New San Diego Publisher Magma Comix Debuts at Comic-Con with Five Titles

As a veteran of the comic book industry, writer Denton Tipton has worked on everything, from “G.I. Joe” to “The X-Files.”

But after 15 years in the business, Tipton decided to branch out on his own and start a new comic book publisher, Magma Comix.

Based in San Diego, the company launched last year and published its first of five titles this past  April. This weekend, Tipton and others with Magma are making their presence felt at Comic-Con and talking about building upon their initial success.

“It’s been a really wonderful, prideful feeling going from nothing to having an idea in our head for this company to having, a year later, five books out, working with dozens of great creators, having all these great products and comics for everyone to see,” said editor-in-chief Bobby Curnow, who worked with Tipton to create the company.

Tipton came out to his first Comic-Con in 2007 and fell in love with it and with San Diego. He was was a journalist at the time, working at the Knoxville News Sentinel in Tennessee and, later, as a copy editor, among other jobs, at the San Diego Union-Tribune.

But his passion for comics led him to getting a job as a book editor with IDW, a publisher that was based in San Diego before moving to Los Angeles last year.

Eventually, he started talking with Curnow and others about creating their own company. Last year, they announced their plans. And a few months ago, they began putting out their initial titles. 

Those include “The Principles of Necromancy,” “Silicon Bandits” and “The Scale Trade,” a book about dragons in the modern world.

“We’ve got something for everyone,” said Curnow. “We got horror, we got sci-fi, we got adventure.”

Curnow said the company wants to make comics simple and not as impenetrable as some modern books that have complicated, long-running storylines and that sell multiple covers called variants.

So, Magma Comix is trying to reach comics fans by producing only two covers and making the price of the basic cover issue just $3.99.

“We want to make this as accessible as possible to our fans,” said Joel Elad, director of sales and marketing.

Magma is also focused on giving more attention and freedom to writers and artists. 

“Let them do things they can’t do with any other comics,” said Tipton.

This year, they have their first booth on the Comic-Con exhibits floor. But they also sell their comics from retailers and online at magmacomix.com.

More comics are on the way. During a presentation at Comic-Con, Magma announced plans for new titles that will bring their offerings up to nine.

“It’s amazing,” said Tipton, of the company’s journey.