Press Release
Dynamite Entertainment, a leading publisher of English language comic books and graphic novels, is proud to announce a publishing deal with Fleischer Studios and King Features Syndicate that would bring Betty Boop, the first female animated screen star, to comics for the first time in over twenty years.
Nick Barrucci, CEO and Publisher of Dynamite Entertainment, says, “Betty Boop is timeless, like Superman, Marilyn Monroe, Mickey Mouse, or Louis Armstrong. She’s a fixture of American culture, with such a wide appeal that her image can be found anywhere from a young child’s wardrobe to the toughest biker’s tattoos. Every generation over the past 85 years has embraced her charm and personality. Personally, I can recall her appearance in the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit as the defining moment in which I first fell in love with the character. We hope that Dynamite’s upcoming line of original Betty Boop comic books and graphic novels will serve as the defining moment for a whole new generation of ‘Boopers’.”
First introduced in 1930, Betty Boop was created by Max Fleischer for his Talkartoons series, the first “talkies” of animation, which Max’s company, Fleischer Studios, produced for Paramount. Mae Questel provided Betty’s distinctive voice. By 1932, Betty — considered to be the first and only female animated screen star — had taken the country by storm. Betty starred in more than 100 cartoons, 90 of which are included in the official Betty Boop series, which ended in 1939. Since then, Betty has appeared in dozens of hit movies, television specials, and commercials. She was the first cartoon character to be profiled by A&E’s Biography series.
Today, as the worldwide exclusive licensing agent for Betty Boop, King Features works closely with Fleischer Studios to keep Betty entertaining millions of fans and collectors worldwide. Betty Boop’s popularity shines through her prevalence in pop culture. She is one of the most popular and successful licensed characters in entertainment history, with nearly 200 licensees in the United States and nearly twice as many internationally that produce quality products bearing Betty’s likeness in virtually every category.
Betty Boop will be solicited in an upcoming edition of Diamond Comic Distributors’ Previews catalog, the premier source of merchandise for the comic book specialty market. Comic book fans are encouraged to reserve copies of Betty Boop with their local comic book retailers. Betty Boop will also be available for individual customer purchase through digital platforms courtesy of Comixology, Dynamite Digital, iVerse, and Dark Horse Digital. Fans and retailers are encouraged to follow Dynamite Entertainment’s official social media channels for the latest updates regarding project development and release dates.
About Dynamite Entertainment:
Dynamite was founded in 2004 and is home to several best-selling comic book titles and properties, including The Boys, The Shadow, Red Sonja, Warlord of Mars, Bionic Man, A Game of Thrones, and more. Dynamite owns and controls an extensive library with over 3,000 characters (which includes the Harris Comics and Chaos Comics properties), such as Vampirella, Pantha, Evil Ernie, Smiley the Psychotic Button, Chastity, and Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt. In addition to their critically-acclaimed titles and bestselling comics, Dynamite works with some of the most high profile creators in comics and entertainment, including Kevin Smith, Alex Ross, Neil Gaiman, Andy Diggle, John Cassaday, Garth Ennis, Jae Lee, Marc Guggenheim, Mike Carey, Jim Krueger, Greg Pak, Brett Matthews, Matt Wagner, Gail Simone, Steve Niles, James Robinson, and a host of up-and-coming new talent. Dynamite is consistently ranked in the upper tiers of comic book publishers and several of their titles – including Alex Ross and Jim Krueger’s Project Superpowers – have debuted in the Top Ten lists produced by Diamond Comics Distributors. In 2005, Diamond awarded the company a GEM award for Best New Publisher and another GEM in 2006 for Comics Publisher of the Year (under 5%) and again in 2011. The company has also been nominated for and won several industry awards, including the prestigious Harvey and Eisner Awards.
About Fleischer Studios:
Created in the early 20th century by Max and Dave Fleischer, Fleischer Studios was a pioneer in the art and craft of animation, responsible for creating and animating some of the most beloved characters in American animation – including Betty Boop and Koko the Clown. The studio was also renowned for its animation of two extremely popular comic-strip characters: Popeye (originally created by Elzie Segar) and Superman (originally created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster). For more information on Betty Boop and other Fleischer cartoons, please visit www.fleischerstudios.com.
About King Features Syndicate:
King Features Syndicate is a member of Hearst Entertainment and Syndication Group, which combines Hearst Corporation’s cable network partnerships, TV programming activities, newspaper syndication and merchandise licensing operations. King Features is the world’s premier distributor of syndicated features to newspapers, magazines, web portals, mobile outlets and news organizations worldwide. It is one of the largest and most experienced organizations in merchandise licensing and entertainment. In addition to Betty Boop, it represents some of the most recognizable global brands, including Popeye the Sailor Man, Flash Gordon, The Phantom, and Hägar the Horrible. For more information, please visit www.kingfeatures.com. Follow us on Twitter @KingFeatures. Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/KingFeatures.
