Industry Film and Publishing Founded 2007 | Products Film and Comics | |
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Type Private Multimedia Studio Founder Jesse Berger - Co-founder, EVP
Barry Levine - Co-founder, President Parent Blatant Entertainment, Inc. Divisions Radical Publishing
Radical Pictures
Radical Comics
Radical Interactive
Radical Family Headquarters Los Angeles, California, United States Motto Welcome to the Radical Universe Profiles | ||
Radical Studios is an American multimedia studio with offices in Los Angeles. It has branches in feature films, television, physical and digital publishing, merchandise, recorded music, digital and online media applications and mobile and social games.
Contents
History
Radical Publishing was founded in 2007 by Barry Levine, David Elliott, Jesse Berger, and Matthew Berger.
The company launched its first titles, Hercules and Caliber, in May 2008. In May 2009 Elliott left the company, being replaced by new Editor-in-Chief David Wohl.
In September 2010, the company rebranded itself as Radical Studios.
In 2011, the company reduced its overall staff. In January, 2012 David Wohl announced that he was leaving the company. Shortly after, the company removed their title Under the Faerie Moon from Free Comic Book Day and cancelled the release of Damaged issue 6.
In March 2012, the company began production on the movie Oblivion with Universal Pictures, based on an unpublished book created by director Joseph Kosinski, starring Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Andrea Riseborough, Olga Kurylenko and Melissa Leo. The open #1 at the box office on April 19, 2013, generating $38.5 million in its US opening weekend. The film went on to generate $89 million in the US box office and $198 million internationally, for a global cume of $287 million.
In February 2013, the company raised $3m in equity from Los Angeles-based production company Wolfiskin Productions, to help expand its digital strategy and licensing capabilities.
In June 2013, the company started production on Hercules, with MGM and Paramount Pictures, starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, based on the Radical Comics' series Hercules: The Thracian Wars. The movie open #2 in box office in July 25, 2015 generating $29.8M in its US opening weekend. The film went on to generate $72 million in the US box office and $170 million internationally, for a global cume of $243 million.
Film
Stemming from its start as a comic book publisher, and in regards to its comics, Radical Founder Barry Levine stated that “each title is built with the assumption the comic book will eventually land on the big screen.” These tools are used to attract film directors and other talent for attachment to a project during the development process. Lastly, Radical sometimes employs the comic’s series writer to draft an initial screenplay of their work as a part of the film pitch package presented to studios. Using these strategies, Radical has attracted various Hollywood talent and studios to their projects.
Films either in development or released include:
Publishing
The company launched its first comic titles, Hercules and Caliber, in May 2008 as 5-issue mini-series and debuted as the #7 comic book company in the world in market share based on a monthly report by ICV2. Rather than the superheroes typical of Marvel and DC Comics, Radical’s titles focus on retellings of iconic fictional characters, mythology, science fiction, fantasy, horror, historical fiction, supernatural themes, and genre-based crime. Radical releases comics first as miniseries, and then combines these miniseries into paperback collections. Radical’s strategy in the comic book business is to create properties that feature painted art and “great stories that will appeal to the fans and the marketplace as a whole." Many of Radical’s titles are published in a larger 48-page form, rather than the industry standard 22-page format. Radical comics are distributed in both mass market stores and specialized comic book shops. by Diamond Comic Distributors of North America. At one point Radical had a distribution deal for mass market stores in the United States and Canada by Random House. However, the company rejoined Diamond Comic Distributors in 2011. As of 2012, Radical has published 20 different titles and is currently distributed by Diamond Comic Distributors. Currently, Radical has not released any new comics or graphic novels since the release of Damaged issue 5 on February 1, 2012. The final issue of Damaged has since been cancelled.
The company has released a number of titles:
Reprints
They are also collecting and reprinting works previously published elsewhere:
Awards
Radical received the 2008 Diamond Gem Award for New Comic Book Publisher of the Year from Diamond Comic Distributors. Diamond Comic Distributors is recognized as the premier comic book distributor in North America. The awards are voted on by the comic book store retailers, and are based on the overall impact of the publisher on the industry, taking into account sales performance, quality and creativity. Radical received the award for their first two titles, Hercules: The Thracian Wars and Caliber: First Canon of Justice. Both comics were launched in May 2008, and enjoyed sellout performances.
Legends: The Enchanted won the HorrorNews Net award for Best Original Graphic Novel 2010.
Legends: The Enchanted was nominated for an Eagle Award for Favourite Single Story 2010.
Legal
In July 2009, it was reported that Elliott had filed a lawsuit against Radical Publishing's parent company, Blatant Entertainment. The lawsuit cited disagreements over unpaid wages, as well as contract and copyright disputes as reasoning behind the action.
In early 2010, Radical Studios had to halt publication of Nick Simmons' series Incarnate following accusations of plagiarism.