Business Card Side 1

When we finally became serious about publishing comic books under the Comico imprint we realized that we were going to have to actually sell our comics and generate substantial revenue.

Business card Side 2

We had always sold our handmade, photocopied comics directly to the customer and were never really in a situation where we actually had to profit from the comics we made.

The issues of DUCKWORK that were produced were distributed freely on campus at PCA, supported by student council and meager funds generated by advertisements that we solicited.

Comico, however, was a real business and we had to get our comics sold to as many readers as possible in order to stay alive.

In the old days that meant Newsstand Distribution and its dreaded return policy, but in the early 1980’s the Direct Comic Market was young and growing. It offered an opportunity for an upstart company like Comico to solicit to retailers through several distributors.

Product was solicited three months in advance. The orders gave publishers a solid idea of what their print run needed to be and there were no returns to fret about. This made it easy to borrow money since you could show actual sales ahead of time. It also let you know if you should pack your bags and quit before you absorbed the expenses of production and printing.

Publishers just had to convince the distributors that their product was worth the time to solicit. This generally meant that if one distributor would take a chance on your product the others had to as well so they would not have to explain to their retailers why the guy down the street has a particular title and they don’t.

Our first comic book was a black and white comic titled Primer #1. Historically the reviews on the comic have sucked but it was our first product and at the time we were very proud of our work.

PRIMER #1

Today, I believe that it is highly underrated as a collectible since so few were made and it is significant for having launched a company that discovered many great talents, produced great product and established a business model that other great Independent publishers would follow.

Back in 1982 we had to find someone to solicit Primer #1 before it was even complete. We had very little to show except photocopies of of pencils and a proposed cover.

We wanted to make a great first impression so we put our efforts into a nice presentation package and focused on our business card because we thought it would be the one thing the distributers might keep in their rolodex (who still has one of those dinosaurs?)

The original Comico logo was designed by Phil LaSorda and was as unique as it was cumbersome but it lent itself well to the unusual business card that I would design around it.

The logo was designed to bracket the corner of the covers of our comics and it only survived the black and white comics that we originally published. It repeated the name Comico twice, hinged by a shared letter “C” that would eventually provide the basis for several other designs that would represent the future color line.

The card I designed was also hinged, die cut and folded so the Comico logo would read on both sides. When it opened our information was displayed inside. It was black and white, innovative and elegant, just the impression we wanted to create for our line.

The card could stand on a desk where others could only lay and it encouraged the holder to manipulate and study it. Let’s just say it was hard not to notice and easy to remember.

Above all, it was a conversation piece which came in handy when we did follow-up calls to the distributors. In those days, when you made the call, you spoke to the head guy, himself: Steve Geppi, Bud Plant, Milton Griepp, Walter Wang, and so on.

All of these guys were friendly, and were more than happy to offer advice and honest criticisms of the product. There was a lot of criticism and we listened and learned.

Just when it looked like we were going to have to go back to the drawing board with Primer #1 we got our first order. I’ll never forget the moment. I was away from the studio for a rare weekend trip when Phil called to tell me that Bud Plant had ordered one hundred books. You would have thought that I won the lottery!

Bill Cucinotta taking initial PRIMER 1 orders

That week Phil, Bill Cucinotta and I worked the phones to let every distributor know that Bud Plant had given us an order. As we expected they all followed suit, not to be outdone.

We sold less than two thousand books but it was enough to cover the printing costs and generate enough interest for Primer #2 which enjoys it’s place in comics history for the first appearance of Matt Wagner’s Grendel.

PRIMER #2

Today the card of CO2 Comics is simple. It bears our logo and a lone piece of contact information, co2comics.com. Follow that link and everything you need to know about CO2 Comics is at your fingertips!

We hope we still know how to make a great first impression.

Making comics because I want to,

Gerry Giovinco

That’s why we were so tickled when Mike Sterling resurrected a vintage Comico promo kit that was circulated to retailers back in 1985 and posted it here for the world to see on his website progressiveruin.com.

Most folks that have been following CO2 Comics know that Bill and I were two of the founding partners of Comico. Seeing this promo kit online brought back a lot of memories of Comico and those early days of the Independent comic movement.

