Event Comics was an American independent

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

founded by veteran artists

Jimmy Palmiotti James Palmiotti (born August 14, 1961) is an American writer and inker of comic books, who also does writing for games, television and film. Early life Palmiotti attended the High School of Art and Design in New York City. Career Palmiotti star ...

and

Joe Quesada Joseph Quesada (; born January 12, 1962'' Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; page 107) is an American comic book artist, writer, editor, and television producer. He became known in the 1990s for his work on various Valiant Comics books ...

. The company published during the years 1994 to 1999, at which point it was contracted to form the

Marvel Knights Marvel Knights is an imprint of Marvel Comics that contained standalone material taking place inside the Marvel Universe (Earth-616). The imprint originated in 1998 when Marvel outsourced four titles (''Black Panther'', ''Punisher'', '' Daredevil ...

imprint for

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is an American comic book publishing, publisher and the flagship property of Marvel Entertainment, a divsion of The Walt Disney Company since September 1, 2009. Evolving from Timely Comics in 1939, ''Magazine Management/Atlas Co ...

History

Penciller A penciller (or penciler) is an artist who works on the creation of comic books, graphic novels, and similar visual art forms, with a focus on the initial pencil illustrations, usually in collaboration with other artists, who provide inks, colors ...

Quesada and

inker The inker (sometimes credited as the finisher or embellisher) is one of the two line artists in traditional comic book production. The penciller creates a drawing, the inker outlines, interprets, finalizes, retraces this drawing by using a pencil ...

Palmiotti, after working well together on various projects such as

Valiant Comics Valiant Comics is an American comic book publisher. The company was founded in 1989 by former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter along with lawyer and businessman Steven Massarsky. In 1994, the company was sold to Acclaim Entertainment ...

' ''

X-O Manowar X-O Manowar (Aric of Dacia) is a fictional superhero co-created by writers Jim Shooter and Steve Englehart, and artists Bob Layton and Barry Windsor-Smith. The eponymous comic book series published by Valiant Comics has sold more than 8 million c ...

'', and following the creation of their first joint project in ''Kid Death & Fluffy'' for a "Creators Universe" card series, decided to create their own studio with their own original characters. They spent two weeks in the

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and e ...

developing

Ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

, their flagship character. Event published several series starring Ash, as well as stand-alone crossovers with another Event title, ''22 Brides''. The initial series, simply titled ''Ash'', 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 was ''Ash: Cinder & Smoke'', which ran for a total of six issues. Ash also co-starred in the

intercompany crossover In comic books, an intercompany crossover (also called cross-company or company crossover) is a comic or series of comics in which characters, that at the time of publication are the property or licensed property of one publisher, meet character ...

''Azrael/Ash'', co-published with

DC Comics DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...

in 1997. Another popular Event character was

Painkiller Jane Painkiller Jane is a fictional superhero created by Jimmy Palmiotti and Joe Quesada for Event Comics in 1995. Originally a five-issue mini-series, the character went on to star in numerous crossover titles with the likes of the Punisher, Vampirel ...

, who made her first appearance in ''22 Brides'' #1 (1995). Originally a five-issue mini-series, Painkiller Jane went on to star in numerous

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

books with the likes of

Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher made ...

, The Darkness,

Darkchylde Darkchylde is an American comic book character created in 1996 by Randy Queen. It was originally published by Maximum Press, and later by Image Comics, through Homage Comics, a publishing imprint of Wildstorm. Subsequent projects would be pub ...

Vampirella Vampirella () is a fictional vampire superheroine created by Forrest J Ackerman and comic book artist Trina Robbins in Warren Publishing's black-and-white horror comics magazine ''Vampirella'' #1 (Sept. 1969), a sister publication of '' Cre ...

, and

Hellboy Hellboy is a fictional superhero created by writer-artist Mike Mignola. The character first appeared in ''San Diego Comic-Con Comics'' #2 (August 1993), and has since appeared in various eponymous miniseries, one-shots and intercompany crossovers ...

. In 1997, Event launched ''Crimson Plague'', the first creator-owned comic by popular veteran cartoonist

George Pérez George Pérez (; June 9, 1954 – May 6, 2022) was an American comic book artist and writer, who worked primarily as a penciller. He came to prominence in the 1970s penciling ''Fantastic Four (comic book), Fantastic Four'' and ''The Avengers (co ...

. 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 with

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 ...

in 2000. Other Event Comics titles included ''Thrax'' (1996), the ''Kid Death & Fluffy Spring Break Special'' (1996), the ''Kid Death & Fluffy Halloween Special'' (1997), ''Legends of Kid Death & Fluffy'' (1997), and ''Here Come the Big People'' (1997).

Marvel Knights

In 1998, the Event Comics team was contracted by

to breathe new life into some of their second-tier characters. Under the designation of "

", Palmiotti and Quesada were given creative control of ''

Black Panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...

'', '' Daredevil'', ''The

'' and ''

The Inhumans The Inhumans are a fictional superhuman race of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The comic book series has usually focused more specifically on the adventures of the Inhuman Royal Family, and many peo ...

