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Comic books are one of the most popular forms of media in the world. With all the movies, TV shows, and video games being made, it seems almost impossible to start a comic book company. Marvel and DC have a head start of over 80 years and have established characters that people love and adore. To create a comic book company, you would need to work ten times as hard just to get the slightest bit of attention. Some may look at this challenge and accept defeat, while others have rolled up their sleeves and are ready to fight.
Breyden Boyd and Anthony Carranza started a comic company known as Shape Comics. The company is named after their debut character, Shape-Man, and is heavily inspired by classic comic books. Both Boyd and Carranza draw with a retro art style and tell classic stories like “The Calico Kid,” an old western, and more recently “Sonic Saturn,” which is an outer space adventure.
“Shape Comics is really just me and Anthony. We’re two guys who are total nerds, making comic books together,” said Boyd. “We met through Instagram and realized that we both had a similar vibe and love for the retro comic book style. We also shared similar goals, and it got to the point where we could publish our own comic books.”
On November 24, 2020, Boyd started a TikTok series where he would redraw superheroes he made up as a child. The series was popular from the first video, and as he kept uploading, commenters would ask for more. Understanding what the fans wanted, Boyd published his first comic, “Shape-Man,” on November 3, 2021.
Since then, Boyd has teamed up with Carranza to create two more “Shape-Man” comics, “The Calico Kid” series, and a new story called “Sonic Saturn.”
“I think one of the most enjoyable parts of what we are doing is the fact that we are trying to bring a breath of fresh air to the comic book industry,” said Carranza. “Most of the market is saturated with public domain characters like Batman and Wonder Woman, which is great, but it’s always nice to add a little something more, especially to the genre of superheroes.”
Shape Comics is just one of many independent comic book companies dedicated to creating great stories. However, if you truly want to compete with Marvel and DC, you need to reach their level with video games, movies, apps, and more. That’s exactly what Brent Trayce Sands aims to do with his indie comic company, Impound Comics.
Impound Comics is a comic book company based in Sacramento, CA. Their breakout anti-hero, Impound, is an MMA fighter and tow truck driver who gains superpowers. Sands got the inspiration to create him after watching “Black Panther.” After writing his first comic book, he promoted it as “Sacramento’s first superhero!” This caught the attention of the management of the Sacramento Kings, who later offered Sands a spot in their shopping center for an Impound Comics store.
“We had engine behind us during our launch,” said Sands. “The news, the shopping center, people who knew me. I was a promoter, so I was good at getting the word out. We had a lot of support from the start. On our first day, we had a line outside.”
Today, Impound Comics is expanding into other areas besides comics. They have an anime series featuring the character Impound, and there is a mobile game available on the app store.
“I had to look at myself as a comic book consumer,” said Sands. “I didn’t have a wall of comic books, and I wasn’t diving into every new issue when it came out. My experience was more focused on TV shows and games. I was a casual fan. I believe the bigger audience is like that.”
Impound Comics aims to create stories not just for comic fans, but for everyone. Although Sands is branching out, he is still staying true to the roots of where it all started—comics. Impound is about to release the first couple of issues in a graphic novel.
Comic books are a fun way to tell stories and bring people together. Shape Comics wants to bring out the best of what comics can be, while Impound Comics wants to get more people involved. Unlike big companies like Marvel and DC, independent comics are driven by love and passion for their work.
“I think the absolute best part about making comic books is the process of formulating and world-building that comes from establishing an original intellectual property,” said Carranza. “Studying the history that your work is based on and all that planning is the most fun for me.”
