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PrintB'ham Art Biz Shoots for Boffo
Keven Gardner’s Birmingham-based 12-Gauge Comics has a business plan that snags top talent and has four shots at a big chunk of Hollywood pie.
Keven Gardner, founder of 12-Gauge Comics.
Photo by Steve Gates
Native Alabamian Keven Gardner was born a comic book fan. He’s read them, loved them, bought them and sold them. But those always were somebody else’s comics. Now the 39-year-old Pelham entrepreneur can read his own. In 2004 he started up 12-Gauge Comics, now one of the premier publishers in the independent comic book world. 12-Gauge Comics is a home for unique stories and fiction that larger corporate publishers don’t have the flexibility to publish.
Initially, Gardner’s target audience was comic book fans that frequent the roughly 1,500 comic retail stores across the nation. But not too long ago he realized there’s another audience out there worth gunning for—film producers and movie studios.
Quality counts with both audiences. “The goal at 12-Gauge, first and foremost, is to produce good comics. If we take our eyes off of that, we’re done,” Gardner says.
Gardner’s unique business model has mushroomed his offerings from zero in 2004 to 12 in 2010. He anticipates adding five new titles in 2011. It’s also allowed him to attract the best creators—writers and artists—in the industry. At any given time, he works with roughly 15 of them.
Typically, comic book creators hold no long-term interest in the titles they write or draw. They are paid by the page. Drawing Batman? That’s nice, but you won’t see a dime when the dark knight appears on the big screen. Work with 12-Gauge, though, and you’ll be given a significant financial interest in the properties you develop. If the film rights to your title are sold, it won’t just be Gardner getting a check.
Says Gardner, “I only work with established creators that want to tell a story they can’t tell anywhere else—something they’re invested in. I work with guys that draw Batman and Spider-Man. But when they work with 12-Gauge, they get the creative freedom to tell their own stories. That’s why we’re seeing success in comic book stores and Hollywood.”
After publishing his first anthology, “The Ride,” Gardner was approached by Illuminati Entertainment, which agreed to act as a manager for 12-Gauge. After a few years of publishing, 12-Gauge began working with the William Morris Agency, the largest talent agency in Hollywood.
“How crazy is that?” asks Gardner. “In 2004, I had no idea what a manager or agent does. Now I’ve got the best representation in the business, and I’m sitting in Alabama making comic books.”
Gardner’s not terribly concerned with profits on the retail side. They’re nice, but they’re nothing compared to the money a comic book publisher sees with a box office hit. “Wanted,” a summer blockbuster in 2008, was based on an independent comic book. It pulled in $135 million, not including DVD sales. Who wouldn’t want to sink their teeth into a piece of that pie?
“Red,” also adapted from an independent comic book, hit theaters in October 2010. Its all-star cast includes Bruce Willis and Morgan Freeman. Mix that with the outstanding story taken from the comic and it’s not hard to understand why expectations for the film are high.
Four 12-Gauge titles are currently in different stages of development with major film producers. That’s an unprecedented number for a young publisher. And while nothing’s ever guaranteed in Hollywood, Gardner is optimistic. “All it takes is one,” he says.
Gardner brings star power to his books. Teaming up with well-known celebrities appeals to the public and gives him the access he needs to move around in the entertainment world. He’s paired with actress Rosario Dawson (“Sin City”), country music superstar Trace Adkins, and professional wrestler and New York Times #1 Bestselling author Mick Foley.
To bring still more cachet—and Hollywood eyeballs—to his titles, Gardner also works his business model in reverse, bringing film properties, such as “Boondock Saints,” to his stable. “This was my first stab at handling a licensed property,” Gardner says. “It’s been a home run for us on the retail level. And it doesn’t hurt to publish a comic for Sony Pictures.”
While he loves the comic book industry, Gardner’s no longer satisfied with simply producing quality comics. He’s looking west towards Hollywood and seeing the 12-Gauge logo on the big screen.
Paul Fairchild is a freelance contributor to Business Alabama. He lives in Edmond, Okla.