Inspired by the archives shown here we’ve decided to dredge up little gems from our own collections and share them here on a weekly basis.
We hope you’ll enjoy them and share some of your Comico treasures with us as well. So please enjoy the link to Mike’s site and return regularly for future updates about the past.

 Gerry Giovinco

Carl Macek and wife Svea

Carl of course was the man behind the huge success of Robotech
in the 1980’s and a big supporter of us at Comico.

Here are a couple of links that has some brief info
regarding his passing:

http://www.robotech.com/news/viewarticle.php?id=418

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-04-19/american-anime-producer-carl-macek-passes-away

http://www.cartoonbrew.com/anime/carl-macek-1951-2010.html

This is sad news for all Robotech fans and fans of Anime.

UPDATE:

First, let me apologize for the brevity of the above post. I had just heard the news and wanted to forward it as soon as possible and was not available to follow up on it until now.

Carl Macek had a profound impact on Comico. It was the relationship that we had with Carl and Harmony Gold that solidified the notion that Comico was a viable force in the comic industry. ROBOTECH, more than any other property, made people notice us and trust that we would do a great job publishing anything. Carl trusted us early on and never wavered. The rest is history.

When Bill Cucinotta and Phil LaSorda first met Carl at a Las Vegas comic convention in 1984 they returned home infected by his enthusiasm for Macross. Carl was not just a producer that had landed the rights of an interesting anime series. Carl genuinely loved the medium, and the source material.

We were all fans of anime back then but it was clear that Macross was special. Carl was the preacher and we were the choir. I like to think that Carl saw that we loved making comics as much as he loved producing the English adaption of Macross and knew that we would treat it with the same admiration and dignity that he put into his work. Maybe it was just fate.

At the time we were all little fish in a big sea. Then ROBOTECH happened. Without boring anyone with the history of how the series boomed onto the scene, one thing was clear, ROBOTECH was bigger than all of us. Carl of course rose to the occasion and orchestrated a masterpiece. He had all the opportunity in the world to put the comic adaptation of ROBOTECH into the hands of DC comics but he stood his ground and insured that Comico would continue to be the publisher of his baby.

Carl had not only proven his own integrity but he boldly displayed his trust in us. Before ROBOTECH, I can assure you that Carl micro managed the developement of Macross #1 actually scripting it himself and having his wife Svea render the pencils. The enormity of the ROBOTECH project forced him to step back and hand us the creative reigns of the comic books, which he did unflinchingly. We returned Carl’s good faith by producing comics that he could be proud of.

Carl Macek was a man with a dream as are we all. But Carl separated himself from most by ferociously acting on his dreams. Transforming them into a string of success stories. I am happy to have been part of one of them.

It would be nice if there were more guys like him in the world but it is a tragedy that we have just lost the one-and-only Carl Macek.

My sincerest sympathies to Svea, the rest of Carl’s family and the extended ROBOTECH family.

Gerry Giovinco

Ginger Fox Cover

The World of Ginger Fox
by Mike Baron and Mitch O’Connell, originally published by Comico in 1986 as a 64-page graphic novel, is nothing short of stylish eye candy derived from the exciting nineteen eighties’ era of high hair, shoulder pads, and excesses of wealth.

Ginger Fox is presented anew beginning this week on the web pages of CO2 Comics.

The tale of romance, adventure and intrigue, set in the Hollywood of the mid-eighties featuring the smart, sexy and savvy Ginger Fox and a cast of strippers, martial artists, hit men, drug addicts, gat-toting bodyguards and celebrity cameos will be released in weekly installments and is available without fee or subscription as are all comics currently available at http://www.co2comics.com/pages/co2_comics.html.

One quick look at the credits of Mike Baron and Mitch O’Connell will give a good idea of what a treat to expect.

Writer Mike Baron has been one of the most innovative and honored creators in comics since he broke into the field with NEXUS in 1982 with artist Steve Rude.

He has written numerous mainstream comics, including Marvel’s The Punisher and DC’s The Flash. He is also the co-creator of BADGER, FEUD, SPYKE and a number of other renowned titles. He also penned the ROBOTECH graphic novel published by Comico.

Mike Baron Comics

Mike has been nominated for Best Writer in the Kirby, Harvey and Eisner Awards numerous times, and has won several Eisners for his work on NEXUS.

Illustrator Mitch O’Connell’s first graphic novel was Ginger Fox at the age of 25.

