Alias Enterprises


Alias Enterprises is an American publishing company. Their main divisions are Alias Comics and Cross Culture. Based in San Diego, California, it was founded in January 2005 by Brett Burner and Mike S. Miller. They publish comics such as Lullaby, The 10th Muse, The Legend of Isis, and Sixgun Samurai.

History

Alias was founded by artist Mike S. Miller and publisher Brett Burner. In January 2005, they launched their first productions through Image Comics filling a virtually untapped market with three all-ages titles: Lullaby: Wisdom Seeker, Lions, Tigers and Bears, and The Imaginaries. All three were successful projects in the independent marketplace, particularly Lullaby, which has seen continuing success since its initial release. Also in 2005, Alias expanded into a self-publishing company with plans to launch 12 titles in April of that year with cover prices of 75 cents. The titles all shipped late and were released irregularly afterwards, but landed them a spot with Diamond Comic Distributors as a Top 20 Publisher.
Alias Comics offered 25-cent preview issues, 75-cent introductory issues, and 50,000 copies of free preview books called "the Comic Book Digest" as marketing efforts, but continued to have problems with shipping. In mid-2005, Alias chose to move its comic printing stateside, but due to the accumulation of problems at the domestic printer, decided to go back to its original partner in South Korea. The subsequent lapse in shipping, going from a domestic printer to a South Korean printer, resulted in a two- to three-month lapse in delivery of Alias comic books to comic stores. Being gone from the shelves for so long created several problems for the fledgling company, causing a loss of retailer and consumer confidence.
Nearly a year after opening their doors, several Alias comic book creators began to leave the publisher, citing various concerns. In 2005, studios Monkey Pharmacy, Runemaster Studios, and Dabel Brothers Productions stopped producing books for publication by Alias. In November, Alias underwent a restructuring plan. Its publisher, Brett Burner, purchased majority shares of the company in order to take control of the company's financial records.
In March 2006, Alias began to shift to a new policy toward its creators requiring work to be completed and in-hand before being solicited for publication, as an effort to maintain a more exact release schedule. Later, Alias signed an agreement with Christian publisher Zondervan to produce 24 manga or graphic novels to be released over the next few years through its Cross Culture division, consisting of three 8-book series. These titles included Hand of the Morningstar, Kingdoms, and The Manga Bible.
Also in 2006, Alias' Christian division, Cross Culture Entertainment, began publication of Bubblemag, a Christian pop culture magazine. By the fall of 2006, Alias Comics was rebranded as a Christian comic company. Within a few weeks, Abacus Comics opened for business. Abacus Comics is owned solely by Miller, and was opened for the express purpose of publishing several of his "creator-owned" titles which were initially run through Alias Comics.
In 2007, Lamp Post Inc. obtained full rights to all Alias and Cross Culture properties, placing them under its label.

Publications

In alphabetical order:
  • ArmorQuest: Genesis by Ben Avery and Sherwin Schwartzrock
  • Atomik Mike by Stephan Nilson
  • The Blackbeard Legacy
  • Chrono Mechanics by Art Thibert and Richard Birdsall
  • David: The Sheperd's Song by Royden Lepp
  • David's Mighty Men by Javier Saltares
  • Deal with the Devil by Mike S. Miller and Sherwin Schwartzrock
  • The Devil's Keeper by Mike S. Miller, Sean Jordan, and Carlos Paul
  • The Dreamland Chronicles by Scott Christian Sava
  • The Hammer Kid by Kevin Grevioux
  • Hyper-Actives by Darin Wagner and Clint Hilinski
  • Judo Girl by Darren G. Davis, Terrance Griep, and Nadir Balan
  • Killer Stunts, Inc. by Scott Kinney
  • Legacy Manga Digest by Carmen Trifilleti and Eduardo Francisco
  • The Legend of Isis by Ryan Scott Ottney, Darren G. Davis, et al.
  • Lethal Instinct
  • Lullaby vol. 2 by Mike S. Miller and Hector Sevilla
  • Monkey in a Wagon vs. Lemur on a Big Wheel by Ken Lillie-Paetz and Chris Moreno
  • Opposite Forces vol. 2 by Tom Bancroft
  • Orion the Hunter
  • OZF5 by Ramon Madrigal and Ryan Ottley
  • Pakkins' Land vol. 2 by Gary Shipman
  • Psi-Kix
  • Revere by Ed Lavallee and Grant Bond
  • Sixgun Samurai by Mike S. Miller, Sean Jordan, and Harold Edge
  • Super Teen*Topia by Kirk Kushin
  • Ted Noodleman: Bicycle Delivery Boy by Jim Keplinger and Ryan Ottley
  • Tenth Muse vol. 3 by Darren G. Davis, et al.
  • TwinBlades by Adrian Todd and Ryan Odagawa
  • Valkyries by Kevin Grevioux
  • Victoria's Secret Service by Darren G. Davis and Nadir Balan
  • Yenny vol. 2 by David Álvarez
Comics that went to other venues after publication at Alias:
  • Monkey in a Wagon vs. Lemur on a Big Wheel
  • Elsinore
  • Lions, Tigers and Bears
  • XIII
Comics that came to Alias after initial publication at another venue:
  • Chrono Mechanics
Cancelled Alias comics:
  • ''The Gimoles''

    Circulation

According to the sales estimates from industry resource site ICv2, Alias' top-selling monthly comics for their first year were:
  • May 2005: 4,945 copies of 10th Muse vol. 2, #1
  • June 2005: 7,836 copies of Lethal Instinct #1
  • July 2005: 4,005 copies of Legend of Isis #2
  • August 2005: 3,546 copies of Legend of Isis #3
  • September 2005: 3,286 copies of XIII #2
  • October 2005: 3,352 copies of Legend of Isis #4
  • November 2005: 7,432 copies of Lullaby #1
  • December 2005: 3,038 copies of Legend of Isis #7
  • January 2006: 3,886 copies of Lullaby #2
  • February 2006: -- no issue shipped, only a TPB
  • March 2006: 3,909 copies of Victoria's Secret Service #1
  • April 2006: 4,701 copies of Lullaby #3
  • May 2006: 2,959 copies of Blackbeard Legacy #1
NOTE: These are only initial pre-order sales via Diamond Comic Distributors U.S. and do not include possible reorders or sales through other channels.