Dynamite keeps the ball rolling with more big announcements ahead of SDCC 2022. Check out the first batch of today’s news below:
King Kong of Skull Island Comes to Comics & Games From Dynamite & DeVito Artworks
The King is back! Dynamite is partnering with DeVito ArtWorks to produce an exciting new line of comics and board games based on King Kong of Skull Island, the most comprehensive King Kong Universe ever created. More than just the first giant monster to thrill audiences, Kong became a cultural icon to viewers around the world and this new line of merchandise will thrill and energize Kong fans of all ages.
“There is perhaps no more famous giant monster in all of fiction than Kong,” said Nick Barrucci, Dynamite CEO and Publisher. “Kong was the first classic giant monster who influenced generations of storytellers in all forms of entertainment. These kinds of figures are such an integral part of comics history, going back to the anthology tales Stan Lee was telling with Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko, and others before the Fantastic Four brought superheroes back to the forefront. But no comics fan can say no to a humongous, fearsome ape – sometimes with a heart of gold. And adding Joe DeVito to the equation, an artist who I’ve worked with for nearly 30 years, who is so talented, it’s an incredibly rewarding experience. We’re excited to also be bringing games to the table, as Skull Island is such a fascinating setting that will translate perfectly!”
After sailing to remote parts of a still unknown and mysterious world, filmmaker and adventurer Merian C. Cooper conceived something so fantastic that it would forever imprint the planet’s collective imagination: King Kong, an immortal Beauty and the Beast tale. A king and a god in his world, Kong, a colossal, terrifying anthropoid, is brought low by his unrequited love for a tiny blond woman, Ann Darrow. This leads to his being captured and brought to New York City in chains, where he escapes to make a spectacular last stand atop the Empire State Building. Protective of Ann to the very end, Kong is finally overcome by a hoard of machine gun firing aeroplanes. Bullet-ridden but unbowed, Kong finally plummets to his death a thousand feet below. “The aviators didn’t get him…It was Beauty killed the Beast,” laments Kong’s captor, Carl Denham, in one of the most famous lines in history.
“King Kong has been a passion of mine since I first saw the 1933 classic back in 1960.” DeVito relates, “DeVito ArtWorks has worked exclusively in concert with the Merian C. Cooper Estate in creating “King Kong of Skull Island” to delve into all things King Kong and Skull Island. Now is a perfect time to partner again with Nick and expand still further on another fabulous Kong adventure in comic books and gaming–exciting times ahead!”
Founded in 2002, DeVito ArtWorks, LLC is an artist-driven transmedia studio dedicated to the creation and development of multi-faceted properties including King Kong of Skull Island, War Eagles, and the Primordials. DeVito ArtWorks is founded and led by renowned artist, illustrator, and author, Joe DeVito. DeVito ArtWorks is represented by World Builder Entertainment.
News of the debut of the King Kong of Skull Island comics and board games will hit Diamond Comic Distributors’ Previews catalog soon!
Vampirella’s Unholy Ultra-Premium Trading Card Set Unveiled Featuring Art by Lucio Parrillo, Peach Momoko, and more!
Dynamite proudly presents a special Vampirella Deluxe Ultra-Premium Trading Card Set for discerning collectors featuring a large selection of the iconic and seductive Vampirella art by fan-favorite artists. This specially curated set includes rare art portraying the world-renowned, raven-haired beauty in all her majestic, bloody glory!
“Every trading card set is special for collectors, but we really wanted to up the ante on this one to commemorate all the exciting storylines taking place in Vampirella’s world recently, and especially all the brilliant artwork!,” said Mariano Nicieza, Director of Research and Development and lead on the trading cards program. “Especially coming from all our talented sketch artists, there will be a jaw-dropping pull in every pack!”
Based on the critically acclaimed Vampirella/Dracula: Unholy series by fan-favorite writer Christopher Priest, this set will be the centerpiece of any Vampirella collection and includes an 18-card base set, plus Dynamite chase cards that include: 9 Signed Cards, 12 Line Art Cards, 9 Puzzle Cards, 2 Special Box Topper Cards, and hundreds of one-of-a-kind hand-drawn signed original art full-color Sketch Cards. Every signed card features a color ink or ultra-rare gold ink signature! Every specially designed, four-color Display Case includes 12 Mini-Boxes with Foil Packs plus 2 Special Box Topper Cards! Every individual Mini-Box w/ Foil Pack includes 2 Base Cards, 2 Sketch Cards, 1 Line Art Card, 1 Puzzle Card, and 1 Signed Card.
The set features artwork from a diverse range of creators, including Lucio Parrillo, Joseph Michael Linsner, Rose Besch, Shannon Maer, Kyuyong Eom, Peach Momoko, Artgerm, Darryl Petrucci, cosplayers Ani Mia, Rachel Hollon, and Ireland Reid plus many, many others!
