Stephen Christy (born 1985)Albert Ching

Newsarama.com 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 New ...

, August 10, 2010. is an American film and television producer, entertainment executive, and former graphic novel editor. He is the President of Development at graphic novel publisher

Boom! Studios Boom! Studios (styled BOOM! Studios) is an American comic book and graphic novel publisher, headquartered in Los Angeles, California, United States. History Origins In the early 2000s, Ross Richie and Andrew Cosby had been working in Holly ...

, where he oversees Boom!'s first look deals with

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

20th Century Studios 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

and

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

. He was formerly editor-in-chief at

Archaia Entertainment Archaia Entertainment, LLC, commonly known as Archaia (formerly known as Archaia Studios Press), is an imprint of American comic book and graphic novel publisher Boom! Studios. Archaia Entertainment, LLC was originally an American comic book publ ...

, where he won two

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 ...

, as the editor of ''Jim Henson's Tale of Sand'' and ''Return of the Dapper Men''.“Lightning Session With Stephen Christy III,”
Legendary Comics, April 17, 2014.

Early life and education

Christy was born and raised in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. He attended the

Latin School of Chicago Latin School of Chicago is a selective private elementary, middle, and high school located in the Gold Coast neighborhood on the Near North Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. The school was founded in 1888 by Mabel Slade Vickery. Latin S ...

, and then

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands ( Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...

in Boston, Massachusetts, graduating in 2007 with a degree in film and television production. While at Emerson, he co-founded the literary anthology ''Thread'', which publishes screenplays, plays and comic book scripts; produced original content for the Emerson Channel; and interned at

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 ...

and

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 ...

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 ...

.Michael Moccio
“Interview with Archaia Entertainment Editor-in-Chief Stephen Christy,”
''Emertainment Monthly'', July 11, 2013.

Career

Archaia Entertainment

Following graduation, Christy briefly worked in

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

, and then at

Devil's Due Publishing Devil's Due Publishing (often abbreviated as DDP) is an independent comic book publisher in the United States. Based in Chicago, Illinois, DDP is best known for its wide selection of genres, including licensed and original creator-owned proper ...

, opening a Los Angeles office for the Chicago-based small press publisher. He then moved to

, serving as Director of Development for about a year, before being named editor-in-chief of Archaia Entertainment in April 2010, when he was 24 years old. Christy also handled film and television development for the company, overseeing the sale of the film rights for four graphic novels, two each to

Fox Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

and

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American Film studio, film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios, Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, Califo ...

. Christy served as editor-in-chief at Archaia until 2013, with notable successes including ''

Tumor A neoplasm () is a type of abnormal and excessive growth of tissue. The process that occurs to form or produce a neoplasm is called neoplasia. The growth of a neoplasm is uncoordinated with that of the normal surrounding tissue, and persists ...

'', a collaboration with

Amazon.com Amazon.com, Inc. ( ) is an American multinational technology company focusing on e-commerce, cloud computing, online advertising, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It has been referred to as "one of the most influential economi ...

that was released serially on the Kindle prior to its hardcover publication, and was the first graphic novel created specifically for the Kindle; the American English-language re-launch of

Shotaro Ishinomori was a Japanese manga artist who became an influential figure in manga, anime, and , creating several immensely popular long-running series such as ''Cyborg 009,'' the ''Super Sentai'' series (later adapted into the ''Power Rangers'' series), an ...

's classic manga ''

Cyborg 009 is a Japanese science fiction manga created by Shotaro Ishinomori. It was serialized in many different Japanese magazines, including '' Monthly Shōnen King'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'', ''Shōnen Big Comic'', '' COM'', '' ...

''; and the publication of ''Jim Henson's A Tale of Sand'', a graphic novel adaptation by Ramon Perez, based on an unproduced screenplay by

Jim Henson James Maury Henson (September 24, 1936 – May 16, 1990) was an American puppeteer, animator, cartoonist, actor, inventor, and filmmaker who achieved worldwide notice as the creator of The Muppets and '' Fraggle Rock'' (1983–1987) and ...