''. 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 the

indie comics Alternative comics cover a range of American comic book, American comics that have appeared since the 1980s, following the underground comix movement of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Alternative comics present an alternative to mainstream sup ...

world to bring in new creators such as David W. Mack,

Michael Avon Oeming Michael Avon Oeming is an American comic book creator, both as an artist and writer. Career Oeming is a fan of ancient mythology, having written or drawn several projects centering on the Norse gods. He frequently collaborates with long-time f ...

Brian Michael Bendis Brian Michael Bendis (; born August 18, 1967) is an American comic book writer and artist. He has won five Eisner Awards for both his creator-owned work and his work on various Marvel Comics books.Bendis, Brian Michael and Oeming, Michael Avon, ' ...

Garth Ennis Garth Ennis (born January 16, 1970) is a Northern Irish–American comics writer, best known for the Vertigo series ''Preacher'' with artist Steve Dillon, his nine-year run on Marvel Comics' Punisher franchise, and '' The Boys'' with artist Dar ...

, and

Steve Dillon Steve Dillon (22 March 1962 – 22 October 2016) was a British comic book artist, best known for his work with writer Garth Ennis on ''Hellblazer'', ''Preacher'' and ''The Punisher''. Early life Dillon was born in London in 1962 and raised i ...

. The Event Comics creative teams eventually produced popular, well-regarded Knights runs like

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 ...

& Quesada's ''Daredevil'' and Christopher Priest's ''Black 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 being ''Ash: 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:

Titles

* ''22 Brides'' (1996) * ''

'' (1994) * ''Ash'' #½ (co-published with

Wizard magazine ''Wizard'' or ''Wizard: The Magazine of Comics, Entertainment and Pop Culture'' (previously titled ''Wizard: The Guide to Comics'' and ''Wizard: The Comics Magazine'') was a magazine about comic books, published monthly in the United States by W ...

, 1997) * ''Ash/22 Brides''(1996) * ''Ash: The Fire Within'' (1996) * ''Ash: Cinder & Smoke'' (1997) * ''Ash: Fire And Crossfire'' (1999) * ''Ash Files'' (1997) * ''Crimson Plague'' (1997) * ''Here Come the Big People'' (1997) * ''Kid Death & Fluffy Halloween Special'' (1997) * ''Kid Death & Fluffy Spring Break Special'' (1996) * ''Legends of Kid Death & Fluffy'' (1997) * ''

'' (1997) * ''Thrax'' (1996)

Crossover

* ''

Azrael Azrael (; , 'God has helped'; ) is the angel of death in some Abrahamic religions, namely Islam, Christian popular culture and some traditions of Judaism. He is also referenced in Sikhism. Relative to similar concepts of such beings, Azrael ...

/Ash'' (co-published with

, 1997) * ''Painkiller Jane vs. The Darkness'' (co-published with

Top Cow Productions Top Cow Productions is an American comics publisher, an imprint of Image Comics founded by Marc Silvestri in 1992. History During the early years of Image Comics, which was founded in 1992, co-founder Marc Silvestri shared a studio with Jim L ...

, 1997) * ''Painkiller Jane/Darkchylde'' (co-published with

, 1998) * ''Painkiller Jane/Hellboy'' (co-published with

Dark Horse Comics Dark Horse Comics is an American comic book, graphic novel, and manga publisher founded in Milwaukie, Oregon by Mike Richardson in 1986. The company was created using funds earned from Richardson's chain of Portland, Oregon comic book shops known ...

, 1998) * ''Vampirella/Painkiller Jane'' (co-published with

Harris Comics Harris Publications Inc. was an American special interest media company, operating over 75 brands with print, digital, mobile and live event platforms prior to its sale to Athlon Media in 2016. It produced magazines that educate, entertain, inf ...

, 1998)

Creators associated with Event Comics

– co-founder *

Brian Augustyn Brian Augustyn (November 2, 1954 – February 1, 2022) was an American comic book editor and writer. He often worked as editor or co-writer with writer Mark Waid, such as on ''The Flash'' in the 1990s. He wrote ''Gotham by Gaslight –'' which i ...

Trace Beaulieu Trace Beaulieu ( is an American comedian, puppeteer, writer, and actor. He played roles on ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (''MST3K'')Amanda Conner Amanda Conner is an American comics artist and commercial art illustrator. She began her career in the late 1980s for Archie Comics and Marvel Comics, before moving on to contribute work for Claypool Comics' '' Soulsearchers and Company'' and Har ...

* Scott Lee * Rick Parker *

Humberto Ramos Humberto Ramos (born 27 November 1970) is a Mexican comic book penciller, best known for his work on American comic books such as '' Impulse'', '' Runaways'', '' The Spectacular Spider-Man'', ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and his creator-owned serie ...

* James Robinson * Dave Ross *

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 ...

References

External links

*{{comicbookdb, type=publisher, id=175, title=Event Comics
Event Comics at Who's Who in American Comic Books
Comic book publishing companies of the United States Defunct comics and manga publishing companies Publishing companies established in 1994 1994 establishments in Illinois Companies based in Chicago