Sumerian Comics is an American comic book publisher based in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

. The company was founded in 2020 by

Nathan Yocum Nathan Michael Yocum (born June 1, 1992) is an American film producer, publisher, writer, and the co-founder and President of Sumerian Comics. He's also worked at Sumerian Films where he produced the 2025 film ''Queen of the Ring (film), Queen ...

and Ryan Swanson as Behemoth Comics. The comic division sells over half a million (500,000+) comics yearly, reached 8th in total market share in 2021, and is known for its array of licensed titles for films like

American Psycho ''American Psycho'' is a black comedy horror novel by American writer Bret Easton Ellis, published in 1991. The story is told in the First-person narrative, first-person by Patrick Bateman, a wealthy, narcissistic, and vain Manhattan investmen ...

The Crow ''The Crow'' is a supernatural superhero comic book series created by James O'Barr revolving around the titular character of the same name. The series, which was originally created by O'Barr as a means of dealing with the death of his fianc� ...

Basic Instinct ''Basic Instinct'' is a 1992 erotic thriller film directed by Paul Verhoeven and written by Joe Eszterhas. Starring Michael Douglas, Sharon Stone, George Dzundza, Jeanne Tripplehorn, and Wayne Knight, the film follows the detective Nick ...

and for artists

Bad Omens Bad Omens is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Richmond, Virginia, formed in 2015 by vocalist and producer Noah Sebastian, guitarist Nicholas Ruffilo, and bassist Vincent Riquier. The band was later joined by guitarist and pr ...

The Offspring The Offspring is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Garden Grove, California, in 1984. Originally formed under the name Manic Subsidal, the band currently consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Dexter Holland, Bryan "Dexter" Holland, ...

Sleep Token Sleep Token are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 2016. Its members remain Anonymous work, anonymous by wearing masks. After self-releasing their debut Extended play, EP ''One'' in 2016, the band signed with Basick Records an ...

while working with companies like

Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Anno'', '' Assassin's Creed'', ' ...

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

, among others. Their titles are currently distributed globally by

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster LLC (, ) is an American publishing house owned by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts since 2023. It was founded in New York City in 1924, by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. Along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group US ...

Diamond Comic Distributors Diamond Comic Distributors, Inc. (often called Diamond Comics, DCD, or casually Diamond) is an American comic book distributor serving retailers in North America and worldwide. It transports comic books and graphic novels, as well as other popu ...

. The company is owned by Sumerian Entertainment Group and was renamed Sumerian Comics in July 2022.

History

2020–2022: ''Behemoth''

Founded in 2020 after acquiring the Spain-based comic book publisher, Amigo Comics, Behemoth Comics debuted in the March Previews catalog for Diamond Comic Distributors. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and Diamond shutting down its distribution services for a brief period, Behemoth's first titles were not released until July 2020. On May 25, 2020

Bloody Disgusting Bloody Disgusting is an American independent multi-media company, which began as a horror genre-focused news website specializing in information services that covered various horror media. The company expanded into other media including podcast ...

announced that Behemoth would be releasing a spin-off of the popular video game series,

Hotline Miami ''Hotline Miami'' is a 2012 top-down shooter game developed by Dennaton Games and published by Devolver Digital. Set in Miami in 1989, the game follows an unnamed silent protagonist—dubbed Jacket by fans—as he commits massacres against the ...

. The title, Hotline Miami: Wildlife is an 8-part series that was released monthly beginning in September 2020. In November 2020, Bleeding Cool announced that '' A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night'' #1, written by film Director,

Ana Lily Amirpour Ana Lily Amirpour (;, is an American filmmaker of Iranian descent. She is best known for her feature film debut '' A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night'', promoted as "the first Iranian vampire western," which made its debut at the Sundance Film Fes ...

had sold through at least 10,000 copies of its first printing and would receive a second printing before the first issues releases. Shortly after ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

'' and '' Graphic Policy'' revealed that Behemoth had signed a global distribution deal with Simon & Schuster and received managed publisher status with

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

, Kindle, and

ComiXology Iconology Inc., d/b/a ComiXology (styled comiXology), was a cloud-based digital distribution platform for comics owned by Amazon, with over 200 million comic downloads . At its height it offered a selection of more than 100,000 comic books, g ...

