A new merger is on the horizon for the independent comics publisher AFTERSHOCK Comics, and the television production and distribution company Rive Gauche are joining forces to form AfterShock Media.
AFTERSHOCK Comics, which publishes such comics such as Animosity, Babyteeth, and Witch Hammer, will be using the new partnership to develop the existing properties for the big and small screen, to move them into new formats, including television, film, narrative podcasts, and gaming. Currently, the company properties The Kaiju Score and Undone by Blood are already in various stages of production.
Jon Kramer, the Rive Gauche CEO, will take the lead role as CEO at AfterShock Media. In a statement released on The Hollywood Reporter said about the new venture:
“Today is a milestone day for both Rive Gauche and AfterShock Comics, two companies I’ve had the pleasure of building alongside amazing visionaries, colleagues, and collaborators. The significance of this strategic union cannot be understated because our ground-breaking, diverse comic IP will now have a team to support and drive its growth into TV, film, gaming, and podcasts, fueled by the development, production, and distribution of both scripted and unscripted content. Rive Gauche and I were looking for a way to reenter the scripted space because we saw an insatiable appetite with the proliferation of channels.”
The AfterShock Comics side of things will continue to be led by chief creative officer and publisher Joe Pruett, president Lee Kramer, and editor-in-chief Mike Marts. Lee Kramer will also head up AfterShock’s film and television division. Marine Ksadzhikyan has been promoted inside Rive Gauche to the role of the chief operating officer and EVP of sales, while also taking on the role of head of business development and strategy at AfterShock Media.
Stay tuned to Comic Watch for further updates and projects coming out of both Aftershock Comics and Aftershock Media.
