Bluewater Productions

Bluewater Productions
Entertainment Publications
Industry Comics
Founded 2007 by Darren G. Davis
Headquarters Vancouver, Washington
Key people

Darren G. Davis, publisher

Jason Schultz, vice-president

Bluewater Productions, Inc. is an independent production studio of comic books and graphic novels. Based in Vancouver, Washington, United States, Bluewater publishes biographical comics, adaptations from films, and original titles with self-created characters, most notably of publisher Darren G. Davis' character Isis and the super-heroic character 10th Muse in 10th Muse and The Legend of Isis.

In May 2007, Bluewater graduated from production studio to publisher, in conjunction with filmmaker Ray Harryhausen. The comic book series Ray Harryhausen Presents features sequels to such films as The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, Clash of the Titans, and 20 Million Miles to Earth.[1] The deal with the filmmaker continued with Jason and the Argonauts: The Kingdom of Hades, It Came from Beneath the Sea, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers and Back to Mysterious Island. This was followed by Vincent Price Presents, featuring cover paintings by Jim McDermott and others.[2] In 2008, Bluewater inked a deal with actor William Shatner to publish a William Shatner Presents series.

Original titles

10th Muse

Developed by Bluewater founder Darren Davis at Image Comics, 10th Muse follows the adventures of the forgotten tenth muse of ancient Greece reincarnated in the body of ordinary present-day girl Emma Sonnet. 10th Muse was the sixth highest selling comic in November 2001.

10th Muse has been optioned for film and television several times, first in 2002. While ultimately the project failed to come to fruition, CastleBright Entertainment acquired the film option in 2007.[3] In 2011 Vanquish Motion Pictures commissioned a television pilot of 10th Muse penned by Jennifer Quintenez.[4]

Legend of Isis

Originally published by Image Comics, Legend of Isis follows the adventures of the Egyptian goddess Isis as she adjusts to life in 21st century Los Angeles following 5,000 years of imprisonment. With the help of her new friends Scott Dean and Crystal Van Howe, Isis fights evil and holds down a day job working in a museum. Isis's primary weapon, the mystical staff of Luxor, channels the power of Osiris, her lost love.

The Legend of Isis was optioned in 2004 as a motion picture by Paramount Studios and Grammnet Productions.[5]

Wrath of the Titans

Perseus rides on Pegasus holding a sword and shield, as an ornery-looking cyclops snarls in the background. Also there's an owl in the upper left corner.
Wrath of the Titans: Cyclops artwork by Matt Frank

Wrath of the Titans was first published in 2007, followed by a one-shot issue, Wrath of the Titans: Cyclops in January 2009, and finally in the four-part miniseries Wrath of the Titans: Revenge of the Medusa released monthly from April 2011-July 2011.

The title follows the characters of the 1981 Ray Harryhausen film Clash of the Titans five years after the movie takes place. The presumed-dead Calibus escapes the Underworld to take his revenge on Perseus and his new family. The one-shot Wrath of the Titans: Cyclops pits the mythic Cyclops against legendary sailor Sinbad as they fight for control of a magical lamp. In Wrath of the Titans: Revenge of the Medusa, Perseus again is forced to match wits and armies with the Olympians.

Vincent Price Presents

The Vincent Price Presents series is a monthly horror title. The stories feature tales from the estate of Vincent Price as well as retellings of his films. Working in conjunction with Vincent Price's daughter, Bluewater plans a Vincent Price biography comic.[6]

Jim McDermott's cover art for Bluewater's Vincent Price Presents

The Wave

In April 2011, Gregg Paulson and AE Stueve announced The Wave, the first shared universe in Bluewater Productions history. This multi-part, creator-owned mini-series revolves around the adventures of characters from Greek mythology in modern times.[7] Initially, the series will consist of a four-issue mini-series, planning to expand to a team book of four to six issues.[8] The Wave #0 explores what happens to Greek gods Artemis, Zeus, Poseidon and Persephone when mankind ceases to worship them. The line will also follow mythological figures Heracles and Orion, as well as Bluewater original characters from 10th Muse, The Legend of Isis and Atlas. Stueve and Paulson cite the films of Ray Harryhausen and mythic archetypes of Joseph Campbell as major influences. The first four titles are confirmed as Artemis, Orion, Heracles and Trident: The Power of Poseidon, with issue #0 Twilight of the Gods to be released in November 2011.

