Lightning Comics was an American independent comic publisher headquartered in

Oakland County, Michigan Oakland County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a principal county of the Detroit metropolitan area, containing the bulk of Detroit's northern suburbs. Its county seat, seat of government is Pontiac, Mic ...

, that operated from 1993 to 1998. Founders Joseph and Steve Zyskowski wanted to make comic books unlike the ones they had read before. They believed the newest comics "seemed to lack substance." The first comic published by Lightning Comics, ''Bloodfire'' #1, sold 50,000 comics. The company's idea was to make each issue a limited printing to enhance collectability. Also, after that first book, Greg Weed was hired to move the company from marker to airbrush. ''Bloodfire'' eventually ran 13 issues. Other long-running titles for Lightning Comics were ''Judgement Day'' and ''Perg'', which ran 8 issues each. Trent Kaniuga's ''Creed'' appeared in a number of titles, one-shots, and crossovers, including one with the ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (''TMNT'') is an American media franchise created by comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), Leonardo, Donatello (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles), D ...

''. Similar, Hellina appeared in more than 15 separate specials, crossovers, and one-shots. Lightning Comics later became the first of several publishers to capitalize on the " Bad Girl" trend in comics by offering limited "nude cover" variations of comics featuring Hellina, Catfight, and its other female heroines. Artists associated with Lightning Comics were Julius Jackson, Paul Abrams, Terral Lawrence,

Karl Kerschl Karl Kerschl is a Canadian comic book artist. He is best known for his work on DC Comics books, including '' Adventures of Superman'', '' Majestic'', '' All-Flash'', '' Teen Titans: Year One'' and '' Gotham Academy''. Early life Kerschl was born ...

, and Eric Pence. During its six years of existence, Lightning Comics headquarters changed locations many times, mostly within Oakland County. Various headquarters included

Dearborn Heights Dearborn Heights is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. An inner-ring suburb of Detroit, Dearborn Heights is located about west of downtown Detroit. The city shares a small border with Detroit, and is considered a bedroom c ...

, Farmington Hills, Novi, Southfield, and

Wixom Wixom ( ) is a city in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. A northwestern suburb of Detroit, Wixom is located roughly from downtown Detroit. As of the 2020 census, the city's population was 17,193. The city was home to the now-demoli ...

Titles published (selected)

*'' Bloodfire'' (13 issues, 1993–1994) *''Catfight'' (1 issue, 1995; under the Insomnia imprint) *''Claire Voyante'' (1 issue, 1996) *''Creed'' (6 titles, 1995–1996; property acquired from Hall of Heroes, then published by

Avatar Press Avatar Press is an independent American comic book publisher founded in 1996 by William A. Christensen, and based in Rantoul, Illinois. It was originally known for publishing bad girl comics, such as ''Pandora'', ''Hellina'', ''Lookers'', ''The ...

and finally 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) ...

) *''Curse of the Dreadwolf'' (1 issue, 1994) *''DeathAngel'' (1 issue, 1997) *''Hellina'' (many one-shots, 1995–1997) *''

Judgement Day The Last Judgment is a concept found across the Abrahamic religions and the ''Frashokereti'' of Zoroastrianism. Christianity considers the Second Coming of Jesus, Jesus Christ to entail the final judgment by God in Abrahamic religions, God of a ...

'' (8 issues, 1993–1994) *'' Perg'' (8 issues, 1993–1994) *''Sinthia'' (2 issues, 1997–1998) *“Sinja” (4 issues, 1995–1996) *“The four Kunoichi” (8 issues, 1995–1996)

External links

* Comic book publishing companies of the United States Defunct comics and manga publishing companies 1993 establishments in Michigan Publishing companies established in 1993 {{comics-company-stub