. The article also revealed that they acquired Film and TV representation for a portion of their books by the Hollywood-based Talent Agency, Grandview/Automatik founded by notable Film Producer, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones ('' Insidious'', '' Sinister'', ''

Upgrade Upgrading is the process of replacing a product with a newer version of the same product. In computing and consumer electronics, an upgrade is generally a replacement of hardware, software or firmware with a newer or better version, in order to ...

''). The deal with Simon & Schuster would only cover trade paperbacks for the global market meanwhile Diamond Comic Distributors would still distribute their comic books and graphic novels to hobby stores around the globe. On February 22, 2021, as part of the Comic Industry's Annual Publisher and Retailer conference, ComicsPro, Behemoth announced that it would publish the comic MFKZ, which was adapted and released as a film on

. Shortly after the conference it was revealed that You Promised Me Darkness #1 had sold through 55,000 copies, marking the publisher's best selling first issue to date alongside MFKZ #1, which reached 40,000 copies sold. The company was revealed as a sponsor for the 2021

Fangoria Chainsaw Awards The Fangoria Chainsaw Awards is an award ceremony focused on horror and thriller films. Beginning in 1992, the awards were expanded and an annual ceremony was inaugurated to give out the awards. As of 2015, Fangoria also delivers awards to tel ...

. Leading off a wave of new licensed titles,

GamesRadar+ ''GamesRadar+'' (formerly ''GamesRadar'') is an entertainment website for video game-related news, previews, and reviews. It is owned by Future plc. In late 2014, Future Publishing-owned sites ''Total Film'', '' SFX'', '' Edge'' and '' Compute ...

, and others revealed that Behemoth would be adapting the 2015 cult film,

Turbo Kid ''Turbo Kid'' is a 2015 post-apocalyptic superhero film written and directed by François Simard, Anouk Whissell, and Yoann-Karl Whissell. The film stars Munro Chambers, Laurence Leboeuf, Michael Ironside, Edwin Wright, Aaron Jeffery, and Roman ...

into a prequel comic book series due to be released in September, 2021. This was followed by

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

revealing that

and Behemoth had partnered for a comic book series based on Watch Dogs: Legion with the first issue being released November 3, 2021. At the end of 2021, Behemoth revealed that they had surpassed half a million (500,000+) comics and graphic novels sold during the year; their first full year of operation. At the end of 2021, Syfy and others revealed a comic by Behemoth called Kult Cable. Meant to be the lead in to a full series featuring more celebrities, the comic includes New Jersey hip-hop and punk group, Ho99o9 and the famous actor,

Jack Black Thomas Jacob "Jack" Black (born August 28, 1969) is an American actor, comedian, and musician. He is known for roles in family and comedy films, in addition to his voice work in animated films. His awards include a Children's and Family Emmy ...

. The comic is a tie-in to the bands variety show of the same name that features well-known guests each episode. On January 25, 2022, the entertainment website

previewed a new licensed series from Behemoth based on the open-world RPG video game, Kingdom Come: Deliverance.

2022-present: ''Sumerian''

2022

Deadline Hollywood ''Deadline Hollywood'', commonly known as ''Deadline'' and also referred to as ''Deadline.com'', is an online news site founded as the news blog ''Deadline Hollywood Daily'' by Nikki Finke in 2006. It is updated several times a day, with en ...

reported on March 23, 2022, that the entertainment company Sumerian Entertainment Group acquired Behemoth.

reported the following week that Behemoth's original series, Paranormal Hitmen from creators Brett Murphy and Wilson Gandolpho is set to be adapted by

Entertainment One Lionsgate Canada is a Canadian entertainment company and a subsidiary of Lionsgate Studios. Based in Toronto, the company is primarily involved in the acquisition and production of films and television series. The company began on June 1, 1973 ...

and

Hasbro Hasbro, Inc. (; a syllabic abbreviation of its original name, Hassenfeld Brothers) is an American multinational corporation, multinational toy manufacturing and entertainment holding company founded on December 6, 1923 by Henry, Hillel and Herma ...

into a TV series. In July 2022, Behemoth was renamed as Sumerian Comics. As part of the first titles announced under their new name,

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

revealed that one of the best-selling Latin musicians of all time would be partnering with Sumerian for an action-packed comic book. Ozuna stated, “I love collaborating to take my creativity to new, interesting places,”

Ozuna Juan Carlos Ozuna Rosado (; born March 13, 1992), known simply by his surname Ozuna, is a Puerto Rican singer, born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico to a Dominican father and a Puerto Rican mother. Five of his studio albums have topped ...

said in a statement. “I’m very excited to partner with the talented team at Sumerian and make something fresh, captivating, and fun for my fans and my culture.”

