Future Comics was an American
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 ...
publishing company
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 industry polymath
Bob Layton
Bob Layton (born 1953) is an American comic book artist, writer, and editor. He is best known for his work on Marvel Comics titles such as '' Iron Man'' and ''Hercules'', and for co-founding Valiant Comics with Jim Shooter.
Early life
Bob Layton ...
, and his creative partners — Layton's mentor, artist/editor
Dick Giordano
Richard Joseph Giordano (; July 20, 1932 – March 27, 2010) was an American comics artist and editor whose career included introducing Charlton Comics' "Action Heroes" stable of superheroes and serving as executive editor of DC Comics.
Early li ...
["Reinventing the Rules: Bob Layton on Giordano," in Eury, Michael. ''Dick Giordano: Changing Comics, One Day at a Time'' TwoMorrows Publishing (November 5, 2003) .] and his frequent writing-partner
David Michelinie
David Michelinie (; born May 6, 1948) is an American comic book writer best known for scripting Marvel Comics' ''The Amazing Spider-Man'' and '' Iron Man'' and the DC Comics feature Superman in ''Action Comics''. Among the characters he created o ...
, CFO Allen Berrebbi — and publisher
Skip Farrell.
Pre-formation
Having achieved great success by relaunching
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 ...
's
Iron Man
Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...
in the 1970s (with co-writer David Michelinie), Bob Layton had gone on to considerable acclaim in the early to mid-1990s at
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 ...
, where he worked "first as co-architect of the Valiant Universe, and then, as Editor-in-Chief and Senior Vice President." Layton left Valiant, his home in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and the comics industry itself in 1996, and moved to Florida for a short retirement.
Layton returned to comics in 1998, working on a couple of
Elseworlds
''Elseworlds'' was the publication imprint (trade name), imprint for American comic books produced by DC Comics for stories that took place outside the DC Universe Canon (fictional), canon. Elseworlds publications are set in alternate realitie ...
for
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 ...
with Dick Giordano, before returning to Marvel (and ''Iron Man'') for a mini-series with frequent collaborator David Michelinie. His experiences at Marvel, however, left him disillusioned with mainstream comics and its post-slump "glut of inferior products," caused in large part by an inability in publishers to focus on "quality content," rather than "superficial elements and ancillary products development."
Realizing that "as much as people love the 21-page monthly comics," an over-reliance on "product
hich
Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...
is being written exclusively for a niche audience...
eans thatcomics are not attractive to a mass market readership," Layton joined with Giordano (who also lived in Florida) and Michelinie to create a company which would produce "more mainstream—stuff that could be read by the 'Average Joe'."
Formation
The formation of Future Entertainment (or "Future Comics") was announced by Bob Layton and Dick Giordano "at a press conference on Saturday, June 9th, 2000," during
Charlotte, North Carolina
Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...
's
Heroes Convention
Heroes Convention, or HeroesCon, is a comic book convention that takes place in June (often over Father's Day weekend)Hargro, Carlton. "Best. Convention. Ever," ''Creative Loafing'' (June 17, 2009), p. 25. in Charlotte, North Carolina. The convent ...
.
[The Days of Future Past](_blank)
- Excerpts from a report to investors over Future's failure by Bob Layton. Accessed March 30, 2008
In addition to wanting to produce comics for the 'Average Joe', Layton and Giordano had heard numerous retailers decry "the callous way they were being treated by Diamond," so Future intended to revolutionize comics distribution by directly selling to readers and retailers alike via the Internet. For two years after the initial launch, Layton and Giordano "mapped out a daring, but sound, business plan that would allow an independent publisher to be profitable in a market dominated by Marvel, DC and
Diamond
Diamond is a Allotropes of carbon, solid form of the element carbon with its atoms arranged in a crystal structure called diamond cubic. Another solid form of carbon known as graphite is the Chemical stability, chemically stable form of car ...
."
