IDW Publishing

History

Idea and Design Works (IDW) was formed in 1999 by a group of entertainment executives and artists that included Ted Adams, Robbie Robbins, Alex Garner, and Kris Oprisko to develop products related to video games, movies, TV, collectible card games, comic books and trading cards. In 2000, Idea and Design Works formed its publishing division, IDW Publishing and in 2007, IDT purchased a majority interest in IDW. Two of the original founders, Adams (CEO and Publisher) and Robbins (EVP), still actively manage the company, which has grown into a fully staffed publishing company.

In 2007, IDT Corporation purchased a majority interest in IDW. In 2009, IDT created CTM Media Holdings via a tax-free spin-off. This new company, later renamed IDW Media Holdings, consists of the majority interest in IDW and CTM Media Group.

The company's first traditional comic series, 30 Days of Night, created by Steve Niles & Ben Templesmith started a seven-figure bidding war between DreamWorks, MGM and Senator International, with Senator winning and Sam Raimi attached to produce.

IDW Publishing's second title, Popbot, won two Gold Spectrum Awards.

IDW Publishing also publishes comics based on the TV franchises Star Trek and CSI. The company's other licensed comics include Topps' Mars Attacks, Sony's Underworld, FX' The Shield, Fox' 24 and Angel; Universal’s Land of the Dead and Shaun of the Dead; and Konami’s Silent Hill, Castlevania, Metal Gear Solid and Speed Racer. The company has also had success with comic license from toy company Hasbro brands; The Transformers (with Takara), G.I. Joe, My Little Pony and Jem. Transformers has had as many as five different titles running concurrently.

Beginning in 2008, the company licensed the Doctor Who series from the BBC, launching two concurrent titles: Doctor Who Classics, which reprints colorized comic strips featuring the past Doctors such as the Fourth Doctor and Fifth Doctor originally published in the late 1970's-early 1980's by Doctor Who Magazine, and Doctor Who: Agent Provocateur, an original six-part limited series featuring the Tenth Doctor and overseen and written by TV series script editor Gary Russell. An additional six-part limited series titled Doctor Who: The Forgotten started in mid-2008 by Tony Lee and Pia Guerra, as well as a series of monthly one-shot, self-contained stories. July 2009 saw the beginning of Doctor Who, an ongoing series featuring the Tenth Doctor, written by Tony Lee and illustrated by a rotating art team.

In 2010, IDW Publishing released the sequel to Michael San Giacomo's "Phantom Jack" Image Comics series with "Phantom Jack: The Nowhere Man Agenda." The graphic novel is notable because it features the death of the main character, a reporter who can turn invisible.

IDW Publishing formed an imprint with EA Games in late 2009, called EA Comics, to focus on adaptations of the latter's video games, with initial titles including Army of Two and Dragon Age.

September 6, 2011, for the 10th anniversary of 9/11, IDW Publishing teamed up Charlie Foxtrot Entertainment and released the graphic novel Code Word: Geronimo, written by retired Marine Corps Captain Dale Dye and Julia Dye, drawn by Gerry Kissell with inker Amin Amat. Code Word: Geronimo reached #22 on Diamond Comics top 100 list its first month after release.

In March 2012 IDW Publishing announced it would release new comics based on Judge Dredd and The Crow. Also in 2012, Hasbro licensed the use of My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic for an IDW comic book series.

In February 2013, IDW Publishing announced a partnership with Cartoon Network to publish comics based on the network's television series and reprint older Cartoon Network comics.

On January 6, 2015, IDW Publishing announced it had acquired Top Shelf Productions.

In February 2015, it was announced that IDW Publishing made a deal with Disney to continue the publication of the following comic books: Uncle Scrooge, Donald Duck, Mickey Mouse, and Walt Disney's Comics and Stories.

Yoe Books

The Library of American Comics

In 2008, the first volume of The Complete Terry and the Pirates received an Eisner Award for Best Archival Collection.

Worthwhile Books and Blue Dream Studios

IDW Publishing launched two new imprints in 2008: Worthwhile Books, part of their children's books division, and Scott Christian Sava's Blue Dream Studios, previously a separate self-publishing venture.

IDW Publishing acquired the G.I. Joe comics license in May 2008 (previously held by Devil's Due Publishing) and released three new series under editor Andy Schmidt, from writers such as Chuck Dixon, Larry Hama and Christos Gage. Other comics were released in time to tie-in with the summer 2009 G.I. Joe film.

In March 2009, IDW Publishing forged an agreement with Mike Gold's Comicmix.com to publish print versions of Comicmix's online comic books. The agreement stipulates Comicmix must provide two comic books a month to IDW Publishing to publish, as well as graphic novels and trade paperbacks as demanded by the market. The books are published with both the IDW Publishing and Comicmix.com logos on the covers. As of the end of 2009, the agreement has produced print versions of the Grimjack series The Manx Cat; the Jon Sable series Ashes of Eden; Mark Wheatley and Robert Tinnell's pulp hero series Lone Justice; the graphic novel Demons of Sherwood by Tinnell and Bo Hampton; and a graphic novel collecting Trevor Von Eeden's The Original Johnson. A collection of Munden's Bar stories original to Comicmix's website is also forthcoming.

In 2004, 2005 and 2006 IDW Publishing was named Publisher of the Year by Diamond Comic Distributors.

Adaptations in other media

Konami acquired the video game rights, and minority ownership, in IDW Publishing’s CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations.

30 Days of Night has been adapted into a film of the same name in 2007, starring Josh Hartnett and Melissa George, directed by David Slade and produced by Spider-Man director Sam Raimi. It is distributed by Columbia Pictures.

Dimension Films has an option on two Steve Niles/IDW Publishing properties: Wake the Dead, with X2 screenwriter Michael Dougherty attached to write, and Hyde, with Mike Fleiss (The Bachelor, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre) attached to produce.

The motion comic version of Transformers: Movie Prequel titled Transformers: Beginnings (albeit excluding characters not present in the movie) is included in the Transformers DVD.

Syfy announced a television adaptation of Wynonna Earp, set to premiere on April 1, 2016.

Upcoming projects

USA Network announced a pilot for Brooklyn Animal Control produced by David Goyer.

Paramount has an option on the Steve Niles/IDW Publishing property Aleister Arcane. In June 2016, Variety reported that Jim Carrey will star in Eli Roth's film adaptation of Aleister Arcane for Amblin Entertainment.