Floating World Comics
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail, Publishing |
| Founded | November 2006 |
| Headquarters | Lloyd Center, , United States |
Number of locations | 1 |
| Products | Comic books, graphic novels |
| Owner | Jason Leivian |
| Divisions | Gravy Toys[1] |
| Website | floatingworldcomics |
Floating World Comics is a comic book retailer and publisher located in Portland, Oregon. Owned by Jason Leivian,[2] the company specializes in alternative and independent comics, "showcasing auteur creators and the artists pushing the boundaries of 2-D sequential works."[2]
History
[edit]Floating World Comics opened in November 2006,[3] located in a "modest ActivSpace... under the I-405 freeway."[4] It soon moved to the corner of NW 4th and Couch in the Portland neighborhood of Old Town Chinatown.[2][1]
The company expanded into publishing in 2011. In 2013, Floating World took over as publisher of Arthur magazine, helping to relaunch the publication. (Arthur folded again the following year.)[5]
In February 2015, Floating World Comics became part of a distribution cooperative — managed by Alternative Comics — along with the small publishers Hic and Hoc Publications, Revival House Press, Study Group Comics, Hang Dai Editions, and Steve Lafler/Manx Media. Dubbed the Alternative Comics Publishing Co-Op, the publishers agreed to have their titles listed in distribution catalogs under the Alternative Comics banner, thus giving the publishers access to distribution from Diamond Comic Distributors and Consortium Book Sales and Distribution.[6]
In 2022, Floating World Comics moved locations to the Lloyd Center shopping mall.[2]
As of 2024, the company's titles "are distributed to the direct market through Diamond Comic Distributors and to the trade market through Consortium Book Sales."[1]
Exhibitions
[edit]Over the years, Floating World Comics held experimental animation nights, art festivals,[2] and exhibitions of cartoonists' work, including Al Columbia (2007),[7] "Spacenight: A Tribute to Bill Mantlo" (2007),[8] new comics from Croatia and Serbia (2008),[9][10] "Spacenight2: A Tribute to Bill Mantlo" (2010),[11][12] and eBoy (2013).
Publications (selected)
[edit]Ongoing and limited series
[edit]- All Time Comics Zerosis Deathscape (7 issues, 2019-2020), by Josh Bayer, Josh Simmons, Trevor Von Eeden, et al — superhero pastiche
- Black Phoenix (3 issues, 2023-2024), by Rich Tommaso
- Hyperthick (3 issues, 2021–2022), by Steve Aylett
- Night Hunters (4 issues, 2020–2021), by Alexis Ziritt and Dave Baker
- Unsmooth (2 issues, 2019–2021), by E. S. Glenn
- Slasher (5 issues, 2017–2018), by Charles Forsman — co-published with Alternative Comics
Graphic novels and one-shots
[edit]- After Land (2016), by Chris Taylor — nominated for the Doug Wright Award Pigskin Peters Award
- Algernon Blackwood's The Willows (2017?), by Nathan Carson and Sam Ford
- Amnesia: The Lost Films of Francis D. Longfellow[13] (2018), by Al Columbia — co-published with Colubmia's own PO Press
- Ariadne Auf Naxos (2013), by Julia Gfrörer[14]
- Boat Life (2022), by Tadao Tsuge
- The Coward's Hole[15] (2016), by Tyler Landry — co-published with Study Group Comics
- Cowboys and Insects (2016), by David Hine and Shaky Kane — first published digitally by Aces Weekly
- Diamond Comics #6 (2011), by Paul Pope
- Floodgate Companion (2016), by Robert Beatty (ISBN 9781942801986 OCLC 1033512652)
- The Immersion Program (2019), by Léo Quievreux[16] — translated version of a series originally published in French
- Island Of Memory vol. 1 (2013), by T. Edward Bak[14]
- Lonesome[17] (2016), by Tyler Landry — co-published with Study Group
- Object 10 (2013), by Kilian Eng[14]
- Wild Man vol. 1: Island of Memory: The Natural History of Georg Wilhelm Steller (2013), by T. Edward Bak (ISBN 978-0-9886624-4-5)
Anthologies
[edit]- St. Owl's Bay (2013) — broadsheet newspaper
- Performance (2017) — broadsheet newspaper
Free Comic Book Day mini-comic anthologies
[edit]- 2012 Brad Trip – co-published with Teenage Dinosaur, Revival House, and Sparkplug Comics
- 2013 Master P's Theater – co-published with Sparkplug Comics, Snakebomb Comix, and Teenage Dinosaur
- 2014 Barrio Mothers – co-published with Sparkplug Comics, Snakebomb Comix, and Teenage Dinosaur
- 2015 Free Stooges – co-published with Sparkplug Comics, Snakebomb Comix, and Teenage Dinosaur
References
[edit]- ^ a b c "About". FloatingWorldComics.com. Retrieved Sep 4, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e Smith, Suzette (July 29, 2022). "Floating World Comics Is Moving Out of Old Town... to the Mall". Portland Mercury.
- ^ Duin, Steve (Oct 10, 2008). "Comics Shop Confidential: The Scoop on Four Stores". The Oregonian.
- ^ Carson, Nathan (August 17, 2016). "Portland's Floating World Comics Is Celebrating its 10th Anniversary". Willamette Week.
- ^ Babcock, Jay (March 3, 2014). "May We Meet Again". Arthur Magazine. Retrieved May 6, 2015.
- ^ "Floating World joins Alternative Comics distribution co-op". Floating World Comics (Press release). Cupertino, California. Feb 18, 2015.
- ^ "'The Land of Broken Hearts' – A Rare Exhibition of Artwork by Al Columbia". Floating World Comics. Archived from the original on 2021-05-14. Retrieved 2021-10-14.
- ^ "Spacenight: A Tribute to Bill Mantlo". Floating World Comics. November 13, 2007. Archived from the original on November 22, 2010.
- ^ Sekulić, Aleksandra (2011). Nevidljivi strip. Narodna biblioteka Srbije. ISBN 978-86-7035-231-5.
- ^ "Oct. 2nd – ON THE MARGINS: NEW COMIX FROM CROATIA AND SERBIA | Floating World Comics". floatingworldcomics.com. Sep 2008. Retrieved 2016-07-28.
- ^ "Spacenite2: A Tribute to Bill Mantlo". Floating World Comics. November 16, 2010. Archived from the original on May 7, 2013.
- ^ "Spacenite 2 – Fundraiser Auctions for Bill Mantlo". Floating World Comics. December 22, 2010. Archived from the original on May 2, 2013.
- ^ Seneca, Matt (Oct 31, 2018). "Amnesia: The Lost Films of Francis D. Longfellow". The Comics Journal. Archived from the original on 2021-05-15.
- ^ a b c Spurgeon, Tom (July 19, 2013). "Floating World Comics Unpacks Forthcoming 2013 Publishing Season: Eng, Bak, Gfrörer And Alden". Comics Reporter.
- ^ Landry, Tyler (2016). The Coward's Hole. Study Group. ISBN 9781681480060.
- ^ Quievreux, Leo (2019). The Immersion Program. Translated by Vigneault, François. Floating World Comics. ISBN 978-1-942801-89-4. Retrieved 17 June 2022.
- ^ Landy, Tyler. Lonesome. Study Group.