ShadowLine
Encyclopedia
Shadowline is a partner studio of Image Comics
established by Image co-founder Jim Valentino
. The name is an homage
to Valentino's character, ShadowHawk
.
In January 1997, Shadowline became more commonly referred to as the “Non-Line” with the publication of A Touch of Silver #1. The name referred to the fact that the comics in the line at that time were not in any way aligned with one another. There was no singular universe or line. Hence, non-line.
On August 25, 1999 Jim Valentino became the publisher of Image Comics and while he did not publish his own work (so as not to create a conflict of interest), other books in the Non-Line continued. When Erik Larsen
eventually took over as the publisher, Valentino returned to the Non-Line and to publishing his own work.
In July, 2004 with the publication of the normalman
20th Anniversary Special, the name Shadowline was reborn. The first new book to have the Shadowline logo on the cover after the rebirth was Shadowhawk v. II #1 (May, 2005). Other titles to be created by Valentino, but executed by different creative teams were Blacklight, Task Force 1, The Intimidators and Emissary.
Today, Shadowline not only publishes Jim Valentino's properties but also properties owned by other creators such as Jimmie Robinson
, Ted McKeever
, Jeff Mariotte
, Mike Mayhhew, Steve Niles
and Michael Cavallaro.
With a diverse line of one-shots, miniseries and series of miniseries and a growing stable of Eagle- and Eisner-nominated creators, Shadowline is gaining recognition from fans, peers and critics in recent years.
Shadowline announced a contest for writers to send in a submission for a three-issue limited series
featuring an all-new, creator-owned
superheroine. While it was announced in April 2008 that Tom Arguello was declared the winner for his entry, Incredible Journey the book itself eventually did not go to print due to a lack of customer/comic-shop support through pre-orders. http://www.kris-korner.com/forum/index.php?topic=1751.0. However, shortly after ComicCon 2008 it was announced that contest finalist Kat Cahill would have her semi-finalist submission I Hate Gallant Girl published by Shadowline with Seth Damoose as the series artist. Three issues of I Hate Gallant Girl were published between December 2008 and February 2009.
In the weeks and months that followed the site became home to a number of webcomics, including Brat-halla, Chicago:1968, Finder and Yenny. Later additions include Hannibal Goes to Rome, Action, Ohio, Platinum Grit
, Nightmare World, Li'l Depressed Boy and the Mundane Overrated Misadventures of Spudman.
Among the titles that will see print under the Silverline Books banner are Dear Dracula, Bruce The Little Blue Spruce, Missing the Boat and any future versions of PX!, The Surreal Adventures of Edgar Allan Poo, "Timothy and the Transgalactic Towel," "Rocketbots," and "Night of the Bedbugs."
Along with the relaunch came a new webcomic, The Tales of Mr. Rhee, a spinoff of Dirk Manning's Nightmare World. Additionally, the website also runs a feature every Monday that gives details on any new comics that come out each week and on every Friday there is a 10 Questions interview with a given Shadowline creator.
Image Comics
Image Comics is a United States comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains...
established by Image co-founder Jim Valentino
Jim Valentino
Jim Valentino is an American writer, penciler, editor and publisher of comic books.-1970s - 1992:Valentino began his career in the late 1970s creating small press and mostly autobiographical comics. The early-mid 1980s saw normalman which first appeared as a back-up story in Aardvark-Vanaheim's...
. The name is an homage
Homage
Homage is a show or demonstration of respect or dedication to someone or something, sometimes by simple declaration but often by some more oblique reference, artistic or poetic....
to Valentino's character, ShadowHawk
Shadowhawk
ShadowHawk is a fictional comic book vigilante anti-hero created by Jim Valentino.He was first introduced in the Malibu Sun free promotional magazine in May of 1992...
.
History
Shadowline was officially created in December 1992 when the logo first appeared on the inside front cover of Jim Valentino's ShadowHawk #3. The first book to sport the logo on its cover was Shadowline Special #1 (October, 1994).In January 1997, Shadowline became more commonly referred to as the “Non-Line” with the publication of A Touch of Silver #1. The name referred to the fact that the comics in the line at that time were not in any way aligned with one another. There was no singular universe or line. Hence, non-line.
On August 25, 1999 Jim Valentino became the publisher of Image Comics and while he did not publish his own work (so as not to create a conflict of interest), other books in the Non-Line continued. When Erik Larsen
Erik Larsen
Erik J. Larsen is an American comic book writer, artist and publisher. He is best known for his work on Savage Dragon, as one of the founders of Image Comics, and for his work on Spider-Man for Marvel Comics.-Early life:...
eventually took over as the publisher, Valentino returned to the Non-Line and to publishing his own work.