Logan's Run

Logan's Run is a reboot of the popular story by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. The story is split into two mini-series, Logan's Run: The Last Day and Logan's Run: Aftermath. Writer Paul J. Salamoff collaborated with Nolan on the comic scripts.[9] Logan's Run: Last Day follows the events of the first two Logan's Run books (augmented with a new back story by Jason V Brock), followed by Logan's Run: Aftermath. The last two series are tentatively titled Logan's Run: Rebirth and Logan's Run: War.[9]

Other titles

Biographical comic books

In 2009, the company ventured into biographical comics with Female Force, a series celebrating influential women in society and popular culture. In the subsequent years, Bluewater Productions has filled the growing biography comics niche with other titles profiling popular figures in politics (Political Power), entertainment (Fame), literature, and others. Less than half of Bluewater Productions publications are biography.[10] Bluewater Productions attempts to utilize the "power of celebrity" to broaden comics distribution. "We tried something different to get new readers into to comic book stores and it is working... We get a lot of flak from the true comic book fans thinking we are ruining the industry, but we are doing our part to help it." Fame: Justin Bieber was initially distributed exclusively at Wal-Mart stores.[11]

Although many of the biography comics are unauthorized, the company does reach out to most of its subjects to participate. In 2010, the publication of Female Force: Charlaine Harris marked the first authorized Female Force biography. Harris granted interviews to writer Kim Sherman.[12] When requested, Bluewater has donated profits made off the biography comics to charities of the subject's choice, as was the case with FAME: Ellen DeGeneres.[13] Criticism surrounds the potentially exploitative nature of biography comics. Responses from Bluewater Productions highlight positive aspects of potentially expanding comics readership. Furthermore, the company defends its right to provide timely coverage that its audience demands. According to Davis, speaking about the upcoming Infamous: Charlie Sheen comic, "there are those who are going to complain that we are exploiting Sheen. But honestly, this is no different than People magazine devoting most of an issue to the story or TMZ or Slate or the general media's constant coverage of breaking developments. If Sheen contacted us right now and wanted us to donate some of the potential profits to a charity of his choosing, we would happily do so."[14]

In addition to Female Force, the company publishes the biography comics lines Political Power, Fame and others.

Female Force

This female-centric biography comics line was announced during the US presidential election of 2008 with Female Force: Hillary Clinton. Since then, Female Force has included biographies of prominent women in politics, the arts, entertainment, philanthropy, literature, and pop culture.

Political Power

Political Power is a spinoff of Female Force, profiling the lives of influential figures in and around US politics. Subjects come from a range of political beliefs and nations, featuring:

Fame

Launched in 2010 as an offshoot of Female Force with Fame: Lady Gaga, Fame follows the subject's rise to fame to understand celebrity culture and his or her place in the public eye.[16] Subjects covered by the Fame line include:

Orbit

Orbit is a line of biographies with a skew towards a male demographic launched in Spring 2011. It features:

The Royals

Launched concurrently with the 2011 Royal Wedding, this line of comics focuses on documenting the lives of royalty.

Comics

Comics is a line of biographies focused on classic comedians, a creator-owned series by Jaymes Reed, launched in May 2011.

Infamous

Infamous profiles the darker side of celebrity:

15 Minutes

Profiles those reality celebrities that are in the public eye

American Defenders

− series that profiles the military:

Tribute

After their Tribute: Michael Jackson one shot in 2010, Bluewater officially made "Tribute" a series in late 2012. This series profiles celebrities who have passed on.

One shots

This includes bio-comics not released under any of the previously listed ongoing titles.

Collected editions

Rock 'N' Roll Comics

In September 2009, Bluewater announced it would be reprinting defunct publisher Revolutionary Comics' line of music comics (including their flagship title Rock 'N' Roll Comics) in ten monthly volumes, averaging 250 pages each.[17] The first collections were The Beatles Experience and Hard Rock Heroes, released in early 2010.

Many of Revolutionary's original creators participated in updating and modernizing the contents of the musical comic bios (which had been originally produced in the years 1989–1993). The reprints and updates were supervised by long-time Rock 'N' Roll Comics writer/editor Jay Allen Sanford. Ultimately, Bluewater released seven titles from 2010–2012:[18]

Two other projected volumes, Rock 'N' Roll Cartoon History: The Sixties; and Rock 'N' Roll Cartoon History: The Seventies, remain unpublished.[18]

Multi-media products

A number of Bluewater Production's properties have been optioned for film and television. 10th Muse was optioned first in 2002 and again in 2007 for film. In March 2011, Vanquish Motion Pictures acquired the rights for a television pilot to be written by Jennifer Quintenez. Paramount Studios and Grammnet Production optioned The Legend of Isis in 2004. Morningside Entertainment optioned Bluewater's Sinbad: Rogue of Mars for a film to be released in late 2012. Scripted by Paul J. Salamoff, who also wrote the comic book, the movie is expected to be part of a trilogy of films following Sinbad and his crew when they are transported to Mars by a Jinn.[19] A teaser poster was released in April 2011.

