Eternity Comics
Encyclopedia
Eternity Comics was a California-based comic book publisher active from 1986 to 1994, first as an independent publisher, then as an imprint of Malibu Comics
. Eternity published creator-owned comics of an offbeat, independent flavor, as well as some licensed properties. Eternity was also notable for reprinting foreign titles, and introducing Cat Claw, The Jackaroo, and the Southern Squadron to the U.S. market.
Such well-known creators as Brian Pulido
, Evan Dorkin
, Dale Berry
, Ben Dunn
, Dean Haspiel
, and Ron Lim
got their starts with Eternity.
. After this was made public, Rosenberg discontinued most of these publishers, but retained the Eternity label as an imprint of Malibu Comics, also eventually bringing in Canadian publisher Aircel Comics
under the Eternity/Malibu umbrella.
franchise. The creators, the Waltrip brothers
started with direct adaptations of the Robotech II: The Sentinels
scripts and novels into comic format. Then they began writing additional stories that expanded the canon
beyond the initial 85 animated Robotech episodes and The Sentinels. As the series progressed the Waltrips began deviating from the Sentinels novels, adding new story elements and new characters.
was first published by Eternity from 1987–1988, and was then moved to Amazing Comics
(with contractual problems resulting in yet another move to Pied Piper Comics
). A legal dispute followed, and after running out of money for the struggle, creators David Lawrence
and Ron Lim
surrendered: the title returned to Eternity and was later published in a revamped version by Malibu.
Eternity's 1989 publication of The Uncensored Mouse
, which reprinted Mickey Mouse
comics from the 1930s — without Disney's permission — led to a run-in with Walt Disney Productions. Eternity printed The Uncensored Mouse with totally black covers, bagged (to prevent casual buyers from flipping through the comic), and the inside of the comic had a printed notice: "Mickey Mouse is a registered trademark of Walt Disney Productions" so as no to confuse the market that it was an authorized Disney production. Eternity believed it had not violated any copyrights because strips had fallen into public domain. Regardless, Disney brought a lawsuit against the company and the series was cancelled after just two issues (six issues were solicited).
Similarly, Eternity's 1989-1992 adaptation of the popular Japanese manga
Captain Harlock
was discontinued after it was discovered that Eternity/Malibu did not have the Captain Harlock rights. The alleged representative for the rights to Harlock with whom Malibu exchanged money turned out to be fraudulent and was in no way connected to the actual rights holders.
returning to Antarctic Press
and Robotech
moving to Academy Comics
.
Malibu Comics
Malibu Comics was an American comic book publisher active in the late 1980s and early 1990s, best known for its Ultraverse line of superhero titles. The company's headquarters was in Calabasas, California. Malibu imprints included Aircel Comics and Eternity Comics...
. Eternity published creator-owned comics of an offbeat, independent flavor, as well as some licensed properties. Eternity was also notable for reprinting foreign titles, and introducing Cat Claw, The Jackaroo, and the Southern Squadron to the U.S. market.
Such well-known creators as Brian Pulido
Brian Pulido
Brian Pulido is a creator, writer and producer of comic books and films.-Early life:Growing up in Long Branch, New Jersey, Pulido first developed an interest in the horror genre after the release of Night of the Living Dead when he was a child.-Comic book career:Pulido has created, written or...
, Evan Dorkin
Evan Dorkin
Evan Dorkin is an American comics artist and writer. His best known works are the comic books Milk and Cheese and Dork...
, Dale Berry
Dale Berry
Dale W. Berry is a commercial artist and designer in San Francisco, California, who is best known for his work on the graphic novel series Tales of the Moonlight Cutter, which is published by his company, Myriad Publications....
, Ben Dunn
Ben Dunn
Ben Dunn is an American comic book artist. Although born in Taiwan, he grew up in Kentucky, Taiwan and San Antonio, Texas. It was in Taiwan that he was first exposed to Japanese manga. In 1984 he founded Antarctic Press, an American comic book company specializing in Manga-style titles...
