Category: IDW Media Holdings

LOS ANGELES, CA and SAN DIEGO, CA – December 26 2019:  IDW Media Holdings, Inc., (OTCPINK: IDWM), an integrated media company, is wrapping up a 2019 loaded with significant accomplishments and is prepared for a transformative 2020.

“IDW made great progress in the past year and will be serving up a feast for readers and viewers in 2020,” said IDW’s Chairman and CEO, Howard Jonas.  “Across the company, we are working with renowned creators to bring compelling characters and their stories to entertain audiences globally.”   

IDW Entertainment (IDWE) has four series airing in December or scheduled for launch in 2020:

 

• “V Wars,” IDWE’s vampire thriller, debuted on Netflix on December 5th.  The binge-worthy series with a 10-episode first season, stars Ian Somerhalder and was produced by High Park Entertainment in Toronto (CA).  The series is based upon Jonathan Maberry’s IDW Publishing comic book series. After release, “V Wars” rocketed to the top of Netflix’s trending and most popular lists.

 

• “October Faction” premieres on Netflix January 23rd. The much-anticipated show is based on the IDW Publishing comics of Steve Niles and Damien Worm as adapted by showrunner Damian Kindler and is also produced by High Park Entertainment. The series, starring Tamara Taylor and J.C. MacKenzie, chronicles the veteran monster-hunting couple Fred and Deloris Allen and their teenage twins – who move to a small town in upstate New York in a spectacularly unsuccessful attempt to bury their past.

 

• “Locke & Key” premieres on Netflix on February 7th.  The show is based on the critically acclaimed hit graphic novels of Joe Hill and Gabe Rodriguez, also published by IDW.  After their father is murdered, three Locke family siblings return to their ancestral home, Keyhouse Manor, and to its keys that access other fearsome dimensions.

 

• Season 4 (S4) of “Wynonna Earp” is now in production.  Thanks to energetic and tireless lobbying by its enthusiastic fans, the gun-slinging great-great-granddaughter of Wyatt Earp will continue bringing paranormal demons to justice. The show, created by Emily Andras and starring Melanie Scrofano, is based on the IDW comics of Beau Smith. S4 is coming to the small screen through a partnership of IDW with Syfy, Space and Seven24 Films. The initial S4 episode could air on Syfy as early as this summer.

IDW Publishing (IDWP) comics and graphic novels continue to break new ground:

“They Called Us Enemy” (TCUE) has been named the best graphic novel of 2019 by the Publisher’s Weekly Critics Poll.  In TCUE, actor and activist George Takei chronicles his family’s imprisonment in U.S. internment camps during WWII.

TCUE has been lauded as a ‘Best Book of the Year’ by:

• Amazon 
• The New York Public Library 
• The School Library Journal 
• Publishers Weekly 
• Kirkus Reviews 

In June of 2020, IDWP plans to release TCUE in Spanish.  “It’s been my life’s mission to tell the story of the cruel and unjust incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II,” Mr. Takei said in a recent speech to educators.  “I am thrilled to make the story accessible to a community that right now—today—is facing attacks that are all too familiar. This [Spanish language] edition is especially meaningful to me since I was raised in the Spanish-speaking community of East L.A., which welcomed my family after four years of imprisonment.”

The Spanish-language edition of TCUE is only the first book in a multi-phase, multi-title program to release fan-favorite graphic novels in Spanish language to the North American readers for the first time in the company’s history.

In December, IDWP released its 100th edition of the beloved “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” comic.  The Company has been publishing the franchise for eight years, though its roots go back to its founding by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird in the 1980s. The current series, a collaborative effort led by Eastman and Tom Walz, has seen the teenage reptiles evolve and adapt while continuing to connect with fans around the world.  

IDWP released the first edition of “Dying is Easy” in December. “DiE” is a ground-breaking mini-series by New York Times best-selling author Joe Hill (also of “Locke & Key” fame) and co-creator/artist Martin Simmonds.  The first edition introduces Syd Homes – a disgraced ex-cop and darkly bitter stand-up comic who quickly finds himself on the wrong side of the law.

IDWP also proudly launched “Wellington,” a new comics series of the fictional adventures of an historical figure, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington and twice British Prime Minister, as he hunts down the demons wreaking havoc in 19th-century England.  “Wellington” is a spinoff of “Lore,” a hugely successful IDWP series created by Aaron Mahnke.  For “Wellington”, Mahnke collaborates with sci-fi and fantasy author and comics creator Delilah S. Dawson.

Coming in 2020 from IDWP — a graphic serial adaptation of the best-selling ‘Sleeping Beauties’ a terrifying, cautionary novel by Stephen King and his son, Owen King.  Novelist Rio Youers and artist Alison Sampson collaborate to produce this spectacular ten-part series.

Also slated for release in 2020: New Yorker Cartoonist Shannon Wheeler’s graphic novel adaptation of “The Mueller Report.”  The book transforms the dry language of the original report into a creative, sometimes comic, and always insightful re-imagining.  

“IDW Publishing is well-poised to enter its twenty-first year with its most diverse slate of content ever,” said Chris Ryall,” IDW Publishing’s President & Publisher/Chief Creative Officer. “And beyond developing new editorial directives to better suit the ever-changing needs of the publishing world, we have spent considerable time leading up to 2020 in identifying and cultivating new audiences, additional markets, and interesting new channels of distribution, too. We are very excited about expanding our mission of creating, marketing, and releasing captivating new comics and graphic novels to the world.” 

 

---

All statements above that are not purely about historical facts, including, but not limited to, those in which we use the words “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “plan,” “intend,” “estimate,” “target” and similar expressions, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. While these forward-looking statements represent our current judgment of what may happen in the future, actual results may differ materially from the results expressed or implied by these statements due to numerous important factors. Our filings with the SEC provide detailed information on such statements and risks, and should be consulted along with this release. To the extent permitted under applicable law, we assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements.

 

About IDW Media Holdings:

IDW Media Holdings, Inc. (OTCPINK: IDWM) is an integrated media company.  IDW’s businesses include IDW Publishing – a leading American publisher of comic books and graphic novels, IDW Entertainment – a producer and distributor of franchise content through television and other media, and CTM Media Group – one of North America’s largest distributors of information for tourists and travelers.

 

Investor Contact: 

IDW
Ezra Rosensaft, Chief Financial Officer
ezra@idwmh.com