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Millennium Publications

Millennium Publications
Founded1990
FounderMark Ellis, Melissa Martin, Paul Davis
Defunct2000
Country of originU.S.
Headquarters locationTampa, Florida, then Narragansett, Rhode Island
DistributionU.S.
Publication typesComics
ImprintsBorderland
American Bios
Modern Comics

Millennium Publications was an American independent comic book publishing company active in the 1990s.

Initially known as a publisher of licensed properties, Millennium adapted works by Arthur Conan Doyle, Lester Dent, Robert E. Howard, Harlan Ellison, H.P. Lovecraft, and Anne Rice; and even adapted television series like The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and The Wild Wild West into comic book form. The company expanded its repertoire of horror comics into original titles in the mid-1990s, and further branched out in its later years to embrace the alternative comics genre, starting a short-lived creator-owned imprint called Modern Comics.

Millennium gave early exposure to comics artists such as Darryl Banks,[1] Brian Michael Bendis, Dean Haspiel, Adam Hughes, Michel Lacombe, David W. Mack, Josh Neufeld, Rik Levins, and Mike Wieringo; and utilized industry veterans like John Bolton, Mark Buckingham, Don Heck, Kelley Jones, Jim Mooney, Rudy Nebres, Steve Stiles, and Roy Thomas. Covers were occasionally provided by such notable creators as Brian Stelfreeze, Timothy Truman, and Doug Wildey.

The company was distinctive in that it mostly published one-shots and limited series, with only a couple of their titles running for more than four issues. In many ways representative of the boom period of independent comic book publishing, Millennium thrived in the early years of the 1990s and fell on lean times as the decade came to a close.

Publishing history

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Origins

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Millennium Publications was founded in 1990 in Tampa, Florida, by Mark Ellis, Melissa Martin, and Paul Davis,[2] with veteran comics creator Ellis serving as chief writer, and his wife Melissa[3] as vice-president and art director. Co-founder Davis also edited a number of titles, especially in the period 1993 to 1995.[2]

The company's first offerings, in 1990, were the series Anne Rice's The Mummy, inspired by her novel, The Mummy, or Ramses the Damned, with contributions from the likes of Ellis, John Hebert, Mark Menendez, and Jim Mooney, among others. The Mummy ran 12 issues in all, making it the company's longest-running title. Also published in 1990 was The Wild Wild West: The Night of the Iron Tyrants, a four-issue "sequel" to the TV series written by Ellis with art by Darryl Banks, and John Hebert with color art by Melissa Ellis and Deirdre DeLay.

In 1991, Millennium debuted a series of comics titles featuring Lester Dent's Doc Savage, featuring work by Ellis, Banks, Mike Wieringo, Tony Harris, Adam Hughes, Brian Stelfreeze, Steve Stiles, and Doug Wildey, among others. Ellis wrote the four-issue limited series Doc Savage: The Monarch of Armageddon, penciled by Darryl Banks, which was assessed by The Comics Buyer's Guide Catalog of Comic Books as coming the "closest to the original, capturing all the action, humanity, and humor of the original novels".[citation needed]

Also in 1991, Ellis conceived and scripted the critically acclaimed Nosferatu: Plague of Terror, a four-part series that provided a complete story of the title character's origin quite apart from the Dracula legend, featuring art by Rik Levins and Richard Pace. Finally, Ellis again turned to adapting and expanding another writer's concepts (H.P. Lovecraft), with the three-issue limited series Cthulhu: The Whisperer in Darkness, which featured the first appearance of the Miskatonic Project with art by Darryl Banks and Don Heck.

In 1992-93, Millennium introduced another Anne Rice-related project, Anne Rice's The Witching Hour, which ran for five issues, the first four of which were co-published with Comico: The Comic Company.[4] The title was intended to run 13 issues but only made it to issue #5 before being canceled.[5]

The company's three-issue Asylum horror anthology (published under its Borderland emblem)[6] included reprints of Archie Comics' 1970s Red Circle Sorcery series, and featured the talents of Vicente Alcazar, John Bolton, T. Casey Brennan, Mark Buckingham, Howard Chaykin, Duncan Eagleson, Neil Gaiman, Pia Guerra, Don Hillsman II, Matt Howarth, Carlos Pino, and Al McWilliams, among others.

In addition, again with Ellis as scripter, Millennium adapted the cult classic horror film It! The Terror from Beyond Space into comics form. Ellis and Banks teamed up again to produce two issues of Justice Machine, a superhero title that had previously been published by Comico Comics and Innovation Publishing, among others.