, Dean Haspiel
Dean Haspiel
Dean Edmund Haspiel is an American comic book artist. He is known for his collaborations with writer Harvey Pekar on his American Splendor series as well as the graphic novel The Quitter. He has been nominated for numerous Eisner Awards, and won a 2010 Emmy Award for TV design work.-Early...
, and Ron Lim
Ron Lim
Ronald "Ron" Lim is an American comic book artist living in Sacramento, California.-Biography:Ron Lim's first published work was an independent comic book entitled Ex-Mutants, which he worked on from 1986-1988....
got their starts with Eternity.
Origins
Eternity began publishing in 1986, debuting with such titles as Earthlore, Gonad the Barbarian, The Mighty Mites, Ninja, and Reign of the Dragonlord (with only Ninja lasting more than a couple of issues).Scott Mitchell Rosenberg
In April 1987, The Comics Journal revealed that Eternity had been financed, along with Amazing Comics, Wonder Color Comics, and Imperial Comics, by Scott Mitchell RosenbergScott Mitchell Rosenberg
Scott Mitchell Rosenberg is a film, television producer, comic book publisher, and the chairman of Platinum Studios, an entertainment company that controls a large independent library of comic book characters and adapts them for film, television and other media...
. After this was made public, Rosenberg discontinued most of these publishers, but retained the Eternity label as an imprint of Malibu Comics, also eventually bringing in Canadian publisher Aircel Comics
Aircel Comics
Aircel Comics was a Canadian comic book publisher founded by Barry Blair, based in Ottawa and active between 1985 and 1994. In 1988, it merged with American publisher Eternity Comics, itself an imprint of Malibu Comics, and in the late 1980s was taken over by Malibu before ceasing publication...
under the Eternity/Malibu umbrella.
Robotech
One of Eternity's most successful titles was its 1988–1994 licensing of the RobotechRobotech
Robotech is an 85-episode science fiction anime adaptation produced by Harmony Gold USA in association with Tatsunoko Production Co., Ltd. and first released in the United States in 1985...
franchise. The creators, the Waltrip brothers
Waltrip brothers
Jason Waltrip and John Waltrip are identical twins who comprise a comic book art and writing team, known for their work on Robotech comics and in webcomics.-Comics career:...
started with direct adaptations of the Robotech II: The Sentinels
Robotech II: The Sentinels
Robotech II: The Sentinels was an attempt by Harmony Gold USA to continue the original 1985 Robotech television series. Only three episodes were ultimately animated before the project was canceled in 1986, and a feature-length film was released from footage taken from the completed episodes...
scripts and novels into comic format. Then they began writing additional stories that expanded the canon
Canon (fiction)
In the context of a work of fiction, the term canon denotes the material accepted as "official" in a fictional universe's fan base. It is often contrasted with, or used as the basis for, works of fan fiction, which are not considered canonical...
beyond the initial 85 animated Robotech episodes and The Sentinels. As the series progressed the Waltrips began deviating from the Sentinels novels, adding new story elements and new characters.
Legal battles
During its existence, Eternity was no stranger to legal squabbles. The popular title Ex-MutantsEx-Mutants
Ex-Mutants was a comic book series created by writer David Lawrence and artist Ron Lim along with editor David Campiti in 1986. It was first published by Eternity Comics and then Amazing Comics. Contractual problems resulted in a move to Pied Piper Comics. A legal dispute followed, and after...
was first published by Eternity from 1987–1988, and was then moved to Amazing Comics
Amazing Comics
was a bi-monthly manga magazine in Japan published by Kasakura Shuppansha. Publication started in April 1989 and ended in May 1990 with issue #5. Amazing Comics quickly focused on "SF & Horror" manga series, and famous were published including Katsuhiro Otomo's Akira , Mamoru Oshii's Kerberos...
(with contractual problems resulting in yet another move to Pied Piper Comics
Pied Piper Comics
Pied Piper Comics was a short-lived American comic book publishing company that ran from 1986 to 1988. Most of its titles were picked up from other publishers, and then most later moved to Innovation Publishing.-Titles:...
