Oktomica Comics
Encyclopedia
Oktomica Comics is a short-lived comic publisher that in 1998 and 1999 published three series: Virtex, The Wonderlanders and Wisp. All three series were created by Casey Lau and Jeff Kwan with scripting assistance from such comic professionals as Mike Baron
, Pat Mills
and Tom and Mary Beirbaum.
By 1999 the company had apparently run out of money and folded.
Mike Baron
Mike Baron is the creator of comic books Badger and Nexus. He lives in Fort Collins, Colorado.-Biography:Mike Baron broke into comics with an illustrated text piece in the 1974 debut issue of Marvel Comics's Comix Book...
, Pat Mills
Pat Mills
Pat Mills, nicknamed 'the godfather of British comics', is a comics writer and editor who, along with John Wagner, revitalised British boys comics in the 1970s, and has remained a leading light in British comics ever since....
and Tom and Mary Beirbaum.
By 1999 the company had apparently run out of money and folded.
Titles
The first book to be released was the 12-page Virtex #0 and the company's final releases were Virtex #3, The Wonderlanders #2 and Wisp #1.- Virtex was the story of a cybernetic cowboy that chased outlaws through a time-amalgamated wasteland. An interesting gimmick was played out in the 3rd issue of the 3-part story "Divine Intervention" where the issue shipped with 3 versions: #3A, #3B, #3C, each with a different ending.
- The Wonderlanders proclaimed "What Happens When Fairy Tales Grow Up?" Merging the worlds of C. S. LewisC. S. LewisClive Staples Lewis , commonly referred to as C. S. Lewis and known to his friends and family as "Jack", was a novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist from Belfast, Ireland...
, L. Frank BaumL. Frank BaumLyman Frank Baum was an American author of children's books, best known for writing The Wonderful Wizard of Oz...
and Lewis CarrollLewis CarrollCharles Lutwidge Dodgson , better known by the pseudonym Lewis Carroll , was an English author, mathematician, logician, Anglican deacon and photographer. His most famous writings are Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and its sequel Through the Looking-Glass, as well as the poems "The Hunting of the...
with CapcomCapcomis a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
and Saturday Morning cartoons. King Layoran and his team of Wonderlanders come to Earth to stop the evil Fenris and his team of evil Wonderlanders. The first story arc has gone uncompleted.
- Wisp was Oktomica's "horror" book - a team of specialists protect our reality from a rip in dimensions that has allowed an evil race into our world. Wisp leads the team against villains that enter our bodies physically through our mouths. Wisp only had one issue release but #1 had a variant cover by Kevin NowlanKevin NowlanKevin Nowlan is an American comic-book artist who works as penciler, inker, colorist and letterer.He has been called "one of the few artists who can be called 'artists's artist'", a master of the various disciplines of comic production, from "design to draftsmanship to dramatics".-Biography:Kevin...
.
Creators
Oktomica is notable for its high-production values in coloring and printing and graphic design. It is also of note that all 3 artists went on to bigger projects.- KanoKano (comics)Kano is the pseudonym of a Spanish comic book artist, whose real name is Jose Angel Cano Lopez.-Biography:After breaking into the comic book industry in 1998 as the artist for Virtex, published by Oktomica Comics, Kano moved on to work for DC Comics, with long runs on Action Comics.He has since...
, artist on Virtex went to work for DC ComicsDC ComicsDC Comics, Inc. is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner...
drawing Action ComicsAction ComicsAction Comics is an American comic book series that introduced Superman, the first major superhero character as the term is popularly defined...
and H.E.R.O.H.E.R.O. (comics)H.E.R.O. is an American comic book series published by DC Comics that started in 2003 and ran for 22 issues. The series was written by Will Pfeifer. Artists included Kano, Leonard Kirk and Dale Eaglesham.... - Kaare AndrewsKaare AndrewsKaare Andrews is a comic book writer and artist and filmmaker known for his cover work on Incredible Hulk and Canada's first national recognized award, "The Shuster", for his work on Spider-Man: Doctor Octopus.-Career:...
, artist on The Wonderlanders went to work for Marvel ComicsMarvel ComicsMarvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
drawing Gambit, Before the 4: Ben Grimm and Logan as well as finding fame with his covers for Incredible Hulk and The Amazing Spider-ManThe Amazing Spider-ManThe Amazing Spider-Man is an American comic book series published by Marvel Comics, featuring the adventures of the fictional superhero Spider-Man. Being the mainstream continuity of the franchise, it began publication in 1963 as a monthly periodical and was published continuously until it was... - Ruben Martinez, artist on Wisp went to Stan Lee Media where he drew The Backstreet Project comic that chronicled the adventures of the Backstreet BoysBackstreet BoysThe Backstreet Boys are an American vocal group, formed in Orlando, Florida in 1993. The band originally consisted of A. J. McLean, Howie Dorough, Brian Littrell, Nick Carter and Kevin Richardson. They rose to fame with their debut international album, Backstreet Boys...
as cyber-crusaders. He now works at Mattel Toys designing the art for BatmanBatmanBatman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
action figures.