Deluxe Comics

Deluxe Comics

Parent company	Singer Publishing
Status	defunct, 1986
Founded	1984
Founder	David M. Singer
Country of origin	United States
Publication types	Comic books

Deluxe Comics was a short-lived comic book publishing company which published one title, Wally Wood's T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents.

History

Deluxe Comics was a division of Singer Publishing, founded by David M. Singer. It lasted from 1984 to 1986.

T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents controversy

In 1984, Deluxe began publishing Wally Wood's T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, featuring some of the best artists of the era, including George Pérez, Dave Cockrum, Keith Giffen, Murphy Anderson and Jerry Ordway. Singer claimed the group was in the public domain, a claim disputed by John Carbonaro. Carbonaro was publisher of JC Comics, which had acquired the T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents rights from defunct publisher Tower Comics (which had gone out of business in 1969). In fact, JC had published several issues of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents in 1983, the last of which was published through Archie Comics' Red Circle Comics line.

A lawsuit initiated by Carbonaro was eventually settled in US District Court in favor of Carbonaro, with Singer acknowledging Carbonaro’s registered copyrights and trademark. Under the settlement, Carbonaro also received, among other things, an assignment of all rights to “Wally Woods T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents,” previously published by Singer, and an undisclosed sum of money.

Closure

Deluxe Comics closed its doors in 1986 when several major distributors failed to pay sizeable past-due invoices.^{[citation needed]}

Lodestone Comics

Lodestone Comics was a sister company to Deluxe Comics^[1] and published five short lived titles: Codename Danger, Evangeline Special, the Futurians, the March Hare, and a one shot edition of The Honeymooners.^[2]

Notes

1. ^ Irving, Christopher "John A. Carbonaro v. David M. Singer" The Thunder Agents Companion 2005 p.75 Online version at Google Books
2. ^ Lodestone Comics at the Grand Comics Database