Shadowline, Inc., is an
imprint
Imprint or imprinting may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series
* "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror''
* ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film
...
of
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 ...
established by Image co-founder
Jim Valentino
Jim Valentino (born October 28, 1952) is an American writer, penciler, editor and publisher of comic books, best known for his 1990–1992 work on ''Guardians of the Galaxy'' for Marvel Comics, and for co-founding Image Comics, a company publis ...
. The name is an
homage
Homage (Old English) or Hommage (French) may refer to:
History
*Homage (feudal) /ˈhɒmɪdʒ/, the medieval oath of allegiance
*Commendation ceremony, medieval homage ceremony Arts
*Homage (arts) /oʊˈmɑʒ/, an allusion or imitation by one arti ...
to Valentino's character,
ShadowHawk
ShadowHawk is a fictional antihero created by Jim Valentino.
He was first advertised in the ''Malibu Sun'' free promotional magazine in May of 1992. His official Image Comics debut was in the second issue of Rob Liefeld's '' Youngblood'' series. ...
.
History
Shadowline was officially created in December 1992 when the logo first appeared on the inside front cover of Jim Valentino's ''ShadowHawk'' #3. The first book to sport the logo on its cover was ''Shadowline Special'' #1 (October, 1994).
In January 1997, Shadowline became more commonly referred to as the “Non-Line” with the publication of ''A Touch of Silver'' #1. The name referred to the fact that the comics in the line at that time were not in any way aligned with one another. There was no singular universe or line. Hence, non-line.
On August 25, 1999, Jim Valentino became the publisher of Image Comics and while he did not publish his own work (so as not to create a conflict of interest), other books in the Non-Line continued. When
Erik Larsen
Erik J. Larsen (born December 8, 1962) is an American comic book artist, writer, and publisher. He currently acts as the chief financial officer of Image Comics. He gained attention in the early 1990s with his art on Spider-Man series for Marvel ...
eventually took over as the publisher, Valentino returned to the Non-Line and to publishing his own work.
In July 2004 with the publication of the ''
normalman
normalman is a limited series of American comic books created by Jim Valentino. It began in November 1983 as a four-page story in ''Cerebus'' #56 and #57 before being launched as a full-color 12-issue series which was published by Aardvark-Van ...
20th Anniversary Special,'' the name Shadowline was reborn. The first new book to have the Shadowline logo on the cover after the rebirth was ''Shadowhawk'' v. II #1 (May, 2005). Other titles to be created by Valentino, but executed by different creative teams were Blacklight, Task Force 1, The Intimidators and Emissary.
Today, Shadowline not only publishes Jim Valentino's properties but also properties owned by other creators such as
Jimmie Robinson
Jimmie Robinson (born 1963 in California)"About the Artists & Writers," ''African-American Classics, Graphic Classics'' vol. 22 (Eureka Productions, 2011). is an American comic book creator, known for writing and drawing the comic book series ''Bo ...
,
,
Jeff Mariotte
Jeff Mariotte (born 1955) is an author who lives in Arizona. As well as his own original work, he is best known for writing novels and comic books based on licensed properties.
Biography
Mariotte was born in Park Forest, Illinois, but he moved ...
, Mike Mayhhew,
Steve Niles
Steve Niles (born June 21, 1965) is an American comic book author and novelist, known for works such as ''30 Days of Night'', '' Criminal Macabre: A Cal McDonald Mystery'', ''Simon Dark'', ''Mystery Society'', and '' Batman: Gotham County Line''.
...
and Michael Cavallaro.
With a diverse line of one-shots, miniseries and series of miniseries and a growing stable of Eagle- and Eisner-nominated creators, Shadowline is gaining recognition from fans, peers and critics in recent years.
Who Wants To Create a Super-Heroine contest
In December
2007 Shadowline announced a contest for writers to send in a submission for a three-issue
limited series Limited series may refer to:
*Limited series, individual storylines within an anthology series
*Limited series, a particular run of collectables, usually individually numbered
*Limited series (comics), a comics series with a predetermined number of ...
featuring an all-new,
creator-owned
In the United States, creator ownership in comics is an arrangement in which the comic book creator retains full ownership of the material, regardless of whether the work is self-published or published by a corporate publisher.
In some fields of ...
superheroine
A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
. While it was announced in April 2008 that Tom Arguello was declared the winner for his entry, ''Incredible Journey'' the book itself eventually did not go to print due to a lack of customer/comic-shop support through pre-orders. However, shortly after ComicCon 2008 it was announced that contest finalist Kat Cahill would have her semi-finalist submission ''I Hate Gallant Girl'' published by Shadowline with Seth Damoose as the series artist. Three issues of ''I Hate Gallant Girl'' were published between December 2008 and February 2009.
Shadowlinecomics.com
On June 25, 2008 the Shadowline website was relaunched.
In the weeks and months that followed the site became home to a number of webcomics, including Brat-halla, Chicago:1968,
Finder and
Yenny. Later additions include Hannibal Goes to Rome,
Action, Ohio,
Platinum Grit
''Platinum Grit'' is an Australian self-published comic book/online comic. The series is noted for sexual drawings of girls, surreal offbeat humor and tightly written scripts. The series was created by writer/illustrator Trudy Cooper and co- ...
, Nightmare World, Li'l Depressed Boy and the Mundane Overrated Misadventures of Spudman.
Silverline Books
Along with the relaunch of the website in 2008 came the announcement of an all-ages sub-imprint for the company called Silverline Books. Silverline was created as a way to clearly define the all-ages books for easier reference for parents, librarians and others. It was done to assist in allowing anyone to separate those titles from Shadowline's more mature offerings such as ''
Bomb Queen
Bomb Queen is an American fictional comic book character, created by Jimmie Robinson. She first appeared in Image Comics' ''Bomb Queen'' Vol. 1, #1, and has subsequently appeared in eight limited series, four single-issue specials, and a crossove ...
'' and ''The Roberts.''
Among the titles that will see print under the Silverline Books banner are ''Dear Dracula,'' ''Bruce The Little Blue Spruce,'' ''Missing the Boat'' and any future versions of ''PX!,'' ''The Surreal Adventures of Edgar Allan Poo,'' "Timothy and the Transgalactic Towel," "Rocketbots," and "Night of the Bedbugs."
ShadowlineOnline.com
In the early part of 2011 the Shadowline website was renamed to ShadowlineOnline and the website was relaunched once again.
Along with the relaunch came a new webcomic, The Tales of Mr. Rhee, a spinoff of Dirk Manning's Nightmare World. Additionally, the website also runs a feature every Monday that gives details on any new comics that come out each week and on every Friday there is a 10 Questions interview with a given Shadowline creator.
As of August 2016 the website is no longer active.
Publications
References
External links
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