Steven Sykora 4000
Sunday, June 08, 2008, 12:25 AM
Vanguard Comics: The new imprint is looking for Fantastic Worlds and Great Characters
LOS ANGELES, June 6, 2008 -- Platinum Studios, Inc. (OTCBB: PDOS), an entertainment company that controls an international library of more than 5,600 comic book characters which it adapts, produces and licenses for all forms of media and Vanguard Animation, the film production entity created by the producer of the Shrek franchise, announced the creation of a new comic book imprint called Vanguard Comics. Vanguard Animation is 30% owned by Starz Media, LLC, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation that is attributed to Liberty Capital Corp.
This co-run imprint, which began life when Platinum Studios CEO and Chairman, Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, invited Vanguard Animation Chairman, John H. Williams, to be a judge at last year's Comic Book Challenge™ (www.ComicBookChallenge.com), enables Vanguard Animation to develop properties that can simultaneously launch as comic books or graphic novels and as feature films.
The venture has acquired its first property, "Illegal Aliens", which was one of the Top 50 finalists in last year's Comic Book Challenge™. The story concerns a skeptical tabloid news reporter sent down to a border town in Texas to investigate cattle mutilations. The reporter inadvertently taps into a myth that dates back to Mayan times: the terrifying, primeval Chupacabra monster.
A film version of the project is being developed simultaneously.
"When Scott asked me to be a part of The Comic Book Challenge ™, I thought that it would be a great way to hear story concepts," said Vanguard Animation's Williams. "Scott and I both immediately agreed that 'Illegal Aliens', which is a full throttle horror thriller in the spirit of Aliens and Predator, had franchise potential. ''Illegal Aliens' is precisely the type of subject-matter to attract the renaissance of Mexican auteur directors like Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Guillermo Del Toro and Alfonso Cuaron,"
Added Vanguard Animation's Williams: "Out of that enthusiasm, was born the Vanguard Comics, where fantastical worlds are grounded in great character based dramatic-action story telling."
"When I asked John to be a part of last year's Comic Book Challenge™, I was hoping that something like this would come out of it," said Platinum Studios' Rosenberg. "What I didn't expect was that John and I would almost immediately find the right story to marry his film development process to the development of a comic book or graphic novel."
"We see this as an opportunity to make a great comic book that really integrates film structure," says Vanguard's President of Development, Rob Moreland.
'Illegal Aliens' was created by Kevin MacDougall, a freelance illustrator, who has done comic book work for Community Comics and The Megazeen as well as commercial art for many other companies over the past 12 years. He currently lives with his wife and 2 children in Mooseheart, IL and works at a home for disadvantaged and at risk youth.
The deal was put together by Vanguard Animation's Jeremy Ross and Platinum Studios' Hank Lambert.
LOS ANGELES, June 6, 2008 -- Platinum Studios, Inc. (OTCBB: PDOS), an entertainment company that controls an international library of more than 5,600 comic book characters which it adapts, produces and licenses for all forms of media and Vanguard Animation, the film production entity created by the producer of the Shrek franchise, announced the creation of a new comic book imprint called Vanguard Comics. Vanguard Animation is 30% owned by Starz Media, LLC, which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation that is attributed to Liberty Capital Corp.
This co-run imprint, which began life when Platinum Studios CEO and Chairman, Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, invited Vanguard Animation Chairman, John H. Williams, to be a judge at last year's Comic Book Challenge™ (www.ComicBookChallenge.com), enables Vanguard Animation to develop properties that can simultaneously launch as comic books or graphic novels and as feature films.
The venture has acquired its first property, "Illegal Aliens", which was one of the Top 50 finalists in last year's Comic Book Challenge™. The story concerns a skeptical tabloid news reporter sent down to a border town in Texas to investigate cattle mutilations. The reporter inadvertently taps into a myth that dates back to Mayan times: the terrifying, primeval Chupacabra monster.
A film version of the project is being developed simultaneously.
"When Scott asked me to be a part of The Comic Book Challenge ™, I thought that it would be a great way to hear story concepts," said Vanguard Animation's Williams. "Scott and I both immediately agreed that 'Illegal Aliens', which is a full throttle horror thriller in the spirit of Aliens and Predator, had franchise potential. ''Illegal Aliens' is precisely the type of subject-matter to attract the renaissance of Mexican auteur directors like Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Guillermo Del Toro and Alfonso Cuaron,"
Added Vanguard Animation's Williams: "Out of that enthusiasm, was born the Vanguard Comics, where fantastical worlds are grounded in great character based dramatic-action story telling."
"When I asked John to be a part of last year's Comic Book Challenge™, I was hoping that something like this would come out of it," said Platinum Studios' Rosenberg. "What I didn't expect was that John and I would almost immediately find the right story to marry his film development process to the development of a comic book or graphic novel."
"We see this as an opportunity to make a great comic book that really integrates film structure," says Vanguard's President of Development, Rob Moreland.
'Illegal Aliens' was created by Kevin MacDougall, a freelance illustrator, who has done comic book work for Community Comics and The Megazeen as well as commercial art for many other companies over the past 12 years. He currently lives with his wife and 2 children in Mooseheart, IL and works at a home for disadvantaged and at risk youth.
The deal was put together by Vanguard Animation's Jeremy Ross and Platinum Studios' Hank Lambert.