Aardvark-Vanaheim is a Canadian

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

comic book publisher This list of comics publishing companies lists companies, specifically publishing companies who primarily publish comics. Comic art is an art medium used to present ideas or stories via images. The images are usually arranged in panels in a seque ...

founded in 1977 by

Dave Sim Dave Sim (born 17 May 1956) is a Canadian cartoonist and publisher, known for his comic book ''Cerebus the Aardvark, Cerebus'', his artistic experimentation, his advocacy of self-publishing and creators' rights, and his controversial political an ...

and

Deni Loubert Denise "Deni" Loubert (born September 30, 1951) Miller, John Jackson"Comics Industry Birthdays" '' Comics Buyer's Guide'', June 10, 2005. Accessed July 19, 2011WebCitation archive is a Canadian comics publisher, co-founder of Aardvark-Vanaheim, a ...

and is best known for publishing Sim's '' Cerebus''. For a brief time, the company also published other titles, sometimes under the name Aardvark One International. This was mainly in the early 1980s, and most of these titles moved to Deni Loubert's new company,

Renegade Press Renegade Press was an American comic book company, founded by Canadian Deni Loubert, that operated from 1984 to 1988. Notable titles published by Renegade included '' Flaming Carrot'', '' Ms. Tree'', and ''normalman''. History Loubert was publ ...

. Since the 1980s the majority of titles published by the company were related to ''Cerebus'', although since the final issue of ''Cerebus'' was published, A-V has gone on to publish other works by Sim, including '' glamourpuss''. In July 1984, Aardvark-Vanaheim was threatened with possible legal action by

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

over a parody of Marvel's

Wolverine The wolverine ( , ; ''Gulo gulo''), also called the carcajou or quickhatch (from East Cree, ''kwiihkwahaacheew''), is the largest land-dwelling species, member of the family Mustelidae. It is a muscular carnivore and a solitary animal. The w ...

character in '' Cerebus''. A-V's offices are located in Kitchener,

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

Titles

* ''A-V in 3-D'' (1984), #1 * ''

Cerebus the Aardvark ''Cerebus'' (; also ''Cerebus the Aardvark'') is a comic book series, created by Canadian cartoonist Dave Sim, which ran from December 1977 until March 2004. The title character of the 300-issue series is an anthropomorphic aardvark who takes ...

'' (1977–2004), #1–300 (also reprint titles ''Swords of Cerebus'', ''Cerebus World Tour Book'', ''Cerebus Number Zero'', and the ''Cerebus'' "phone book" omnibuses). * ''Cerebus in Hell'' (2017), #1–4 * ''Cerebus Jam'' (1985), #1 * '' glamourpuss'' (2008–2012), #1–26 * ''Cerebus Archive'' (2009–2012), #1–18 * '' Journey'' by

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

(1983–1984), #1–14 (moved to

Fantagraphics Fantagraphics (previously Fantagraphics Books) is an American publisher of alternative comics, classic comic strip anthologies, manga, magazines, graphic novels, and (formerly) the Erotic comics, erotic Eros Comix imprint. They have managed sev ...

) * '' Judenhass'' by Dave Sim (2008), one-shot (nn) * ''

Flaming Carrot Comics ''Flaming Carrot Comics'' is an American superhero comic book created by Bob Burden, featuring the absurd, surreal adventures of the Flaming Carrot. The series first appeared in ''Visions'' #1, a magazine-size comic book publication. Flaming Ca ...

'' by

Bob Burden Bob Burden is an American comic book creator, comic book artist and writer, best known as the creator of ''Flaming Carrot Comics'' and the ''Mystery Men''. Early life Burden was born the eldest of three siblings in Buffalo, New York. His fath ...

(1984–1985), #1–5 (moved to Renegade Press) * ''

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 (Nov. 1983) before being launched as a full-color 12-issue series which was published by Aar ...

'' by

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 publ ...

(1984–1985), #1–8 (moved to Renegade Press) * ''

Neil the Horse Neil the Horse is a comic book character created by Canadian cartoonist Katherine Collins (as "Arn Saba") in 1975. Neil is a happy, singing and dancing horse who likes bananas and milkshakes. Neil's adventures were syndicated in Canadian newspap ...

'' by

Katherine Collins Katherine Shannon Collins is a Canadian-born cartoonist, writer, media personality, stage performer, and composer. She created the newspaper comic strip '' Neil the Horse'', which ran from 1975 to 1991. Biography Katherine Collins (formerly ...

(1983–1984), #1–10 (moved to Renegade Press) * '' Ms. Tree'' by Max Collins and

Terry Beatty Terry Beatty (born January 11, 1958''Comics Buyer's Guide'' #1650; February 2009; Page 107) is an artist who has worked as a penciler and inker in the American comic book industry, where he is perhaps best known for his co-creation of the female ...

(1984–1985), #10–15 (from

Eclipse Comics Eclipse Comics was an American comic book publisher, one of several independent publishers during the 1980s and early 1990s. In 1978, it published the first graphic novel intended for the newly created comic book store, comic book specialty stor ...

; moved to Renegade Press) * ''

The Puma Blues ''The Puma Blues'' is a comic book written by Stephen Murphy (comics), Stephen Murphy and drawn by Michael Zulli. It ran from June 1986 in comics, 1986 to early 1989 in comics, 1989, stretching over 23 regular issues and a single "half-issue" minic ...

'' by Stephen Murphy and

Michael Zulli Michael Zulli (December 20, 1952 – July 8, 2024) was an American artist known for his work as an animal and wildlife illustrator and as a comic book illustrator. Best known for his work on the Sandman. Career Michael Zulli's career in the c ...

(1986–1988), #1–17 (as "Aardvark One International"; issues 18–20 self-published, moved to

Mirage A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', mean ...

) * ''Strange Brew'' by

Michael T. Gilbert Michael Terry Gilbert (born May 7, 1951) is an American comic book artist and writer who has worked for both mainstream and underground comic book companies. Education Gilbert attended the State University of New York at New Paltz, graduating i ...

(1982), one-shot (nn)

References

External links

International Superheroes page on A-V
Publishing companies established in 1977 Companies based in Kitchener, Ontario 1977 establishments in Ontario {{comics-company-stub