BECKETT COMICS UNAFFECTED IN BECKETT PUBLICATIONS AND BECKETT.COM ACQUISITION
James Beckett III, Owner & CEO of Beckett, Inc., retains the Beckett Entertainment/Comics division
DALLAS, TX – James Beckett III, Owner & CEO of Beckett, Inc., retains the Beckett Entertainment/Comics division. The recent sale of two of the three divisions – Beckett Publications, Inc. (sports & anime magazines) and Beckett.com did not include Beckett Comics or any of its comic book properties. The entertainment division, which itself is already incorporated, will continue its comics publishing efforts as a standalone entity.
“It’s really not going to change much in the way we operate,” said Jeff Amano, president of Beckett Comics. “The creative brain trust remains intact. Gabriel Benson and I will continue as we always have in developing stories with mass-market-friendly storytelling and contemporary art design. Our product quality and excellent distribution will remain strong.”
The name of the newly formed company from the sale is Beckett Media LP. Beckett Entertainment retains its name, as each entity will operate in the Beckett name in their respective areas.
In 2004, Beckett Comics completed its inaugural series under the Ruule imprint, with the final installments of Ganglords of Chinatown, and introduced Kiss & Tell as its next Ruule story. In addition, the publisher released two new critically acclaimed series: The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty and Fade From Grace.
Beckett Comics was one of 10 Gold sponsors of Free Comic Book Day 2004, releasing 87,000 copies of the first issue of The Ballad of Sleeping Beauty free to comic readers through thousands of shops around the country.
“We count our participation as a Gold Sponsor in Free Comic Book Day as one of our many successes of 2004,” said Beckett Comics managing editor Gabriel Benson. “We fully intend to participate again in 2005 as we introduce Ronin Hood of the 47 Samurai.”
Beckett Comics was established in 2002 with the release of the futuristic Gene-Fusion A.D. 2310 as its first original series. The property has been optioned for broadcast and is set to go into production this Fall. In 2003, Beckett Comics enjoyed critical success with Ruule: Ganglords of Chinatown and published the officially licensed Terminator® 3 comic book series.
After a breakout year in 2004, Beckett Comics has plans to release two new series in 2005 to go along with a follow-up series of their acclaimed hit Fade From Grace. May 2005 will see the release of Ronin Hood of the 47 Samurai, from the creative team behind Kiss & Tell (written by Jeff Amano, with art by Craig Rousseau and colors by Giulia Brusco). This epic tale is based on an historic Japanese event when 47 disgraced Samurai plotted to avenge the death of their master knowing it would end tragically. Fade From Grace will return later in the year, as The Ballad Of Sleeping Beauty writer Gabriel Benson and artist Jeff Amano pick up the pieces from the stunning conclusion to the first series that ends in March 2005.
For more information about Beckett Comics, visit www.beckettcomics.com.
