TopatoCo

{{Short description|Online retailer of webcomics}} {{Infobox company | name = The Topato Corporation | logo = | caption = | type = Private | foundation = Oklahoma, US ({{Start date|2004|||}}) | founder = Jeffrey Rowland | location_city = Easthampton, Massachusetts | location_country = US | area_served = Worldwide | key_people =   | industry = Online retail | products = Clothing, stickers, books | services = | homepage = {{URL|topatoco.com}} }} '''The Topato Corporation''' (styled as '''TopatoCo''') is an online retailer for merchandise of webcomics and other media. It was established in 2004 by artist Jeffrey Rowland.

== History ==

After Jeffrey Rowland<ref name="comicmix marshall 2008">{{cite news |last=Marshall |first=Rick |date=21 March 2008 |title=Interview: Jeffrey Rowland on TopatoCo and 'Overcompensating' |url=http://www.comicmix.com/news/2008/03/21/interview-jeffrey-rowland-on-topatoco-and-overcompensating/ |accessdate=12 September 2012 |newspaper=ComicMix}}</ref> lost his job in 2004,<ref name="comicsalliance goellner 2009">{{cite web |last=Goellner |first=Caleb |date=5 October 2009 |title=TopatoCo's Jeffrey Rowland On 'Overcompensating' and the Wild West of Webcomics |url=http://www.comicsalliance.com/2009/10/05/topatocos-jeffrey-rowland-on-overcompensating-and-the-wild-we/ |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130125023700/http://www.comicsalliance.com/2009/10/05/topatocos-jeffrey-rowland-on-overcompensating-and-the-wild-we |archivedate=25 January 2013 |accessdate=14 September 2012 |work=ComicsAlliance}}</ref> he started TopatoCo to help sell shirts, stickers, and other merchandise linked to his webcomics. When the 2004 presidential election was won by George W. Bush, Rowland designed a satirical T-shirt and sold 1000 of them in one month.<ref name="comicsalliance goellner 2009" />

Rowland later expanded the business to ship products ordered from friends' websites, who in 2007 moved their retailing to TopatoCo.<ref name="topatoco about">{{cite web |title=What is This Whole Thing About Anyway |url=https://www.topatoco.com/merchant.mvc?Screen=ABOUT |accessdate=12 September 2012 |work=TopatoCo website |publisher=TopatoCo}}</ref> While Rowland founded the company while living in Oklahoma, by June of 2005 he had moved to Easthampton, Massachusetts.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McHenry |first=Sarah |date=2017-08-28 |title=Wizards and Comics and Dinosaurs! Oh My! |url=https://thetakemagazine.com/topatoco-comics-massachusetts/ |access-date=2024-11-02 |website=Take Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2006, he began working with his partner Holly. The two were married in 2012, and still run the company together.

The company has been described as "perhaps the largest and most recognizable E-tailer of webcomic merchandise" by Caleb Goellner in ''ComicsAlliance''<ref name="comicsalliance goellner 2009" /> and takes its name from the ''Topato Potato'' character in Rowland's ''Wigu Adventures''.<ref name="topatoco about" /> Rowland has described the company's business philosophy as being "give digital stuff away for free, sell real stuff".<ref name="comicsalliance goellner 2009" />

In 2013, Holly started Make That Thing, a Kickstarter management and fulfillment service.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Macdonald|first1=Heidi|title=More details on Make That Thing, TopatoCo's Kickstarter Fulfillment House|url=http://www.comicsbeat.com/more-details-on-make-that-thing-topatocos-kickstarter-fulfillment-house/|website=ComicsBeat|date=2013-03-14}}</ref> Make That Thing originally served as a sister company to TopatoCo. Now Jeffrey and Holly manage and fulfill crowdfunding campaigns as part of TopatoCo's daily operations using the nickname TopatoGO.

== Clients ==

Some cartoonists involved from the early days of the company are Jonathan Rosenberg, Richard Stevens, John Allison and Meredith Gran.<ref name="comicsalliance goellner 2009" /> In a 2008 interview, Rowland stated that the "big guys" in terms of clients were ''Dinosaur Comics'' and ''Dr. McNinja''.<ref name="comicmix marshall 2008" /> Other clients include ''Questionable Content,''<ref name="suvudu braff 2009">{{cite web|last=Braff|first=Mike|title=The FUNN-e-PAGES: Overcompensating|url=http://suvudu.com/2009/11/the-funn-e-pages-3.html|work=Suvudu|date=29 November 2009|accessdate=14 September 2012}}</ref> ''MS Paint Adventures'',<ref name="boston chen 2011">{{cite news|last=Chen|first=Jialu|title=See you in the funny pages|url=http://archive.boston.com/lifestyle/articles/2011/08/02/the_new_webcomic_entrepreneurs/|access-date=14 September 2012|newspaper=The Boston Globe|date=2 August 2011}}</ref> and ''Girl Genius''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=MacDonald |first=Heidi |date=12 October 2012 |title=Girl Genius hands over retail business to TopatoCo |url=https://www.comicsbeat.com/girl-genius-hands-over-retail-business-to-topatoco/ |access-date=18 October 2024 |website=The Beat}}</ref> The company found in 2009 that it was growing too quickly, and turned down some potential clients.<ref name="comicsalliance goellner 2009" />

