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Steven Paul’s SP Media Group made a splash in a big way at New York Comic Con, relaunching the iconic Atlas Comics, a publisher founded by Martin Goodman (from Marvel and Timely Comics) 50 years ago to the date!
As part of the relaunch, Atlas also entered into an exclusive partnership with Walmart to distribute classic merchandise of the company’s various comic book characters. Atlas is also ALREADY in development with Paramount Pictures for a live-action film.
The relaunch of Atlas Comics is being led by Steven Paul, entertainment veteran with dozens of major blockbuster films to his credit and chairman of SP Media Group/Atlas Comics. Other key partners include Jason Goodman, publisher and grandson of Martin Goodman, and Jeff Rovin, Atlas/Seaboard’s former editor-in-chief and writer of best-selling Tom Clancy’s Op-Center novels.
“I was lucky enough to be involved with Marvel Studios in the early days with Avi Arad and Kevin Feige and Ike Perlmutter with the Ghost Rider films,” Paul told Nerd Initiative at NYCC. “Originally when they had a company called Toy Biz, they were doing the toys for me for a franchise I created called Baby Geniuses.”
He added, “When I was told about Atlas Comics by a friend saying that he had an ex-roommate who was the grandson of Martin Goodman and who owned Atlas Comics of the seventies … You have this sort of treasure chest of great comic books with an extraordinary universe that has not really gotten out there yet.”
One of Atlas’ most popular characters, Devilina, will be reprised in a live-action film that is in development with Paramount Pictures, drawing from the original story about the sister of Satan who must confront her demonic powers and banish her brother back to hell.
“I love being able to create all this from the beginning, the ground floor of it all,” Paul said. “We have some extraordinary initial action figures that were done by some of the greats. And we have Devilina, who will have the project in development with Paramount.”
As to why superheroes still have staying power after more than 20 years of success in pop culture, Paul said it’s simple.
“I think people love the idea of superheroes. A lot of times, they are just ordinary people who become superheroes,” he said. “So it’s that superhero in every person waiting to come out, which is why we see people walking around here at NYCC in the costumes. That’s their superhero waiting to come out, you know? And I think that’s one of the things that resonates with people. People love the idea of thinking, ‘I can be a superhero.'”
