{{Short description|British comic book publishing company}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{lead too short|date=June 2020}} {{Infobox company | name = Com.x | logo = Comx logo bullet.png | logo_size = 250px | type = | genre = | fate = | predecessor = | successor = | foundation = 2000 | founder = Eddie Deighton<br />Russell Uttley<br />Neil Googe | defunct = | location_city = Wiltshire | location_country = United Kingdom | location = | locations = | area_served = | key_people = Eddie Deighton<br />Jon Sloan | industry = Publishing | products = Comics | services = | market cap = | revenue = | operating_income = | net_income = | aum = | assets = | equity = | owner = | num_employees = | parent = | divisions = | subsid = | homepage = {{official website|http://www.comxcomics.com}} | footnotes = | intl = }} '''Com.x''' is a British comic publishing company.
==History== ===2000–2002=== Com.x was founded in 2000 by Eddie Deighton, Russell Uttley and Neil Googe. Deighton later described how the group came together in 1999:
{{cquote|Neil originally came for an interview as a designer at the design agency Russell and myself ran, but as soon as we saw in his portfolio that Neil had trained as a comic artist and had worked on ''2000AD'', we ended up talking for about 4 hours about comics and the industry in general. By the time we finished, we felt that Neil's talent would have gone to waste if we'd taken him on as a designer, so we decided instead to propose to our client, Konami, that we should work with Neil on a graphic novel for the computer game ''Silent Hill''. They felt it would be a cool thing to do, so Neil came on board and we began developing the project. Very quickly, we found that we all got on really well and by about the third week of working together, we felt we had a lot to contribute to the comic industry in terms of enthusiasm and creativity.<ref name=newsarama153890>[http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=153890 Com.x's Back: Talking to Eddie Deighton & Benjamin Shahrabani]{{dead link|date=July 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, Newsarama, April 16, 2008</ref>}}
The company published a number of titles in the following couple of years like ''Cla$$war'' by Rob Williams and Trevor Hairsine,<ref>[http://www.sequentialtart.com/archive/jan02/rwilliams.shtml Cla$$ Act], Sequential Tart, January 2002</ref><ref name=collected>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090406223510/http://www.newsarama.com/comics/040902-ClassWar-Collection.html Finally Collected: Rob Williams Talks Cla$$war], Newsarama, 2 April 2009</ref> ''Puncture'' by Uttley and Ben Oliver,<ref>[http://www.newsarama.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6125 The Final Puncture: Russ Uttley on Com.x's ''Puncture'']{{dead link|date=July 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, Newsarama, 13 October 2003</ref> ''Razorjack'' by John Higgins<ref name=razorjack>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090410053106/http://www.newsarama.com/comics/030907-Razorjack.html A Very Personal Vision: John Higgins on 'Razorjack'], Newsarama, 7 April 2009</ref> and ''Bazooka Jules'' by Googe.<ref name=newsarama24085>[http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=24085 Neil Googe: Talking Com.x, Majestic, & More]{{dead link|date=July 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, Newsarama, 27 December 2004</ref>
Rob Williams suggested that the relatively greater impact Com.x had on the American publishing companies was:
{{cquote|It was purely the American format and the attention we received from the U.S. comic press. I just think Com.X's books talked to the American publishers in their own language—they looked and read like U.S. books so, hey, it's not that big a leap for American editors to see us working in American books.<ref name=2000adrev>Hanly, Gavin [http://www.2000adreview.co.uk/features/interviews/2005/williams/robwilliams1.shtml Rob Williams interview] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006142730/http://www.2000adreview.co.uk/features/interviews/2005/williams/robwilliams1.shtml |date=2008-10-06 }}, 2000 AD Review, 6 June 2005</ref>}}
The downside of this for the company was that their artists, like Trevor Hairsine,<ref>[http://www.comicon.com/ubb/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=295742#Post295742 Trevor Hairsine's Captain America With Cla$$] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605171248/http://www.comicon.com/ubb/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=295742 |date=2011-06-05 }}, Comicon.com, 18 December 2002</ref> Ben Oliver, Joshua Middleton<ref>[http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=56 Middleton Exclusive With Marvel] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060827134602/http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=56 |date=2006-08-27 }}, Newsarama, 1 April 2003</ref> and Neil Googe, were snapped up by Marvel and DC.<ref name=2000adrev />
They ran into bigger problems in 2002 when their offices were burgled<ref>[http://www.comicsbulletin.com/news/103298474312211.htm Com.X Office Burglarized; Currently Assessing Extent of Damages And Losses] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303171022/http://www.comicsbulletin.com/news/103298474312211.htm |date=3 March 2016 }}, Comics Bulletin, September 2002</ref> and it took them time to recover.<ref>[http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=614 A Com.x Update]{{dead link|date=July 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, Newsarama, 11 December 2002</ref> Other named projects, like ''Battle Raven Six'' by Antony Johnston,<ref>[http://www.sequentialtart.com/archive/july01/johnston.shtml Creepy Curves], Sequential Tart, July 2001</ref> were never published and the company went quiet for over a year.