). A legal dispute followed, and after running out of money for the struggle, creators David Lawrence
David Lawrence
David Lawrence may refer to:*David Lawrence, pseudonym of English poet & TV scriptwriter David Harsent *David Lawrence , Canadian actor *David Lawrence , English cricketer...
and Ron Lim
Ron Lim
Ronald "Ron" Lim is an American comic book artist living in Sacramento, California.-Biography:Ron Lim's first published work was an independent comic book entitled Ex-Mutants, which he worked on from 1986-1988....
surrendered: the title returned to Eternity and was later published in a revamped version by Malibu.
Eternity's 1989 publication of The Uncensored Mouse
The Uncensored Mouse
The Uncensored Mouse was a comic book series published by Eternity Comics in 1989. The title derives from the fact that the strips were unedited.-History:...
, which reprinted Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse
Mickey Mouse is a cartoon character created in 1928 by Walt Disney and Ub Iwerks at The Walt Disney Studio. Mickey is an anthropomorphic black mouse and typically wears red shorts, large yellow shoes, and white gloves...
comics from the 1930s — without Disney's permission — led to a run-in with Walt Disney Productions. Eternity printed The Uncensored Mouse with totally black covers, bagged (to prevent casual buyers from flipping through the comic), and the inside of the comic had a printed notice: "Mickey Mouse is a registered trademark of Walt Disney Productions" so as no to confuse the market that it was an authorized Disney production. Eternity believed it had not violated any copyrights because strips had fallen into public domain. Regardless, Disney brought a lawsuit against the company and the series was cancelled after just two issues (six issues were solicited).
Similarly, Eternity's 1989-1992 adaptation of the popular Japanese manga
Manga
Manga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
Captain Harlock
Captain Harlock
is a fictional character created by manga artist Leiji Matsumoto.Harlock is the archetypical romantic hero, a space pirate with an individualist philosophy of life. He is as noble as he is taciturn, rebellious, stoically fighting against totalitarian regimes, whether they be earthborn or alien...
was discontinued after it was discovered that Eternity/Malibu did not have the Captain Harlock rights. The alleged representative for the rights to Harlock with whom Malibu exchanged money turned out to be fraudulent and was in no way connected to the actual rights holders.
Decline and acquisition by Marvel
Malibu stopped using the Eternity imprint before Marvel acquired Malibu, when Eternity's last two franchises moved to other publishers in the middle of 1994: Ninja High SchoolNinja High School
Ninja High School is a comic book series created, written, and illustrated by Ben Dunn, and currently published by Antarctic Press. It was at first published by Eternity Comics...
returning to Antarctic Press
Antarctic Press
Antarctic Press is a San Antonio-based comic book publishing company which publishes "American Manga" style comic books.Founded by Ben Dunn in 1984, Antarctic Press has produced over 850 titles with a total circulation of over 5 million...
and Robotech
Robotech (comics)
Robotech comics first officially appeared in print in 1985, though Comico published the first issue of its license from Harmony Gold USA under the Macross name....
moving to Academy Comics
Academy Comics
Academy Comics was an independent comic book publisher based in Indiana and founded by Mark Paniccia . It was originally founded as Pyramid Publishing in 1986, and transitioned to New Century Comics by 1990, which served primarily as a vehicle to publish Paniccia's own sword and sorcery comics...
.
Titles (selected)
- Apache Dick (1990)
- Cat Claw (1990–1991) — translation of Serbian comic
- Captain HarlockCaptain Harlockis a fictional character created by manga artist Leiji Matsumoto.Harlock is the archetypical romantic hero, a space pirate with an individualist philosophy of life. He is as noble as he is taciturn, rebellious, stoically fighting against totalitarian regimes, whether they be earthborn or alien...
, by Robert W. GibsonRobert W. GibsonRobert W. Gibson, AIA, was an English-born American ecclesiastical architect active in late-nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century New York City and New York State. He designed several large Manhattan churches and a number of prominent residences and institutional buildings.Gibson studied...
