Written by ATC

In the forever fluctuating world of comic publishing, it seems one individual has decided to reject the uncertainty and take the bull by the horns – if the bull were, indeed, a publishing company and the horns were, well, comic books. That individual is Scott Dunbier, a name not unheard of in the comic publishing world.

Dunbier, who parted ways with IDW in April this year leaving a significant gap in their editorial team, evidently did so with a glint in his eye and a plan in his back pocket. It has been revealed that he is launching his own publishing house, cheekily named ACT 4.

This tidbit of news, somewhat draped in mystery, was divulged via social media and accompanied by a striking logo design emitting an aura of both childlike creativity and professional gravitas. This, we discovered, was courtesy of the one and only Chip Kidd.

In a statement that can either read bold or suicidal, Dunbier disclosed, “The goal of ACT 4 will be to create books—comics, graphic novels, collections, Artist’s Editions—that are bound together by the quality of their content. This venture into unknown territory is both thrilling and trepidation-inducing, but I am passionate about the books I work on, and it’s time to take a chance on myself.”

Well, stranger things have happened, haven’t they?

For those who are less familiar with the world of comic book publishing, Scott Dunbier doesn’t have a portfolio that you can simply ignore. The man practically invented the Artists Edition format. Throughout his tenure at WildStorm/DC and IDW Publishing, which lasted from 1995 up until the aforementioned split, Dunbier presided over an array of praiseworthy projects. These included editor duties on Alan Moore’s America’s Best Comics line, the Cliffhanger imprint, and Darwyn Cooke’s series of Parker graphic novels, besides the laudable invention of both Absolute Editions and Artist’s Editions.

And let’s not forget the illustrious cabinet’s worth of Eisner, Harvey and Ringo awards it seems he barely has room to display. Bearing these accomplishments in mind, it seems like he’s been somewhat dragging his feet on the independent venture front.

Dunbier previously had updated his fans and followers via a Social Media post, stating, “I am excited for the future. The idea may seem a little insane, but I have made a decision to establish my own publishing company. I choose not to go into detail at present about my publishing strategies, or even reveal the name of my company.”

He continued, “In the coming weeks, I’ll be dealing with all the administrative tasks necessary for this creation and will provide periodic updates via social media. I aim to announce my inaugural books, if everything goes according to plan, at the San Diego Comic-Con in July.”

Suffice to say, with San Diego Comic-Con on the near horizon, eyes will be keenly trained on Dunbier’s panel on July 26th for the debut list of publishing titles from ACT 4. Until then, here is a look at BATMAN: YEAR ONE artists edition cover, to remind us of Dunbier’s contributions to IDW.