Bluewater Productions

Bluewater Productions

Type	Entertainment Publications
Industry	Comics
Founded	2007 by Darren G. Davis
Headquarters	Vancouver, Washington
Key people	Darren G. Davis, publisher Jason Schultz, vice-president

Bluewater Productions, Inc. is an independent production studio of comic books and graphic novels. Based in Vancouver, Washington, Bluewater publishes biographical comics, adaptations from films and original titles with self-created characters, most notably of publisher Darren G. Davis' character Isis and the super-heroic character 10th Muse in 10th Muse and The Legend of Isis.

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CREATORS

TITLES

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IMPRINTS

CHARACTERS

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In May 2007, Bluewater graduated from production studio to publisher, in conjunction with filmmaker Ray Harryhausen. The comic book series Ray Harryhausen Presents features sequels to such films as The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad, Clash of the Titans, and 20 Million Miles to Earth. The deal with the filmmaker continued with Jason and the Argonauts: The Kingdom of Hades, It Came from Beneath the Sea, Earth vs. the Flying Saucers and Back to Mysterious Island. This was followed by Vincent Price Presents, featuring cover paintings by Jim McDermott and others. In 2008, Bluewater inked a deal with actor William Shatner to publish a William Shatner Presents series.

Original titles

10th Muse

Developed by Bluewater founder Darren Davis at Image Comics, 10th Muse follows the adventures of the forgotten tenth muse of ancient Greece reincarnated in the body of ordinary present-day girl Emma Sonnet. 10th Muse, was the sixth highest selling comic in November 2001.

10th Muse has been optioned for film and television several times, first in 2002. While ultimately the project failed to come to fruition, CastleBright Entertainment acquired the film option in 2007. In 2011 Vanquish Motion Pictures commissioned a television pilot of 10th Muse penned by Jennifer Quintenez.

Legend of Isis

Originally published by Image Comics, Legend of Isis follows the adventures of the Egyptian goddess Isis as she adjusts to life in 21st century Los Angeles following 5,000 years of imprisonment. With the help of her new friends Scott Dean and Crystal Van Howe, Isis fights evil and holds down a day job working in a museum. Isis's primary weapon, the mystical staff of Luxor, channels the power of Osiris, her lost love.

The Legend of Isis was optioned in 2004 as a motion picture by Paramount Studios and Grammnet Productions.

Wrath of the Titans

Wrath of the Titans: Cyclops artwork by Matt Frank

Wrath of the Titans was first published in 2007, followed by a one-shot issue, Wrath of the Titans: Cyclops in January 2009, and finally in the four-part miniseries Wrath of the Titans: Revenge of the Medusa released monthly from April 2011-July 2011.

The title follows the characters of the 1981 Ray Harryhausen film Clash of the Titans five years after the movie takes place. The thought-dead Calibus escapes the Underworld to take his revenge on Perseus and his new family. The one-shot Wrath of the Titans: Cyclops pits the mythic Cyclops against legendary sailor Sinbad as they fight for control of a magical lamp. In Wrath of the Titans: Revenge of the Medusa, Perseus again is forced to match wits and armies with the Olympians.

Vincent Price Presents

The Vincent Price Presents series is a monthly horror title. The stories feature tales from the estate of Vincent Price as well as retellings of his films. Working in conjunction with Vincent Price’s daughter, Bluewater plans a Vincent Price biography comic.

Jim McDermott's cover art for Bluewater's Vincent Price Presents

The Wave

In April 2011, Gregg Paulson and AE Stueve announced The Wave, the first shared universe in Bluewater Productions history. This multi-part, creator-owned mini-series revolves around the adventures of characters from Greek mythology in modern times. Initially, the series will consist of a four-issue mini-series, planning to expand to a team book of four to six issues. The Wave #0 explores what happens to Greek gods Artemis, Zeus, Poseidon and Persephone when mankind ceases to worship them. The line will also follow mythological figures Heracles and Orion, as well as Bluewater original characters from 10th Muse, the Legend of Isis and Atlas. Stueve and Paulson cite the films of Ray Harryhausen and mythic archetypes of Joseph Campbell as major influences. The first four titles are confirmed as Artemis, Orion, Heracles and Trident: The Power of Poseidon, with issue #0 Twilight of the Gods to be released in November 2011.

