Sunrise Distribution


Sunrise Distribution was a Commerce, California-based comic book distributor which operated in the early-to-mid 1980s. Owned by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, the company was intimately connected to a number of small comic book publishers from that era, including Eternity Comics and Malibu Comics, as well as three extremely short-lived publishers: Amazing, Imperial Comics, and Wonder Color.

History

Sunrise Distribution evolved from Rosenberg's mail order comics business, Direct Comics, which he had founded when he was 13 years old.

Publishing ventures

Eternity Comics

In early 1986, income from Rosenberg's comics distribution business allowed him to privately finance Eternity Comics, originally based in New York City and helmed by Brian David-Marshall. Writer/editor David Campiti worked as a packager to supply content for Eternity.

Amazing and Wonder Color

Beginning in the summer of 1986, after disputes arose between Marshall and Campiti, Rosenberg provided capital for Campiti to form two new small publishers: Amazing and Wonder Color, with business offices for both publishers based in the same location in Long Beach, California. Marshall, meanwhile, retained control of Eternity.
Amazing and Wonder Color were affiliated with another publisher with which Campiti was involved: Pied Piper Comics. The plan was that Campiti would package comics for all three publishers through his studio Campiti and Associates, with Pied Piper handling projects in the form of posters and graphic novels. Amazing published black-and-white comics, while Wonder Color published comics in color.
Wonder Color's staff included investor Paula Brown as publisher, editor-in-chief Campiti, and consulting editor Roger McKenzie. Writer David Lawrence edited a few titles.

Malibu Comics and Imperial Comics

Near the end of 1986, Rosenberg and his investors financed two new publishers: Imperial Comics, based in Brooklyn, New York, and helmed by Marshall; and Malibu Comics, based in Calabasas, California, headed by Dave Olbrich and cartoonist Tom Mason. John Arcudi served as an editor for Imperial Comics.

Mergers

In the spring of 1987, Sunrise announced that due to cash flow issues, it would not be able to pay its client publishers until July.
Concurrently, Rosenberg revealed his connection to Amazing, Eternity, Imperial, Malibu, and Wonder Color, and declared that he was assuming direct control of all five publishers. At this point, Rosenberg shut down Amazing, Imperial, and Wonder Color, while keeping Eternity Comics as a Malibu brand. Some Imperial titles moved to Malibu/Eternity; a few Amazing and Wonder Color titles were retained by Campiti and moved to Pied Piper Comics.

Sunrise bankruptcy

Sunrise went bankrupt and abruptly folded in the summer of 1988, during the "black-and-white implosion". This left a number of small publishers without the cash flow to continue, and they, too, went out of business. Two of Sunrise's clients, the West Coast publishers Blackthorne Publishing and Fantagraphics, sued the distributor, but ultimately, neither publisher was able to recoup its losses.
Rosenberg continued with Malibu, which survived into the mid-1990s, with many ups and downs, before being acquired by Marvel Comics in 1994.

Analysis

In 2015, Tom Mason, a co-founder of Malibu Comics, described Rosenberg's operations this way:

Publishers financed by Sunrise

Amazing Comics titles

  • Amazing Comics Premieres #1–5 — showcase title; contributors include Roger McKenzie, Kevin VanHook, David Lawrence, Sam Kieth, Ron Lim, and David Campiti
  • Barney the Invisible Turtle #1 — by Rick Rodolfo
  • Blip and C.C.A.D.S #1–2
  • Daemon Mask #1 — by Stuart Hopen and Russ Martin
  • Domino Chance: Roach Extraordinaire — by Kevin Lenagh
  • Ex-Mutants: The Special Edition — reprinting the first issue as published by Eternity
  • Ex-Mutants #2–5 — by David Lawrence and Ron Lim; moved to Pied Piper Comics
  • The Gajit Gang #1
  • Jack Frost #1–2 — by Kevin VanHook
  • Phigments #1 — art by Evan Dorkin; later acquired by Pied Piper Comics
  • Tales of the Sun Runners #3 — by Roger McKenzie and Glen Johnson; acquired from Sirius Comics
  • The Sun Runners Christmas Special #1 — contributors include Roger McKenzie and Kelley Jones
  • Wabbit Wampage #1 — by Stephen D. Sullivan; based on a board game he had earlier developed with Pacesetter Ltd

    Wonder Color titles

  • G.I. R.A.M.B.O.T. #1
  • Hero Alliance #1 — moved to Pied Piper Comics
  • Power Factor #1 — moved to Pied Piper Comics
  • Terraformers — art by Kelley Jones

    Imperial Comics titles

  • Battle to the Death #1 — moved to Eternity Comics
  • Blackstar — by Jenkins, Matthews, and Phred
  • Dark Comics #1
  • Nazrat — by Jerry Frazee; moved to Eternity Comics
  • Probe — by Frank Turner; moved to Eternity Comics