Founded in 1986 by a comic shop owner named Mike Richardson, Dark Horse is one of the most versatile comics companies out there.
Dark Horse publishes a little bit of everything; Indie art comics, a number of "creator-owned" series such as
Hellboy and
Sin City, and even licensed comics like
Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Season 8 (which was their idea) and
Star Wars Expanded Universe. In addition, they were one of the major early publishers of English-translated
Manga in the West before the
TokyoPop boom, bringing over titles like
AKIRA,
Ah! My Goddess,
Gunsmith Cats,
Hellsing and
Ghost in the Shell.
They even had an original universe for a short time in its
Comics' Greatest World imprint,, though it was eventually dropped due to poor sales/lack of interest. They also recently gained a subset (Dark Horse Books) dedicated to non-comics and the word-based sort of book. They've also printed all sorts of other things (including a collection of
Playboy interviews and even health books). It doesn't matter
what it is, Dark Horse will publish it.
This open policy has been the key to Dark Horse's success, allowing them to survive the
comic crash.
One of the big five comic companies of the
Modern Age, alongside
DC Comics,
Marvel Comics,
Image Comics, and
Archie Comics.
Things they publish include:
Licensed comics:
Other series: