Rik Offenberger (born January 30, 1964) is 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 ...

journalist and publicity agent, an early utilizer of the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...

for distributing comics news, and the

public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. ...

coordinator of Archie Comics.

Career

Offenberger started his career in comics as a retailer at Paper Hero Comics in Chino, California. He began writing for the ''

Comics Buyer's Guide ''Comics Buyer's Guide'' (''CBG''; ), established in 1971, was the longest-running English-language periodical reporting on the American comic book industry. It awarded its annual Comics Buyer's Guide Fan Awards from 1983 to circa 2010. The publ ...

'' in March 1992, where he covered stories about retailers to help promote the comics shop. Following work on the ''Comics Buyer's Guide'', he began working for the British '' Borderline Comics Magazine'' until it was discontinued. This was followed by a move to the Internet, where he worked as an interviewer and senior feature editor at '' Silver Bullet Comic Books'' (now ''

Comics Bulletin Comics Bulletin was a daily website covering the American comic-book industry. History Silver Bullet Comicbooks The site was founded in January 2000 as Silver Bullet Comicbooks by its New Zealand-based publisher/editor Jason Brice. During this ...

''), conducting interviews with comics professionals. In 2004 he began producing trend-oriented interviews for ''

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 ...

'' and by 2005 he was writing for both ''Newsarama'' and ''

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 ...

''. In December 2005, Offenberger succeeded Alex Segura as Public Relations Coordinator of Archie Comics. Since 2012, Offenberger has been on the Nominating Committee of the

Inkwell Awards The Inkwell Award, sometimes shortened to the Inkwells, is a trophy given in the field of inking in American comic books. The awards were partially named after the Yahoo group whose members include many in the inking community, and after the pe ...

. In 2022, Offenberger was a judge for the

Will Eisner Comic Industry 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 ...

Super Hero News

In October 1998, Offenberger founded Super Hero News, an Internet-based comics-news service utilizing the

Yahoo! Yahoo! (, styled yahoo''!'' in its logo) is an American web services provider. It is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California and operated by the namesake company Yahoo Inc., which is 90% owned by investment funds managed by Apollo Global Manage ...

List server. While the service primarily distributes affiliate press releases, it's also been used as a vehicle for debate and contention by some of its members.

First Comics News

In April, 2010, Offenberger, Phil Latter and Ric Croxton founded First Comics News, a web-based division of Super Hero News, covering comics, gaming, wrestling and related pop-culture topics. The name is derived from one of the early

independent comics Alternative comics cover a range of 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 superhero comics which ...

publishers of the 1980s,

First Comics First Comics was an American comic book publisher that was active from 1983 to 1991, known for titles like '' American Flagg!'', ''Grimjack'', ''Nexus'', ''Badger'', '' Dreadstar'', and '' Jon Sable''. Along with competitors like Pacific Comics ...

. The site

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name it represents as in a wo ...

was also fashioned after the publisher's imprint

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from othe ...

. The site carries comics news, publisher solicitations, opinion columns,

interviews An interview is a structured conversation where one participant asks questions, and the other provides answers.Merriam Webster DictionaryInterview Dictionary definition, Retrieved February 16, 2016 In common parlance, the word "interview" r ...

, podcasts and

reviews A review is an evaluation of a publication, product, service, or company or a critical take on current affairs in literature, politics or culture. In addition to a critical evaluation, the review's author may assign the work a rating to indic ...

. Contributors include

Beau Smith Beau Smith (born December 17, 1954 in Huntington, West Virginia) is an American comic book writer and columnist, best known for his work for DC Comics, Image Comics, IDW Publishing and as vice president of marketing for Eclipse Comics. Car ...

Bob Almond Bob Almond (born January 4, 1967 in Seoul, South Korea)''Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; Page 107 is an American comic book inker whose credits include the Marvel Comics publications '' Warlock and the Infinity Watch'', '' Black Pant ...

, Holly Golightly,

Ian Flynn Ian Flynn (born May 31, 1982), also known by his Internet pen name Ian Potto, is an American comic book writer. He was chief writer for Archie Comics's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' since issue #160, after the departure of the previous chief writer Ken P ...

Michael Netzer Michael Netzer (born 9 October 1955) is an American-Israeli artist best known for his comic book work for DC Comics and Marvel Comics in the 1970s, as well as for his online presence. Early life Michael Nasser (later Netzer) was born in Detroit, ...

, Mark Heike and cosplay actress

Tanya Tate Tanya Tate (born 31 March 1979) is an English glamour model, writer, international cosplayer, and pornographic actress. Career After beginning her porn career in 2009,

. The site maintains offices in Canada and Europe. In January, 2011, First Comics News announced the winners of its first annual ''First Place Awards''. First Comics News itself was a 2012 Eagle Award nominee.

G-Man Comics

G-Man Comics, established June 22, 2019, is a guild style publisher featuring characters created by Rik Offenberger, Jim Burrows, and Eric N. Bennett, among others. Although each creator owns exclusive rights to their creation, they occupy a shared universe. The comic features traditional style superheroes.

References

External links

Super Hero News
Yahoo! homepage.
First Comics News
official site.
G-Man Comics
official site. {{DEFAULTSORT:Offenberger, Rik 20th-century American Jews 1964 births American comics writers Living people Archie Comics People from Norwalk, California 21st-century American Jews