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Ghost Machine is an American media company founded in October 2023, which publishes creator-owned comics through Image Comics. The company was announced on October 12, 2023 at the New York Comic Con. Its founding writers and artists, who are exclusive to the company, were Brad Meltzer, Jason Fabok, Gary Frank, Bryan Hitch, Geoff Johns, Lamont Magee, Francis Manapul, Peter J. Tomasi and Maytal Zchut.

History

Ghost Machine was founded in 2023 as a media company that would publish creator-owned comics through Image Comics. It was announced on October 12, 2023 at the New York Comic Con. The company was conceived with the idea that its founding creators would be exclusive to the company and will jointly own, operate and profit from their creations. Novelist/television writer Brad Meltzer explained the rationale for the company, pointing to how in the American comics history, historically, writers and artists were not able to control or earn consierable profit from creations that went on to become highly lucrative for publishers, like Superman, saying, "The entertainment industry is an ecosystem, and it is ever changing...When you tell the stories of comics themselves, the creator doesn’t always come first."

Pointing to the 2023 Writer's Guild and SAG-AFTRA strikes (the latter of which was still ongoing at the time of Ghost Machine's launch, the company further explained in a press release:

"As the recent Hollywood strikes have shown, creatives are disenfranchised with the traditional industry model – creators seek increased empowerment as a natural progression to an ever-changing entertainment landscape. Ghost Machine's enterprising business model is at the forefront of this evolution with the characters and full company ownership shared by its creators in every way."

The company's founding writers and artists are: Brad Meltzer, Jason Fabok, Gary Frank, Bryan Hitch, Geoff Johns, Lamont Magee, Francis Manapul, Peter J. Tomasi and Maytal Zchut. It was also indicated that other creators would be joining the company after after they completed their prior commitments to other publishers. The company's debut title would be Geiger: Ground Zero, a two-issue series by Johns and Frank released in Novembe 2023 that serves as a prequel to their 2021 miniseries of the same name. This would be followed in January 2024 with Ghost Machine #1, a 64-page special, and then that April with a series of books that would comprise "four shared universes of character-centered titles": The Unnamed, Rook: Exodus, Family Odysseys, and a horror-based universe co-created by what the company indicated at its launch was a prominent artist whose identity would be announced at a later date.

Publications

The Unnamed

• Geiger: Ground Zero — a two-issue series by Geoff Johns and Gary Frank that serves as a prequel to their 2021 miniseries of the same name, about a man living in a post-nuclear war world
• Ghost Machine
• Geiger - series by Johns and Frank
• Junkyard Joe - series by Johns and Frank
• Redcoat - A series by Johns and Bryan Hitch about a soldier from the American Revolution
• First Ghost a supernatural story written by Brad Meltzer and set in the White House

Rook: Exodus

• Rook: Exodus - By Johns and Jason Fabok, this seires is described by Ghost Machine as a "sprawling sci-fi epic which takes place in the far future, on a world where every aspect of nature is controlled by humanity."

Family Odysseys

• The Rocketfellers - The Family Odysseys universe centers around this book, which depicts a family of adventurers accidentally thrown across history via time travel. It is written by Peter J. Tomasi and drawn by Francis Manapul.

Horror universe

This universe was co-created by what the Ghost machine indicated at the 2023 New York Comic Con launch was a prominent artist whose identity would be announced at a later date.

References

1. ^ Gustines, George Gene (October 12, 2023). "A Comic Book Upstart Seeks to Shake Up the Industry". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on October 14, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
2. ^ Connelly, Eileen A.J. (October 12, 2023). "Comic Book Artists, Writers Launch Creator-Owned Media Company 'Ghost Machine'". TheWrap. Archived from the original on October 14, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.
3. ^ Dominguez, Noah (October 13, 2023). "Ghost Machine: Geoff Johns, Gary Frank and More Launch New Image Comics Imprint". SuperHero Hype. Archived from the original on October 19, 2023. Retrieved October 19, 2023.

External links

• Official website

• 2023 establishments in New York City
• American companies established in 2023
• Publishing companies established in 2023
• Publishing companies based in the United States
• Mass media companies based in the United States
• Comic book publishing companies of the United States
• Comics publications
• American culture