TKO Studios
| Founded | 2017 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Tze Chun, Salvatore Simeone |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Headquarters location | Los Angeles |
| Key people | Tze Chun Salvatore Simeone Sebastian Girner |
| Official website | tkopresents |
TKO Studios is an American comics publisher founded by Tze Chun and Salvatore Simeone in 2017.[1]
History
TKO Studios was founded in 2017 by Tze Chun and Salvatore Simeone. Unlike the majority of other American comic book publishers, TKO sell their books directly to consumers and comic book shops, completely bypassing distributor Diamond Comic Distributors.[1] In 2020, TKO Studios signed a deal Ingram Publisher Services / Publishers Group West to handle book distribution.[2]
The first wave of books launched December 10, 2018[3] and contained four miniseries: The Fearsome Doctor Fang by Tze Chun, Mike Weiss, and Dan McDaid; Goodnight Paradise by Joshua Dysart and Alberto Ponticelli; Sara by Garth Ennis and Steve Epting; and The 7 Deadly Sins by Tze Chun and Artyom Trakhanov. Their first wave of books were all released in three formats; a trade paperback collection, a box set of single issues, and digitally in single or collected editions. During their initial release the first issue of each series was available free digitally so consumers and retailers could preview the series before purchasing the rest.[4]
The second wave launched in October 28, 2019 using the same release format for another four miniseries: The Banks by Roxane Gay and Ming Doyle; Eve of Extinction by Salvatore Simeone, Steve Simeone, Nik Virella, and Isaac Goodhart; Pound for Pound by Natalie Chaidez and Andy Belanger; and Sentient by Jeff Lemire and Gabriel Walta.[5]
In 2020, Sentient became the first title from TKO to be nominated for an Eisner Award, when the series picked up a nomination for Best Limited Series.[6]
The third wave of books launched in November 9, 2020 with three comic book miniseries: Lonesome Days, Savage Nights by Steve Niles, Salvatore Simeone, and Szymon Kudranski; The Pull by Steve Orlando and Ricardo López Ortiz; and Redfork by Alex Paknadel and Nil Vandrell.[7] In addition the three miniseries, TKO released an illustrated prose collection Blood Like Garnets by Leigh Harlen with illustrations by Maria Nguygen and a new series of one-shot comic books under the banner TKO Shorts with three titles Seeds of Eden, The Father of All Things and Night Train.[8]
Published Works
Comics Miniseries
| Release date | Title | Story | Art | Cover(s) | Colors | Letters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WAVE ONE December 10, 2018 |
The Fearsome Doctor Fang | Tze Chun Mike Weiss |
Dan McDaid | Daniela Miwa | Steve Wands | |
| Goodnight Paradise | Joshua Dysart | Alberto Ponticelli | Giulia Brusco | |||
| Sara | Garth Ennis | Steve Epting | Elizabeth Breitweiser | Rob Steen | ||
| The 7 Deadly Sins | Tze Chun | Artyom Trakhanov | Giulia Brusco | Jared K. Fletcher | ||
| WAVE TWO October 28, 2019 |
The Banks | Roxane Gay | Ming Doyle | Jordie Bellaire | Ariana Maher | |
| Eve of Extinction | Sal Simeone Steve Simeone |
Nik Virella Isaac Goodheart |
Maria Nguyen | Nik Virella Ruth Redmond | ||
| Pound for Pound | Natalie Chaidez | Andy Belanger | Daniela Miwa | Serge LaPointe | ||
| Sentient | Jeff Lemire | Gabriel Walta | Steve Wands | |||
| WAVE THREE November 9, 2020 |
The Manning Files – Volume 1: Lonesome Days, Savage Nights |
Steve Niles Salvatore Simeone |
Szymon Kudranski | Thomas Mauer | ||
| Redfork | Alex Paknadel | Nil Vendrell | Giulia Brusco | Ryan Ferrier | ||
| The Pull | Steve Orlando | Ricardo Lopez Ortiz | Triona Farell | Thomas Mauer | ||
Comics Shorts
| Release date | Title | Story | Art | Cover | Colors | Letters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROUND ONE November 9, 2020 |
TKO Shorts #1: Seeds of Eden | Liana Kangas Joe Corallo |
Paul Azaceta | Jeff Powell | ||
| TKO Shorts #2: Father of All Things | Sebastian Girner | Baldemar Rivas | Steve Wands | |||
| TKO Shorts #3: Night Train | Steve Foxe | Lisandro Estherren | Patricio Delpeche | |||
| ROUND TWO February 28, 2021 |
TKO Shorts #4: Dame from the Dark | Rob Pilkington | Kit Mills | Ariana Maher | ||
| TKO Shorts #5: Hand Me Down | Alex Paknadel | Jen Hickman | Simon Bowland | |||
| TKO Shorts #6: Killiamsburg | Erick Freitas | Jelena Đorđević-Maksimović | Steve Wands | |||
Prose Anthologies
| Release date | Title | Story | Art | Cover | Colors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 9, 2020 | Blood Like Garnets | Leigh Harlen | Maria Nguyen | Maria Nguyen Jared K. Fletcher |
Maria Nguyen |
Upcoming Works
| Release date | Title | Format | Story | Art | Cover(s) | Colors | Letters |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 6, 2021 | Djeliya | Graphic novel |
Juni Ba | TBA | |||
| Scales & Scoundrels – Book 1: Where Dragons Wander1 |
Graphic novel |
Sebastian Girner | Galaad | Jeff Powell | |||
| Scales & Scoundrels – Book 2: The Festival of Life2 |
Graphic novel | ||||||
1Originally published by Image Comics in 2017 as Scales & Scoundrels #1-10 2Originally published by Image Comics in 2018 as Scales & Scoundrels #11-12 plus 250 pages pages of original content.
Media Adaptions
In August 2020 The Banks was put into development as a feature film by production company MACRO with Gay returning to pen the script with Charles D. King, Poppy Hanks, Jelani Johnson, Salvatore Simeone, Tze Chun and Jatin Thakker serving as producers.[9]
References
- ^ a b A New Comics Publisher Aims to Shake Things Up. The New York Times, December 19, 2018.
- ^ "TKO Studios Signs Deal With Top Book Distributor Ingram Publisher Services / Publishers Group West". Comic Years.
- ^ "First wave of books currently available". Twitter. TKO Studios. Retrieved January 28, 2020.
- ^ New Publisher TKO Studios Plans to Change How Readers Buy Comics. The Hollywood Reporter, December 10, 2018.
- ^ TKO Studios Releases Second Wave of Comics Outright Geekery, November 1, 2019
- ^ 2020 Eisner Awards Nominations Comic-Con, 2020
- ^ TKO Studios announces new wave of books from Steve Orlando, Steve Niles, other non-Steve creators The Comics Beat, September 24, 2020
- ^ TKO Studios adds zine-sided Knockout Shorts, illustrated prose to Wave 3 offerings The Comics Beat, October 16, 2020
- ^ Roxane Gay to Adapt Graphic Novel 'The Banks' for TKO Studios, Macro The Hollywood Reporter, August 12, 2020.