Aspen Comics (Aspen MLT Inc.) is a

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

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

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

and

Marina Del Rey Marina del Rey ( Spanish for "Marina of the King") is an unincorporated seaside community in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The eponymous harbor is a major boating and water recreation destination of the Greater Los Angeles ar ...

. The company is best known for producing

comic books 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 ...

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 cla ...

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 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 is neither an international standard (SI) unit, nor an internationally accepted non-SI unit. H ...

''. Aspen Comics released the fantasy adventure '' Soulfire'' in 2004, its first ongoing series. 2005 marked the return of ''Fathom'' (originally published by

Image Comics Image Comics is an independent American American comic book, comic book publisher and is the third largest direct market comic book and graphic novel publisher in the industry by market share. Its best-known publications include ''Spawn (comics) ...

), with comic artist Koi Turnbull 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 (comics), Flash, and Superman has drawn critical accl ...

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. It was founded by Marc Silvestri in 1992. The company is known for publishing titles such as '' Cyberforce'', '' The Darkness'', ''Sunstone, Wanted,'' and '' Witch ...

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

James Cameron James Francis Cameron (born August 16, 1954) is a Canadian filmmaker, who resides in New Zealand. He is a major figure in the post-New Hollywood era and often uses novel technologies with a Classical Hollywood cinema, classical filmmaking styl ...

Lightstorm Entertainment Lightstorm Entertainment, Inc. is an American independent film and television production company founded by filmmaker James Cameron and producer Lawrence Kasanoff in 1990. The company's films include the sci-fi film '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' ...

to co-produce the film.

Staff

* Founder – Michael Turner * Co-Owner – Peter Steigerwald * 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 in the Populus sect. Populus, of the ''Populus'' (poplar) genus. Species These species are called aspens: * ''Populus adenopoda'' – Chinese aspen (China, south of ''P. tremula'') * ''Populus da ...

'' * '' Aspen Swimsuit: Splash'' * '' Broken Pieces'' * '' Bubblegun'' * '' Charismagic'' * '' Damsels in Excess'' * '' Dellec'' * '' Ekos'' * '' Eternal Soulfire'' * '' Executive Assistant Assassins'' * '' Executive Assistant Iris'' * ''

'' * '' Fathom Blue'' * '' Fathom: Kiani'' * '' Four Points, The'' * '' Idolized'' * '' Iron and the Maiden'' * ''

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 and Canada. United St ...

'' * ''

Lady Mechanika Lady Mechanika is a steampunk comic created by comic artist Joe Benitez. History of the series The ''Lady Mechanika'', a comic series in the steampunk Steampunk is a subgenre of science fiction that incorporates retrofuturistic technology a ...

'' * '' Legend of the Shadow Clan'' * '' Lola XOXO'' * '' Mindfield'' * '' Oniba: Swords of the Demon'' * '' Overtaken'' * ''

Psycho Bonkers Psycho may refer to: Mind * Psychopath * Sociopath * Someone with a personality disorder * Someone with a psychological disorder ** Someone with psychosis People with the nickname * Karl Amoussou or Psycho, mixed martial artist * Peter Ebdon or ...

'' * '' Portal Bound'' * '' Santeria: The Goddess Kiss''comicvine.com/santeria-the-goddess-kiss/4050-88952/ * '' Shrugged'' * '' 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 (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 ...

and

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 ...

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 * The Flash, several DC Comics superheroes with super speed: ** Flash (Jay Garrick) ** Barry Allen ** Wally West, the first Kid Flash and third adult Flash ...

'' (covers) * ''

Identity Crisis In psychology, identity crisis is a stage in Erik Erikson's theory of personality development. This stage happens during adolescence. It is a period of deep reflection and examination of various perspectives on oneself. The Erikson's stages of ps ...

'' (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 Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...

'' (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 American 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, ' ...

'' #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, or Justice League of America (JLA), is a group of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in '' The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). Writer Gardner Fox conceived t ...

'' (covers)

Aspen/Marvel works

* ''

Black Panther A black panther is the Melanism, melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical Rosette (zoology), rosettes are al ...

'' (#23–25 – covers (Turner) and interiors (Turnbull)) * ''

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, 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.J ...

'' (variant covers – #1–7) * ''

Incredible Hulk The Incredible Hulk is a fictional character of Marvel Comics. The Incredible Hulk may also refer to: Comics * ''The Incredible Hulk'' (comic book), the main Hulk comic series (1963–) * ''The Incredible Hulk'' (comic strip), a comic strip ba ...

'' (variant cover – #100) * ''

Hulk The Hulk is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, the character first appeared in the debut issue of ''The Incredible Hulk (comic book), The Incredible Hulk ...

'' (variant covers 1, 6 & 7) * '' Ms. Marvel'' (variant cover – #1) * '' Onslaught: Reborn'' (variant cover – #1) * ''

Ultimate Wolverine ''Ultimate Wolverine'' is an ongoing comic book series written by Chris Condon, illustrated by Alessandro Cappuccio, and published by Marvel Comics primarily based on the character of Wolverine. This version of Wolverine serves as the Winter ...

'' (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 ...

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

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 ...

'' 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 artis ...

* Jason Gorder *

Siya Oum Michele Andrea 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 ...

* Micah Gunnell * 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 1966 album of the same name. Early life, family and education Ho ...

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 (TV series), Smallville'' and ''Lost (2004 TV series), Lost'', writer for the films ''C ...

A. Mahadeo A is the first letter of the Latin and English alphabet. A may also refer to: Science and technology Quantities and units * ''a'', a measure for the attraction between particles in the Van der Waals equation * ''A'' value, a measure of s ...

* Frank Mastromauro * David Morán * Mark Roslan * Beth Sotelo * Peter Steigerwald *

Christina Strain Christina Strain (born April 27, 1981) is an American comic book colorist, writer and screenwriter. Strain formerly worked for Marvel Comics as a colorist before pursuing a career as a writer. Strain's notable works include; the award-winning Mar ...

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 ...

* Koi Turnbull * Michael Turner (founder)

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