Christopher Ryall (born April 2) is best known as the former President, Publisher, and Chief Creative Officer of

IDW Publishing IDW Publishing is an American publisher of comic books, graphic novels, art books, and comic strip collections. It was founded in 1999 as the publishing division of Idea and Design Works, LLC (IDW), itself formed in 1999, and is regularly recog ...

(June 2004–2019), and as a writer in the comic book industry. In February 2011, his

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

-nominated series, ''Zombies vs. Robots'', co-created with artist

Ashley Wood Ashley Wood (born 1971) is Australian comic book artist and award-winning illustrator"2002 ...

, was optioned by Sony Pictures for

Michael Bay Michael Benjamin Bay (born February 17, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is best known for making big-budget, high-concept action films characterized by fast cutting, stylistic cinematography and visuals, and extensive use of ...

’s

Platinum Dunes Platinum Dunes is an American production company founded in November 2001 by filmmakers Michael Bay, Brad Fuller, and Andrew Form. The company produces horror films, such as ''The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'', ''The Purge'', ''Friday the 13th (20 ...

with Mike Flanagan as director.

Career

In 2002, Ryall was hired by filmmaker

Kevin Smith Kevin Patrick Smith (born August 2, 1970) is an American filmmaker, actor, comedian, comic book writer, author, YouTuber, and podcaster. He came to prominence with the low-budget comedy buddy film ''Clerks'' (1994), which he wrote, directed, co ...

to run the entertainment-based MoviePoopShoot.com, one of Smith’s first forays outside of filmmaking. The site originally appeared in Smith's 2001 film, ''

Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back ''Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back'' is a 2001 American satirical stoner buddy comedy film written and directed by Kevin Smith, the fifth to be set in his View Askewniverse, a growing collection of characters and settings that developed out of hi ...

'', as a parody site. Ryall, along with Web designer

Ming Chen Cliff Ming-Si Chen, better known as Ming Chen, is an actor, podcaster, reality television personality, and webmaster associated with Kevin Smith. He co-hosts the ''I Sell Comics!'' and ''Ming & Mike Show'' podcasts with Mike Zapcic and also starr ...

, news writer/editor

Scott Tipton Scott Randall Tipton (born November 9, 1956) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2021. A Republican, he was previously a member of the Colorado House of Representatives from 2009 to 2011. Tipton was f ...

and many freelance columnists and cartoonists, launched the site on June 17, 2002. In addition to serving as the site's Editor-in-Chief, Ryall wrote multiple weekly columns for the website, including "One Hand Clapping", "TV Recommendations", "A Night Out", and "TV Pilot Reviews". Ryall continued to run the site after joining IDW in mid-2004. He departed the site altogether in January 2006. On June 21, 2004, Ryall joined San Diego-based comic-book publisher IDW Publishing as the company's second Editor-in-Chief. Ryall's first published comic-book work as writer with IDW was an adaptation of the film ''

Shaun of the Dead ''Shaun of the Dead'' is a 2004 zombie comedy film directed by Edgar Wright and written by Wright and Simon Pegg. Pegg stars as Shaun, a downtrodden salesman in London who is caught in a zombie apocalypse with his friend Ed (Nick Frost). The fi ...

'' with artist

Zach Howard Zack or Zach may refer to: People * Zach (surname), various people * Zack (surname), various people * Zack (personal name), lists of people and fictional characters named Zack, Zach, Zac, Zak or Zakk * Záh (gens) or Zách, a ''gens'' (clan) in th ...

; he also helped launch the horror mag revival ''Doomed'' (for which he and artist Ashley Wood received an Eisner nomination for their adaptation of Richard Matheson's "Blood Son" short story), dialoguing the lead character, Ms. Doomed, and writing numerous stories for the magazine's four issues; also, he adapted George A. Romero's ''

Land of the Dead ''Land of the Dead'' (also known as ''George A. Romero's Land of the Dead'') is a 2005 post-apocalyptic horror film written and directed by George A. Romero; the fourth of Romero's six '' Living Dead'' movies, it is preceded by ''Night of the Li ...