===2003–2004=== The second phase of the company's activity took place in 2003 and 2004.<ref>[http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=6999 Com.x's Act Together, Titles To Return in March]{{dead link|date=July 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, Newsarama, 4 December 2003</ref> The first three issues of ''Cla$$war'' were collected into a trade paperback in 2003<ref>[http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=324 Com.x Announces Cla$$war Trade, N-jin]{{dead link|date=July 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, Newsarama, 30 April 2003</ref><ref>[http://www.comicsbulletin.com/news/107113912454355.htm Cla$$war's Rob Williams Entertains You] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303172921/http://www.comicsbulletin.com/news/107113912454355.htm |date=3 March 2016 }}, Comics Bulletin, 11 December 2003</ref> and the series was finished in 2004 with new artist Travel Foreman.<ref>[http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=4233 Cla$$war Returns With a New Artist]{{dead link|date=July 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, Newsarama, 23 June 2003</ref><ref>[http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=10910 The Ongoing War - A Preview & Update on Cla$$war]{{dead link|date=July 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, Newsarama, 25 March 2004</ref> However, when interviewed in 2004 Googe said he did not feel the company had fully returned:
{{cquote|We have had a few bits out this year, ''Cla$$war'' was finished, as was ''Puncture'' and we had the ''Last American'' graphic novel ... but as a fully functioning publisher ... well no, the simple fact is we underestimated what it would take... and enthusiasm only gets you so far. We never really had that much cash and so when the big guns came knocking for the likes of Trev and Josh, with their promise of great projects, we just couldn't compete. ...
So Com.X will continue to chase the deals it's already looking at, as for the comics, I like to think of it as lying dormant until such a time as it can return properly.<ref name=newsarama24085 />}}
Other titles that were announced as returning, but never appeared, include ''Bazooka Jules'' with new artist LeSean Thomas<ref>[http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=5442 Bazooka Jules Returns With LeSean Thomas]{{dead link|date=July 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, Newsarama, 2 September 2003</ref><ref>[http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=8510 Bazooka Jules - There and Back Again For LeSean Thomas]{{dead link|date=July 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, Newsarama, 26 January 2004</ref> and Thomas' own ''Cannon Busters''.<ref>[http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=6628 LeSean Thomas' Cannon Busters Lands at Com.x]{{dead link|date=July 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}, Newsarama, 14 November 2003</ref>
===2008–present=== The company returned fully to comics publishing in 2008, led by Eddie Deighton and business partner Benjamin Shahrabani, with a more sustainable business model.<ref name=newsarama153890 /> To avoid delays in the releasing of series, Deighton said that "[o]ur publishing model, at least for the time being, is going to focus on graphic novel format, collected editions, complete story-arcs, etc."<ref name=comicon540710>[http://www.comicon.com/ubb/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=540710#Post540710 Deighton on the Return of Com.x] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605172317/http://www.comicon.com/ubb/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=540710#Post540710 |date=2011-06-05 }}, Comicon.com, 9 April 2009</ref>
