When IDW acquired Top Shelf a few weeks ago, there was much talk about creators like Alan Moore staying around, but Top Shelf’s Chris Staros made it clear that he had discussed the move in advance with his top creators.
One much liked book that Top Shelf published for about a decade is Andy Runton’s Owly series, a steady seller that helped establish kids content in the indy world long before it was fashionable. However, as noted by Johanna Draper Carlson, Runton tweeted that he would be self-publishing Owly going forward.
I reached out to Runton for more information and he explained that this had aboslutely nothing to do with the IDW deal. His contract with Top Shelf actually ran out last year, and he had made plans to self publisher starting then. “I’ve been thinking about self publishing for a long time and have gotten some great advice from Terry and Robyn Moore,” he told The Beat. However, a series of personal setbacks put this on hold for all of 2014, and he has no firm publishing lans yet. Hopefully, we’ll see Owly coming back in 2015, and Runton back on top form.
V1 has been OOP for…. 3+ months? Maybe more.
-B
FYI, Top Shelf hasn’t published a solo Owly book since 2008, then the two Owly and Wormy book from Antheum and Top Shelf in 2011 and 2012. I really miss these books and hope Andy finds a way to get his books back into print, and publish new stuff SOON! Owly is the quintessential all-ages book that people really dig.
OWLY is one of those books that should have a much larger audience than the direct-market/comic-fan market it has been in for close to a decade, and Andy is a creator that deserves all the success and attention that befits his immense talent. Hopefully this is the start of even bigger and better things for OWLY in the future.
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