EA/IDW Publishing deal
Army of Two and Dragon Age comics on the way.
Redwood City, CA – October 5, 2009 – Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) announced today that it has signed a deal with IDW Publishing to expand two of its intellectual properties, Army of Two™ and Dragon Age™, into comics under a new EA™ Comics imprint with IDW beginning in January. EA and IDW will launch monthly, ongoing series for both Army of Two and Dragon Age. Each issue will be published in print and distributed nationally at comic book outlets, with digital versions released for iPhone™ and iPod® Touch and other emerging digital platforms.
“We’ve seen an increasing number of video game tie-ins with comics over the last few years. This marks another step in our strategy for extending EA’s wholly-owned game properties to new media. It is exhilarating to be working with the comic book creators directly,” said Mike Quigley, Group Vice President, Global Marketing, EA Games Label.
Under terms of the agreement, EA will fund and manage the creative aspect of the comic book series, while IDW will be responsible for printing and distribution. IDW is the leader in digital comic book distribution and the nation’s third largest comic book publisher overall.
”This is a great opportunity for IDW to work with a worldwide leader in video games,” said Greg Goldstein, chief operating officer for IDW. “We look forward to bringing a tremendous amount of great content into the comics market.”
Written by veteran comic book writer Peter Milligan (X-Men, Batman, Hellblazer), Army of Two is being published as a comic starting in January 2010. Rising star Chester Ocampo is the cover artist while the interior artist/penciler, Dexter Soy, is a ‘hot newcomer’ on the comic scene. Soy’s work suggests influences from well-known comic artists such as Whilce Portacio and Leinil Francis Yu. The first story arc, “Across the Border”, follows ex-Army Rangers Salem and Rios as they form their own Private Military Corporation: Trans World Operations. The story of the comic follow the events of the first Army of Two game but takes place before the deadly invasion of Shanghai by The 40th Day initiative in the videogame sequel. In the comic, Salem and Rios get more than they bargained for as they are unexpectedly caught in a brewing war between the Mexican Army, drug cartels, and The Maras – one of the most powerful street gangs in Mexico.
Inspired by the highly-anticipated BioWare™ RPG, Dragon Age: Origins, the Dragon Age comic book series will be written by award-winning fiction writer Orson Scott Card (Ender’s Game, Ultimate Iron Man). The cover artist is the critically acclaimed Humberto Ramos. Story details and the interior artist are expected to be announced shortly.
To sign up for the EA Comics mailing list, register at: http://www.eacomics.com. The site will have complete information on all the EA comic book series, as well as unique “behind the scenes” content, news, blogs and artwork. The site will feature weekly content updates to keep audiences apprised of the latest developments on current and upcoming projects.
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About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), headquartered in Redwood City, California, is a leading global interactive entertainment software company. Founded in 1982, the Company develops, publishes, and distributes interactive software worldwide for video game systems, personal computers, wireless devices and the Internet. Electronic Arts markets its products under four brand names: EA SPORTSTM, EATM, EA Mobile™ and POGOTM. In fiscal 2009, EA posted GAAP net revenue of $4.2 billion and had 31 titles that sold more than one million copies. EA's homepage and online game site is www.ea.com. More information about EA's products and full text of press releases can be found on the Internet at http://info.ea.com.
About IDW
IDW is an award-winning publisher of comic books, graphic novels and trade paperbacks, based in San Diego, California. Renowned for its diverse catalog of licensed and independent titles, IDW publishes some of the most successful and popular titles in the industry, including: Hasbro's The Transformers and G.I. JOE, Paramount's Star Trek; Fox's Angel; the BBC's Doctor Who; and television's #1 prime time series CBS' CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. IDW is also home to the Library of American Comics imprint, which publishes classic comic reprints; Yoe! Books, a partnership with Yoe! Studios; and is the print publisher for ComicMix.
IDW's original horror series, 30 Days of Night, was launched as a major motion picture in October 2007 by Sony Pictures and was the #1 film in its first week of release. More information about the company can be found at IDWPublishing.com.
EA, EA SPORTS, EA Mobile, POGO and Army of Two are trademarks or registered trademarks of Electronic Arts Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries. Dragon Age and BioWare are trademarks or registered trademarks of EA International (Studio and Publishing) Ltd. iPhone, iPod and iPod touch are trademarks of Apple Inc. registered in the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective licensors.
Contact:
Tammy Schachter
Electronic Arts
650-628-7223
tschachter@ea.com
AnnaMaria White
IDW Publishing
858-270-1315 ext 121
annamaria@idwpublishing.com