This included the release of new original graphic novel ''Path'' by Gregory Baldwin,<ref name=newsarama153890 /> along with the collection of ''Razorjack''<ref name=razorjack /><ref name=21qs>[http://mindlessones.com/2009/03/09/21-questions-with-john-higgins/ 21 Questions With John Higgins], Mindless Ones, 9 March 2009</ref> and ''Cla$$war''.<ref name=collected /><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090314014010/http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=20413 Cla$$war & the Resurrection of Com.X], Comic Book Resources, 12 March 2009</ref> Then they will roll out other titles, including ''Forty-Five'' written by Andi Ewington<ref>{{cite web |first=Andrew |last=McIntire |url=http://www.tfaw.com/blog/2009/11/11/45/ |title=TFAW.com Interviews Andi Ewington, Writer of 45, from Com.X |publisher=TFAW.com |date=11 November 2009 |accessdate=6 January 2010 }}</ref> with forty-five comics artists,<ref>{{cite web |first=Andy |last=Oliver |url=http://www.brokenfrontier.com/lowdown/p/detail/stars-on-45 |title=Stars on 45 |publisher=Broken Frontier |date=28 September 2009 |accessdate=10 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091007122407/http://www.brokenfrontier.com/lowdown/p/detail/stars-on-45 |archive-date=2009-10-07 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |first=John |last=Hogan |url=http://www.graphicnovelreporter.com/content/behind-forty-five-talk-andi-ewington-interview |title=Behind Forty-Five: A Talk with Andi Ewington |publisher=Graphic Novel Reporter |accessdate=10 October 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101122124729/http://graphicnovelreporter.com/content/behind-forty-five-talk-andi-ewington-interview |archive-date=2010-11-22 |url-status=dead }}</ref> a softcover collection of ''Cla$$war'' and another creator-owned comic.<ref name=comicon540710 />
==Titles== {{unsourced|section|date=January 2023}} <!-- Alphabetical order --> Titles published include:
*''Babble'' by writer Lee Robson, with art by Bryan Coyle *''Bazooka Jules'' by Neil Googe *''BlueSpear'' by writer Eddie Deighton/Andi Ewington, with art by Cosmo White *''Cla$$war'' by writer Rob Williams, with art by Trevor Hairsine/Travel Foreman. Coloured by Len O'Grady *''Codename: Babetool'' by writer Jose Luis Gaitan, with art by Walter Taborda *''Duppy'78'' by writer Casey Seijas, with art by Amancay Nahuelpan. Coloured by Daniel Warner *''Forty-Five'' by writer Andi Ewington, with art by various artists *''The Last American'' by writers Alan Grant/John Wagner, with art by Mike McMahon *''Monster Myths'' by John Lupo Avanti *''N-jin'' by writer Guy Haley, with art by Dan Boultwood. Coloured by Len O'Grady *''O:R:E'' by writer Eddie Deighton and Jim Alexander *''Path'' by Gregory Baldwin *''Primal'' by writer Russell Uttley, with art by Joshua Middleton/Ben Oliver *''Puncture'' by writer Russell Uttley, with art by Ben Oliver *''Razorjack'' by John Higgins *''SEEDS'' by Ross Mackintosh *''Sky Between Branches'' by Joshua Middleton
==Notes== {{reflist}}
==References== {{refbegin}} *{{gcdb publisher|id=2070|title=Com.x}} *{{comicbookdb|type=publisher|id=711|title=Com.x}} {{refend}}
==External links== *{{official website|http://www.comxcomics.com}}
Category:Comic book publishing companies of the United Kingdom Category:Publishing companies established in 2000 Category:2000 establishments in the United Kingdom