AfterShock Comics is an American

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 April 2015.

History

The company was co-founded by

Joe Pruett Joe Pruett (January 8, 1966) is an People of the United States, American comic book writer, editor, and publisher, and the co-founder of Desperado Publishing and AfterShock Comics. Biography Pruett broke into the industry during the year of 1989 ...

, editor of the noted comic anthology ''

Negative Burn ''Negative Burn'' is a black-and-white comics anthology, anthology comic book published beginning in 1993 by Caliber Press, and subsequently by Image Comics and Desperado Publishing. Edited by Joe Pruett, ''Negative Burn'' is noted for its eclecti ...

'' and Mike Marts, the former executive editor in charge of

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 ...

X-Men The X-Men are a superhero team in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer/editor Stan Lee and artist/co-plotter Jack Kirby, the team first appeared in Uncanny X-Men, ''The X-Men'' #1 (September 1963). Although initial ...

franchise and

DC Comics DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...

Batman Batman is a superhero who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...

franchise. Other co-founders include Lee Kramer, Jon Kramer, and Michael Richter. Other senior executives include Jawad Qureshi and Steve Rotterdam. AfterShock's published works are

creator-owned In the United States, creator ownership in comics is an arrangement in which the comic book creator retains full ownership of the material, regardless of whether the work is self-publishing, self-published or published by a corporate publisher. I ...

and its portfolio includes comics by

Cullen Bunn Cullen Bunn is an American comics writer, novelist, and short story writer, best known for his work on comic books such as ''Uncanny X-Men'', '' X-Men: Blue'', ''Magneto'' and various '' Deadpool'' miniseries for Marvel Comics, and his creator-own ...

Warren Ellis Warren Girard Ellis (born 16 February 1968) is an English comic book writer, novelist, and screenwriter. He is best known as the co-creator of several original comics series, including ''Transmetropolitan'' (1997–2002), ''Global Frequency'' ...

Garth Ennis Garth Ennis (born 16 January 1970) is a Northern Irish-American comics writer, best known for the Vertigo series ''Preacher'' with artist Steve Dillon, his nine-year run on Marvel Comics' ''Punisher'' franchise, and '' The Boys'' with artist Dar ...

Marguerite Bennett Marguerite Bennett (born 1988) is an American comic book writer. She has worked on '' Bombshells'', '' Angela'', ''Josie and the Pussycats'', and her creator-owned books ''InSeXts'' and ''Animosity''. Her work has been recognized for her depict ...

, and

Adam Glass Adam Glass is an American comic book writer, screenwriter and television producer best known for his work on the TV series ''Supernatural,'' ''Cold Case'' and ''Criminal Minds''. As a comic writer, he wrote such titles as '' Deadpool'' and '' L ...

, among others. AfterShock Comics won the New Publisher of the Year Diamond Gem Award in 2017. The label attracted attention in 2016 when it published Paul Jenkins' comic '' Alters'', featuring the character

Chalice A chalice (from Latin 'cup', taken from the Ancient Greek () 'cup') is a drinking cup raised on a stem with a foot or base. Although it is a technical archaeological term, in modern parlance the word is now used almost exclusively for the ...

, touted as the first

transgender A transgender (often shortened to trans) person has a gender identity different from that typically associated with the sex they were sex assignment, assigned at birth. The opposite of ''transgender'' is ''cisgender'', which describes perso ...

superhero. In a column for ''The Mary Sue'', transgender activist Jes Grobman dismissed ''Alters'' as "cliche". Other critics were more positive; one noted that " e visuals are beautiful and deserve attention, while the story looks to be addressing something avoided in American society." In December 2022, AfterShock Comics filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

leaving many of their contributing artists unpaid for their work. In May 2025, the publisher announced to finally emerge from bankruptcy protection restructured and fully prepared to meet its financial and contractual obligations.

Publications

* List of Aftershock Comics publications

References

External links

* * {{Authority control American companies established in 2015 Comic book publishing companies of the United States Companies based in Los Angeles Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2022 Publishing companies based in California Publishing companies established in 2015