Realizing that the workings of the
direct market
The direct market is the dominant distribution and retail network for American comic books. The concept of the direct market was created in the 1970s by Phil Seuling. The network currently consists of:
* four major comic distributors:
** Lunar ...
ultimately played a large factor in the survival of the smaller publishers, they decided that the best way forward was to circumvent the distribution network offered by Diamond (and therefore the steep discounts at which Diamond buys from publishers), cut out the middleman and distribute Future's titles through the Internet, through the "Future Comics Retailers' Club".
In addition, Future's "sales department
ana toll-free 1-800 number," and sold direct to fans.
Future Comics debuted its first title - ''Freemind'' #0 - in August 2002. Co-written, edited and inked by Layton, with Michelinie as co-writer, Giordano penciling and colors and letters by Miguel Insignares and Albert T. DeGuzman respectively, Future Comics was soon being praised critically as a new Valiant or Marvel.
[A Look at Future Comics](_blank)
by Hervé St.Louis, September 6, 2003. Accessed March 30, 2008 Future's second title (''Metallix'') followed a few months later, and their best-seller ''Deathmask'' launched in March 2003, by which time "almost half of 1,100 comic retail shops in America were signed up" to buy direct from Future.
Before ''Deathmask'' would reach shops, however, Future's distribution system underwent a radical shift.
Diamond deal
By the end of 2002, Layton alleges that Diamond became "concerned that our operation might pose a threat to them," and offered a partnership. Although a stated aim of Future had been to circumvent the monopolistic distribution network, in the short term, Future was not making a profit, and the promise of higher sales and better advertising through Diamond seemed like a good offer. In addition, some retailers had expressed concern over dealing directly with Future, allegedly fearful that Diamond might make things difficult for them. Despite Future offering free shipping and large wholesale discounts and making their output "100% returnable" (thereby effectively removing the main risk to the retailers of unsold stock) - and thus making their product "free for all intents and purposes" - retailers were not ordering enough copies to make Future viable. Complaints over price (initially Future's output carried a retail value of $3.50) was addressed, and the cover price lowered to a more standard $2.99. When these moves didn't help, Layton felt Future was left little alternative than to take advantage of the promises offered by Diamond.
Supposedly suggesting that Future could achieve coveted "Premier Publisher" status in Diamond's ''Previews'' comics catalog, Diamond also reportedly suggested that using their distribution network would double sales, Future Comics (which was suffering from going it alone) agreed. Unfortunately, this proved disastrous on several levels: Future's existing "Retailers' Club" network saw the move as a betrayal, leading Layton to retroactively admit that "abandoning our original self-distribution plan is what ultimately lead to the company's sad demise."
On December 20, 2002:
:"Future Comics, the publishing and distribution company founded by industry veterans Bob Layton, Dick Giordano, Allen Berrebbi & David Michelinie, announced... that it has reached an agreement with Diamond Comic Distributors that will allow Diamond to carry all Future Comics products."
[Diamond Comic Distributors to distribute Future Comics releases](_blank)
(press release), 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 ...
, December 20, 2002. Accessed March 24, 2008 (cached)
Citing growth and movie-deals, Layton, as Editor-In Chief said that Future had "reconsidered our planned working relationship with the industry's distribution leader-Diamond," and attempted to find a middle ground that "would allow us to do business with each other while still competing as distribution rivals in the marketplace."
Attempting to reassure Future's own existing Retailers' Club system, Layon said that the Diamond deal did not "compromis
the spirit of Future Comics' unique business plan," and that their "sales policy has been clearly stated from the beginning: we'll sell to anyone as long as it's on our terms, and this Diamond deal does not compromise that policy."
Layton further intimated that Future's Internet-based distribution method was being somewhat hampered by some retailers not having easy access, and noted that, since Future was "already do
ngbusiness with several of Diamond's competitors," it was "only fair" to "show them the same respect."
Dick Giordano praised
Bill Schanes
William D. Schanes (born 1958) is an American publishing executive, active for many years in the comic book industry. One of the founders of Pacific Comics, Schanes later worked for many years for Diamond Comic Distributors.
