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Antarctic Press is a
San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
-based
comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
publishing Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...
company which publishes " Amerimanga" style comic books. The company also produces "how-to" and "you can" comics, instructing on areas of comic book creation and craft. Beginning in 1985, Antarctic Press has published over 850 titles with a total circulation of over 5 million. Befitting the company name, Antarctic's self-proclaimed mission is to "publish the ''coolest'' creator-owned comics on Earth"."About Us"
Antarctic Press official website. Accessed November 24, 2019.
Co-founder Ben Dunn's brother Joe Dunn is the company's publisher. Many now-established creators started their careers at Antarctic (with most continuing to publish with them), including Chris Bunting, Ben Dunn, Eisner-nominated Rod Espinosa, and Joseph Wight. Cartoonist
Alex Robinson Alex Robinson (born August 8, 1969) is an American comic book writer and artist. Early life Alex Robinson grew up in Yorktown Heights, New York, and graduated from Yorktown High School in 1987. After a year spent at SUNY Brockport, he went to t ...
serialized his first comic book, '' Box Office Poison'', with Antarctic in the 1990s.


History

Antarctic Press was founded by Ben Dunn and Marc Ripley in late 1984 to publish the anthology ''Mangazine'', Klaw, Rick
"Comic Book Heroes: San Antonio Brothers Keep Antarctic Press Thriving Long Enough For One of Its Creations to Land a Netflix Show"
''San Antonio Current'' (February 28, 2019).
one of North America's first publications of
original English-language manga An original English-language manga or OEL manga is a comic book or graphic novel drawn in the style of manga and originally published in English. The term "international manga", as used by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, encompasses al ...
. Local San Antonio creators Fred Perry, Joseph Wight, and Rod Espinosa were early contributors to ''Mangazine''; later all of them had their own Antarctic Press titles. ''Mangazine'' eventually ran for 120 issues in three volumes over a 20-year period. Another early title was ''Extremely Silly Comics''. The company's first hit was Dunn's Amerimanga '' Ninja High School'', which debuted as a limited series with Antarctic in 1987. Originally intended as a miniseries, the comic hit such a boom of popularity that it became a full series, currently totaling over 160 issues (as well as two miniseries, ''Ninja High School V2'' and ''Quagmire USA'', and the color limited series ''The Prom Formula''). Co-founder Ripley left the company in 1989 and Dunn brought on his brother Joeming ("Joe") Dunn to help manage the business. Fred Perry's ''
Gold Digger A gold digger is a person, typically a woman, who engages in a type of transactional sexual relationship for money rather than love. If it turns into marriage, it is a type of marriage of convenience. Etymology and usage The term "gold di ...
'', which debuted in limited series form in 1992, is still being published by Antarctic Press. In the 1990s, the company also published furry comics and erotic comics — from 1994 to 1998 the company operated an erotic imprint, Venus Comics. In late 1996, however, looking to cut costs and focus more on more mainstream properties, Antarctic discontinued publishing all translated manga, anthropomorphic, and adults-only titles. As a result, two Antarctic Press employees, Elin Winkler-Suarez and Pat Duke, left the company to form Radio Comix. ''Furrlough'' and ''Genus'', both long-running anthology titles, were taken over by Radio Comix. Many of Antarctic's staple characters, from titles including '' Warrior Nun Areala'', '' Ninja High School'', ''
Gold Digger A gold digger is a person, typically a woman, who engages in a type of transactional sexual relationship for money rather than love. If it turns into marriage, it is a type of marriage of convenience. Etymology and usage The term "gold di ...
'', ''The Courageous Princess'', and ''Dragons Arms'', came together in the 2005 ''How to Break into Comics'', which also featured their creators in the narrative. In April 2006, the popular title ''Warrior Nun Areala'' was re-launched as ''Warrior Nun Lazarus'' and began to include computer coloring. In 2007, David Hutchison's ''Final Girl'' limited series gave readers the choice as to which characters lived and which ones died. In August 2016, the company began publication of ''Rochelle'', from creator and writer John E. Crowther and artist Dell Barras. In 2018 Antarctic more than doubled its monthly publishing schedule to 15 titles. It also branched into distribution, taking on the comics of the all-ages San Antonio small-press publisher Guardian Knight Comics. In the spring of 2018 Antarctic announced it was publishing controversial creator Richard C. Meyer's ''Jawbreakers: Lost Souls'' (crowdfunded on
Indiegogo Indiegogo is an American crowdfunding website founded in 2008 by Danae Ringelmann, Slava Rubin, and Eric Schell. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, California. The site is one of the first sites to offer crowd funding. Indiegogo allows peo ...
). After a backlash and threat of a retailer boycott, however, on May 11, Antarctic decided not to publish the title. Meyer filed a civil suit against fellow creator Mark Waid for "tortious interference with contract, defamation, and exemplary damages" for working to keep his book from being published by Antarctic; on December 23, 2020, the parties released a joint statement announcing that "Mr. Meyer has decided to voluntarily dismiss the lawsuit". In 2019 they launched Exciting Comics and the start of their "Superverse".