'' with artist Gabriel Rodriguez; ''

Masters of Horror ''Masters of Horror'' is an anthology television series created by director Mick Garris for the Showtime cable network. Origin In 2002, director Mick Garris invited some director friends to an informal dinner at a restaurant in Sherman Oaks, C ...

'' with artist

Jeremy Haun Jeremy Haun is a freelance comic book artist. Beginning in 2002, Haun worked for Image Comics, IDW Publishing, Oni Press, Devil's Due Publishing, Top Cow, and Marvel Comics. Since 2008, he has worked for DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing bus ...

; he co-wrote with

Simon Furman Simon Christopher Francis Furman (born 22 March 1961) is a British people, British Script (comics), comic book writer who is best known for his work on Hasbro's ''Transformers'' franchise, starting with writing Marvel Comics, Marvel's The Tran ...

the first ''

Transformers ''Transformers'' is a media franchise produced by American toy company Hasbro and Japanese toy company Takara Tomy. It primarily follows the Autobots and the Decepticons, two alien robot factions at war that can transform into other forms, suc ...

'' film prequel, with artist Don Figueroa; Ryall and Rodriguez again adapted ''

Beowulf ''Beowulf'' (; ang, Bēowulf ) is an Old English epic poem in the tradition of Germanic heroic legend consisting of 3,182 alliterative lines. It is one of the most important and most often translated works of Old English literature. The ...

''; ''

Gene Simmons House of Horrors Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; he, חיים ויץ, ; born August 25, 1949) is an Israeli-American musician. Also known by his stage persona The Demon, he is the bassist and co-lead singer of Kiss, the hard rock band he co-founded with Paul ...

''; a prose short in ''

30 Days of Night ''30 Days of Night'' is a three-issue horror comic book miniseries written by Steve Niles, illustrated by Ben Templesmith, and published by American company IDW Publishing in 2002. All three parties co-own the property. The series takes place i ...

'', a DVD pack-in comic for the movie ''

Role Models ''Role Models'' is a 2008 American comedy film directed by David Wain, who co-wrote it with Timothy Dowling, Paul Rudd and Ken Marino. The film follows two energy drink salesmen who are ordered to perform 150 hours of community service as punis ...

''; and ''

Weekly World News The ''Weekly World News'' was a tabloid which published mostly fictional "news" stories in the United States from 1979 to 2007, renowned for its outlandish cover stories often based on supernatural or paranormal themes and an approach to news t ...

with artist Alan Robinson''. He adapted the epic Clive Barker’s The Great and Secret Show with Rodriguez illustrating all 12 issues. Ryall wrote four of the eight issues of IDW's

Kiss A kiss is the touch or pressing of one's lips against another person or an object. Cultural connotations of kissing vary widely. Depending on the culture and context, a kiss can express sentiments of love, passion, romance, sexual attraction, ...

comic series, with artists

Jamal Igle Jamal Yaseem Igle
. jamaligle.com. Retrieved November 28, 2012. is an American

Wagner Reis, as well as two issues of Kiss Solo, and co-wrote with

Tom Waltz Tom or TOM may refer to: * Tom (given name), a diminutive of Thomas or Tomás or an independent Aramaic given name (and a list of people with the name) Characters * Tom Anderson, a character in '' Beavis and Butt-Head'' * Tom Beck, a character ...

four issues of Kiss Kids with artist Jose Holder. Ryall more recently adapted the

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author of horror, supernatural fiction, suspense, crime, science-fiction, and fantasy novels. Described as the "King of Horror", a play on his surname and a reference to his high s ...

/ Joe Hill tribute to Richard Matheson, "

Throttle A throttle is the mechanism by which fluid flow is managed by constriction or obstruction. An engine's power can be increased or decreased by the restriction of inlet gases (by the use of a throttle), but usually decreased. The term ''throttle'' ...

" with artist

Nelson Daniel Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

and Matheson's own "

Duel A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two people, with matched weapons, in accordance with agreed-upon Code duello, rules. During the 17th and 18th centuries (and earlier), duels were mostly single combats fought with swords (the r ...

