Arcana Studio

Arcana Studio

Company type	Comic publisher
Industry	Comics
Founded	2004
Founder	Sean O'Reilly
Website	arcana.com

Arcana Studio was founded as a comic book publisher by former Coquitlam, British Columbia school teacher Sean O'Reilly in 2004. In 2012, Arcana opened up its animation division.

Overview

Arcana formed in 2004 when Sean O'Reilly first published the comic book series Kade.

Arcana is Canada’s largest publisher of comics and graphic novels in Canada, with over 300 titles in its current library, covering all genres and age groups. Arcana’s titles have been translated into many different languages, including French, Italian, Greek, Spanish and Polish.

Arcana is also an animation studio, opened in 2012, with its workforce located in Vancouver, B.C. It currently has an animated feature film in post production, Howard Lovecraft and The Frozen Kingdom, which is based on the graphic novel of the same name. Howard Lovecraft and The Frozen Kingdom is slated to be released on Halloween 2016. It is based on the graphic novel of the same. The inspiration comes from the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, regarded as one of the most significant 20th century authors in the genre of horror fiction.

Additional recent projects include Kagagi: The Raven, which airs on APTN and made its debut in 2014, and Pixies, an animated feature, released in 2015. Pixies is based on the previously released graphic novel of the same name. Pixies is written and directed by Sean Patrick O'Reilly, who was nominated for the 2016 Leo Awards for best Direction in an Animation Program for his work on the film.^[17]

Upcoming projects include The Steam Engines of Oz, Howard Lovecraft & The Undersea Kingdom and Howard Lovecraft & The Kingdom of Madness.

Arcana titles

Since its founding in 2004, Arcana has produced and acquired over 250 titles.

Select titles

• 100 Girls: The First Girl (2004–2006)
• All Fall Down (2011)
• American Wasteland (2007)
• Amnesia (2011)
• Amour - Volume 1 and 2 (2012)
• Ant: Days Like These (2004–2005)
• Arcana Studio Presents (2004-current, Free Comic Book Day annual)
• Ark (2013)
• The Art of ReBoot (2007)
• Banzai Girl (2007)
• Blank Slate (TBD)
• Blood, Shells, & Roses (2011)
• The Book (2012)
• Burn (2008)
• Champions of the Wild Weird West
• Chaotic Soldiers (2010)
• Corrective Measures (2008)
• Creepsville (2011)
• Dark Horrors (2006)
• Dead Men Tell No Tales (2005–2006)
• Deadly Harvest (2012)
• Dragon's Lair (2006–2007)
• El Arsenal: Unknown Enemy (2005–2006)
• Eve: Vampire Diva (2007)
• The Evil Tree (2012)
• Ezra:
  • Ezra: Egyptian Exchange (2004–2005)
  • Ezra: Evoked Emotions (2006–2007)
  • Ezra vs. 10th Muse (2006)
• The Fix (2009)
• Frozen Wasteland (2007)
• Gearhead (2007)
• Grunts (2006)
• Helen Killer (2008)
• Howard and the Frozen Kingdom
• John Henry and The Steam Age (2012)
• Jova's Harvest (2005–2006)
• Kade:
  • Kade: Identity (2004–2005)
  • Kade: Sun of Perdition (2006–2007)
  • Kade: Shiva's Sun (2007–2008)
  • Kade: Rising Sun (2010)
  • Kade: Red Sun (2010)
  • Kade: Prodigal Sun (2011)
  • Kade: Mourning Sun (2012)
  • Kade: Tribal Sun (2014)
  • Kade: Children of the Black Sun (2014)
• Koni Waves (2006)
  • Koni Waves (2006)
  • Koni Waves: The Headdress of the Undead (2007)
  • Koni Waves: First Wave (2007)
  • Koni Waves/Demonslayer (2007)
  • Koni Waves: Ghouls Gone Wild! (2008)
  • Avengelyne vs. Koni Waves (2009)
• Lethal Instinct - Volume 1 (2012)
• Marlow (2008)
• The Network (2008)
• Paradox (2005–2006)
• Penance: Trial of the Century (2008)
• Poe & Phillips (2011)
• Shadowflame (2007)
• SideShows (2011)
• Space Ace (2009)
• Starkweather: Legacy (2004–2005)
• Stranger Danger (2009)
• Sundown: Arizona (2005)
• The Truman Virus (2012)
• Velvet Rope (2008)

All ages titles

• The Ancient Oak (2012)
• A Cat Named Haiku (2010)
• A Cat Named Haiku 2: The Dust Bunny (2013)
• Clockwork Girl (2007)
• Gordon The Giraffe (2012)
• The Gwai (2008)
• Howard and the Frozen Kingdom (2009)
• Howard Lovecraft and the Undersea Kingdom (2012)
• Howard Lovecraft and the Kingdom of Madness (2014)
• Mwumba (2008)
• My Best Friend's a Booger (2011)
• Pixies (2012)
• Ralph Filmore, Paranormal Investigator (2011)
• Scrooge and Santa (2011)
• Summer and Monkey
• Turning Tiger (2012)

Films, television series, and shorts

Arcana began producing content in 2012 with the TV series Kagagi. Arcana receives tax credit benefits for Canadian content productions.

