented back into Marvel proper, Quesada and Palmiotti returned to the Marvel fold, and Event Comics was shut down, the last comics published beingAsh: Fire and Crossfire in January and March 1999, respectively. In 2000, Quesada ascended to the role of Marvel's editor-in-chief. As of June 2010, he is also Chief Creative Officer (CCO) of Marvel Entertainment; this double commitment led to Quesada stepping down as editor-in-chief in January 2011:[1]
With my increased travel schedule over the last year plus, I've only been able to work with the publishing division in a more macro sense, or as you put it, a more, "big picture", sense. During this time, Tom and Axel have been handling the more detailed functions of the stories within our comics. My role has been one in which I work on the larger stories and the overall flavor and feel of our books and universe.