" in a book called

Road Rage Road rage is aggressive or angry behavior exhibited by motorists. These behaviors include rude and verbal insults, yelling, physical threats or dangerous driving methods targeted at other drivers, pedestrians or cyclists in an effort to intimid ...

. Ryall spearheaded an inter-company crossover involving

Mars Attacks ''Mars Attacks'' is a science fiction-themed trading card series released in 1962 by Topps. The cards feature artwork by science fiction artists Wally Wood and Norman Saunders. The cards form a story arc, which tells of the invasion of Earth by c ...

and numerous IDW properties, and wrote two of the issues: '' Mars Attacks Kiss'' and '' Mars Attacks Zombies vs Robots''. In 2014, Ryall and Sam Kieth again partnered to launch a four-issue miniseries '' Mars Attacks: First Born''. Comics series he has created include ''Zombies vs. Robots'' (and its sequel ''Zombies vs. Robots vs. Amazons'') both co-created with artist

Ashley Wood Ashley Wood (born 1971) is Australian comic book artist and award-winning illustrator"2002 ...

; ''Groom Lake'' (co-created with artist

Ben Templesmith Ben Templesmith (born 7 March 1984) is an Australian comic book artist best known for his work in the American comic book industry, most notably the Image Comics series ''Fell (comics), Fell'', with writer Warren Ellis, and IDW Publishing, IDW's ...

); ''

The Colonized ''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...

'' with artist

Drew Moss Drew may refer to: __NOTOC__ Places ;In the United States * Drew, Georgia, an unincorporated community * Drew, Mississippi, a city * Drew, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Drew, Oregon, an unincorporated community * Drew County, Arkansas * ...

; and ''The Hollows'' with artist

Sam Kieth Sam Kieth (born January 11, 1963) is an American comics artist and writer, best known as the creator of ''The Maxx'' and ''Zero Girl''. Career Comics Kieth's first published work was "a story in the back of a Comico comic" when he was "about ...

. In February 2006, IDW promoted Ryall to Publisher. Among the properties he helped develop and shepherd to IDW Publishing were Hasbro's ''

'', ''

Locke & Key ''Locke & Key'' is an American comic book series written by Joe Hill, illustrated by Gabriel Rodríguez, and published by IDW Publishing. Plot summary This plot is presented in chronological order. During the American Revolution, a group of ...

'', Toho’s ''

Godzilla is a fictional monster, or '' kaiju'', originating from a series of Japanese films. The character first appeared in the 1954 film ''Godzilla'' and became a worldwide pop culture icon, appearing in various media, including 32 films produc ...

'', CBS/Paramount's ''Star Trek'', HBO's ''

True Blood ''True Blood'' is an American fantasy horror drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball. It is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', a series of novels by Charlaine Harris. A reboot is currently in development. The serie ...

'' and 2000 AD's ''

Judge Dredd Judge Joseph Dredd is a fictional character created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra. He first appeared in the second issue of ''2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD'' (1977), which is a British weekly anthology Comic book, comic. He is the ...

''. During Ryall's tenure at IDW, the publisher was made a premiere publisher, won their first

Eisner Awards The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books, sometimes referred to as the comics industry's equivalent of the Academy Awards. They are named in ...

, published the first-ever inter-license crossover and the first-ever ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

'' crossover. In 2009, Ryall and co-writer Scott Tipton released the prose primer on the comic book industry, ''Comic Books 101'', through IMPACT Publishing. In addition to featuring Ryall and Tipton's overview of comics history and creators, the book features contributions from creators such as Stan Lee,

Harlan Ellison Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. Robert Bloch, the author of '' Psycho'' ...

Gene Simmons Gene Simmons (born Chaim Witz; he, חיים ויץ, ; born August 25, 1949) is an Israeli-American musician. Also known by his stage persona The Demon, he is the bassist and co-lead singer of Kiss, the hard rock band he co-founded with Paul ...