Logan's Run

Logan’s Run is a reboot of the popular story by William F. Nolan and George Clayton Johnson. The story is split into two mini-series, Logan’s Run: The Last Day and Logan’s Run: Aftermath. Writer Paul J. Salamoff collaborated with Nolan on the comic scripts. Logan's Run: Last Day follows the events of the first two Logan's Run books (augmented with a new back story by Jason V Brock), followed by Logan's Run: Aftermath. The last two series are tentatively titled Logan’s Run: Rebirth and Logan’s Run: War.

Other titles

• 1782: The Year of Blood
• 20 Million Miles More
• 47 Decembers
• Atlas
• Anne of Green Gables
• Back to Mysterious Island
• Baneberry Creek Academy for Wayward Fairies
• Bartholomew of the Scissors
• The Blackbeard Legacy
• Claw and Fang
• Curse of the Mumy'
• Dead End Boys
• The Deathsport Games
• Dirk Benedict in the 25th Century
• Dorian Gray
• Femme Fatale: Eartha Kitt
• The Final Death Race
• Fleischer
• Flying Saucers vs. the Earth
• Gearz
• Hyde Park
• Insane Jane
• It Came from Beneath the Sea... Again
• Jailbait'
• Jason and the Argonauts: The Kingdom of Hades
• Juliet
• Judo-Girl
• Leprechaun
• Lost Raven
• Mike Miller's: The Imaginaries
• The Mis-Adventures of Adam West
• Missile to the Moon
• Myth Adventures of the Muses
• Nanny and Hawk
• The Odyssey Presents: Camelot
• Orion the Hunter
• Paparazzi
• Pistolfist
• The Pit and the Pendulum
• Plan 9 from Outer Space Strikes Again!
• Quartermain
• Rain
• Ret Romanne
• Ruth and Freddy
• Secret Lives of Julie Newmar
• Sherlock Holmes: Victorian Knights
• Sinbad: Rogue of Mars
• Shi vs. 10th Muse
• Spaced Out
• Styx and Stone
• Tiger and Crane
• Tom Corbett: Space Cadet
• Tony & Cleo
• The Odyssey Presents: Venus
• Vincent Price Presents
• Violet Rose
• Victoria's Secret Service (VSS)
• War of the Elementals
• Warlock
• Walter Koenig's: Things to Come
• William Shatner Presents: Man O'War
• William Shatner Presents: The Tekwar Chronicles
• William Shatner Presents: Quest for Tomorrow

Biographical comic books

In 2009, the company ventured into biographical comics with Female Force, a series celebrating influential women in society and popular culture. In the subsequent years, Bluewater Productions has filled the growing biography comics niche with other titles profiling popular figures in politics (Political Power), entertainment (Fame), literature, and others. Less than half of Bluewater Productions publications are biography. Bluewater Productions attempts to utilize the "power of celebrity" to broaden comics distribution. "We tried something different to get new readers into to comic book stores and it is working... We get a lot of flak from the true comic book fans thinking we are ruining the industry, but we are doing our part to help it." Fame: Justin Bieber was initially distributed excluseively at Wal-Mart stores.

Although many of the biography comics are unauthorized, the company does reach out to most of its subjects to participate. In 2010, the publication of Female Force: Charlaine Harris marked the first authorized Female Force biography. Harris granted interviews to writer Kim Sherman. When requested Bluewater has donated profits made off the biography comics to charities of the subject's choice, as was the case with FAME: Ellen DeGeneres. Criticism surrounds the potentially exploitative nature of biography comics. Responses from Bluewater Productions highlight positive aspects of potentially expanding comics readership. Furthermore the company defends its right to provide timely coverage that its audience demands. According to Davis, speaking about the upcoming Infamous: Charlie Sheen comic, “there are those who are going to complain that we are exploiting Sheen. But honestly, this is no different than People magazine devoting most of an issue to the story or TMZ or Slate or the general media’s constant coverage of breaking developments. If Sheen contacted us right now and wanted us to donate some of the potential profits to a charity of his choosing, we would happily do so."