=== List of creators === {| class="wikitable" |+ !Creator<ref>{{Cite web |date=8 November 2024 |title=Topatoco |url=https://topatoco.com/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241107070703/https://topatoco.com/ |archive-date=7 November 2024 |access-date=8 November 2024 |website=Topatoco}}</ref> !Notable Title(s) !Additional Note(s) |- | rowspan="2" |Abby Howard, Black Tabby Games |Scarlet Hollow | |- |Slay the Princess | |- |Alex Schmidt |Secretly Incredibly Fascinating | |- |Andrew Hussie |MS Paint Adventures | |- |Anthony Clark |Beartato | |- |A. Senna Diaz |Dresden Codak | |- |Asymmetric Publications |Kingdom of Loathing | |- |Becky Dreistadt, Frank Gibson |Becky & Frank! | |- |Brandon Bird | | |- |Chris Hastings |The Adventures of Dr. McNinja | |- |Cohen Edenfield |Skulltenders |Features KC Green, Jess O’Brien, and Amber Carr |- |Dave Kellett |Sheldon | |- |David Malki |Wondermark | |- |Dorothy Gambrell |Cat and Girl | |- |Erin McKeown | |- |Evan Dahm | |- | rowspan="2" |Gene Ambaum |Library Comic |Illustrated by Willow Payne |- |Unshelved |Illustrated by Bill Barnes |- |Ian McConville, Matthew Boyd |Three Panel Soul | |- |Ian Worthington |Worthikids | |- |Jeffrey Rowland | |Topatoco Founder |- |Jeph Jacques |Questionable Content | |- |Jessica Hayworth | | |- |Jess Fink | | |- |John Allison | | |- |John Hodgman | |- | rowspan="2" |Jon Rosenberg |Scenes from a Multiverse | |- |Goats | |- |Jonathan Coulton | | |- |Joey Comeau |A Softer World |Illustrated by Emily Horne |- |Julia Wertz | |- |Kate Beaton |Hark! A Vagrant | |- |Kate Leth | |Affiliated with Night Vale Presents |- |KC Green |Gunshow | |- |KoiBeat | |- |Kory Bing |Skin Deep | |- |Lucy Knisley | |- |Machine of Death | |Anthology edited by Ryan North, Matthew Bennardo, and David Malki |- |Mattie Lubchansky | | |- |MC Frontalot | | |- |Michael Kupperman | | |- |Neil Cicierega | | |- | rowspan="4" |New Leaf Literary |Cassandra Clare | |- |Holly Black | |- |Leigh Bardugo | |- |Liz Climo | |- | rowspan="4" |Night Vale Presents |Alice Isn't Dead | |- |The Orbiting Human Circus |Written by Julian Koster |- |Welcome to Night Vale | |- |Within the Wires | |- |Oh Joy Sex Toy! | |Originally created by Erika Moen |- |Olive Rae Brinker |Rae the Doe | |- |Olivia Jaimes |Nancy |Continuation of the 1938 Ernie Bushmiller comic of the same name |- |Phil & Kaja Foglio |Girl Genius | |- |Post Everything Productions |The Story Must Be Told | |- |Richard Stevens |Diesel Sweeties | |- |Rosemary Mosco |Bird and Moon | |- |Ryan North |Dinosaur Comics | |- |Sarah Jolley |The Property of Hate | |- |Sam Logan |Sam & Fuzzy | |- |Shen (Andrew Tsyaston) |Shen Comix | |- |Smallbu Animation | |Co-created by Lindsay and Alex Small-Butera |- |This Modern World |Tom Tomorrow | |- |Tom Siddell |Gunnerkrigg Court | |- |Trudy Cooper, Doug Bayne |Oglaf | |- |twistCMYK | | |- |Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre |Mission to Zyxx | |- |Ursula Vernon |Red Wombat | |- |Will Flanary |Dr. Glaucommflecken | |} == References == {{Reflist}}

== External links == * {{Official website}}

Category:Webcomic publishing companies Category:Culture of Massachusetts Category:Retail companies based in Massachusetts Category:Retail companies established in 2004 Category:American companies established in 2004 Category:2004 establishments in Oklahoma