2023

On March 21, 2023 various news sites announced that Sumerian has teamed up with the mathcore band

The Dillinger Escape Plan The Dillinger Escape Plan is an American metalcore band. The band was formed in 1997 in Morris Plains, New Jersey by guitarist Ben Weinman, bassist Adam Doll, vocalist Dimitri Minakakis, and drummer Chris Pennie. The band's use of Consonance and ...

for a graphic novel based on their 2013 record, One of Us Is the Killer. Guitarist

Ben Weinman Benjamin A. Weinman (born August 8, 1975) is an American musician, most notable for being the lead guitarist and primary songwriter of the mathcore band the Dillinger Escape Plan (DEP). He is the founder and sole constant member of the DEP, he i ...

appeared at the annual

WonderCon WonderCon is an annual comic book, science fiction, and film fan convention, convention held in the San Francisco Bay Area (1987–2011), then—under the name WonderCon Anaheim—in Anaheim, California (2012–2015, 2017–present), and Wond ...

convention in Anaheim, CA to promote the release where he signed preview copies. The book released in February 2024 with hardback and various bundle options containing a special 10 year anniversary vinyl repressing of the record.

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

revealed that

Cocaine Bear ''Cocaine Bear'' (released as ''Crazy Bear'' in some countries) is a 2023 American comedy horror film directed by Elizabeth Banks and written by Jimmy Warden. It is loosely inspired by the true story of the " Cocaine Bear", an American black ...

star and

Critics' Choice Movie Awards The Critics' Choice Awards (formerly known as the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award) is an awards show presented annually by the American Critics Choice Association (CCA) to honor the finest in cinematic achievement. Written ballots are ...

winning actress Brooklynn Prince would be releasing her first comic book with Sumerian. The book is titled Misfortune's Eyes and follows Vivian Nightingale, a girl who wakes up on the morning of her 15th birthday and discovers that she can see human auras. The series released across February 2024 - April 2024 and Brooklynn signed copies at various stores and revealed her inspiration for the series came upon a visit with her dad to

Cassadaga, Florida Cassadaga (a Seneca Indian word meaning ''"Water beneath the rocks"'') is a small unincorporated community located in Volusia County, Florida, United States, just north of Deltona. It is especially known for having many psychics and mediums, ...

On June 8, 2023

Revolver Magazine ''Revolver'' is an American heavy metal music and hard rock magazine, published by Project M Group. It was originally launched under Harris Publications in the spring of 2000 by Tom Beaujour and Brad Tolinski, who envisioned it as an American ...

revealed that Sumerian produced the first comic book series for the band

. Vocalist Noah Sebastian co-wrote the four issue series and it served as an expansion on the bands third record, The Death of Peace of Mind.

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

and

Deadline Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to: * Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain * ''Deadline'' (magazine), a Britis ...

revealed that Sumerian gained the rights to the 2000 classic film,

and would release a four issue limited series with more planned, in October 2023. Christian Bale's likeness was provided as part of the deal and the comic featured a dual narrative. In August, 2023

and CBR detailed Sumerian's newest licensed series,

based on the steamy ’90s Thriller With

Sharon Stone Sharon Vonne Stone (born March 10, 1958) is an American actress and film producer. Known for primarily playing femmes fatales and women of mystery on film and television, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1990s. She is the ...

Michael Douglas Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the ...

. The series would debut in November 2023.

2024

The website Flickering Myth previewed a new Sumerian licensed title in March 2024 based on the 1980 John Carpenter film

The Fog ''The Fog'' is a 1980 American independent supernatural horror film directed by John Carpenter, who also co-wrote the screenplay and created the music for the film. It stars Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins, Janet Leigh and H ...