.Andy Khouri
“Boom! Studios & Archaia Editors-In-Chief Matt Gagnon & Stephen Christy Talk Merger, Creator Deals and Aesthetics,”

Comics Alliance ComicsAlliance was an American website dedicated to covering the comic book industry as well as comic-related media, and is owned by Townsquare Media. The site has been nominated for multiple awards including a 2015 Eisner Award win in the catego ...

, July 5, 2013.Alexandra Cheney
“Jim Henson’s Earliest Screenplay Gets Graphic Novel Treatment,”
''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', January 16, 2012. In a publishing partnership with

The Jim Henson Company The Jim Henson Company (formerly known as Muppets, Inc., Henson Associates, Inc., and Jim Henson Productions, Inc.; commonly referred to as Henson) is an American entertainment company located in Los Angeles, California. The company is known for ...

, which Christy helped negotiate in 2009, Archaia published numerous graphic novels based on Henson properties, including '' The Storyteller'', ''

The Dark Crystal ''The Dark Crystal'' is a 1982 dark fantasy film directed by Jim Henson and Frank Oz. It stars the voices of Stephen Garlick, Lisa Maxwell, Billie Whitelaw, Percy Edwards, and Barry Dennen. The film was produced by ITC Entertainment and The J ...

'', ''

Labyrinth In Greek mythology, the Labyrinth (, ) was an elaborate, confusing structure designed and built by the legendary artificer Daedalus for King Minos of Crete at Knossos. Its function was to hold the Minotaur, the monster eventually killed by the ...

'', ''The Musical Monsters of Turkey Hollow'' and ''

Fraggle Rock ''Fraggle Rock'' (also known as ''Jim Henson's Fraggle Rock'' or ''Fraggle Rock with Jim Henson's Muppets'') is a children's musical fantasy comedy puppet television series about interconnected societies of Muppet creatures, created by Jim H ...

''. During Christy's tenure, Archaia won five

.Borys Kit
“Boom! Studios Expands Exec Lineup as Company Moves to Fox Lot,”
''The Hollywood Reporter'', April 21, 2014. In 2011, '' Mouse Guard: Legends of the Guard'' won for Best Anthology, while ''Return of the Dapper Men'' won for Best Graphic Album: New. In 2012, ''Tale of Sand'' won three Eisner Awards, for Best Graphic Album: New, Best Publication Design and Best Penciller/Inker. The graphic novel also won two

Harvey Awards The Harvey Awards are given for achievement in comic books. Named for writer-artist Harvey Kurtzman, the Harvey Awards were founded by Gary Groth in 1988, president of the publisher Fantagraphics, to be the successor to the Kirby Awards that were ...

and a

Joe Shuster Award The Joe Shuster Canadian Comic Book Creator Awards (or Joe Shuster Awards) are given out annually for outstanding achievements in the creation of comic books, graphic novels, webcomics, and comics retailers and publishers by Canadian comics, Canadi ...

Boom! Studios and film/TV producing

In June 2013, comic book and graphic novel publisher

acquired Archaia Entertainment, creating the largest library of comic book IP outside of

Marvel Marvel may refer to: Business * Marvel Entertainment, an American entertainment company ** Marvel Comics, the primary imprint of Marvel Entertainment ** Marvel Universe, a fictional shared universe ** Marvel Music, an imprint of Marvel Comics ...

and DC. After the acquisition of Archaia, Christy was named president of development of Boom! Studios, overseeing all film, television, web and animation projects in development at the company's four brands: Boom!, Archaia, KaBoom! And Boom! Box. In October 2013, Boom! Studios signed a first-look feature film deal with 20th Century Fox Studios for all Boom! Imprints, with Christy acting as a producer on the projects. In September 2014, Boom! signed a separate broadcast and cable first look television deal with 20th Century Fox TV, with Christy serving as an executive producer on any project developed with the studio. In 2017,

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

acquired a significant minority stake in Boom! Studios. The stake was absorbed by the

Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

as part of their acquisition of the 20th Century Fox assets. That first-look deal runs through January 2021. Christy was set to produce ''

Mouse Guard A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

'' with Matt Reeves, a $170 million CGI motion-capture fantasy film based on the graphic novels. The film was greenlit by 20th Century Fox and was to be directed by

Wes Ball Wes Ball (born October 28, 1980) is an American film director, visual effects artist and graphic artist. He is best known for directing the ''Maze Runner'' film trilogy, based on James Dashner's series of novels of the same name. Ball's next fil ...

and set to star

Idris Elba Idrissa Akuna Elba (; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor.

