Take it from me, Lloyd Levin is one of the best and brightest people in Hollywood. And one of the most genuine you’ll ever meet. I worked with Lloyd for several years on a project that eluded us but we have a few projects ready to soar and time and time again he’s done nothing but impress me with his balance of savvy, creativity, and flat out sharpness. A great dude. You may know him from some of the films he’s produced. I dunno, films like Watchmen, Boogie Nights, United 93, and Hellboy to name a few.
Lloyd’s entering a new world in addition to his impressive filmography. Comics. And not generic and shameless books either. Real comics from real creators with success in various other forms of entertainment. It makes me proud.
The press release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
LLOYD LEVIN, PRODUCER OF ‘WATCHMEN’ AND ‘HELLBOY,’ JOINS FORCES WITH PUBLISHER STRANGER COMICS TO LAUNCH FOUNDRY COMICS
New Imprint Will Release 4 to 6 Titles Annually in Wide Range of Genres Los Angeles, CA. December 6, 2011 –
Lloyd Levin, producer of successful bigscreen comic book adaptations including Watchmen, Hellboy and The Rocketeer, is teaming with Stranger Comics to launch the new imprint Foundry Comics. Foundry will publish four to six graphic novels per year in a variety of genres ranging from gothic historical adventures to futuristic action pieces to raucous comedies. The announcement was made today by Levin and Stranger founder and CEO Sebastian A. Jones. The idea for Foundry Comics grew out of Levin and Sebastian’s collaboration on a feature adaptation of The Untamed, Stranger Comics’ first published title, created by Jones and artist Peter Bergting. “Given the fantastic experience I had developing that project with the people at Stranger, I realized that if ever I wanted to make my own graphic novels, these were the folks to do it with,” said Levin. “Sebastian and his team are a rare combination of extremely creative storytellers and smart publishing professionals, and they are fanatical about producing quality comics.” Added Jones: “We’re extremely happy to be working with Lloyd on this unique new imprint. He has a great deal of passion and respect for comic books and graphic novels, which is obvious from the quality of the movie adaptations he’s produced. The kinds of stories Lloyd is developing are exactly in line with what we want to see in the market.”
Projects currently in production at Foundry Comics include:
• Quincey Morris by Steven Katz (Shadow of the Vampire) – the story of the little-remembered fictional American cowboy who kills Dracula in Bram Stoker’s novel.
• Escape Velocity by Andrew Cosby (creator of Eureka and co-founder of BOOM! Studios) – a story of man versus machine in the cold reaches of space.
• Ruining Christmas by Sebastian A. Jones and Darrell May – a grown-up holiday tale about two hard-partying elves who neglect their duties to disastrous effect and embark on an epic journey to set things right.
• Offworld by David Johnson (Orphan, The Walking Dead, Wrath of the Titans) – a graphic adaptation of Johnson’s original screenplay about an intergalactic safari. Levin is also producing a feature version of Offworld with Lawrence Gordon, now in pre-production, with Julian Gilbey (A Lonely Place to Die) set to direct.
“There’s something magical about making a story come to life, whether it’s on the silver screen or on the printed page,” said Levin. “In many ways my lifelong love of comic books has fuelled much of my career in films, so I’m grateful and excited for the opportunity to be directly involved in the creation of comic books. I get a rush every time a new page comes back from the artist.” Levin has played a pioneering role in contemporary comic book adaptations, starting with 1991’s The Rocketeer, which he produced along with Lawrence Gordon and Chuck Gordon. Eight years later, Levin (along with producers Larry Gordon and Mike Richardson) approached comics from a different angle with Mystery Men, an adaptation of the Dark Horse title that at once pays homage to and parodies the superhero genre. Levin reteamed with Dark Horse on the feature film version of Mike Mignola’s fan-favorite Hellboy, which was written and directed by Guillermo del Toro and led to a successful sequel, several animated films, and even an Emmy® nomination. Levin next collaborated with director Zack Snyder and producers Larry Gordon and Deborah Snyder to adapt one of the most celebrated graphic novels of all time, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen.
For more information, please visit Stranger Comics and Foundry Comics at www.strangercomics.com
About The Foundry
Foundry Comics is a subsidiary of The Foundry, the movie and television production company headed by Lloyd Levin. Levin draws on his 20 years of producing experience to nurture content and create feature films with franchise and multiple media platform potential. Levin’s producing credits include Watchmen, Green Zone, United 93, Boogie Nights, Die Hard 2, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Hellboy, Hellboy 2: The Golden Army, K-Pax and The Rocketeer.
About Stranger Comics
Stranger Comics is an incubator and aggregator of content, developing and designing franchises for multi-media platforms. Its guiding philosophy is that the idea is king, and the story is sacred. From the vast and volatile fantasy world of Asunda, to the wide-eyed whimsy of Stranger Kids, Stranger strives for excellence in production as well as presentation. To that end, Stranger has recently closed a deal with stellar digital entertainment platform Graphicly to showcase their wares for the new media generation who appreciate not only quality tales, but quality presentation. Graphicly is available for iOS and Android devices, as well as on the web at Graphicly.com The company has also formed alliances with filmmaker and visual effects guru Ken Locsmandi (Apocalypto, Juno), artist and writer Peter Bergting (The Portent), and newcomer James C Webster (The Ancient). Stranger titles in production include The Portent, Erathune, Path of the Ancient, Piñata and The Untamed, which received this endorsement from legendary writer, artist and filmmaker Clive Barker: “The Untamed promises to be an epic tale, conceived and crafted with not only a great love of comics, but also a profound understanding of the power of visionary storytelling.”
Expect to hear about amazing new stuff from Foundry soon. In the meantime, here’s the covers for the launch titles:
