Comico, the Comic Company
05/09/2006

Comico, the Comic Company as they liked to bill themselves, was a company of two identities. The first was the rising star that catapulted into the top ranks of independent comics and the second was the once noble star floundering before sputtering out of existence.

Comico started in 1982 and was formed from a group of aspiring comic professionals in Norristown, Pennsylvania. Gerry Giovincio, Phil and Dennis LaSorda and others launched the company with Comico Primer. It was a black and white comic and featured the characters of Az, Mr. Justice, Skrog, Slaughterman, and Victor. But it was the second Primer issue that struck gold as a newcomer, Matt Wagner, introduced Grendel. Grendel soon became its own series and was the company?s identity to many fans.

Soon after their debut, Comico jumped into color and featured many rising stars. Wagner moved to a new creation, Mage. Chuck Dixon started his career with Evangeline, and the long running Comico series, Elementals began by Bill Willingham.

In 1985, Comico launched their first licensed title, Robotech. It was at the height of the popularity of Robotech and Comico took advantage by releasing three different comic series. Other licensed titles followed including Jonny Quest, Star Blazers, Space Ghost, Gumby, and Max Headroom.

But Comico also stayed with creator-visioned comics with Next Man, Justice Machine, Maze Agency, Fish Police, Sam & Max, Trollords, Trouble with Girls, and The Rocketeer.

Riding high in both critical acclaim and success, Comico ventured into the realm that also brought down First Comics and other comic companies, when they entered the newsstand market. In order to grow substantially, Comico and other companies felt that the newsstand was the growth area. And with licensed titles such as Robotech, it was the best way to take advantage of those high profile titles.

In 1986, less than four years after its launch, Comico took the plunge. Working with DC Comics for distribution, Comico suddenly found itself with an incredible amount of unsold and returned product.

Even in the comics market, Comico started to suffer. Wagner?s titles of Mage and Grendel slowed as he moved onto other creative endeavors. Robotech finished its licensed storylines. Due to editorial and financial concerns, some of the creator owned titles moved to other companies.

In 1990, Comico declared bankruptcy. E-Man #3 was the last comic produced by the original Comico. The following year, Comico was sold to Andrew Rev. Rev cleaned house and set to relaunch the company but had little to work with. He felt that he, as Comico, owned Mage and Grendel. However, after a long battle, Matt Wagner was successful in clarifying his sole ownership. Rev did secure Elementals by purchasing it outright from Bill Willingham.

The new Comico relied on The Elementals as their keystone title. Rev had also bought into Northstar comics but the output from this Comico was sporadic and sold poorly. Rev continued to published until 1997.

The original Comico was an exciting company that propelled the careers of many comic professionals including Tony Akins, Brian Azzarello , Chuck Dixon, Adam Hughes, Alex Ross , Matt Wagner, Bill Willingham, and many others.

The reborn Comico was one of public squabbling and lackluster performance. Ironically, both companies existed about the same number of years but there is a considerable difference in the output.

Just goes to prove that there is more to a company than the name.

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