, and illustrated by Ben DunnBen DunnBen Dunn is an American comic book artist. Although born in Taiwan, he grew up in Kentucky, Taiwan and San Antonio, Texas. It was in Taiwan that he was first exposed to Japanese manga. In 1984 he founded Antarctic Press, an American comic book company specializing in Manga-style titles...
& Tim Eldred (1989–1992) - Cosmic Heroes (1988–1990)
- Dark Wolf (1988–1989)
- Dinosaurs For HireDinosaurs For HireDinosaurs For Hire is an American comic book series created by Tom Mason in 1988. It was first published by Eternity Comics and ran nine issues until 1990 when it was cancelled...
by Tom Mason (1988–1990) - Earthlore (1986)
- Evil ErnieEvil ErnieEvil Ernie is a fictional character, an undead, psychotic killer with his own series, published by Chaos! Comics and Devil's Due Publishing. Originally, Evil Ernie was part of Eternity Comics. He made his debut in December 1991. He was created by writer Brian Pulido and artist Steven Hughes.-...
by Brian PulidoBrian PulidoBrian Pulido is a creator, writer and producer of comic books and films.-Early life:Growing up in Long Branch, New Jersey, Pulido first developed an interest in the horror genre after the release of Night of the Living Dead when he was a child.-Comic book career:Pulido has created, written or...
(1991–1992) - Ex-MutantsEx-MutantsEx-Mutants was a comic book series created by writer David Lawrence and artist Ron Lim along with editor David Campiti in 1986. It was first published by Eternity Comics and then Amazing Comics. Contractual problems resulted in a move to Pied Piper Comics. A legal dispute followed, and after...
, by David LawrenceDavid LawrenceDavid Lawrence may refer to:*David Lawrence, pseudonym of English poet & TV scriptwriter David Harsent *David Lawrence , Canadian actor *David Lawrence , English cricketer...
and Ron LimRon LimRonald "Ron" Lim is an American comic book artist living in Sacramento, California.-Biography:Ron Lim's first published work was an independent comic book entitled Ex-Mutants, which he worked on from 1986-1988....
(1987–1988) - Fright (1988–1989)
- FuturiansFuturians (comics)The Futurians was a superhero team created by Dave Cockrum, who first appeared in 1983 in the ninth of the Marvel Graphic Novels series, then in a three-issue run published by Lodestone Comics....
by Dave CockrumDave CockrumDavid Emmett Cockrum was an American comic book artist known for his co-creation of the new X-Men characters Nightcrawler, Storm, and Colossus...
(reprint, 1987) - Gonad the Barbarian (1986)
- Gundam 0083
- I Love Lucy
- Invisoworld by Gary Dunaier
- The Jackaroo (1990)
- Lensman by E. E. SmithE. E. SmithEdward Elmer Smith, Ph.D., also, E. E. Smith, E. E. "Doc" Smith, Doc Smith, "Skylark" Smith, and Ted was a food engineer and early science fiction author who wrote the Lensman series and the Skylark series, among others...
(1990) - Metal Bikini
- The Mighty Mites by John Nubbin and Nicholas Conti (1986–1987)
- Ninja (1986–1988)
- Ninja FunniesNinja FunniesNinja Funnies was a comic book series launched in the 1980s, during the heyday of comics speculation. At its peak, it sold about 30,000 copies. It featured a character wrestling with his ninja identity....
by Dale BerryDale BerryDale W. Berry is a commercial artist and designer in San Francisco, California, who is best known for his work on the graphic novel series Tales of the Moonlight Cutter, which is published by his company, Myriad Publications.... - Ninja High SchoolNinja High SchoolNinja High School is a comic book series created, written, and illustrated by Ben Dunn, and currently published by Antarctic Press. It was at first published by Eternity Comics...
by Ben DunnBen DunnBen Dunn is an American comic book artist. Although born in Taiwan, he grew up in Kentucky, Taiwan and San Antonio, Texas. It was in Taiwan that he was first exposed to Japanese manga. In 1984 he founded Antarctic Press, an American comic book company specializing in Manga-style titles...
