AC Comics

Infobox Company
name = AC Comics

type = private
genre =
foundation = 1969
founder = Bill Black
location_city = Longwood, Florida
location_country = USA
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key_people = Bill Black
industry = Media
products = Comic Books
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owner = Bill Black
num_employees =
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AC Comics is a comic book publishing company started by Bill Black. It was founded as Paragon Publications in 1969, and was briefly known as Americomics in 1982, before becoming AC in 1984. It was one of the initial quartet of independent color comics companies who pioneered the direct sales phenomenon in the early 1980s, targeting specialty comic book shops rather than newsstands or other venues.

Today, AC Comics specializes in reprints of Golden Age comics from now-defunct companies whose properties lapsed into public domain and were not reprinted elsewhere. It also publishes a number of Modern Age adventures starring the Golden Age superheroes that appeared in those stories. The most famous of those titles is "Femforce", which features the adventures of an all-female superhero team, one of the first teams of this nature in the comics industry.

Based on their focus on Golden Age reprints and stories inspired by that style, AC has developed a reputation for straight-forward, fun, and action-packed superhero tales which often avoid the darker themes of many modern comics. AC artists often make use of a style known as "good girl art," made popular in the Golden Age era, which combines attractive, clean linework with elements of cheesecake and humor. In addition to superheroes, AC has attempted to preserve other comic book genres inspired by the series of the past, such as Westerns and jungle adventure.

Following the popularity of size-changing Femforce members Garganta and Tara, AC made the giantess concept a recurring theme in their comics. Tapping into this cult following, AC has released stories and anthologies specifically catered to fans of giant women, as well as DVD releases which embrace this theme in the tongue-in-cheek style of 1950s science fiction B-movies. An ongoing giantess feature known as "Gargantarama" has even been added to the company's "Femforce" title.

Additionally, AC has expanded into other DVD projects which collect classic movie serials and other material now in the public domain, as well as low-budget films based on their own characters.

Licenses

AC Comics had used Charlton Comics characters, particularly the Blue Beetle and Captain Atom, in the comic title "Sentinels of Justice". When the rights for these characters were sold to DC Comics, AC Comics created a second Sentinels of Justice team (writing the first out of continuity), composed of some of its original characters as well as ones from the public domain. Many of these are homages to the Charlton heroes, such as the Scarlet Scorpion (a stand-in for Blue Beetle) and the Blue Bulleteer (later Nightveil) who is based on the Fox Comics version of Phantom Lady. Still another Phantom Lady-inspired character was The Black Mistress, whose first episode was scripted by former Vampirella writer T. Casey Brennan. [ [http://www.popimage.com/content/images/blackmistress1.jpgJpeg of first appearance of the Black Mistress, showing the story and art credits.] ]

Titles

Series

*"Black Diamond"
*"Captain Paragon" (cancelled)
*"Dragonfly" (cancelled)
*"Femforce"
*"Nightveil" (cancelled)
*"Sentinels of Justice" (cancelled)
*"She-Cat" (cancelled)

Mini-series

*"Faze 1 Fazers"
*"Paragon: Dark Apocalypse"

Anthologies and one-shots

*"America's Greatest Comics"
*"Americomics" (cancelled)
*"Bad Girl Backlash" (one-shot, 1995)
*"Best of the West"
*"Big 'Uns"
*"Femzine
*"Garganta's Thrilling Science"
*"Golden Age Men of Mystery"
*"Golden Age Treasury" (a.k.a "Golden Age Spotlight")
*"Good Girl Art Quarterly"
*"Jungle Girls"
*"Men of Mystery"
* "Ms. Victory Special" (one-shot, 1985)
*"Venture" (cancelled)

Notes

References

* [http://www.comicsbulletin.com/features/106962463872912.htm Bill Black: Paint It Black!] , Comics Bulletin

External links

* [http://www.accomics.com/ AC Comics]
* [http://www.internationalhero.co.uk/a/americom.htm AC Comics at International Superheroes]