Titles

* ''8-Bit Zombie'' by Fred Perry, a zombie-themed parody of/unofficial sequel to ''
Wreck-It Ralph ''Wreck-It Ralph'' is a 2012 American animated comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. It was directed by Rich Moore and produced by Clark Spencer, from a screenplay by Phil Johnston (filmmaker), Phil Johnston and Jennifer Lee ( ...
'' * '' Albedo Anthropomorphics'' — taken over from Thoughts & Images; later taken over by Shanda Fantasy Arts * ''American Woman'' * ''Bad Kids Go to Hell'' * ''Battle Girlz'' * '' Box Office Poison'' (21 issues plus a special, October 1996 – October 2000) * '' Chesty Sanchez'' * '' The Courageous Princess'' * ''Diesel'', a loose adaptation of '' JoJo's Bizarre Adventure'' * '' Dinowars'' * ''Dragon Arms'' * ''Extremely Silly Comics'' * '' Exciting Comics'' * ''Families of Altered Wars'' (includes ''Luftwaffe 1946'') * ''Fantastic Panic'' * '' Far West'' * ''Final Girl'' * ''Freakier Than Normal'' * ''
Furrlough ''Furrlough'' is a furry fandom, furry comic book originally published by Antarctic Press and continued by Radio Comix. It is edited by Elin Winkler and is nicknamed (dubbed) "Your Funny Animal Anthology". First published in 1991, ''Furrlough'' o ...
'' — taken over by Radio Comix * ''
Gold Digger A gold digger is a person, typically a woman, who engages in a type of transactional sexual relationship for money rather than love. If it turns into marriage, it is a type of marriage of convenience. Etymology and usage The term "gold di ...
'' — written and drawn by Fred Perry * '' Hepcats'' (reprints plus one issue of original material) * ''A History of Webcomics'' * ''AP's How to Draw Manga'' * ''King of Zombies'', written and drawn by Joseph Wight * ''Land of Oz: the Manga'' * ''The Last Zombie'' * ''Luftwaffe 1946'' * ''Mangazine'' vol. 1 (5 issues, Aug. 1985–Dec. 1986) * ''Mangazine'' vol. 2 (44 issues, Jan. 1989–May 1996) * ''Mangazine'' vol. 3 (71 issues, July 1999–Nov. 2005) * ''MetaDocs'' written by Joeming Dunn, MD, and illustrated by Rod Espinosa * ''Mighty Tiny'' * ''Nazi Zombies'' * ''Neotopia'' * '' Ninja High School'' * ''Oz: the Manga'' * ''Pirates versus Ninjas'' * ''President Evil'', a zombie parody comic featuring
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
* ''The Prince of Heroes'' * ''PolyCombats'' (2020) * ''Pose File'' * ''Punchline'' * ''
Robotech ''Robotech'' is an American-Japanese science fiction Media franchise, franchise that began with an 85-episode anime television series produced by Harmony Gold USA in association with Tatsunoko Production; it was first released in the United St ...
'' * ''Rochelle'' * ''
Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, and author who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 Republican vice presidential nomi ...
vs. the World'', a parody of '' Scott Pilgrim'' * ''The Science Fair'' * ''Sentai'' * ''Shanda The Panda'' * ''Shōjo'' * ''Steampunk Palin'', a sci-fi satire featuring
Sarah Palin Sarah Louise Palin (; Heath; born February 11, 1964) is an American politician, commentator, and author who served as the ninth governor of Alaska from 2006 until her resignation in 2009. She was the 2008 Republican vice presidential nomi ...
* ''Stellar Losers'' * ''
Strangers in Paradise ''Strangers in Paradise'' is a creator-owned comic book series, written and drawn by Terry Moore, which debuted in 1993. Principally the story of a love triangle between two women and one man, ''Strangers in Paradise'' began as a slice-of-li ...
'' by Terry Moore — 3 issues (1993–1994); debuted with Antarctic before becoming self-published * ''Strong Box the Big, Bad Book of Boon'' by H. Thomas Altman * ''Tank Vixens'' * '' Twilight X'' by Joseph Wight * '' Twilight X Storm'' * ''Wall Might'', a
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
-themed parody of ''
My Hero Academia is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kōhei Horikoshi. It was serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from July 2014 to August 2024, with its chapters collected in 42 volumes. Set in a wor ...
'' * '' Warrior Nun Areala'' * ''Weapons File'' * ''Wild Life'', a humorous slice-of-life anthology edited by Elin Winkler-Suarez which ran February 1993-April 1995 for twelve issues. It included Joe Rosales' ''Wildlifers'' and John Nunnemacher's ''Buffalo Wings''. * ''Winds of Winter'' * ''Zetraman: Revival''


