IDW Publishing Acquires Top Shelf Productions

01/06/2015 01:34 pm EST

IDW Publishing announced early this morning that they had acquired Top Shelf Productions, which will continue to publish as an imprint of IDW. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

IDW Publishing is a fast-growing comics publisher perhaps best known for Locke & Key but who publish dozens of comics a month, including acclaimed licensed adaptations like The X-Files and My Little Pony. Top Shelf is a prestigious publisher of graphic novels, including the #1 New York Times and Washington Post bestseller March by Congressman John Lewis, Andrew Aydin and Nate Powell. They've also published Alan Moore's League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (with Kevin O'Neill) and From Hell (with Eddie Campbell); Craig Thompson's Blankets; Nate Powell's Swallow Me Whole; and Jeff Lemire's Essex County.

IDW CEO Ted Adams suggested that this was a case of the publisher looking for a partner, rather than the relationship between the two opening up an opportunity.

"The acquisition of Top Shelf is a milestone for IDW," Adams said. "We looked a very long time for a company that would complement our own publishing line-up, and in Top Shelf we found the ideal match. The addition of Top Shelf's library further positions IDW's leadership role among the top powerhouses in comics."

While IDW is largely known for more commercial and mainstream fare, their Artists Editions, which closely reproduce important works as close to the original art pages as possible in oversized hardcovers with cardstock pages, seem an ideal fit for some of Top Shelf's more revered works.

Top Shelf will remain a distinct imprint withinIDW and co-founder ChrisStaros will join the company as Editor-in-Chief, Top Shelf Productions. IDW assured fans thatStaros and company will retain editorial autonomy. According to the publisher, IDW's main role will be the support and management of Top Shelf's infrastructure — production, sales, marketing and promotional initiatives. IDW will also provide additional funding to secure new breakout projects so that Top Shelf can direct their full attention to the creative side.

"IDW is committed to preserving and growing the Top Shelf brand, which we've long admired," said IDW president and COO Greg Goldstein. "Chris and his team have built a great working relationship with creators, fans, and retailers alike, and IDW will work diligently to expand Top Shelf's publishing capabilities and market reach while further developing those relationships."

Founded in 1997, Top Shelf Productions offers a broad library of comic books and graphic novels from dozens of the industry's top independent creators. Following the acquisition, Top Shelf's headquarters will remain in Marietta, GA.

"Top Shelf and IDW complement each other perfectly," said Staros. "We both started around the same time, and when I would watch IDW over the years, as a fellow publisher, I'd see them making smart move after smart move. Now I'm extremely excited to combine their talents and resources with Top Shelf's award-winning literary approach to comics. And believe it or not, the idea to join forces hit us both at exactly the same time. Last year, as I was about to pitch Ted and Greg this 'crazy' idea, they approached me to suggest the same thing! How's that for a good omen? Together, we're going to be able to publish some incredible work. I'm really looking forward to this."

The deal has echoes of the acquisition of Archaia Entertainment by BOOM! Studios in 2013, a move calculated to bring status, and a raft of new intellectual property, to BOOM!.

In the case of the BOOM! acquisition, other-media rights were a part of the deal. It's not clear to what extent that may be the case in the IDW/Top Shelf acquisition, although FOX has recently been developing League of Extraordinary Gentlemen as a TV series.

The author of this piece, Russ Burlingame, was a contributing editor to 2008's Steal Back Your Vote, a not-for-profit comic published by the Palast Investigative Fund but printed and by distributed Top Shelf.

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