Plus, guaranteed in every pack, two one-of-a-kind, hand-drawn sketch cards by sketch card artists: Roy Cover, Aaron Laurich, Adam Quinones, Adam Talley, Alpay Yağız, Alperen Geçgel, Andy Bohn, Anthony Helmer, Anthony Richichi, Arwenn Necker, Bianca Thompson, Bill Pulkovski, Bobby Blakey, Bradley Hudson, Caleb King, Caesar Crawford, Celina Hernandez, Debjit Kar, Diablos Grande, Chuck The Hun, Clinton W. Yeager, Damien Torres, Dan Curto, Dan Lawler, Elfie Lebouleux, Elias Gambit Melendes, Emrah Çıldır, Emre Varlıba , Erica Hesse, Ernest Romero, Floydman, Geoffrey Gwin, Gordon Purcell, Jackson Ong, J Hammond, James Nungesser, Jason Montoya, Jason Mooers, Jeffrey C. Benitez, Jesse Lundberg, Joe DelBeato, Joe Wigfield, Jon Mangini, Karl Jones, Ken Haeser, Kevin B. Cleveland, Kevin Meinert, Kevin Munroe, Kirstine Danica Lim, Limuel Pinzon, Mai Irving, Mariano Nicieza, Matt Buttich, Matt Stewart, Michael Metlen, Mike LaPeruta, Mike Mastermaker, Mike Munshaw, Miki Organski, Monty Anderson, Nick Caponi, Nick Gribbon, Omar Soto de la Torre, Paul Hill, Paul Maitland, Quinton Baker, Rhiannon Owens, Rich Molinelli, Richard Johnson, Robert Stuart, Roberto Duque, Rusty Gilligan, Samuel Martinez, Sat Phoun, Scott Harrel, Tim Shay, Tom Romano, Vanessa Solis, Walter Figueroa, Will Torres, William Russell, Zachary Woolsey and more!
The Vampirella Unholy Deluxe Ultra-Premium Trading Card Set will be available for preorder in August and is slated for release in October.
The Boys Omnibuses Help Generate $1,328,579.64 In Revenue at Retail – In Less Than Four Weeks!
Dynamite is proud to announce the continuing smashing success of The Boys in its new deluxe reprint line of oversized omnibuses. To date across nearly four weeks, standard and signed copies of the three volumes have amounted to $1,328,579.64 in revenue across the industry in multiple channels. This is in addition to the revenue retailers generated for the in-stock best-selling regular paperback omnibus sales and the original hardcover collections.
Designed for the 15th anniversary of the series, released specifically during the epic third season on Amazon’s Prime Video, the new omnibus format had been anticipated for a while. Now with all three volumes in the hands of fans of The Boys, everyone is enjoying revisiting or experiencing for the first time the incredible saga by Garth Ennis, Darick Robertson, and so many more talented creators.
The omnibuses have been a rousing success with retailers in the direct market, making them money in a short span of time while the show was at its peak of attention going viral on social media for thrilling moments like the adaptation of the controversial “Herogasm” story and the debut of Soldier-Boy played by fan-favorite actor Jensen Ackles.
Dynamite also offered the volumes on Kickstarter, following their availability to preorder through retailers rather than before. This avenue was used for one to offset the cost of printing domestically, which expedited the release dates for retailers and fans alike. It also captures new audiences and customers that are not actively plugged in or aware of the ongoing comics market or may even not purchase from avenues like Amazon. Ultimately these new fans brought in will grow the market and Dynamite will be promoting to them about further projects. Combining the sales to the comics and book market, and the crowdfunding pledges, The Boys omnibus hardcovers have generated approximately $1,440,000 at retail, and with the continued sales on the third volume, will break $1.5 million.
“We wanted to bring these deluxe editions out for the 15th Anniversary, and solicited them earlier in the year shooting for releasing during Season 3,” said Barrucci. “When orders came in, they were solid, but we decided to roll the dice, and overprint considerably as we had faith in the comics, and in the TV series. We overprinted each volume by more than four times the initial orders, and ensured that they were in stores during the third season, and it is extremely rewarding to see retailers do so well with the books as fans are helping sell through, and having sold out of volume 1 and nearly sold out of volume 2, with some of volume 3 still in stock at Diamond Comic Distributors. But printing in North America was considerably more expensive, and we were fortunate that in creating a crowdfunding campaign to help offset the additional costs also helped grow the comics market, as it brought in new fans who had never purchased through our Kickstarters in the past. And this was in addition to the money retailers generated in the industry. While we would have generated more money if we did the crowdfunding campaign first, it was important to us for retailers to have pre-sales first, and we then were able to help offset the printing costs and grow the market. I thank the retailers and fans for supporting our releases.”
The first volume is sold out and back to press, to hit shelves again as soon as possible. Volume two is nearing selling out, and the third is similarly selling quickly as fans aim to complete their sets of these beautiful tomes.
Stay tuned for more announcements from Dynamite later today!