Venus Comics titles

* ''The Barr Girls'' (1996) — by
Donna Barr Donna Barr (born August 13, 1952) is an American comic book author and cartoonist. She is best known for '' The Desert Peach'' and '' Stinz''. Life and education Donna Barr was born in Everett, Washington, and is the second child of six. She ...
* ''Battle Binder Plus'' (1995) * ''Big Boob Bondage'' (1997) * ''Bondage Fairies'' (1994) * ''Cheeta Pop Scream Queen'' (1994) * ''Deviant'' (1999) — by Robin Bougie * ''Emblem'' (1994) — by Kei Taniguchi * ''Genus'' (1994–1997) — long-running anthology; taken over by Radio Comix * ''Melty Feeling'' (1996) — by Komashi Mamiya * ''No-No UFO'' (1996) * ''Nosferatu: The Death Mass'' (1997–1998) — by Holden Morris * ''Vanity Angel'' (1994)


Creators associated with Antarctic Press

* H. Thomas Altman * Dell Barras * Robby Bevard * John E. Crowther * Brian Denham * Lee Duhig * Ben Dunn * Rod Espinosa * Danny Fahs * Fernando Gabriel Sosa * Ganbear * Wes Hartman * Ben Hunzeker * David Hutchison * Michel Lacombe * Richard Moore * Terry Moore * Ted Nomura * Fred Perry * Gianluca Piredda *
Alex Robinson Alex Robinson (born August 8, 1969) is an American comic book writer and artist. Early life Alex Robinson grew up in Yorktown Heights, New York, and graduated from Yorktown High School in 1987. After a year spent at SUNY Brockport, he went to t ...
* Jochen Weltjens * Joseph Wight * Elin Winkler-Suarez


Notes


References

* *
Antarctic Press
at the Big Comic Book DataBase


External links

*
A ''Tank Vixens'' history
{{Authority control Companies based in San Antonio Comic book publishing companies of the United States Publishing companies established in 1984 Original English-language manga