Mark Waid Mark Waid (; born March 21, 1962) is an American comic book writer best known for his work on DC Comics titles ''The Flash'', '' Kingdom Come'' and '' Superman: Birthright'' as well as his work on ''Captain America'', ''Fantastic Four'' and '' Dar ...

, Joe Hill and Brian Lynch. Independent of IDW Publishing, Ryall published Frank Frazetta’s ''Neanderthal'' with Jay Fotos and Tim Vigil, through

Image Comics Image Comics is an American comic book publisher and is the third largest comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry in both unit and market share. It was founded in 1992 by several high-profile illustrators as a venue for creator-ow ...

. He also published a short comic-book story with artist Drew Moss, "High Ball on the Low Road," in the Image Comics anthology "Outlaw Western, Vol. 3" (2013). "Outlaw Western" was nominated for a 2014

for Best Anthology. In October 2010, Ryall contributed a prose story, "Twilight of the Gods", to ''Classics Mutilated'', a prose "monster-lit" anthology, and in 2014, published his first Zombies vs Robots prose story, "Meaner Than a Junkyard Dog", in the anthology '' Zombies vs Robots: This Means War''. Ryall wrote the first inter-company crossover for IDW in 2011: ''

Infestation Infestation is the state of being invaded or overrun by pests or parasites. It can also refer to the actual organisms living on or within a host. Terminology In general, the term "infestation" refers to parasitic diseases caused by animals su ...

'', which paired the Transformers, ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

'',

Ghostbusters ''Ghostbusters'' is a 1984 American Supernatural fiction, supernatural comedy film directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. It stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as Peter Venkman, Ray Stantz, and ...

, and

G.I. Joe ''G.I. Joe'' is an American media franchise and a line of action figures owned and produced by the toy company Hasbro. The initial product offering represented four of the branches of the U.S. armed forces with the Action Soldier ( U.S. Army), Ac ...

in an adventure with Ryall's own ''Zombies vs Robots''. He also directly oversaw 2012's ''Mars Attacks'' IDW franchise, and wrote two of the issues, ''Mars Attacks Kiss'', and ''Mars Attacks Zombies vs Robots''. His 2013-2014 work includes ''

'', co-created with artist Drew Moss, '' The Hollows'', co-created with artist

, and '' Kiss Kids'', with co-author

and artist Jose Holder. All three series were published in 2013. In July 2014, Ryall won the Best Editor award at the True Believers Awards (formerly the Eagle Awards) at the London Film & Comic Con.

Johnston, Rich Richard Johnston is a British comics creator, columnist, and founder of the comics news site ''Bleeding Cool''. ''The Comics Journal'' described Johnston as having claimed to be "the oldest extant comics news reporter on the Internet." His pas ...

(July 12, 2014)
"Live From The True Believers Awards In London, With Stan Lee. (We Won One! Update)"

Bleeding Cool Bleeding Cool is an Internet news site, focusing on comics, television, film, board games, and video games. Owned by Avatar Press, it was launched by Rich Johnston on March 27, 2009. Avatar Press also publishes an associated magazine, ''Bleeding ...

. Ryall wrote four series in 2015: ''Zombies vs Robots'', ''

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency ''Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency'' is a humorous detective novel by English writer Douglas Adams, published in 1987. It is described by the author on its cover as a "thumping good detective-ghost-horror-who dunnit-time travel-romantic- ...

'' with artists Tony Akins and Ilias Kyriazis, ''

Onyx Onyx primarily refers to the parallel banded variety of chalcedony, a silicate mineral. Agate and onyx are both varieties of layered chalcedony that differ only in the form of the bands: agate has curved bands and onyx has parallel bands. The c ...

'', co-created with artist Gabriel Rodriguez, and ''

String Divers String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * Strings (1991 film), ''Strings'' (1991 fi ...

