Aspen Comics (Aspen MLT Inc.) is a

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

entertainment company founded in 2003 by artist Michael Turner. It has locations in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to i ...

and

Marina Del Rey Marina del Rey (Spanish language, Spanish for "Marina of the King") is an unincorporated area, unincorporated seaside community in Los Angeles County, California, with an eponymous harbor that is a major boating and water recreation destination ...

. The company is best known for producing comic books and

figurine A figurine (a diminutive form of the word ''figure'') or statuette is a small, three-dimensional sculpture that represents a human, deity or animal, or, in practice, a pair or small group of them. Figurines have been made in many media, with clay ...

History

The company was founded by comic book artist Michael Turner in January 2003. The name "Aspen" comes from the main character in Turner's comic series, '' Fathom''. Aspen Comics released the fantasy adventure '' Soulfire'' in 2004, its first ongoing series. 2005 marked the return of ''Fathom'' (originally published by Image Comics), with comic artist

Koi Turnbull Koi Turnbull (sometimes credited as Coy Turnbull) is an American comic book artist, known for his work with DC Comics, Marvel, Aspen MLT's ''Fathom''. Early life and career Coy Turnbull (the original spelling) was born on December 12th, in Elmhu ...

taking over the illustration of the title. '' Ekos'', a collaboration between Turner and

Geoff Johns Geoffrey Johns (born January 25, 1973) is an American comic book writer, screenwriter, and film and television producer. Johns's work on the DC Comics characters Green Lantern, Aquaman, Flash and Superman, has drawn critical acclaim. He serv ...

was scheduled to follow shortly after ''Soulfire'', but was still unreleased prior to Turner's death in 2008. In 2001,

Top Cow Productions Top Cow Productions is an American comics publisher, an imprint of Image Comics founded by Marc Silvestri in 1992. History During the early years of Image Comics, which was founded in 1992, co-founder Marc Silvestri shared a studio with Jim L ...

announced a live-action ''Fathom'' feature film and supposedly entered into an agreement with James Cameron's

Lightstorm Entertainment Lightstorm Entertainment is an American independent production company founded in 1990 by filmmaker James Cameron and producer Lawrence Kasanoff. The majority of its films have been distributed and owned by 20th Century Studios. Its productions i ...

to co-produce the film.

Staff

* Founder - Michael Turner * Co-Owner -

Peter Steigerwald Peter Steigerwald is an American comic book artist primarily known for his work as a colorist and his work at Aspen Comics. He has also worked in inking, writing, and graphic design. Career Steigerwald first worked with Top Cow Productions, colo ...

* Co-Owner/President - Frank Mastromauro * Vice President/Design and Production - Mark Roslan * Vice President/Editor in Chief - Vince Hernandez * Marketing and Production Manager - Sara Hasson * Office Manager - Megan Shirk

Titles

* '' Artifact One'' * ''

Aspen Aspen is a common name for certain tree species; some, but not all, are classified by botanists in the section ''Populus'', of the '' Populus'' genus. Species These species are called aspens: *'' Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (Chin ...

'' * '' Aspen Swimsuit: Splash'' * ''

Broken Pieces The first season of the American television series '' Star Trek: Picard'' features the character Jean-Luc Picard after he retired from Starfleet following the destruction of the planet Romulus. Living on his family's vineyard in 2399, Picard is ...

'' * '' Bubblegun'' * '' Charismagic'' * '' Damsels in Excess'' * '' Dellec'' * '' Ekos'' * ''

Eternal Soulfire Eternal(s) or The Eternal may refer to: * Eternity, an infinite amount of time, or a timeless state * Immortality or eternal life * God, the supreme being, creator deity, and principal object of faith in monotheism Comics, film and television ...

'' * ''

Executive Assistant Assassins Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

'' * ''

Executive Assistant Iris Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive dir ...

'' * '' Fathom'' * '' Fathom Blue'' * '' Fathom: Kiani'' * '' Four Points, The'' * '' Idolized'' * ''

Iron and the Maiden ''The Iron Saint'', originally known as ''Iron and the Maiden'', is Aspen Comics' first creator-owned comic book. It was created by Jason Rubin, co-founder of Naughty Dog, the key creative force behind ''Crash Bandicoot'' and ''Jak and Daxter''. ...

'' * ''

Homecoming Homecoming is the tradition of welcoming back alumni or other former members of an organization to celebrate the organization's existence. It is a tradition in many high schools, colleges, and churches in the United States, Canada and Liberia. ...

'' * '' Lady Mechanika'' * '' Legend of the Shadow Clan'' * '' Lola XOXO'' * '' Mindfield'' * '' Oniba: Swords of the Demon'' * '' Overtaken'' * '' Psycho Bonkers'' * '' Portal Bound'' * '' Santeria: The Goddess Kiss''comicvine.com/santeria-the-goddess-kiss/4050-88952/ * ''

Shrugged Shrugged is a comic series published by Aspen MLT, publishers of '' Soulfire'' and ''Fathom A fathom is a unit of length in the imperial and the U.S. customary systems equal to , used especially for measuring the depth of water. The fathom ...