In addition to Female Force, the company publishes the biography comics lines Political Power, Fame and others.

Female Force

This female-centric biography comics line was announced during the US presidential election of 2008 with Female Force: Hillary Clinton. Since then, Female Force has included biographies of prominent women in politics, the arts, entertainment, philanthropy, literature, and pop culture.

• Sarah Palin (Feb 2009)
• Hillary Clinton (Feb 2009)
• Michelle Obama (Mar 2009) (sold out within a day;)
• Caroline Kennedy (June 2009)
• Diana, Princess of Wales (July 2009)
• Condoleezza Rice (Aug 2009)
• Oprah Winfrey (Sept 2009)
• Barbara Walters (Oct 2009)
• Stephenie Meyer (Nov 2009) (Top selling graphic novel of 11/2009)
• JK Rowling (Dec 2009)
• Nancy Pelosi (Jan 2010)
• Michelle Obama: Year One (Feb 2010)
• Ellen DeGeneres (Mar 2010)
• Sonia Sotomayor (April 2010)
• Charlaine Harris (May 2010)
• Anne Rice (June 2010)
• Margaret Thatcher (Jul 2010)
• Carla Bruni-Sarkozy (Aug 2010)
• Meredith Vieira (Sept 2010)
• Olivia Newton-John (Oct 2010)
• Betty White (Nov 2010)
• Angelina Jolie (Jan 2011)
• Rosie O'Donnell (Feb 2011)
• Ruth Handler (Mar 2011)
• Kathy Griffin (April 2011)
• Ayn Rand (May 2011)
• Laura Ingraham (June 2011)
• Martha Stewart (July 2011)
• Madonna (Aug 2011)
• Arianna Huffington (Oct 2011)
• Mother Teresa (Oct 2011)
• Tina Fey (Nov 2011)
• Cher (Dec 2011)
• Gabrielle Giffords (Jan 2012)
• Kylie Minogue (Feb 2012)
• Carrie Fisher (Mar 2012)
• RuPaul (August 2012)
• Lady Almina- the real Downton Abbey (February 2013)
• Julia Child (March 2013)
• William Moulton Marston the creator of Wonder Woman (May 2013)
• Ruth Bader Ginsburg (June 2013)
• Paula Deen (October 2013)
• Melinda Gates (September 2013)
• Adele (November 2013)
• Gloria Steinem (August 2013)
• Nancy Reagan (November 2013)

Political Power

Political Power is a spinoff of Female Force, profiling the lives of influential figures in and around US politics. Subjects come from a range of political beliefs and nations, featuring:

• Joe Biden (Sept 2009)
• Ronald Reagan (Oct 2009)
• Ted Kennedy (Nov 2009)
• George W. Bush (Dec 2009)
• Al Gore (Jan 2010)
• Nelson Mandela (Feb 2010)
• Bill Clinton (March 2010)
• Rush Limbaugh (April 2010)
• Al Franken (May 2010)
• Arnold Schwarzenegger (June 2010)
• Colin Powell (July 2010)
• Barack Obama (Aug 2010)
• Bill O'Reilly (Nov 2010)
• Richard Nixon (Dec 2010)
• Sarah Palin: The Sequel (Dec 2010)
• Glenn Beck (Feb 2011)
• Jon Stewart (July 2011)
• Donald Trump (Oct 2011)
• Michele Bachmann (Nov 2011)
• David Petraeus (Nov 2011)
• Tea Party (Dec 2012)
• Mitt Romney (Feb 2012)
• Ron Paul (Feb 2012)
• Rick Perry (Feb 2012)
• Obama vs Romney 2012 Election special (Sept 2012)
• Jack Welch (March 2013)
• Anderson Cooper (June 2013)

Fame

Launched in 2010 as an offshoot of Female Force with Fame: Lady Gaga, Fame follows the subject’s rise to fame to understand celebrity culture and his or her place in the public eye. Subjects covered by the Fame line include:

• Lady Gaga (May 2010)
• Robert Pattinson (May 2010)
• Kristen Stewart (June 2010)
• Taylor Swift (July 2010)
• Taylor Lautner (Aug 2010)
• David Beckham (Sept 2010)
• Justin Bieber (Oct 2010)
• Cast of Glee (Nov 2010)
• Cast of Twilight (Nov 2010)
• Lady Gaga: Take 2 (Nov 2010)
• Danica Patrick (Dec 2010)
• Beyoncé (Jan 2011)
• Britney Spears (March 2011)
• Tiger Woods (June 2011)
• 50 Cent (July 2011)
• Cast of Big Time Rush (July 2011)
• Conan O'Brien (Aug 2011)
• Justin Bieber 2 (Sept 2011)
• Selena Gomez (Sept 2011)
• the Black Eyed Peas (Sept 2011)
• Cast of Glee #2 (Oct 2011)
• Suzanne Collins (Oct 2011)
• Katy Perry (July 2012)
• Nick Jonas (July 2012)
• Demi Lovato (Aug 2012)
• Cody Simpson (Aug 2012)
• Victoria Justice (Sept 2012)
• One Direction (Sept 2012)
• Tim McGraw (Nov 2012)
• Robbie Williams (Dec 2012)
• Nicki Minaj (Feb 2013)
• One Direction- the sequel - (March 2013)
• David Letterman (March 2013)
• Tim McGraw (April 2013)
• Psy (April 2013)
• Alex Rodriguez (June 2013)
• Jackie Robinson (July 2013)

Orbit

Orbit is a line of biographies with a skew towards a male demographic launched in Spring 2011. It features:

• Howard Stern (April 2011)
• Stephen King (May 2011)
• Keith Richards (June 2011)
• Stan Lee (September 2011)
• John Lennon (Dec 2011)
• Jack Kirby (January 2012)
• Steve Jobs (January 2012)
• Cast of Doctor Who (January 2012)
• Bill Gates (April 2012)
• J.R.R. Tolkien (May 2012)
• Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster (May 2013)
• Mikhail Prokhorovv (May 2013)
• Howard Schultz The Man behind Starbucks (February 2013)
• Paul McCartney (February 2013)
• Jack Dorsey The co-creator of Twitter (June 2013)
• George R.R. Martin (June 2013)
• Stephen Hawkings: Riddles of Time & Space (June 2013)

The Royals

Launched concurrently with the 2011 Royal Wedding, this line of comics focuses on documenting the lives of royalty.

• Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge (Apr 2011)
• Prince Harry (Aug 2011)

Comics

Comics is a line of biographies focused on classic comedians, a creator-owned series by Jaymes Reed, launched in May 2011.

• George Carlin (May 2011)
• Lucille Ball (August 2011)
• The Three Stooges (Nov 2011)
• Saturday Night Live (March 2012)
• Sam Kinison (August 2013)

Infamous

Infamous profiles the darker side of celebrity:

• Charlie Sheen (July 2011)
• Lindsay Lohan (Sept 2011)

15 Minutes

Profiles those reality celebrities that are in the public eye

• Kim Kardashian (Sept 2012)
• Honey Boo Boo (Jan 2013)

American Defenders

− series that profiles the military:

• The Army(July 2012)
• The Navy (August 2013)
• The Marines (September 2013)

Tribute

After their Tribute: Michael Jackson one shot in 2010, Bluewater officially made "Tribute" a series in late 2012. This series profiles celebrities who have passed on.

• Michael Jackson (Oct 2010)
• Elizabeth Taylor (Nov 2012)
• Frank Capra (Dec 2012)
• James Dean (Feb 2013)
• Marilyn Monroe (May 2013)
• Whitney Houston (August 2013)
• Nelson Mandela (July 2013)

One shots

This includes bio-comics not released under any of the previously listed ongoing titles.