Mitch O'Connell Newsweek

His stunning illustration work since has been featured in magazines from Newsweek to Playboy, on the covers of million selling CD’s and advertising campaigns from McDonalds to Coca-Cola!
Mitch’s fine art masterpieces have been exhibited from New York to Berlin to Tokyo and his tantalizing tattoo designs are a fixture on the walls of tattoo shops around the word! Mike and Mitch join the ranks of former Comico creators, Bill Anderson, Reggie Byers, Chris Kalnick, Mike Leeke, Bernie Mireault, Andrew Murphy, Rich Rankin, Neil Vokes as well as publisher creators Bill Cucinotta and Gerry Giovinco on the CO2 Comics site that also features work by Tina Garceau, Robert Jackson Jr., Onrie Kompan, Giovanni Paolao Timpano, and Joe Williams.

There are over 400 pages of free comic art available to read at CO2 COMICS.

Shuriken

When Reggie came to work at Comico he quickly became family and was integral to the success of the ROBOTECH line. His drawing style, which was heavily influenced by Japanese Manga when it was just becoming popular in America, made him a fan favorite on the comics he worked on. Despite the heavy manga influence, however, Reggie was able to develop his own unique stylization that propelled him to popularity when he began to self publish Shuriken under the Victory label. Most recently Reggie along with his wife, Dionne, Have created Kidz of the King which is published by Urban Ministries Inc. (UMI) and has been animated into a feature for television!

Click Here for Kidz of the King Merchandise

Reggie is treating us to a character that he created in the early ’90’s. CRESCENT  has all the flair and mystique of Shuriken and will surely be a big hit here in the archives of CO2 Comics. Thanks Reggie! We can’t wait to see what you have in store for us!

You may have noticed that, along with bits of history, these blog pages are also riddled with links. Please use them to familiarize yourself with the creators that are willing to play with us here at CO2 Comics. The links are also an opportunity for you to support those creators by buying their products or by sharing their work with your friends. You can help us too by ensuring that CO2 Comics becomes the cooperative venture it is intended to be as the gathering of artists here supports cross promotion that benefits the fans and artists alike.

Crescent

There is an energy building here at CO2 Comics that has Bill Cucinotta and myself very excited. In a very short time the content here has grown into an exciting collection of work by great guys with a long history of friendship and love for comics. We always expected that our friends would be our core group of creators at the start but please know that we are open to submissions and though we intend to be selective there is always opportunity for exciting innovative talent here at CO2 Comics. Drop us a line any time at info@co2comics.com regarding inquiries or submissions.

Gerry Giovinco

Comico Primer 1

Andrew first came to me as a talented high school student in search of a mentor program in 1982. Comico was in its fledgling days and he quickly became a dependable Guy Friday. His enthusiasm, hard work, dependability and raw talent were a rare find in any teenager and he was quickly rewarded with the opportunity to draw the cover of our first book, Primer #1 which I was lucky enough to ink.
Andrew’s own character Victor also graced that first cover and was later featured in Primer #2 which also heralded the first appearance of Grendel by Matt Wagner.

Andrew Murphy (Top L), Phil LaSorda (Middle), Gerry Giovinco (Top R), Vince Argondezzi (Bottom L), Bill Cucinotta (Bottom R)

 Bill Cucinotta and I are thrilled to say that he is back with us again with Victor! We will begin with the original Primer feature and follow the character as he matures into Firebringer.

Andrew will also release some of the short stories that he produced for Dark Horse Presents. We expect that his story, Reflections will be posted as early as next week.

Andrew has also written a fine novel of the future Steel Sky and is an award winning Creative Director of Art for Brainworks Communications. Please click on the embedded links and support his endeavors.

Thanks for joining us again, Andrew!

 Gerry Giovinco

We urge you be open with your feed back, it is valuable to us as artists. Bill and I agree that the interaction with creators and the audience has always been our personal favorite experience in the comics industry. I don’t expect that to change.

Don’t be shy. Leave comments, reminisce, make requests, offer suggestions, be critical, offer praise and support. Most of all, have fun. If CO2 Comics becomes, at least, a community of comic enthusiasts and artists that can revel in hearty discussion then this will be a successful experiment.

Now get your mind out of “The Gutter.”

Go enjoy the rest of the site and stay in touch.

Gerry Giovinco