Blackthorne Publishing


Blackthorne Publishing Inc. was an American comic book publisher that flourished from 1986 to 1989. They were notable for the Blackthorne 3-D Series, their reprint titles of classic comic strips like Dick Tracy, and their licensed products. Blackthorne achieved its greatest sales and financial success with their licensed 3-D comics adaptations of the California Raisins, but the financial loss suffered by the failure of their 3-D adaptation of Michael Jackson's film Moonwalker was a major contributor to the publisher's downfall.

History

Blackthorne was established in 1985 by husband-and-wife team Steve Schanes and Ann Fera, formerly associated with Pacific Comics. After Schanes was fired from Pacific Comics, he needed a job in order to pay debts for himself and family. Schanes and Fera decided to raise $16,000 to start Blackthorne, mostly using their credit cards.
Blackthorne's first title was Jerry Iger's Classic Sheena, with a cover date of April 1985, featuring Sheena, Queen of the Jungle reprints and a new Dave Stevens cover. Despite early struggles due to their limited funds, Blackthorne steadily expanded during its first years. To increase their profitability and visibility, the company employed sales representatives which sold their comics to retail stores not covered by any comic book distributors, such as Hallmark Cards, Spencer Gifts, and 7-Elevens nationwide. By the end of 1987, according to Schanes, the company was publishing 22 comic books a month and was distributing to 900–1,200 gift stores not covered by comics distributors. Meanwhile, Blackthorne earned praise from critics and hobbyists for its reprints of classic newspaper comic strips. Schanes chose to do newspaper strip reprints because they required less financial investment and because there was little competition in the field at the time. Blackthorne immediately bought the rights for 60 different newspaper strips, even though they knew they wouldn't be able to produce most of them for years at best, to lock out any competition in the field.
In addition to their comic book line, Blackthorne published paperback books and created faux books for movie props; for instance, the comic books and technical manuals seen in the film Russkies are all props crafted by Blackthorne Publishing.
In 1987, however, with the company losing money on its color line, it canceled those titles to focus on its 3-D books and black-and-white licensed products. Blackthorne also suffered from the contemporaneous financial troubles of the Los Angeles–based distributor Sunrise Distribution. Sunrise went bankrupt in 1988, and although Blackthorne sued the distributor, they were never able to recoup their losses. This in turn led to Blackthorne being audited by the federal government in 1988.
In early 1989, the company was still the fifth-largest U.S. comics publisher, bringing in about $1 million in sales and boasting a staff of eight full-time editorial and production employees. They published about 240 different titles a year, with an average print run of about 10,000 copies each. The company made a fatal error, however, when they signed on to adapt the Michael Jackson film Moonwalker to a 3-D comic book. The publisher paid a large licensing fee for the property and when the Moonwalker comic flopped later that year, they experienced a large financial loss.
By mid-1989 the company was outsourcing its operations, and in November the company laid off eight of its nine employees, including editor-in-chief John Stephenson. $180,000 in debt, Blackthorne limped into 1990 before it finally folded.

Titles

Original series

Adventures in the Mystwood, 1 issueAlien Ducklings, 4 issuesAlien Worlds graphic novelAtomic Man Comics, 3 issuesBlackthorne's 3-in-1, 2 issuesBrik Hauss, 1 issueCold Blooded Chameleon Commandos, 5 issues Crow of the Bear Clan, 6 issuesDanse, 1 issueDogaroo, 1 issueDuckbots, 2 issuesEnchanted Valley, 2 issuesFailed Universe, 1 issue – New Universe parodyFigments, 3 issuesFragments , 2 issuesFreak-Out on Infant Earths, 2 issues – Crisis on Infinite Earths parodyThe Gift, 1 issueGround Pound! Comix , 1 issueHamster Vice, 6 issues – Miami Vice parodyJack Hunter, 1 issueJack Hunter, 3 issuesJax and the Hellhound, 3 issuesLabor Force, 8 issuesLann graphic novelLaffin' Gas, 12 issuesLegion Of Stupid Heroes, 1 issue – Legion of Super-Heroes parodyMad Dog Magazine, 3 issuesThe Man of Rust, 1 issueMidnite, 3 issuesMr. Cream Puff, 1 issueNervous Rex, 10 issuesOf Myths and Men, 2 issuesOmega Elite, 1 issueOmni Men, 1 issueOperative: Scorpio graphic novelOutposts, 1 issuePajama Chronicles, 1 issuePlanet Comics, 3 issuesPossibleman, 2 issuesPre-Teen Dirty-Gene Kung Fu Kangaroos, 3 issues – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles parodyRed Heat, 2 issuesRevolving Doors, 3 issuesRoachmill, 6 issuesRivit, 1 issueSerius Bounty Hunter, 3 issuesShuriken graphic novelStarlight Squadron, 1 issueStreet Poet Ray, 2 issuesStreet Wolf, 3 issuesTo Die For, 1 issueTimeline Color Comics, 1 issue Tracker, 2 issuesTwisted Tantrums of the Purple Snit, 2 issuesWings Comics graphic novelWolph, 1 issueXeno-Men, 1 issueX-L, graphic novel

''Blackthorne 3-D Series''

80 issues3-D Bullwinkle & Rocky, 1 issue3-D Bullwinkle For President In 3-D, 1 issue3-D Heroes, 1 issue3-D Sports Hall of Shame, 1 issueAdventures of Capt. Holo 3-D, 1 issueBaby Huey 3-D, 1 issueBattleTech 3-D, 1 issueBetty Boop 3-D, 1 issueBizarre 3-D Zone, 1 issueBozo the Clown in 3-D, 3 issuesBravestarr in 3-D, 2 issuesCalifornia Raisins in 3-D, 5 issuesCalifornia Raisins: The Ultimate Collection trade paperbackCasper in 3-D, 1 issueClassic Jungle Comics, 1 issueDick Tracy in 3-D, 1 issueThe Flintstones in 3-D, 4 issuesG.I. Joe in 3-D, 6 issuesG.I. Joe in 3-D Annual, 1 issueGoldyn in 3-D, 1 issueGumby 3-D, 7 issuesHamster Vice in 3-D, 2 issuesKull 3-D, 2 issuesLars of Mars in 3-D, 1 issueLaurel & Hardy in 3-D, 2 issuesLittle Dot 3-D, 1 issueLittle Nemo in Slumberland 3-D, 1 issueMerlin Realm in 3-D, 1 issueMoonwalker in 3-D, 1 issueThe Noid in 3-D, 2 issuesPlayful Little Audrey in 3-D, 1 issueRambo III 3-D, 1 issueRed Sonja 3-D, 1 issueRichie Rich and Casper 3-D, 1 issueSad Sack 3-D, 1 issueSalimba 3-D, 2 issuesSheena 3-D Special, 1 issueSolomon Kane 3-D, 1 issueStar Wars 3-D, 3 issuesTransformers in 3-D, 3 issuesTo Die For 3-D, 1 issueTwisted Tales 3-D, 1 issueUnderdog 3-D, 1 issueWaxwork 3-D, 1 issueWendy in 3-D, 1 issueWerewolf 3-D, 1 issue

Licensed and reprint titles

Battle Beasts, 4 IssuesBattleForce, 2 issuesBattleTech, 6 issuesBattleTech AnnualBeyond Mars, 5 issues Comic Strip Preserves series