In July, 2004 with the publication of the normalman
Normalman
normalman is a limited series of American comic books created by Jim Valentino. It began in November 1983 as a four-page story in Cerebus #56 and #57 before being launched as a full-color 12-issue series which was published by Aardvark-Vanaheim before moving to Renegade Press. There was also a...
20th Anniversary Special, the name Shadowline was reborn. The first new book to have the Shadowline logo on the cover after the rebirth was Shadowhawk v. II #1 (May, 2005). Other titles to be created by Valentino, but executed by different creative teams were Blacklight, Task Force 1, The Intimidators and Emissary.
Today, Shadowline not only publishes Jim Valentino's properties but also properties owned by other creators such as Jimmie Robinson
Jimmie Robinson
Jimmie Robinson is an American comic book artist and writer who is currently writing and drawing the comic book Bomb Queen, published by Image Comics...
, Ted McKeever
Ted McKeever
-Career:McKeever first professional work appeared in 1987, when he published the first five parts of his unfinished series Transit , establishing his trademark style. This was followed in 1987-1988 by his 12-part series Eddy Current. This "12-hour book" centers on an escapee from an asylum...
, Jeff Mariotte
Jeff Mariotte
Jeff Mariotte is an author who currently lives in Arizona with his wife, author Maryelizabeth Hart, and family. As well as his own original work, he is best known for writing novels and comic books based on licensed properties.-Biography:...
, Mike Mayhhew, Steve Niles
Steve Niles
Steve Niles is an American comic book author and novelist, known for works such as 30 Days of Night, Criminal Macabre, Simon Dark, Mystery Society and Batman: Gotham County Line....
and Michael Cavallaro.
With a diverse line of one-shots, miniseries and series of miniseries and a growing stable of Eagle- and Eisner-nominated creators, Shadowline is gaining recognition from fans, peers and critics in recent years.
Who Wants To Create a Super-Heroine contest
In December 20072007 in comics
-January:*January 10: Superman & Batman vs. Aliens & Predator released.*January 24: The Boys is canceled with issue #6.-February:*February 2: Newsarama reports that The Boys has been picked up by Dynamite Entertainment....
Shadowline announced a contest for writers to send in a submission for a three-issue limited series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
featuring an all-new, creator-owned
Creator ownership
Creator ownership is an arrangement in which the creator or creators of a work of fiction retain full ownership of the material, regardless of whether it is self-published or by a corporate publisher. In some fields of publishing, such as fiction writing, creator ownership is a standard arrangement...
superheroine. While it was announced in April 2008 that Tom Arguello was declared the winner for his entry, Incredible Journey the book itself eventually did not go to print due to a lack of customer/comic-shop support through pre-orders. http://www.kris-korner.com/forum/index.php?topic=1751.0. However, shortly after ComicCon 2008 it was announced that contest finalist Kat Cahill would have her semi-finalist submission I Hate Gallant Girl published by Shadowline with Seth Damoose as the series artist. Three issues of I Hate Gallant Girl were published between December 2008 and February 2009.
Shadowlinecomics.com
On June 25, 2008 the Shadowline website http://www.shadowlinecomics.com was relaunched.In the weeks and months that followed the site became home to a number of webcomics, including Brat-halla, Chicago:1968, Finder and Yenny. Later additions include Hannibal Goes to Rome, Action, Ohio, Platinum Grit
Platinum Grit
Platinum Grit is an Australian self-published comic book/online comic. The series is noted for sexy drawings of girls, surreal offbeat humor and tightly-written scripts. The series was created by writer/illustrator Trudy Cooper and co-writer Danny Murphy...
, Nightmare World, Li'l Depressed Boy and the Mundane Overrated Misadventures of Spudman.
Silverline Books
Along with the relaunch of the website in 2008 came the announcement of an all-ages sub-imprint for the company called Silverline Books. Silverline was created as a way to clearly define the all-ages books for easier reference for parents, librarians and others. It was done to assist in allowing anyone to separate those titles from Shadowline's more mature offerings such as Bomb Queen and The Roberts.Among the titles that will see print under the Silverline Books banner are Dear Dracula, Bruce The Little Blue Spruce, Missing the Boat and any future versions of PX!, The Surreal Adventures of Edgar Allan Poo, "Timothy and the Transgalactic Towel," "Rocketbots," and "Night of the Bedbugs."
ShadowlineOnline.com
In the early part of 2011 the Shadowline website was renamed to ShadowlineOnline and http://www.shadowlineonline.com was relaunched once again.Along with the relaunch came a new webcomic, The Tales of Mr. Rhee, a spinoff of Dirk Manning's Nightmare World. Additionally, the website also runs a feature every Monday that gives details on any new comics that come out each week and on every Friday there is a 10 Questions interview with a given Shadowline creator.