Arrow Comics

Arrow Comics was one of the original independent publishers of black-and-white comics in the mid-1980s, started in Ypsilanti, Michigan, by founders Ralph Griffith (24 April 1960–11 December 2020) and Stuart Kerr.

History

Origins

Griffith and Kerr were just getting ready to publish a local comic fanzine called ''Fantastic Fanzine'' (a name which they later discovered had already been used in the seventies by Fantagraphics founder Gary Groth), when the first issue of ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' came out. Spurred on by the success of this fairly low production level book, Griffith and Kerr set about to gather their own 'bullpen' of local comic creators and start a comic company, using ''Fantastic Fanzine'' as a springboard. With their motto "Our Target is Entertainment; Our Aim is Quality", they intended to bring to the black-and-white comic book market their idea of quality work, in comparison to what they thought was sub-par work intended only as a source of revenue for the larger publishers. ''Fantastic Fanzine'' ran thirteen issues in its first volume, during which time Griffith and Kerr discovered local Michigan artists Randy Zimmerman, Guy Davis, Vincent Locke, Susan Van Camp, Mark Bloodworth, and Tim Dzon.

In December 1985, '' Tales From The Aniverse'' by Zimmerman and Van Camp was published, followed shortly thereafter by ''The Realm'', ''Deadworld'', and ''Nightstreets''. Other titles included ''Legend Lore: Tales from the Realm'' and ''System 7'', but it was not long before Arrow found itself caught up in the infamous "black and white bust", and the revenues from their highest-selling titles were held up in the bankruptcy hearings of several major comic book distributors of the day. In 1989, in order to salvage their legacy, Griffith and Kerr agreed to the move of their most popular titles, ''The Realm'' and ''Deadworld'', to Caliber Comics.

1993 revival

After publishing three issue of ''Fantastic Fanzine'' volume two throughout 1992, Griffith and Kerr announced the return of Arrow Comics in a single issue of ''Fantastic Fanzine'' volume four in December 1992, this time explicitly under the Arrow Comics banner."Newswatch:Arrow Comics Returns," ''The Comics Journal'' #155 (Jan. 1993), p. 29. In January 1993 they released the first issue of ''The Dead'', a horror title written by Griffith and Kerr themselves and penciled by Jason Moore (later of ''Evil Ernie'' inking fame), that pushed the envelope on gore even farther than their earlier ''Deadworld''. Despite the first issue being labelled "For Mature Audiences Only", the violence and nudity made retailers reluctant to carry it, and only one additional issue was published (featuring the banner "Banned in Canada and the U.K.!!!") before Griffiths and Kerr moved to Caliber Comics to write '' Oz'' (1994–1997).

1998 revival

After the release of ''Shock and Spank: The Monkeyboys'' by Creative Force Designs in 1996, a far more significant revival began with the first of four issues of ''Arrow Anthology'' by Arrow Comics Group in 1997, followed in 1998 by a variety of titles continuing the ''Oz'' series from Caliber Comics: ''Dark Oz'', ''Land of Oz'', ''Wogglebug'', ''Wonderland'', and ''Bill Bryan's Oz Collection''. Also beginning in 1998 were a second volume of ''The Dead'', ''The War of the Worlds: The Memphis Front'', ''Arrow Spotlight'', ''August'', and ''Korvus'' v2 (continued from Human Monster Press). A sub-imprint named "Arrow Manga" began in 1999 and included ''Descendants of Toshin'', ''Miss Chevious: The Armageddon Project'', ''Semantic Lace'', and ''Butterly Gunn'' (originally solicited as ''Happy the Clown Manga Special''). In 2002, "Arrow Books" released the trade paperbacks ''The War of the Worlds: Haven and the Hellweed'', which collected the 1996 Caliber Comics ''The War of the Worlds'' series written by Zimmerman, and then ''Zimm's Heroic Tales'', a superhero anthology.

2008 revival

With strong support from Internet readers, the most recent incarnation of Arrow Comics has been spearheaded by Randy Zimmerman and Scott R. Moore, publishing the webcomics ''Spank the Monkey'' and ''Rebel Nun'' (both by Zimmerman).

Titles

* ''Arrow Anthology'' (1997–1998), #1–4
* ''Arrow Spotlight: The Adventures of Simone & Ajax'' (1998), #1
* ''August'' (1998), #1–3
* ''Bill Bryan's Oz Collection'' (1998), #1
* ''Butterfly Gunn'' (2000), #1 (originally solicited as ''Happy the Clown'')
* ''Camelot's Last Knight'' (2001), #1
* ''Dark Oz'' (1998), #1–5
* ''The Dead''
** v1 (1992), #1–2
** v2 (1998), #1–3
* ''Deadworld'' v1 (1986–1990), #1–15 (continued at Caliber Comics)
* ''Descendants of Toshin'' (1999), #1
* ''Dr. Goyle'' (1999), #1 (continued at Hound Comics)
* ''Fantastic Fanzine''
** v1 (1984–1986), # 1–12, 14 (no #13 published)
** v2 (1986), #1
** v3 (1992), #1–3
** v4 (1992), #1
** v5 (2005), #1–3
** Christmas Special (2005), #1
* ''Korvus'' v2 (1998), #1 (from Human Monster Press)
* ''Land of Oz'' (1998–2000), #1–9
* ''Legend Lore: Tales from the Realm'' (1988), #1–2 (continued at Caliber Comics)
* ''Miss Chevious: The Armageddon Project'' (1999), #1–2
* ''Nightstreets'' (1986–1987), #1–5
* ''Owosso Taco House Funnies'', #1 (2008)
* ''The Realm'' v1 (1986–1987), #1–12 (see WeeBee comics for #13, continued at Caliber Comics)
* ''Semantic Lace'' (1999), #1–2
* ''Spank The Monkey'' (1999), #1–4
* ''Spank the Monkey on the Comics Market'' (2000), #1–3
* ''System 7'' (1987), #1–3
* '' Tales from the Aniverse'' (1984–1986), #1–6 (continued at WeeBee Comics)
* ''The War of the Worlds: Haven and the Hellweed'' (2002), TPB (collects the 1996 Caliber Comics series, ''The War of the Worlds'')
* ''The War of the Worlds: The Memphis Front'' (1998), #1–2
* ''Wild Planet'' 2008
* ''Wogglebug'' (1998), #1 (a ''Dark Oz'' special)
* ''Wonderland'' (1998), #1–3
* ''Zimm's Heroic Tales'' (2002), TPB

Notes

References

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External links

* {{official website, http://www.arrowcomics.com

Comic book publishing companies of the United States
Defunct comics and manga publishing companies
Comics publications
Publishing companies established in 1985
1985 establishments in Michigan