. The title is written as a sequel to the film and takes place forty years after the events that happened in Antonio Bay. Revolver, Alt Press, and others revealed that, as part of the legendary post-hardcore act

Underoath Underoath (styled as Underøath or UnderOath) is an American rock band from Tampa, Florida. It was founded by lead vocalist Dallas Taylor and guitarist Luke Morton in 1997 in Ocala, Florida; subsequently, its additional members were from Tamp ...

's upcoming 20th anniversary tour in support of their 2004 record

They're Only Chasing Safety ''They're Only Chasing Safety'' is the fourth studio album by American rock band Underoath. It was released on June 15, 2004, through Solid State Records. Following the release of their third studio effort '' The Changing of Times'' (2002), ha ...

, that Sumerian would be releasing a comic book loosely based on the record and only available to VIP ticket buyers. Sumerian also noted that editions containing more than just the one issue will be released later on.

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British music webzine and quarterly magazine that primarily covers rock, punk and heavy metal music. Since 2017, the magazine has been published by Wasted Talent Ltd (the same company that owns electronic music publication ...

and many others premiered the music video for a new

Puscifer Puscifer () is an American rock group formed in Los Angeles by Maynard James Keenan, known as the lead singer of the bands Tool and A Perfect Circle. Initially, Keenan was the only permanent member, and as such he considered the project to be h ...

song called "The Algorithm" in May 2024. The song stands as an original song written by the band for the American Psycho comic book series by Sumerian. It's part of a larger soundtrack that so far includes artists like

Perturbator James Kent (born 1993), known by his stage name Perturbator, is a French synthwave musician from Paris. His parents are British music critic Nick Kent, and French music journalist, Laurence Romance. Biography Kent has a background as a guitaris ...

, Ramsey, Unlike Pluto, and others. The song originally premiered on Sirius XM Octane the day prior. As of the announcement of the Puscifer song, the other singles had amassed over 677,000 streams across platforms. Shortly after this reveal, further covers were announced with

Ice Nine Kills Ice Nine Kills is an American heavy metal band from Boston, Massachusetts, who are signed to Fearless Records. Best known for its horror-inspired lyrics, Ice Nine Kills formed in its earliest incarnation in 2000 by high school friends Spenc ...

Reel Big Fish Reel Big Fish is an American ska punk band from Huntington Beach, California. The band gained mainstream recognition in the mid-to-late 1990s during the third wave of ska with the release of the gold-certified album '' Turn the Radio Off''. So ...

, and Carpenter Brut. The soundtrack is set to release alongside the graphic novel is October. During San Diego Comic Con, Sumerian revealed that they had taken over the license to both reprint material for

and publish new stories within the universe.

announced via a special site set up for news regarding the book that Sumerian produced a graphic novel for them titled Sleep Token: Teeth of God The Offspring Graphic Novel

Later in October,

announced alongside Sumerian that their first official graphic novel titled "Come Out and Play" would be available to pre-order the week following the release of their new record

Supercharged In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement. It is a form of forced induction that is mechanically powered (usually by ...

2025

The first collaboration of 2025 was revealed to be with alternative rock band

Anberlin Anberlin is an American alternative rock band formed in Winter Haven, Florida, in 2002. Since the beginning of 2007, the band consists of lead vocalist Stephen Christian, guitarists Joseph Milligan and Christian McAlhaney, bassist Deon Rexroat, ...

. The book, titled Godspeed after one of the bands songs was co-written by bassist Deon Rexroat. Shortly after the previous announcement, Sumerian and

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...

announced their team up on a graphic novel that ties into their 2004 record Antics. The graphic novel features Norman, the animatronic puppet from their music video for

Evil Evil, as a concept, is usually defined as profoundly immoral behavior, and it is related to acts that cause unnecessary pain and suffering to others. Evil is commonly seen as the opposite, or sometimes absence, of good. It can be an extreme ...

and expands upon the story in the video. During the 2025

MCM London Comic Con The MCM Comic Con London (formerly known as the London Movies, Comics, and Media Expo, London MCM Expo, and MCM London Comic Con) is a speculative fiction fan convention held at ExCeL London, ExCel London twice yearly since 2002, usually on th ...