Animated films

Howard Lovecraft and the Frozen Kingdom - This is Arcana's most recent production, based on the graphic novel of the same name by Bruce Brown. It is the first feature film to bring the works of HP Lovecraft to the big screen.

• Christopher Plummer - Dr. Herbert West
• Ron Perlman - Shoggoth

The Clockwork Girl – In joint production with Legacy Films and Luximation, The Clockwork Girl is Arcana’s first full-length animated film. It is based on the graphic novel written and created by Sean O’Reilly and Kevin Hanna, and published by Harper Collins. This steampunk "Romeo and Juliet" tale features the voice talents of:

• Alexa Vega - Tesla
• Jesse McCartney - Huxley
• Carrie-Anne Moss - Admiral Wells
• Jeffrey Tambor - Wilhelm the Tinkerer
• Brad Garrett - T-Bolt

Pixies – This is Arcana’s first fully created feature film, based on the graphic novel and short film of the same name, created by Sean O'Reilly.

• Christopher Plummer – The Pixie King
• Alexa Vega - Michelle
• Bill Paxton - Eddie Beck

Live-action features

Paradox - Based on the graphic novel of the same name, Paradox is the story of homicide detective Sean Nault, set on a parallel Earth whose technology is powered exclusively by magic. Sean investigates a baffling series of murders committed by a means he's never seen before: science. This television movie was aired in 2010 and the cast includes:

• Kevin Sorbo - Det. Sean Nault
• Christopher Judge – Captain Papillo
• Steph Song - Lenore

Animated television series

• Kagagi: The Raven (airing 2014 on APTN) – a First Nations superhero is based on the graphic novel of the same name. With support and backing from the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, and with support from Canadian Tax Credits, this 13 part television series is Arcana’s first television series.

Short films

• The Gwaii - Based on Haida Gwaii, and the graphic novel of the same story.
• Memo – A series of 30-second segments aimed at children.
• Polkarella – A short about an umbrella/creature hybrid.
• Pixies – A short film based on the comics and graphic novel of the same name.

Motion comics

Arcana has turned some of its comics and graphic novels into motion comics:

• The Steam Engines of Oz
• The Gwaii
• Pixies
• The Clockwork Girl
• Abiding Perdition
• Kagagi

The Arcanaverse is the world all the Arcana characters live in. Currently over 3000 individual indexed characters and creatures call the Arcanaverse home. From the Arcanaverse stem new stories and adventures, including the comic book series The Intrinsic.

The Intrinsic

The Intrinsic was debuted on Free Comic Book Day 2012, and was the first Arcanaverse title. The series features hit Arcana characters Kade, Philosopher Rex, Kore, and Candice Crow, as well as cameos by many others. The Intrinsic also made a guest appearance in the animated TV series Kagagi (2014). Volume 2 of The Intrinsic debuted at Free Comic Book Day 2014 and was written by Sean O'Reilly and Chris ‘Doc’ Wyatt.

Awards

Arcana won the Shuster Awards for Publisher of the Year in 2005.

Arcana was a finalist for the CMEs two years in a row.

Arcana has been awarded a Mom's Choice award for three titles: The Clockwork Girl (2010) The Gwaii (2010), and Pixies (2013).

Arcana was named Most Promising Company at the 2013 Digi Awards. Arcana’s CEO, Sean O’Reilly, was also named a finalist for Executive of the Year at the 2013 Digi Awards.

CEO Sean O’Reilly received Playback’s Ten to Watch award in 2013.

Arcana was named Best Visual Features 2013 by Arlene Dickinson's YouInc.

Kickstarter: The Steam Engines of Oz

In Arcana’s first experience with a crowd-sourcing project, The Steam Engines of Oz was first introduced for Free Comic Book Day, 2013. The idea was to release issues FCBD, 1, 2, and 3 of the collected trade, and then if the Kickstarter campaign proved to be a success, a second volume of the comic would be released. The Steam Engines of Oz: The Geared Leviathan was successful and was produced, thanks to the supporters on Kickstarter.

Notable people/companies

Arcana has worked closely on projects with the following people and companies:

• Tony Lee – The Gloom
• Bill Paxton – 7 Holes For Air
• Gene Simmons – Simmons Comics Anthology, Zipper vs Dominatrix, House of Horrors
• Roddenberry – Worth, Days Missing
• LA Kings – mascot design
• Doc Wyatt – Creepsville, The Intrinsic Volume 2
• Alex Ross – art commissions
• Tim Bradstreet – art commissions
• Graeme Base - Breather
• Don Bluth - Space Ace, Dragon's Lair
• Vancouver Opera – Opera Manga
• RainMaker Entertainment – The Art of ReBoot
• The Vladar Company - HeadSmash

Charitable work

• Arcana has donated thousands of Clockwork Girl comics to the Boys and Girls Club of America under the REACH Literary Program.
• Arcana participates in Free Comic Book Day's service of supplying libraries and military services with free comics.

References

• Arcana Studio at the Grand Comics Database
• Arcana Studio at the Comic Book DB (archived from the original)
• Arcana Studio at the Big Comic Book DataBase

External links

• Arcana Studio's official website
• Arcana's Twitter Page
• Arcana's Facebook Page
• Outlaw Scorn official website
• GearHead
• American Wasteland Myspace
• Vancouver Sun article about Arcana Studio
• Five Years of Arcana - And Five to Come, Newsarama, December 3, 2008
• Chaotic Soldiers