Career
Bill and his b ...
and
Steve Geppi
Stephen A. Geppi (born January 24, 1950) is an American comic book distributor, publisher and former comic store owner. Having established an early chain of comic shops in Baltimore in the mid-late 1970s, he is best known for his distributing busi ...
, citing his decades-long relationship with them (and Diamond) through DC's early entry into the direct sales market.
Diamond's January 2003 ''Previews'' catalog contained listings for the new series ''Deathmask'' as well as for ''Freemind'' issue #5 and ''Metallix'' #4, plus the availability of back issues for "customers who missed the opportunity to order them directly from Future Comics."
''Deathmask'' #1 was released in March 2003, with ''Freemind'' and ''Metallix'' seeing a slight delay in publication, (due, apparently, to vandalism
(below)) and arriving in April.
Sales, however, did not rise as hoped - indeed, Layton wrote to investors after Future's collapse: "orders dropped."
Free Comic Book Day
In an attempt to boost sales, and hopefully combat the perceived dual negativity from both Diamond (allegedly unhappy with Future's decision to still distribute outside of the Diamond system) and the Future Comics Retailer's Club (unhappy with Future's decision to solicit through Diamond), Layton and publisher Skip Farrell were encouraged to participate in the second
Free Comic Book Day
Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) is an annual promotional effort by the North American comic book industry to attract new readers to independent comic book stores. It usually takes place on the first Saturday of May and is often cross-promoted wit ...
event on May 3, 2003.
Diamond supposedly intimated that a successful FCBD comic would see "a 12% increase in sales as a result." Necessarily speculative, this estimate proved "entirely false," and after distributing 90,000 copies of ''Metallix'' #1 (at a cost of some "$16,000 in promotional expenses," to cover the free nature of the product), Future "didn’t get a single percentage point bump in . . . sales."
Outside problems
In addition to the struggle to navigate between the contradictory and mutually exclusive demands of retailers either for Diamond distribution or non-Diamond distribution, Future Entertainment suffered serious setbacks behind-the-scenes. Financial mismanagement necessitated a "sizable layoff" of "employees in non-critical positions" in January, 2003 (not long after the Diamond deal).
The following month, on February 17, "Future Comics' office was vandalized" and the computer network disabled by a
virus
A virus is a submicroscopic infectious agent that replicates only inside the living cells of an organism. Viruses infect all life forms, from animals and plants to microorganisms, including bacteria and archaea.
Since Dmitri Ivanovsky's 1 ...
which severely compromised Future's
e-commerce
E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain manageme ...
ventures.
In addition, "
PDF
Portable Document Format (PDF), standardized as ISO 32000, is a file format developed by Adobe in 1992 to present documents, including text formatting and images, in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. ...
files of our latest crop of books were corrupted" by the virus, delaying the newly solicited-through-Diamond issues of ''Metallix'' and ''Freemind'', giving Future "almost two months without any income from sales," even as debts accumulated.
Recent history
Future announced in April 2003 that it had hired Jason Hughes as Sales and Marketing Manager, but despite this, and continual but slow-moving interest from Hollywood, after seven issues each of ''Metallix'' and ''Freemind'', three of ''Deathmask'' and zero of Future's fourth-title — ''The Peacekeeper'' - having seen print, the company decided it had to "redirect
tsefforts into a more profitable market," and stopped soliciting individual issues.
Citing "rising art & editorial costs," Layton notes that such "costs are simply not aligned to the percentage of sales in the comics industry." Therefore, in August 2003 (after a brief hiatus - ''Deathmask'' and ''Freeminds last issues were dated May; ''Metallix'' #6 was June), Future Comics announced that it would be concentrating not on the declining direct (comics) market, but on the mass (books) market, and following publishers such as
CrossGen
Cross Generation Entertainment or CrossGen was an American comic book publisher and entertainment company that operated from 1998 to 2004. The company's assets were acquired by The Walt Disney Company in 2004, and designated to Disney Publishing ...
in focusing its efforts on
trade paperbacks
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with glue rather than stitches or staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, ...
and
graphic novel
A graphic novel is a long-form, fictional work of sequential art. The term ''graphic novel'' is often applied broadly, including fiction, non-fiction, and anthologized work, though this practice is highly contested by comic scholars and industry ...
