Oni Press

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Oni Press is an American independent comic book publisher based in Portland, Oregon.

Video Oni Press

History

It was founded in 1997 by Bob Schreck and Joe Nozemack with the goal of publishing comics and graphic novels they would want to read. Unsatisfied with the material that was dominating the industry, they believed firmly that sequential art could be used to tell virtually any story. Schreck left the company in 1999, and Oni Press is currently owned by Nozemack, James Lucas Jones, and Charlie Chu.

The company name derives from oni, the Japanese word for the devils or demons popular in Japanese folklore.

Maps Oni Press

Overview

Oni Press used the term "real mainstream," coined by Stephen Holland of the UK comic shop Page 45, to suggest that the subject matter it publishes is more in line with the popular genres of other media, such as thrillers, romances and realistic drama. For the most part, Oni Press avoids publishing superhero titles, unless interesting creators approach these concepts from an unusual angle. However, at one point, Rich Johnston of All The Rage reported that Oni Press and Marvel Comics were creating a publishing deal for Oni creators to work on Marvel superhero characters, but the deal fell apart.

Oni Press publishes few comic books on an ongoing monthly basis - Marc Guggenheim's Resurrection, Antony Johnston and Christopher Mitten's Wasteland and Brian Hurrt and Cullen Bunn's Sixth Gun. Greg Rucka's Queen & Country was published monthly from 2001 to 2007. Most of its titles are either irregular recurring miniseries, often published in four to six monthly installments, or original graphic novels.

Oni Press material initially released as comic books is usually later collected into trade paperbacks. They have published well over 100 titles, with multiple books undergoing reprints due to sustained popularity. Several of their books have won the Eisner Award including: Bryan Lee O'Malley's Scott Pilgrim, Rick Spear and Chuck BB's Black Metal, Hope Larson's Grey Horses, and Greg Rucka's Whiteout: Melt and Queen & Country, with many more receiving nominations.

Oni Press had a film and television production unit, Closed on Mondays, headed by Eric Gitter and located in Los Angeles, California. However, in 2015, because of creative differences originating from the geographical distance between offices, Oni and Gitter parted ways, and Oni established a new film and production arm, Oni Entertainment.

In 2016, the publisher launched Limerance Press, an imprint for erotic and sex-education comics, "focused on positive, diverse, and approachable stories that reflect a wide variety of emotional and intimate experiences".