Piranha Press, an imprint of

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 ...

from 1989 to 1994, was a response by DC to the growing interest in

alternative 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 ...

. The imprint was edited by Mark Nevelow, who instead of developing comics with the established names in the alternative comics field, chose to introduce several unknown illustrators with an eclectic and diverse line of experimental graphic novels and stories. Unusual for the time, Nevelow succeeded in getting DC to agree to contracts giving creator ownership to writers and artists.

History

DC announced its plan to form the Piranha imprint in 1987. Nevelow's associate editor on the imprint was Karen McBurnie. Designer

Dean Motter Dean Motter is an illustrator, designer and writer who has worked for many years in Canada (Toronto) and the United States (New York City and Atlanta). He is best known for his album cover designs, two of which won Juno Awards. He is also the crea ...

created the signature Piranha cover format and logo. After the initial 1989 titles were art directed by

John Workman John Workman (born June 20, 1950) is an American editor, writer, artist, designer, colorist and letterer in the comic book industry. He is known for his frequent partnerships with writer/artist Walter Simonson and also for lettering the entire r ...

, the in-house Piranha production design was by

Bhob Stewart Robert Marion Stewart, known as Bhob Stewart (November 12, 1937 – February 24, 2014) was an American writer, editor, cartoonist, filmmaker, and active fan who contributed to a variety of publications over a span of five decades. His articles a ...

from 1989 to 1992, with other design contributions by Dale Crain, Rick Spanier,

Richard Bruning Richard Bruning (born February 7, 1953) In print issue #1650 (February 2009), p. 107 is an American graphic designer and comics creator. Biography In 1979, Richard Bruning opened a design firm in Madison, Wisconsin, called Abraxas Studios. In ...

, Veronica Carlin, Margaret Clark and Rick Keene. Artist-writer

Alec Stevens Alec Preston Stevens (born 22 February 1965) is an American author, illustrator and musician. Biography Alec Stevens was born in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil where his father, a USAF officer stationed in various parts of the world, was on military ...

was the first creator to sign a contract with Piranha Press in September, 1988, and his graphic novels ''The Sinners'' and ''Hardcore'' followed in June 1989 and January 1990, respectively. A third book, ''A Winter Within'', was verbally agreed upon, but a contract never materialized. Piranha's most successful title was

Kyle Baker Kyle John Baker (born 1965) is an American cartoonist, comic book writer-artist, and animator known for his graphic novels and for a 2000s revival of the series ''Plastic Man''. Baker has won numerous Eisner Awards and Harvey Awards for his wor ...

's ''Why I Hate Saturn'' which had multiple printings. '' Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children'', a 32-page monthly anthology of Dave Louapre's stories, illustrated by Dan Sweetman, had a 30-issue run from June 1989 to September 1992. Humor series of note were John Blair Moore's ''Invaders from Home!!!'',

Marc Hempel Marc Hempel (born May 25, 1957) is an American cartoonist/comics artist best known for his work on '' The Sandman'' with Neil Gaiman. Biography Writer and artist Marc Hempel grew up in the northwest suburbs of Chicago and now lives in Baltimo ...

's 120-page ''Gregory'', and ''

Epicurus the Sage ''Epicurus the Sage'' was a two-issue limited series graphic novel, written by William Messner-Loebs, with art by Sam Kieth. The two issues were published in 1989 and 1991 by Piranha Press, the "alternative comics" imprint of DC Comics. Plot A ...

'' by

William Messner-Loebs William Francis Messner-Loebs (; born William Francis Loebs, Jr., February 19, 1949) is an American comics artist and writer from Michigan, also known as Bill Loebs and Bill Messner-Loebs. His hyphenated surname is a combination of his and his wif ...

and

Sam Kieth Sam Kieth (born January 11, 1963) is an American comics artist and writer, best known as the creator of ''The Maxx'' and ''Zero Girl''. Career Comics Kieth's first published work was "a story in the back of a Comico comic" when he was "about ...

. Other Piranha writers and artists included Gil Ashby,

Mark Badger Mark Billings Badger (October 16, 1958), known as Mark Badger, is an American illustrator who has worked as a penciler, inker, cover artist, painter, and occasional colorist in the American comic book industry. In addition to his career as a comi ...

, Glenn Barr, Charlie Boatner, Damon Cardwell, Tim Conrad, Michael Davis, Gerard Jones, Jon Hammer, Alison Marek, Douglas Michael,

Steve Parkhouse Steve Parkhouse is a writer, artist and letterer who has worked for many British comics, especially '' 2000 AD'' and ''Doctor Who Magazine''. Biography Parkhouse has worked in comics since 1967, when he drew the occasional "Power House Pin-Up" ...