, Sumerian and

The Used The Used is an American rock band from Orem, Utah, formed in 2000. The group consists of vocalist Bert McCracken, bassist Jeph Howard, drummer Dan Whitesides, and guitarist Joey Bradford. Former members include Quinn Allman, Branden Steinec ...

announced a graphic novel celebrating the bands 25th anniversary. The graphic novel, titled "All That I've Got" is inspired by the music video for the bands song of the same name.

Subsidiaries

Amigo Comics

Founded in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in 2012 by Juan "El" Torres, Amigo Comics is known for collecting Juan's series previously 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) ...

such as Nancy in Hell and Drums. Amigo also published other creator-owned and licensed titles that Juan was not involved in a creative capacity. In 2019 Amigo was nominated for an

Eisner Award The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, are awards for creative achievement in American comic books. They are regarded as the most prestigious and significant awards in the comic industry and often referred ...

in the Best Archival Collection/Project—Strips category for their title Sky Masters of the Space Force: The Complete Sunday Strips in Color. On February 24, 2020, it was announced that Amigo was acquired by Behemoth Comics and all future titles would be published in the US by Behemoth but would still carry the Amigo brand. This enabled Juan to focus solely on his titles.

Sumerian Comics publications

Notable Licensed Film/TV Titles

#1-5 ''(October 11, 2023 - June 2024)'' *

: Dead Time #1-3 ''(October 2, 2024 - December 2024)'' *

#1-4 ''(November 1, 2023 - April 2024)'' *

#1-4 ''(March 6, 2024 - June 2024)'' * MFKZ #1-6 ''(June 23, 2021 - November 24, 2021)'' 40,000+ sold * A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night #1-2 ''(November 18, 2020 - December 16, 2020)'' *

#1-3 ''(September 29, 2021 - September 8, 2022)'' *Kult Cable: ft. Ho99o9 &

''(May 07, 2022)''

Notable Licensed Video Game Titles

: Wildlife #1-8 ''(September 23, 2020 - April 7, 2021)'' * Watch Dogs: Legion #1-4 ''(November 3, 2021 - February 2, 2022)'' * Kingdom Come: Deliverance #1-4 ''(June 22, 2022 - September 2024)''

Notable Licensed Artist Titles

: Concrete Jungle #1-4 ''(September 6, 2023 - January 2024)'' *

: One of Us Is the Killer ''(February 18, 2024)'' *

Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows Destroy Rebuild Until God Shows (abbreviated as D.R.U.G.S.) is an American post-hardcore band formed in 2010 in Pontiac, Michigan. They released their debut self-titled album on February 22, 2011. Craig Owens brought back the project in 202 ...

#1 ''(October 31, 2024)'' *

''(November 26, 2024)'' *

: Teeth of God ''(November 29, 2024)'' *

: Come Out and Play ''(January 22, 2024)'' *

: Godspeed ''(April 1, 2025)'' *

: Antics ''(April 6, 2025)'' *

: All That I’ve Got ''(September 10, 2025)''

Notable Original titles

*You Promised Me Darkness #1-5 ''(April 14, 2021 - August 15, 2021)'' 55,000+ sold *Until My Knuckles Bleed #1-3 ''(January, 2022 - March, 2022)'' *Paranormal Hitmen #1-4 ''(February, 2021 - May, 2021)'' *Nancy in Hell Vol. 1: The Long Road ''(June, 2021)'' *Osaka Mime Vol. 1 ''(May, 2021)'' *Follow Me Into the Darkness #1-4 ''(February, 2022 - May, 2022)'' *Heavy Metal Drummer #1-6 ''(February, 2022 - July, 2022)'' *Dark Beach #1-6 ''(April, 2022 - September, 2022)'' *Sara Lone #1-4 ''(October, 2022 - January, 2023)'' *How I Became A Shoplifter #1-3 ''(January, 2023 - March, 2023)'' *Children of the Comet #1-5 ''(July 2023 - December 2023)'' *Misfortune's Eyes #1-3 ''(March, 2024 - May, 2024)''

References

External links

* * {{Authority control American companies established in 2020 Comic book publishing companies of the United States Companies based in Nashville, Tennessee Publishing companies established in 2020