• Puppy Power: Bo Obama (Sept 2009)
• The Obamas (Jan 2010)
• Jesus Christ (April 2010)
• First Family: The Clintons (Aug 2010)
• Mark Zuckerberg (Dec 2010)
• Steve Jobs (Sept 2011)

Collected editions

• Female Force: Volume One (Sep 2009) (Hillary Clinton, Sarah Palin, Michelle Obama and Caroline Kennedy)
• Black History Leaders (Feb 2010) (Barack Obama, Colin Powell, Oprah Winfrey and Condoleezza Rice)
• Political Power: Presidents (June 2010) (Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Ronald Reagan)
• Female Force: Women in the Media (Sept 2010) (Oprah Winfrey, Barbara Walters, Ellen DeGeneres and Meredith Vieira)
• Female Force: Europe (Jan 2011) (The Queen of the United Kingdom, Carla Bruni, Margaret Thatcher, and Diana, Princess of Wales)
• FAME: Popstars (April 2011) (Taylor Swift, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber and Britney Spears)
• Political Power: =Democrats (Sept 2011) (Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Al Franken and Ted Kennedy)
• Female Force: Women in Politics Volume Two (Sep 2011) (Sonia Sotomayor, Condoleezza Rice, Michelle Obama, and Nancy Pelosi)
• Political Power: Republicans (Oct 2011) (Sarah Palin, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck)
• Comics: Volume 1 (2013) (George Carlin, Lucille Ball, Three Stooges, Saturday Night Live and Eddie Murphy)

Rock 'N' Roll Comics

In September 2009, Bluewater Productions announced it would be reprinting Revolutionary Comics' Rock 'N' Roll Comics in ten monthly volumes, averaging 250 pages each. The first collections include The Beatles Experience and Hard Rock Heroes, released in early 2010. A press release from Bluewater indicated that many of Revolutionary's original creators would contribute to the modernization of the contents. The reprints and updates are supervised in part by original Rock 'N' Roll Comics co-creator Jay Allen Sanford. Bluewater's 2010 Rock 'N' Roll Comics collections include the Pink Floyd Experience (5 issues), followed by a color 32-page comic, Joan Jett and the Runaways, and the Led Zeppelin Experience (5 issues). Early 2011 saw the release of the Elvis Presley Experience (7 issues), Rock 'N' Roll Cartoon History: The '60s, and Rock 'N' Roll Cartoon History: The '70s.

Multi-media products

A number of Bluewater Production's properties have been optioned for film and television. 10th Muse was optioned first in 2002 and again in 2007 for film. In March 2011, Vanquish Motion Pictures acquired the rights for a television pilot to be written by Jennifer Quintenez. Paramount Studios and Grammnet Production optioned The Legend of Isis in 2004. Morningside Entertainment optioned Bluewater's Sinbad: Rogue of Mars for a film to be released in late 2012. Scripted by Paul J. Salamoff, who also wrote the comic book, the movie is expected to be part of a trilogy of films following Sinbad and his crew when they are transported to Mars by a Jinn. A teaser poster was released in April 2011.

Nanny & Hank was optioned by Uptown 6 Productions for a feature film

Insane Jane as well as Tom Corbett: Space Cadet was optioned by Pleroma for television or film

Outreach

Bluewater Productions has partnered with libraries and educators throughout the country. These efforts encourage increased literacy through comics and graphic novels, while attempting to impartially educate audiences about often-controversial contemporary figures. The company runs a monthly comics creation workshop, Comics 101. Participants are given an introduction to comics and graphic novels and focus on developing storytelling skills. In August 2011, Bluewater Productions announced the creation of several free lesson plans developed with The Graphic Classroom, which incorporate several of Bluewater's non-fiction titles.

Criticism

Bluewater has received criticism from some former contract workers, content creators and bloggers alleging that the company is notorious for hiring young talent without compensating them for their work. Rich Johnston's report at Bleeding Cool states, "The company uses a number of free creators, working for no money at all, seeking exposure, who later wonder if they’ve been taken for a ride—especially if the work never even sees publication." Bluewater Productions founder Davis issued a statement saying, "Bluewater does not engage or condone any such underhanded or untoward activity and refutes each and every allegation made against the company and me personally. Much of the perceived conflict comes from a handful of creatives who became disenchanted over the terms of their signed agreements and mistakenly believe they are owed compensation."

External links

• Bluewater official site