(1987; 1988–1993; picked up by Antarctic PressAntarctic PressAntarctic Press is a San Antonio-based comic book publishing company which publishes "American Manga" style comic books.Founded by Ben Dunn in 1984, Antarctic Press has produced over 850 titles with a total circulation of over 5 million...
) - Original Tom Corbett, Space CadetTom Corbett, Space CadetTom Corbett is the main character in a series of Tom Corbett — Space Cadet stories that were depicted in television, radio, books, comic books, comic strips, coloring books, punch-out books and View-Master reels in the 1950s....
(1990) - The Phantom of the OperaThe Phantom of the Opera (adaptations)There have been many literary and dramatic works based on Gaston Leroux's novel The Phantom of the Opera, ranging from light operas to films to children's books...
(1988) - Pirate Corp$ / Hectic Planet by Evan DorkinEvan DorkinEvan Dorkin is an American comics artist and writer. His best known works are the comic books Milk and Cheese and Dork...
(1987–1988) (published by Slave Labor GraphicsSlave Labor GraphicsSlave Labor Graphics is an independent American comic book publisher, well-known for publishing darkly humorous, offbeat comics.-Company history:...
from 1989-1993) - Plan 9 From Outer Space: Thirty Years Later!Plan 9 from Outer SpacePlan 9 from Outer Space is a 1959 science fiction film written and directed by Edward D. Wood, Jr. The film features Gregory Walcott, Mona McKinnon, Tor Johnson and Maila "Vampira" Nurmi...
— billed as an unofficial sequel to the original film. - Reign of the Dragonlord
- RobotechRobotech (comics)Robotech comics first officially appeared in print in 1985, though Comico published the first issue of its license from Harmony Gold USA under the Macross name....
, by Jason and John WaltripWaltrip brothersJason Waltrip and John Waltrip are identical twins who comprise a comic book art and writing team, known for their work on Robotech comics and in webcomics.-Comics career:...
(1988–1994) - Scarlet in Gaslight written by Martin Powell (1987–1988)
- Scimidar by Rob Davis (1988)
- Shuriken by Reggie Byers
- Southern Squadron
- Spicy Tales (1988–1990)
- The Three Stooges: The Knuckleheads Return (1989)
- Tiger-X by Ben DunnBen DunnBen Dunn is an American comic book artist. Although born in Taiwan, he grew up in Kentucky, Taiwan and San Antonio, Texas. It was in Taiwan that he was first exposed to Japanese manga. In 1984 he founded Antarctic Press, an American comic book company specializing in Manga-style titles...
- Triple ActionTriple ActionTriple Action is a video game produced by Mattel Electronics for its Intellivision video game system in 1981. The game actually includes three separate games—racing, tank combat and flying—where two players compete against each other for the best score....
anthology comic - The Trouble with GirlsThe Trouble with Girls (comics)The Trouble with Girls is an American comic book published serially from 1987–1993 by Malibu Comics/Eternity Comics, Comico, and Epic Comics...
(1987–1988, later picked up by Malibu and then ComicoComicóComicó is a village and municipality in Río Negro Province in Argentina....
) - Twilight Avenger by John Wooly and Terry Tidwell
- The Verdict by Martin Powell and Dean HaspielDean HaspielDean Edmund Haspiel is an American comic book artist. He is known for his collaborations with writer Harvey Pekar on his American Splendor series as well as the graphic novel The Quitter. He has been nominated for numerous Eisner Awards, and won a 2010 Emmy Award for TV design work.-Early...
- The Uncensored MouseThe Uncensored MouseThe Uncensored Mouse was a comic book series published by Eternity Comics in 1989. The title derives from the fact that the strips were unedited.-History:...
(1989) - War of the Worlds
- White DevilWhite devilWhite devil or white demon may refer to:* The White Devil, a 1612 tragedy by John Webster* White Devils, a 2004 novel by Paul J. McAuley* Black God, White Devil, a 1964 film from Brazil...
(1990–1991) - Yakuza (1987–1988)
- Zillion (1993)
External links
- Eternity Comics at the International Catalogue of Superheroes