Andy Serkis Andrew Clement Serkis (born 20 April 1964) is an English actor, director, and producer. He is best known for his performance capture roles comprising motion capture acting, animation, and voice work for computer-generated characters such as Goll ...

, and

Thomas Brodie-Sangster Thomas Brodie-Sangster (born 16 May 1990), also credited as Thomas Sangster, is an English actor. He is known for playing Sam in ''Love Actually'' (2003), Simon in ''Nanny McPhee'' (2005), Ferb in ''Phineas and Ferb'' (2007–2015), Jojen Reed ...

. With over $25 million spent by Fox, production was halted by Disney two weeks before its scheduled start in April 2019, as a result of Fox’s merger with Disney a month earlier. A number of other Fox features were cancelled during the same period. Christy executive produced ''

Just Beyond ''Just Beyond'' is an American horror comedy anthology series created by Seth Grahame-Smith based on Boom! Studios' graphic novels of the same name by R. L. Stine for Disney+. The series premiered on October 13, 2021, with all 8 episodes. Cast ...

'', a horror-comedy anthology series that aired on

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...

in 2021. It was created by

Seth Grahame-Smith Seth Grahame-Smith (born Seth Jared Greenberg; January 4, 1976) is an American writer and film producer, best known as the author of ''The New York Times'' best-selling novels '' Pride and Prejudice and Zombies'' and '' Abraham Lincoln, Vampire ...

, and based on the Boom! Studios graphic novel by

R. L. Stine Robert Lawrence Stine (; born October 8, 1943), sometimes known as Jovial Bob Stine and Eric Affabee, is an American novelist, short story writer, television producer, screenwriter, and executive editor. Stine has been referred to as the "St ...

. Christy is executive producing ''HexVet'', an upcoming animated series for

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

, and ''Butterfly'', an upcoming spy thriller series for

Amazon Studios Amazon Studios is an American television and film producer and distributor that is a subsidiary of Amazon. It specializes in developing television series and distributing and producing films. It was started in late 2010. Content is distributed th ...

with

Daniel Dae Kim Daniel Dae Kim (born Kim Dae-hyun ( ko, 김대현); August 4, 1968) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as Jin-Soo Kwon in ''Lost'', Chin Ho Kelly in ''Hawaii Five-0'', Gavin Park in ''Angel'', and Johnny Gat in the ''Saints Row'' ...

starring and executive producing. In 2021, Boom! Studios launched the comic ''

BRZRKR ''BRZRKR'' is a comic book series created and written by Keanu Reeves and Matt Kindt and drawn by Ron Garney. The comic follows an immortal warrior, known as Berzerker, as he fights his way through the ages. The first issue of the 12-issue limi ...

'', created and co-written by

Keanu Reeves Keanu Charles Reeves ( ; born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian actor. Born in Beirut and raised in Toronto, Reeves began acting in theatre productions and in television films before making his feature film debut in '' Youngblood'' (1986). ...

. Two weeks after the launch,

purchased the film rights, and also commissioned a two-season anime series. Christy will produce the adaptations, with Reeves starring in both. Christy has sold over 40 film and television projects as a producer, including ''The Unsound'' to

with

David F. Sandberg David F. Sandberg (born 21 January 1981) is a Swedish filmmaker. He is best known for his collective no-budget horror short films under the online pseudonym ''ponysmasher'' and for his 2016 directorial debut '' Lights Out'', based on his 2013 a ...

producing, ''

Irredeemable ''Irredeemable'' is an American comic book series written by Mark Waid, drawn by Peter Krause and Diego Barreto, and published by Boom! Studios. The series follows the fall of the world's greatest superhero, the Plutonian, as he begins slaughter ...