During this period, Millennium also published its first nonfiction title, Don Hillsman II and Ryan Monihan's By Any Means Necessary: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, an unauthorized biography in comic book form. Before leaving Millennium at the end of 1993, Ellis once again flexed his adaptation skills with The Man from U.N.C.L.E.: The Birds of Prey Affair two-parter.

Ownership transition and relocation

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At the end of 1993, co-owners Ellis and Martin, who also functioned as the editorial and production staff, sold their shares in Millennium to Davis, but retained ownership of a number of comics properties, such as Nosferatu, The Miskatonic Project, and the new Justice Machine.[7] When Ellis and Martin left Millennium, Davis moved the company headquarters from Tampa to Rhode Island, first to Narragansett, and finally to Kingston.

Transition from licensed properties to original material

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The mid-1990s saw the company publishing more original material, still mostly in the horror vein, though it also published adaptations of material created by Robert E. Howard (The Black Reaper) and Arthur Conan Doyle (The Lost World). The Black Reaper was notable in that it featured Howard's poetry alongside illustrations by comic book artists; it was halfway between a book and a comic book. During this period, Millennium also picked up Wendy Snow-Lang's Night's Children series from the defunct Fantaco/Tundra.

In 1994, Millennium acquired Arvin Loudermilk and Mike Iverson's Vigil from Innovation Publishing, first collecting material originally published by Innovation, and then launching its own line of Vigil limited series. These ran through 1996.

In 1996, Millennium also debuted Dean Haspiel and Josh Neufeld's eclectic two-man anthology Keyhole, which ran for three issues in 1996-1997 (until it moved over to Millennium's Modern Comics imprint for issue #4; Keyhole then was picked up by Top Shelf Productions for the remainder of its six-issue run).

Modern Comics creator-owned imprint

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1997 was notable in that Millennium debuted its creator-owned line, Modern Comics, which featured creators from the minicomic, self-publishing, and zine scenes. This new direction for the company didn't help their fortunes, however, as in 1998 Millennium/Modern only published a handful of comics. The company didn't release any comics in 1999, and Modern's only title in 2000 was Yvonne Mojica's The Bathroom Girls Guide to Christmas Chaos.

Closure

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In 2000, Millennium/Modern closed its doors for good.

Millennial Concepts

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In late 2007, Ellis and Martin formed Millennial Concepts, reviving the stylized "M" that had served as Millennium's first company logo. In July 2008, Millennial Concepts joined forces with Caliber Comics founder Gary Reed's Transfuzion Publications in a joint graphic novel-publishing venture.[7]

Titles

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Doug Wildey's cover for Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze #2.

Licensed properties

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Original titles

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Modern Comics imprint

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Trade paperbacks

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Notable creators published by Millennium

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See also

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References

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Notes

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  1. ^ Banks entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Retrieved Jan. 16, 2023.
  2. ^ a b Davis entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Retrieved Jan. 16, 2023.
  3. ^ Rafter, Dan. "Conquering Comics ... and Marriage, Too", Firefox News, October 9, 2007. WebCitation archive.
  4. ^ "Anne Rice's The Witching Hour: Millennium; Comico, 1992 Series", Grand Comics Database. Retrieved Jan. 16, 2023.
  5. ^ "Anne Rice's The Witching Hour: Millennium Publications, 1996 Series", Grand Comics Database. Retrieved Jan. 16, 2023.
  6. ^ Asylum entry, Grand Comics Database. Retrieved Jan. 16, 2023.
  7. ^ a b Transfuzion press release: "Transfuzion Publishing and Millennial Concepts Join Forces" (July 9, 2008). Archived July 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ a b Cassata entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Retrieved Jan. 16, 2023.
  9. ^ a b Benefiel entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Retrieved Jan. 16, 2023.
  10. ^ a b c Amash entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Retrieved Jan. 16, 2023.
  11. ^ Choles entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Retrieved Jan. 16, 2023.
  12. ^ Brazo entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Retrieved Jan. 16, 2023.
  13. ^ Channing entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Retrieved Jan. 16, 2023.
  14. ^ Cariello entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Retrieved Jan. 16, 2023.
  15. ^ Chang entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Retrieved Jan. 16, 2023.
  16. ^ Caton entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Retrieved Jan. 16, 2023.
  17. ^ Ahlquist entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Retrieved Jan. 16, 2023.
  18. ^ McLellan, Rachel. "News Watch: Creator Wins Suit Against Millennium," The Comics Journal #206 (Aug. 1998), pp. 15-16.
  19. ^ Bendis entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Retrieved Jan. 16, 2023.
  20. ^ Bolton entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Retrieved Jan. 16, 2023.
  21. ^ Buckingham entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Retrieved Jan. 16, 2023.

Sources

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