Topps Comics

Topps Comics is a division of the American trading card publisher and gum/candy distributor the Topps Company, Inc. that published comic books from 1993-1998, beginning its existence during a short comics-industry boom that attacted many investors and new companies. It was based at 254 36th Street, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, and at One Whitehall Street, in New York City's Manhattan.

The company specialized in licensed titles, particularly movie and television series tie-ins, though it also published a smattering of such original series as "Cadillacs and Dinosaurs" and several based on concepts by then-retired industry legend Jack Kirby. Its best-selling title was "The X-Files", based on the Fox TV show.

Creative personnel

The editor-in-chief and associate publisher was Jim Salicrup. Editors included Len Brown (co-creator of Topps' 1962 "Mars Attacks" cards), Howard Zimmerman, and Dwight Jon Zimmerman. Its notable writers besides the aforementioned included science fiction novelist Harry Harrison, Stefan Petrucha (the initial "X-Files" writer), Don McGregor (the "Zorro" and "James Bond" titles, and that of his original "Zorro" spinoff character, Lady Rawhide), and James Van Hise. Among Topps Comics' notable artists besides the aforementioned were Charles Adlard, Rich Buckler, Dick Giordano, Miriam Kim, Rick Magyar, Esteban Maroto, Mike Mignola, P. Craig Russell, Alex Saviuk, Anthony Williams, and Thomas Yeates. Some covers and frontispieces were drawn or painted by Tim Bradstreet, Kelley Jones, Michael William Kaluta, and Jim Steranko.

The company's sales and promotions manager Charles S. Novinskie is listed as, additionally, a Topps Comics editor in his mini-bio at "Non-Sport Update" magazine. [ [http://www.nonsportupdate.com/nsustaff.htm Non-Sport Update: Who's Who at NSU] ]

The company's design director Brian Boerner is listed as Reprint Editor (along with Charles S. Novinskie) in the Xena trade paperbacks' credits.

The Kirbyverse

The "Kirbyverse" comics, launched simultaneously with April 1993 cover-dates, stemmed from character designs and story concepts that the prolific Kirby, at this very late point in his life, had in his files of unrealized projects and preliminary sketches (some for Pacific Comics, which went defunct in the 1980s). Topps licensed them for an eight-title, interrelated mythos based around what became "Jack Kirby's Secret City Saga". That flagship title was written by former Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Roy Thomas, with an issue #0 prequel drawn by artist Walt Simonson and the remainder of the series by Spider-Man co-creator Steve Ditko.

Kirby himself wrote and drew eight pages (which may have been drawn in the 1970s [Per Chris Knowles in "The Kirby-Files: An Overview of Jack's Occult and Supernatural Themes" in "Jack Kirby Collector" #13 (Dec. 1996), [http://www.twomorrows.com/kirby/articles/13kirbyfiles.html] "The 1970s was the flowering of Jack's interest in the paranormal. Freed from the restraints of more conservative collaborators, Jack delved into these themes with gusto. ... [He] developed 'Satan's Six' around this time, although it didn't see the light of day until the Topps Kirbyverse campaign in the 1990s".] ) of the "Satan's Six" premiere, interlaced with story pages by writer Tony Isabella, penciler John Cleary and inker Armando Gil. As well, the covers of the "Bombast", "Captain Glory", and "NightGlider" [Sources disagree on its spelling, sometimes even within the same source: The cover of the single issue itself appears to spell it "NightGlider". The cover of "Victory" #1 likewise spells it as one word, though in an all-caps typeface. The Grand Comics Database entry [http://comics.org/details.lasso?id=52860] spells it as both "Nightglider" and "Night Glider". The Jack Kirby Museum site [http://www.kirbymuseum.org/catalogue/] spells it "Night Glider"] one-shots noted below were built around preexisting Kirby character-design art.

Along with "Secret City Saga" and "Satan's Six", the Kirbyverse titles were:

*"Bombast", by plotter Thomas, scripter Gary Friedrich and artists Dick Ayers & John Severin)
*"Captain Glory", by writer Thomas and artist Ditko
*"Jack Kirby's TeenAgents", by writer Kurt Busiek, penciler Neil Vokes, and inkers John Beatty and Jordi Ensign
*"Jack Kirby's Silver Star", by writer Busiek, penciler James W. Fry III, and inker Terry Austin
*"NightGlider", by plotter Thomas, scripter Gerry Conway, and artist Don Heck
*"Victory", by writer Busiek, penciler Keith Giffen, and inker Jimmy Palmiotti

Kurt Busiek, in an undated interview archived June 28, 2002, [ [http://www.slushfactory.com/features/interviews/kurtbusiek.shtml "The Slush Factory" (n.d.): "20 Questions with Kurt Buseik"] ] gave some background on the comics line: "Silver Star is a Jack Kirby character, originally done as a miniseries for Pacific [Comics] . Back when I was writing for the Topps Kirbyverse, I started two miniseries that were never completed, "Victory" and "Silver Star", both of which got one issue published before the line collapsed. "Victory" was a crossover, bringing together all the established Kirbyverse characters and reintroducing Captain Victory [of the 1981-84 Pacific Comics series Captain Victory and the Galactic Rangers ] ... but "Silver Star" was a standalone project, one that was completely plotted and mostly scripted".

In 1999 and 2000, "The Hollywood Reporter" and "Cinescape" reported Dark Horse Entertainment had acquired "Satan's Six" for possible movie development. [ [http://www.comics2film.com/SatansSix.shtml Comics2Film.com: "Satan's Six"] ]

Quotes

Tony Isabella on difficulties with "The X-Files" creator Chris Carter over the Topps Comics' series:

List of Topps Comics

Note: Most, but not all, were designed as limited series.