-releases.
:"In a statement posted on the Comics Continuum website, Future Comics president and Editor-in-Chief Bob Layton said, "It has become rather obvious that consumer tastes are gravitating towards the trade paperback format. While the direct market continues to decline, mass market interest in the genre is on the increase. Europe and Japan have embraced this format for decades and statistics clearly show that the U.S. is heading in the same direction." "
[Are Trade Paperbacks the Future of Comics?](_blank)
by Philip Schweier, September 6, 2003. Accessed March 30, 2008 Layton cited "statistics clearly show
ngthe U.S. is now heading in the same direction" with a predicted sales growth of 30% in 2004, and noting that in contrast, the costs of producing a monthly comic continued to rise.
Presciently, in light of subsequent more numerous shifts away from monthly comics towards collections, Philip Schweier, writing at ComicBookBin noted in September that Future's move was a bold one, but that a move away from comics one-time "cousins" (magazines)' monthly periodicity, "at this time ''may be only a quick-fix for current problems within the comics industry''."
Writing that "such a move would seem more viable since... a trade paperback has a much longer shelf life
han a monthly comic issue" mass market and bookselling logic seemed to also (as did Schweier) tacitly supports Future's move, but it was not to be.
Ironically paralleling the similarly timed arc of equally short-lived publisher CrossGen towards "a mass market format", Future's move came "far too late in the game to prevent the company from drowning in debt," with new investors and funding unavailable to back up the decision to produce a mass market product.
Cessation of monthly titles and move to digital
Future Comics cancelled its monthly titles in 2004. In 2012 the company released its entire catalog digitally. In addition to the books that had been published in print, several other stories that had never been printed were included. One of these titles was ''Peacekeeper'' #1. Later in 2012, Future partnered with publisher
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 ...
to publish the graphic novel ''Colony''. ''Colony'' was marketed as Dick Giordano's last work.
Critiquing the collapse
Commenting somewhat wryly on Layton's description of events, ComicBookGalaxy's Christopher Allen casts doubt on some of Layton's pronouncements about the restructuring and ultimate failure of Future Comics. He notes, in particular that Layton's critique of Diamond's "monopoly" and alleged concern over the perceived "threat" of Future Comics is hardly likely to be more than sour grapes, if for no other reason than that Future's small number of titles were hardly in a position to threaten Diamond's thousands of other titles.
[Layton Lamented](_blank)
by Christopher Allen at ComicBookGalaxy, December 16, 2004. Accessed March 31, 2008 Moreover, Allen sees more than a little hyperbole in Layton's reiteration that, prior to Diamond's involvement, Future's solo distribution system was "successful," and that the burden of blame in Future's demise thus lay (as Layton seems to imply) with Diamond.
Allen also wonders why Layton's dissection of the flagging comics industry didn't play more of a part ''before'' Future ran into difficulties, and notes that Future did itself no favors in the move from monthly comics to collections. Allen recalls:
:"that trade paperbacks of the first story arcs of all four series were in fact solicited... the prices being $16-$17 each, meaning for a four issue arc, each $2.99-$3.50 issue was now, sans individual cover, priced at $4.00 and up."
Which, Allen suggests, is not an ideal way to address a lack of sales.
Film deals
Future's comics properties attracted Hollywood interest swiftly. Layton mentioned as one reason to deal with Diamond in December 2002 that "the ''FREEMIND'' movie
ason the fast track," even then, and a July, 2003 press release talks of the companies works "attract
ngthe eye of some of the top names in Hollywood."