'' * '' Soulfire'' * '' Trish Out of Water'' - a side story in the ''Fathom'' continuity, with different characters. A five-issue limited series written by Vince Hernandez, drawn by Giuseppe Cafaro, colored by Ruben Curto and Studio Parlapa and lettered by Josh Reed. Published in 2013-2014. * '' The Zoo Hunters''

Collaborations

Aspen MLT has worked together with both

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 ...

and

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 ...

on major cross-company collaborations. The most well-known are DC's '' Superman: Godfall'' and '' Superman/Batman: Supergirl'', where creators of Aspen MLT worked together with DC to create art and story for these comics. Following this, both DC and Marvel contracted Michael Turner to produce covers for their series.

Aspen/DC works

* ''

Flash Flash, flashes, or FLASH may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional aliases * Flash (DC Comics character), several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Barry Allen) ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Wally West, the first Kid F ...

'' (covers) * ''

Identity Crisis In psychology, identity crisis is a stage theory of identity development where it involves resolution of a conflict over the 8 stages of the lifespan.(Schultz, 216) The term was coined by German psychologist Erik Erikson. The stage of psychosoci ...

'' (covers) * ''

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her fir ...

'' (variant covers - #1-5, interior colors #1-4) * '' Superman: Godfall'' (covers and interior art) * '' Superman/Batman: Supergirl'' (covers and interior art - #8-13) * ''

Superman/Batman ''Superman/Batman'' is a monthly comic book series published by DC Comics that features the publisher's two most popular superheroes: Superman and Batman. ''Superman/Batman'' premiered in August 2003, an update of the previous series, ''World's ...

'' #26 (covers) * ''

Teen Titans The Teen Titans are a superhero team appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics, frequently in eponymous monthly series. As the group's name indicates, the members are teenage superheroes, many of whom have acted as sidekicks to DC ...

'' (variant cover - #1) * ''

Justice League of America The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in '' The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceive ...

'' (covers)

Aspen/Marvel works

* '' Black Panther'' (#23-25 - covers (Turner) and interiors (Turnbull)) * ''

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

'' (variant covers - #1-7) * '' Incredible Hulk'' (variant cover - #100) * '' Hulk'' (variant covers 1, 6 & 7) * ''

Ms. Marvel Ms. Marvel is the name of several fictional superheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was originally conceived as a female counterpart to Captain Marvel. Like Captain Marvel, most of the bearers of the Ms. M ...

(variant cover - #1) * '' Onslaught: Reborn'' (variant cover - #1) * ''

Ultimate Wolverine Wolverine (James Howlett) is a fictional character appearing in books published by Marvel Comics. He is an alternative version of Wolverine that appears in the Ultimate Marvel imprint, in stories separate from the original character. Created by ...

'' (promo art, series never completed) * ''

Ultimate X-Men ''Ultimate X-Men'' is a superhero comic book series, which was published by Marvel Comics, from 2001 to 2009. The series is a modernized re-imagining of Marvel's long-running X-Men comic book franchise as part of the Ultimate Marvel imprint. The U ...

'' (variant cover - #75) * '' Wolverine: Origins'' (variant cover - #1) * ''

Wolverine The wolverine (), (''Gulo gulo''; ''Gulo'' is Latin for " glutton"), also referred to as the glutton, carcajou, or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscul ...

'' Wolverine #66 Old Man Logan

Notable creators

Talent Caldwell Talent Caldwell is a comic book artist best known for his work on the Top Cow Productions character Fathom. He has also drawn for DC Comics' Superman and Marvel Comics' Spider-Man characters. Career Talent Caldwell came to the attention of ar ...

Jason Gorder Jason ( ; ) was an ancient Greek mythological hero and leader of the Argonauts, whose quest for the Golden Fleece featured in Greek literature. He was the son of Aeson, the rightful king of Iolcos. He was married to the sorceress Medea. He wa ...

Siya Oum Michele Sherman (born March 23, 1987), better known by her stage name Siya, is an American rapper. In 2012, she signed with Tank's R&B Money label imprint. She starred in the Oxygen reality TV series '' Sisterhood of Hip Hop''. Siya has collabo ...

Micah Gunnell Micah Gunnell (born June 18, 1980) is an animation director, storyboard artist, and comic book artist who currently works for Dreamworks Animation in the United States. In addition to his work in comics, he has produced storyboards for several ani ...

* Vince Hernandez *

Don Ho Donald Tai Loy Ho (August 13, 1930 – April 14, 2007) was a Hawaiian traditional pop musician, singer and entertainer. He is best known for the song "Tiny Bubbles" from the album of the same name. Life and career Ho was a singer of Native ...

J. T. Krul Jeffrey T. Krul (born November 14, 1972 in Michigan) is an American comic book writer, best known for his work on Aspen MLT's '' Fathom'' comic series. Early life J.T. Krul was born and raised in Michigan. He received a Bachelor's degree in Film ...

Jeph Loeb Joseph "Jeph" Loeb III () is an American film and television writer, producer and comic book writer. Loeb was a producer/writer on the TV series ''Smallville'' and ''Lost'', writer for the films '' Commando'' and ''Teen Wolf'', and a writer and ...

* A. Mahadeo *

Frank Mastromauro Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curr ...

* David Morán * Mark Roslan * Beth Sotelo *

* Christina Strain *

Marcus To Marcus To (born 20 October 1983) is a Canadian comic book artist who currently works for Marvel Comics as the artist for ''Excalibur''. He is best known for his work on Red Robin, '' Huntress'' and '' Soulfire''. On July 9, 2012, it was announc ...

* Michael Turner

References

External links

Official website of Aspen MLT Inc.
{{Comic book publishers in North America navbox Aspen Comics Comic book publishing companies of the United States