Original series

* "The Barbi Twins Adventures" #1 (July 1995)
* "Cadillacs and Dinosaurs" #1-9 (Feb.-Nov. 1994)
* "Lady Rawhide" (original spinoff of "Zorro"), Vol. 1, #1-5 (miniseries; July 1995 - March 1996)
* "Lady Rawhide" Vol. 2, #1-5 (miniseries;Oct. 1996 - June 1997)

The Kirbyverse

* "Bombast" #1 (April 1993 one-shot)
* "Captain Glory" #1 (April 1993 one-shot)
* "Jack Kirby's Secret City Saga" #0-4 (April-Aug. 1993)
* "Jack Kirby's Silver Star" #1 (planned four-issue miniseries, truncated)
* "Jack Kirby's TeenAgents" #1-4 (Aug.-Nov. 1993)
* "Night Glider" #1 (April 1993 one-shot)
* "Satan's Six" #1-4 (April-July 1993)
* "Satan's Six: Hellspawn" #1-3 (months n.a., 1994)
* "Victory" #1 (June 1994; planned five-issue miniseries, truncated)

Literary adaptations/tie-ins

* "Bill, the Galactic Hero"
* "The Dracula Chronicles
* "Dracula Versus Zorro"
* "Dracula: Vlad the Impaler" (Feb.-April 1993)
* "Elric #0 - One Life" (Aug. 1996)
* "Elric: Stormbringer"
* "The Frankenstein / Dracula War" #1-3
* "Mary Shelley's Frankenstein"
* "Ray Bradbury Comics" #1-5 (Feb.-Oct. 1993)
* "Ray Bradbury's The Illustrated Man" #1, a.k.a. prefixed "A Ray Bradbury Comics Special:"
* "Ray Bradbury's Martian Chronicles" #1 (June 1994), a.k.a. prefixed "A Ray Bradbury Comics Special:"
* "Ray Bradbury's Tales of Terror" #1 (May 1994), a.k.a. prefixed "A Ray Bradbury Comics Special:"
* "Zorro"

Movie adaptations/tie-ins

* "Bram Stoker's Dracula" #1-4 (Oct. 1992 - Jan. 1993)
* "Dragonheart" #1-2
* "Jackie Chan's Spartan X: The Armour of Heaven"
* "James Bond, 007 / Goldeneye"
* ""
* "Jason vs. Leatherface"
* "Jurassic Park"
* "Return to Jurassic Park" #1-9
* "Jurassic Park: Raptor" #1-2
* "Jurassic Park: Raptors Attack" #1-4
* "Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi: Dark Lords of the Sith / Topps Special Ashcan Edition"

TV/radio adaptations/tie-ins

* "Duckman" #1-5 (Nov. 1994 - n.a. ) plus #0
* "Duckman Duckman: The Mob Frog Saga" #1-3 (miniseries; Nov. 1994 - n.a. )
* "Exosquad" #0-1
* "" #1-5 (June-Oct. 1996)
* "The Lone Ranger and Tonto"
* "The Marriage of Hercules and Xena"
* ""
* "Space: Above and Beyond — The Gauntlet"
* "The X-Files" #1-41 (Jan. 1995 - Sept. 1998), plus #0 (adaptation of series pilot)
* "The X-Files Annual" #1-2 (Aug. 1995; 1996)
* "The X-Files Comics Digest" #1-3 (Dec. 1995 - n.a.)
* "X-Files, The: Ground Zero" #1-4 (Dec. 1997 - March 1998)
* ""
** "Xena: Warrior Princess vs Callisto"
** "Xena: Warrior Princess/Joxer: Warrior Prince"
** "Xena: Warrior Princess/The Dragon's Teeth"
** "Xena: Warrior Princess: And The Original Olympics"
** "Xena: Warrior Princess: Bloodlines"
** "Xena: Warrior Princess: The Orpheus Trilogy"
** "Xena: Warrior Princess: The Wrath of Hera"
** "Xena: Warrior Princess: Year One"

Trading-card adaptations/tie-ins

* "Mars Attacks" #1-5
* "Mars Attacks Baseball Special" #1
* "Mars Attacks High School" #1-2
* "Mars Attacks the Savage Dragon" #1-3

Misc.

* "Topps Comics Presents"

Notes

References

* [http://www.comics.org/ The Grand Comics Database]
* [http://www.kirbymuseum.org/catalogue/ The Jack Kirby Museum search page]
* [http://www.collectortimes.com/2000_05/Clubhouse.html "Collector Times" Vol. 5, #2 (May 2000): "Coville's Corner" (column): Interview with Tony Isabella]
* [http://www.actorcomicfund.org/Pages/WhoIsActor.html A.C.T.O.R. Who's Who]
* [http://scoop.diamondgalleries.com/scoop_article.asp?ai=1285&si=121 Diamond International Galleries' Industry News: "Comics Spotlight in the Spotlight" (Oct. 25, 2002)]
* [http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/jasalicrup/myhomepage/ Jim Salicrup official site]
* [http://www.iol.ie/~carrollm/hh/ Harry Harrison: The Official Website: Comic Book Adaptation]
* [http://www.marvelmasterworks.com/resources/kirby_chronology5.html Marvel Masterworks Resource Page: Jack Kirby: A By-the-Month Chronology]
* [http://jackkirbycomics.blogspot.com/2004/09/cover-gallery-airboy-two-gun-kid-hulk.html The Jack Kirby Comics Weblog Sept. 21, 2004] and [http://jackkirbycomics.blogspot.com/2004_10_03_jackkirbycomics_archive.html#109710059207821662 Oct. 3, 2004]
* [http://www.cartoonworld.org/publishers/ Cartoon World Directory: Publishers]