'' with artist Nelson Daniel. That year Ryall was once again named to Bleeding Cool's Top 100 Power List, moving up the rankings to #40. In 2016, Ryall co-wrote '' Rom the Space Knight''. After Ryall leaving IDW in March 2018 to work at Robert Kirkman's Skybound Entertainment, in December 2018, Ryall returned to IDW to serve as President, Publisher, and Chief Creative Officer. In 2020, Ryall announced that he was stepping down from his duties with IDW in order to work with Ashley Wood again in a new publishing venture called the World of Syzygy, though he would continue as editor of the ''

'' comic books, and executive producer of the

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

Personal life

Ryall lives in San Diego with his wife Julie and daughter Lucy.

Selected bibliography

* ''Shaun of the Dead'' (2005) * ''Zombies vs. Robots'' (2005) * ''George A. Romero’s Land of the Dead'' (2005) * ''Masters of Horror'' (2005) * ''Doomed'' (2006) * ''Transformers Official Movie Adaptation'' (2007) * ''Clive Barker’s The Great and Secret Show'' (2007) * ''Beowulf Official Movie Adaptation'' (2007) * ''Doomed'' (2007) * ''Zombies vs. Robots vs. Amazons'' (2008) * ''Gene Simmons House of Horrors'' (2008) * ''Zombies vs. Robots Aventure'' (2009) * ''Groom Lake'' (2009) * ''Frank Frazetta’s Neanderthal'' (2009) * ''Role Models''; "The Adventures of Booby-Watcher"(2009) * ''Comic Books 101: The History, Methods, and Madness'' (2009) * ''Transformers Robot Heroes: I am Optimus Prime'' (2009) * ''Weekly World News'' (2009) * ''Classics Mutilated'' (2010) * ''Zombies vs Robots: UnderCity'' (2011) * ''Infestation: Outbreak'' (2011) * ''Kiss'' (2011) * ''Kiss Solo'' (2012) * ''Mars Attacks Kiss'' (2012) * ''Mars Attacks ZvR'' (2012) * ''Kiss Kids'' (2013) * ''The Colonized'' (2013) * ''The Hollows'' (2013) * ''Mars Attacks: First Born'' (2014) * ''Zombies vs Robots Ongoing'' (2015) * ''Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency'' (2015) * ''Onyx'' (2015) * ''Garbage Pail Kids Go Hollywood ialogue assist only' (2015) * ''String Divers'' (2015) * ''Rom'' (2016)

Guest appearances

* ''

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers ''Mighty Power Rangers'' (''MMPR'') is a superhero television series that premiered on August 28, 1993, on the Fox Kids programming block. It is the first entry of the ''Power Rangers'' franchise, and became a 1990s pop culture phenomenon along ...

'' (1993); Extra * '' Jersey Girl'' (2004); Extra * ''

Beauty and the Geek ''Beauty and the Geek'' is an American reality television series that premiered on The WB on June 1, 2005. It has been advertised as "The Ultimate Social Experiment" and is produced by Ashton Kutcher, Jason Goldberg and J.D. Roth. The show's ti ...

'' (2007); Guest judge * ''Fictional Frontiers'' (radio show; 2009–present); Bi-weekly guest * Clarion Science Fiction & Fantasy Writer’s Workshop (2009; 2013); Guest Lecturer * ''

Dredd ''Dredd'' is a 2012 science fiction film, science fiction action film directed by Pete Travis and written and produced by Alex Garland. It is based on the ''2000 AD (comics), 2000 AD'' comic strip ''Judge Dredd'' and its eponymous character ...

'' Blu-Ray extra feature (2012)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* *
IDW Publishing

Syzygy Publishing
* Dueben, Alex (January 17, 2008)
"In-depth with Comic Book Publisher Chris Ryall"

Comic Book Resources ''Comic Book Resources'', also known by the initialism CBR, is a website dedicated to the coverage of comic book–related news and discussion. History Comic Book Resources was founded by Jonah Weiland in 1995 as a development of the Kingdom Co ...

. * St-Louis, Hervé (June 28, 2009)
"Is There a Steve Jobs in the Comic Book Industry?"
ComicBookBin. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryall, Chris Comic book editors IDW Publishing Living people Writers from Long Beach, California Year of birth missing (living people)