'' to

with

Jay-Z Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969), known professionally as Jay-Z, is an American rapper, record producer, entrepreneur, and founder of Manhattan-based conglomerate talent and entertainment agency Roc Nation. He is regarded as one of ...

producing,

Jeymes Samuel Jeymes Samuel (born July 27, 1979), also known by his stage name The Bullitts, is a British singer-songwriter, music producer and filmmaker. His debut album, ''They Die By Dawn & Other Short Stories...'', was issued in 2013. ''The Harder They Fa ...

directing, and

Kemp Powers Kemp Powers is an American filmmaker and playwright. He is best known for his work on the play ''One Night in Miami'', the 2020 film adaptation of the same name, and ''Soul''. His screenplay for ''One Night in Miami...'' earned him a Best Ada ...

adapting, '' Goldie Vance'' to

with

Rashida Jones Rashida Leah Jones (; born February 25, 1976) is an American actress. Jones appeared as Louisa Fenn on the Fox drama series ''Boston Public'' (2000–2002), as Karen Filippelli on the NBC comedy series ''The Office'' (2006–2009; 2011), and as ...

writing and directing and

Kerry Washington Kerry Marisa Washington (born January 31, 1977) SidebarCertificate of Live Birth: Isabelle Amarachi Asomugha(County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health). Gives Kerry Washington birth dateArchivedfrom the original on May 2, 2016.Note: Fi ...

producing, ''Misfit City'' to

HBO Max HBO Max is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in the United States on May 27, 2020, the service is built around the libraries of HBO, Warner Bros., Cartoon Netw ...

, with Hannah Hafey and Kaitlin Smith creating and executive producing, and '' Something Is Killing the Children'' to Netflix, created by

Baran bo Odar Baran bo Odar (born 18 April 1978) is a German film and television director and screenwriter. He is known for co-creating the Netflix series ''Dark'' (2017–2020) and '' 1899'' (2022) with his creative and romantic partner, Jantje Friese. His ...

and

Jantje Friese Jantje Friese (born 1977) is a German film producer and screenwriter known for co-creating the Netflix series ''Dark'' (2017–2020) and ''1899'' (2022) with her creative and romantic partner Baran bo Odar. Work Jantje Friese studied productio ...

. In April 2020, it was reported that Boom! Studios signed a first-look deal with

for live-action and animated series. Christy will executive produce all shows developed through the agreement.

Filmography

Film

TV series

Bibliography

Christy has edited or co-edited the following books:

Devil's Due Publishing

* '' Sheena: Queen of the Jungle'' (2007–08) * ''Golden Age Sheena: The Best of the Queen of the Jungle'' (2008) * ''Halloween: Nightdance'' (2008) * ''Halloween: 30 Years of Terror'' (2008) * ''Halloween: The First Death of Laurie Strode'' (2008) * ''Rest'' (2008) * ''Spooks'' (2008) * ''Golden Age Sheena: The Best of the Queen of the Jungle Volume 2'' (2009) * ''United Free Worlds'' (2009)

Archaia Entertainment

* ''The Devil's Handshake'' (2009) * ''Days Missing'' (2010) * ''Moon Lake'' (2010) * ''Return of the Dapper Men'' (2010) * ''Syndrome'' (2010) * ''Lucid: A Matthew Dee Adventure'' (2011) * ''Mr. Murder Is Dead" (2012) * ''

'' (2010) * ''An Elegy for Amelia Johnson'' (2011) * ''The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths'' (2011) * ''Jim Henson's Tale of Sand'' (2011) * ''The Dark Crystal: Creation Myths Vol. 2'' (2013) * ''

'' (2013) * ''Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal: The Novelization'' (2014) * ''Jim Henson's Labyrinth: The Novelization'' (2014) * ''Jim Henson's The Storyteller: The Novelization'' (2014) * ''Jim Henson's Tale of Sand Screenplay'' (2014) * ''The Joyners in 3D'' (2014)

References

External links

*
Boom! Studios website

Archaia Entertainment website

ScriptsandScribes.com Interview with Stephen Christy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christy, Stephen 1985 births Living people Emerson College alumni Latin School of Chicago alumni People from Chicago People from Los Angeles Comic book editors Film producers from California Archaia Studios Press Film producers from Illinois