[Future Comics Press Release](_blank)
at 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 ...
, July 28, 2003. Accessed March 24, 2008
Layton, Michelinie and Giordano had, by July 2003, "established a relationship" with
Metrostop Entertainment and
D-No Entertainment to adapt their properties for both the big and/or small screens, after what Layton described as "a shaky start," with regards to film deals, which saw Future "hooking up with the wrong type of representation for
heir
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Officiall ...
needs."
Future Comics future-proofed its concepts by "specifically tailor
ng each series to allow for easy translation:
:"into film, television or video games. The business plan from day one was to establish intellectual properties that would attract the largest possible audience. Clearly this initiative has worked wonders, as evidenced by the fervor all four properties are currently causing in Hollywood."
Metrostop Entertainment co-founder, Robert Keyghobad, described Future Comics as "not only a producer's dream, but a screenwriter's as well. They're a true diamond in the rough," "an original work that speaks to you."
In the seven months since December, ''Deathmask'' was said to have joined ''Freemind'' in "leading the charge in Hollywood," described by Keyghobad as "more than your traditional story of good vs. evil... filled with magic, a unique setting and incredibly complex and dark characters," while ''Freemind'' was Future's launch title, an "incredibly cerebral and character driven comic that reflects the expansion of the human spirit."
The press release closed, optimistically, with noting that alongside the front-runners, both "''"Metallix"'' and ''"Peacekeeper"''
ee running close behind... a staggering testament to the talents behind Future Comics," since all properties we so swiftly in development.
Future Comics' Hollywood Progress
(press release), Newsarama
Newsarama is an American website that publishes news, interviews, and essays about the American comic book industry. It is owned by Future US. In June 2020, Newsarama was merged with the website GamesRadar+, also owned by FutureUS.
History
N ...
, July 23, 2003. Accessed March 24, 2008
Despite Future Comics' demise, Layton's note to investors closed on an upbeat note, reporting that:
:"there continues to be interest from Hollywood in producing feature film versions the Future Comics characters. Those talks are ongoing.... Hopefully, our labor of love may yet live on in an entirely different venue.
:"Only time will tell."
Titles
Future's planned titles were ''Freemind'', ''Metallix'', ''Deathmask'', and ''Peacekeeper'' (unfortunately no issues of ''Peacekeeper'' were ever published when the company closed down). The company released its entire catalog digitally in 2012. It included unpublished issues of Deathmask, Metallix and Peacekeeper. Future published the graphic novel ''Colony'' late in 2012 in a joint venture with IDW Publishing.
Late in 2018, Future released 5 issues that had previously been available only in digital with Peacekeeper finally seeing print along with subsequent issues of Future's previous titles.
* ''Freemind'' #0-7 (Aug. 2002-June 2003)
** ''Freemind : The Origin'' (April 2003) (trade paperback Trade paperback may refer to:
* Trade paperback, a higher-quality softcover version of a book
* Trade paperback (comics)
In comics in the United States, a trade paperback (shortened: TPB or trade) is a collection of stories originally published ...
reprints ''Freemind'' issues #0-3)
* ''Metallix'' #0-6 (Dec. 2002-June 2003)
* ''Deathmask'' #1-3 (March 2003-June 2003)
* ''Peacekeeper'' (unpublished)
;Books that were initially Digital Only; Published in 2018.
* ''Freemind'' #8
* ''Metallix'' #7
* ''Deathmask'' #4-5
* ''Peacekeeper'' #1
;Graphic novels
* ''Colony''
References
External links
Excerpts from Bob Layton's report on the failure of ''Future Comics''
Information pages on Deathmask, Freemind, Metallix and The Peacekeeper.
Interview with Bob Layton one of Future Comics' creator
Future Comics Official Website
Future Comics Official Facebook Page
{{Comic book publishers in North America navbox
Comic book publishing companies of the United States
Comics by David Michelinie
Defunct comics and manga publishing companies
Companies disestablished in 2004