, and Jennifer Waters. In early 1991, Nevelow left the company."Newswatch: Nevelow Leaving Piranha", ''The Comics Journal'' #140 (Feb. 1991), p. 13. With his departure, the imprint began to drastically change its editorial direction in an effort to attain the commercial success that largely eluded them. Piranha's last published comic was the one-shot ''Prince and the New Power Generation: Three Chains of Gold'', which came out in 1994. The imprint was shut down shortly thereafter, replaced by the new imprint

Paradox Press Paradox Press was a division of DC Comics formed in 1993 after editor Mark Nevelow departed from Piranha Press. Under the initial editorship of Andrew Helfer and Bronwyn Carlton the imprint was renamed. It is best known for graphic novels like ' ...

Howard Cruse Howard Cruse (May 2, 1944 – November 26, 2019) was an American alternative cartoonist known for the exploration of gay themes in his comics. First coming to attention in the 1970s during the underground comix movement with ''Barefootz'', he wa ...

's ''

Stuck Rubber Baby ''Stuck Rubber Baby'' is a 1995 graphic novel by American cartoonist Howard Cruse. He created his debut graphic novel after a decades-long career as an underground cartoonist. It deals with homosexuality and racism in the 1960s in the southern U ...

'' (1995) was a project that began with Piranha Press. The book took so long for Cruse to draw, however, that it was later published under the Paradox Press imprint by editors

Andy Helfer Andrew Helfer (born August 17, 1958) is an American comic book creator best known for his work as an editor and writer at DC Comics, where he founded the Paradox Press imprint. Career Andy Helfer joined DC Comics in 1981 and assisted Joe Orland ...

and Bronwyn Taggart, with design by Robbin Brosterman.

Titles published

Ongoing series

* '' Beautiful Stories for Ugly Children'', by Dave Louapre and Dan Sweetman (32 issues, June 1989–Sept. 1992) * ''

'', by

and

(2 issues, 1989–91) * ''Etc.'', by Tim Conrad and Michael Davis (5 issues, June 1989–Nov. 1990) * ''Fast Forward'', edited by Andrew Helfer, written by Grant Morrison, Kyle Baker & Bill Messner-Loebs, with various artists (3 issues, Oct. 1992–Jan. 1993) * ''Gregory'', by

(4 issues, 1989–93) * ''The Score'', by Gerard Jones and

(4 issues, July 1989–Nov.1989) * ''Invaders from Home!!!'', by John Blair Moore (6 issues, 1990)

Original graphic novels

* ''Desert Streams'', by Alison Marek (1989) * ''The Drowned Girl'', by Jon Hammer (1991) * ''The Elvis Mandible'', by Douglas Michael (1990) * ''Hardcore'', by Alec Stevens (Jan. 1990) * ''The Hiding Place'', by Charlie Boatner and

(1990) * ''The Laziest Secretary in the World'', by Jennifer Waters and Gil Ashby (1990) * ''Mars on Earth'', by Damon Cardwell and Glenn L. Barr (Jan. 1992) * ''Nation of Snitches'', by Jon Hammer (Sept. 1990) * ''

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

and the

New Power Generation The New Power Generation, also known as The NPG, was the backing band of musician Prince from 1990 to 2013. They were replaced by 3rdeyegirl as his backing band in 2013. In 2015, the New Power Generation reunited as Prince's backing band for ...

: Three Chains of Gold'', by

Dwayne McDuffie Dwayne Glenn McDuffie (February 20, 1962February 21, 2011) was an American writer of comic books and television, known for producing and writing the animated series '' Static Shock'', '' Damage Control'', ''Justice League Unlimited'' and '' Ben ...

, Steve Carr, Deryl Skelton, David A. Williams and

Josef Rubinstein Josef "Joe" Rubinstein (born 4 June 1958) is a comic book artist and inker, most associated with inking Marvel Comics' '' The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe'' and the 1982 four-issue ''Wolverine'' miniseries by Chris Claremont and Frank ...

(1994) * ''

: Alter Ego'', by Dwayne McDuffie,

Denys Cowan Denys B. Cowan (born January 30, 1961) is an American comics artist, television producer, media executive and one of the co-founders of Milestone Media. Early life Denys Cowan was first inspired by superheroes as a child from reruns of the 1950s ...

and Kent Williams (Jan. 1991) * ''The Sinners'', by Alec Stevens (June 1989) * ''Sparrow'', by Alison Marek (1990) * ''The Wasteland'', by Dave Louapre and Dan Sweetman (1989) * '' Why I Hate Saturn'', by

(1990)

References

External links

Piranha Press
{{DC Comics imprints 1989 comics debuts 1989 establishments in New York City 1994 disestablishments in New York (state) DC Comics imprints Defunct comics and manga publishing companies Alternative Comics