The much traveled fantasy adaptation imprint run by the Dabel Brothers has been acquired by Dynamite Entertainment. Les and Ernest Dabel have made a name for themselves over the past decade by making deals with the top authors in fantasy and SF to adapt their works to comics format — George R. R. Martin, Laurell K. Hamilton, Robert Jordan, Orson Scott Card, Jim Butcher — the list goes on and on. Their latest hit is IDW’s Mercy Thompson series by Patricia Briggs. Over the years, the Dabels have teamed with a multitude of publishers to package books and periodicals: Devil’s Due, Alias, Image, Marvel, Del Rey, and IDW, making Dynamite their 7th partner.  While the books have often sold extremely well, the business arrangements haven’t always been smooth, with freelancers owed money from several projects, according to a recent report at Bleeding Cool.

However the new deal with Dynamite is a different sort of deal for the Dabels, according to the PR. Instead of packaging the books, Dynamite is taking over creative and production control of the line, leaving the Dabels, presumably, to do what they do best: negotiate deals with some of the world’s most popular authors.

Although no specific titles are mentioned in the PR from Dynamite, the books will begin shipping next April.

Dynamite Entertainment announced today that they have signed a comprehensive agreement with Dabel Brothers Publishing to transition all of their titles to the Dynamite brand. 

Dynamite will immediately assume creative development, production, printing, marketing and sales for all titles handled by Dabel Brothers Publishing.  This includes books that were in the works and projects not yet announced.  For the bookstore market, all graphic novels (unless pre-existing agreements prohibit from doing so) will be published by Dynamite and distributed through Diamond Book Distributors.   

“Dynamite has impressed us with their ability to market their titles to such a broad audience,” says Vice President, Les Dabel.  “We are extremely happy about this transition, and I am stepping back now to let Dynamite do what they do best.”  

“We look forward to working with all of the distinguished authors on their great works and helping to bring them to a larger audience,” stated Dynamite President, Nick Barrucci.

Founded in 2004, Dynamite Entertainment is home to several best-selling comic book titles and properties, including Red Sonja, Project Superpowers, The Boys, Army of Darkness, Battlestar Galactica, The Lone Ranger, Zorro and more.  Diamond awarded the company a “GEM” award for Best New Publisher in 2005 and another “GEM” in 2006 for Comics Publisher of the Year (under 5%).  Dynamite has also been nominated for several industry awards, including the prestigious “Eisner” Award, and consistently works with top flight and fan favorite creative talent such as Alex Ross, John Cassaday, Garth Ennis, Jim Lee, Michael Avon Oeming, Matt Wagner and many others. 

The first books will be shipping in April 2010, with subsequent titles shipping thereafter.

1 COMMENT

  2. Here’s hoping this means we’ll finally see the last issue of Robert Jordan’s New Spring. (In spring, no less!) At this point I don’t really care whether they pick up the other Wheel of Time adaptations, but I really want them to at least finish this one.

  4. Well, I’m glad that at least The Dresden Files comics will continue. And, presumably, Dynamite will eventually adapt the forthcoming third “Dunk & Egg” story from Martin.

  7. Hopefully, this means the adaptation of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files novel STORM FRONT will finally be collected in one complete volume instead of two separate hardcovers.

  8. Nick & Dynamite continue to produce books of great quality and continually acquire really interesting licenses (the Man with No Name from The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly being my favorite so far). This will be a partnership worth keeping an eye on.

  9. The real question is: What does this mean for the various writers, artists and IP owners who haven’t been getting paid the monies they’re owed by the Dabels?

  10. “The real question is: What does this mean for the various writers, artists and IP owners who haven’t been getting paid the monies they’re owed by the Dabels?”

    Well, at least now those folks have someone new to go after to try to get their money back…