Nanny & Hank was optioned by Uptown 6 Productions for a feature film.[20]

Insane Jane as well as Tom Corbett: Space Cadet were optioned by Pleroma for television or film.[21]

Outreach

Bluewater Productions has partnered with libraries and educators throughout the country. These efforts encourage increased literacy through comics and graphic novels, while attempting to impartially educate audiences about often-controversial contemporary figures. The company runs a monthly comics creation workshop, Comics 101. Participants are given an introduction to comics and graphic novels and focus on developing storytelling skills. In August 2011, Bluewater Productions announced the creation of several free lesson plans developed with The Graphic Classroom, which incorporate several of Bluewater's non-fiction titles.[22]

Criticism

Bluewater has received criticism from some former contract workers, content creators and bloggers alleging that the company is notorious for hiring young talent without compensating them for their work. Rich Johnston's report at Bleeding Cool states, "The company uses a number of free creators, working for no money at all, seeking exposure, who later wonder if they've been taken for a ride—especially if the work never even sees publication." Bluewater Productions founder Davis issued a statement saying, "Bluewater does not engage or condone any such underhanded or untoward activity and refutes each and every allegation made against the company and me personally. Much of the perceived conflict comes from a handful of creatives who became disenchanted over the terms of their signed agreements and mistakenly believe they are owed compensation."[23]

Notes

  1. ↑ "Comic Blog - Bluewater Announces Two Sell-Outs". Comics Alliance. Retrieved 2012-10-14.
  2. ↑ Immortal After All... Vincent Price Comes to Comic Books, Newsarama, June 13, 2008
  3. ↑ "Film Development: About Us: Bluewater Productions". Bluewaterprod.com. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  4. ↑ "'10th Muse' Comic Book To Become A TV Series". Splashpage.mtv.com. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  5. ↑ McNary, Dave (2004-09-16). "Grammnet bows to power of 'Isis' pitch - Entertainment News, Comic Book Biz, Media". Variety. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  6. ↑ Comic Book Interviews. "Interview: Darren Davis". Comicbookinterviews.com. Archived from the original on January 24, 2012. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  7. ↑ "Bluewater To Launch New Superhero Universe". Comic Book Resources. 2011-04-06. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  8. ↑ Published Tuesday, Apr 26 2011, 1:54pm EDT (2011-04-26). "Aaron Stueve & Gregg Paulsen ('The Wave') - Comics Interview". Digital Spy. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  9. 1 2 "On The Run: Interview With Paul J. Salamoff". Cosmic Book News. 2010-09-20. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  10. ↑ "Bluewater Productions: From LADY GAGA to JESUS CHRIST". Newsarama.com. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  11. ↑ "FAME: JUST BIEBER HITS SHELVES AT WAL-MART : News : Bluewater Productions". Bluewaterprod.com. 2009-03-17. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  12. ↑ "Bluewater Brings to Life the Story of Sookie Stackhouse and "True Blood" Creator : News : Bluewater Productions". Bluewaterprod.com. 2009-03-17. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  13. ↑ "Hunting Lobby Attacks Ellen DeGeneres Comic Publisher for Animal Rights (& Ellen) Support : News : Bluewater Productions". Bluewaterprod.com. 2009-03-17. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  14. ↑ "Charlie Sheen Bio Comicâ€""The Winning Edition"â€"Coming Soon from Bluewater". Comic Book Resources. 2011-03-08. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  15. ↑ "FEMALE FORCE: MICHELLE OBAMA COMIC SELLS OUT : News : Bluewater Productions". Bluewaterprod.com. 2009-03-17. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  16. ↑ "Fame : Comics : Bluewater Productions". Bluewaterprod.com. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  17. ↑ Parkin, J.K. "Don’t call it a comeback: Bluewater to collect classic Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics," Comic Book Resources: Robot6 (September 10, 2009).
  18. 1 2 Sanford, Jay Allen, "No more Rock ‘N’ Roll Comics reprint editions from Bluewater Productions," San Diego Reader blog (March 23, 2013).
  19. ↑ "MORNINGSIDE ENTERTAINMENT OPTIONS BLUEWATER COMIC'S SINBAD TO SET SAIL IN 2012 : News : Bluewater Productions". Bluewaterprod.com. 2009-03-17. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  20. ↑ "NANNY & HANK HEADING TO THE BIG SCREEN". 2011-08-03. Retrieved 2011-08-03.
  21. ↑ "INSANE JAND AND TOM CORBETT MOVIE PLANNED". 2011-08-03. Retrieved 2011-08-03.
  22. ↑ "Bluewater Unveils Lesson Plans for Educators". Comic Book Resources. 2011-08-03. Retrieved 2012-03-04.
  23. ↑ "Getting In Deep With Bluewater Productions @ Bleeding Cool". Bleedingcool.com. Retrieved 2012-10-14.

External links

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