Black Mask Studios

Website: blackmaskstudios.com

Style Classification: Creator Owned Content

Notable Works: Young Terrorists; 4 Kids Walk into a Bank

Story:

Founded in the recent past by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz and comic industry vets Steve Niles and Matt Pizzolo, Blask Mask Studios claims to bring the punk rock ethic to the comics industry.

Their offers beyond the two listed above, offers like Space Riders (psychedelic swashbuckling in space), The Disciples (ghost story in space), and Mayday (drug fiends who may or may not be at the center of a Satanic overtake on LA) show the exciting and bizarre reaches the company strives toward.

4 Kids Walk into a Bank is fun and original, with a look that feels like an older time and a plot that's novel in its approach. Young Terrorists was named to many "Best Of..." lists for 2015 in independent comic categories for its story of the escaped daughter of an assassinated kingpin who leads her fellow escapees against shadowy governmental forces.

If Black Mask Studios can avoid another prolonged legal snafu (like the one that threatened to shelve this year's slate of releases), and if they continue on their current path, the future is very exciting and plenty more success will find them. I find myself as a serious devotee, for what's it worth.

Special Status: SOLID COMPANY