12 Gauge Comics may not be on every comic book fan’s radar, but the small publisher has certainly carved out a space for itself in the minds of fans and their ever-growing base of readers and followers.Started in 2004, the independent company was the brainchild of longtime comic book fan and businessman Keven Gardner.Based in Alabama and started in 2004, Gardner says that even though the company is small, their look is anything but small-time.”Our fingernails are bloody.Our knuckles are all beat up.We scratch and claw to get every book we publish to the stands.12-Gauge is a true independent publisher, but when you pick up our books you’d probably think we’ve got major investors sinking development money into our pockets because of the quality look and feel of our comics.And I’m not saying that because of something I’ve done…I’m saying that because the creators that work for 12-Gauge do it because they desperately want their books to be published with their vision 100% realized on every page.”That desire and drive comes through in Gardner’s love for not only his company, but comics as well, which started at a very early age in his life.”I’ve been hooked on comics since I was 5 years old.I was sick with the croup and stuck in bed, and my dad came in from work with a handful of Batman and Spiderman comics that he’d picked up at the gas station.I was so excited I think I actually learned to read so I could figure out what those guys in costumes were saying to each other,” he said.After his interest waned in high school, his time at Auburn University rekindled his love of the medium.”I discovered actual comic shops with books like The Dark Knight Returns.I jumped in with both feet again and never looked back.I actually opened a comic shop while I was attending Auburn University, and parlayed that into working for Valiant Comics after I graduated.Once I tasted that side of the business I knew that I wanted to start publishing the kind of books I wanted to read (mainly crime and action stuff).Between the time I spent at Valiantand the promotions I put on in my comic stores, I met a lot of very talented creators, and was lucky enough to convince a few of them that we could publish books with our vision.”That leads back to where 12 Gauge is today, a publisher of books with an audience that is hungry for them.
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