The company was distinctive in that it mostly published one-shots and limited series, with only a couple of their titles running for more than four issues. In many ways representative of the boom period of independent comic book publishing, Millennium thrived in the early years of the 1990s and fell on lean times as the decade came to a close.
Publishing history
Origins
Millennium Publications was founded in 1990 in Tampa, Florida, by Mark Ellis, Melissa Martin, and Paul Davis,[2] with veteran comics creator Ellis serving as chief writer, and his wife Melissa[3] as vice-president and art director. Co-founder Davis also edited a number of titles, especially in the period 1993 to 1995.[2]
The company's first offerings, in 1990, were the series Anne Rice's The Mummy, inspired by her novel, The Mummy, or Ramses the Damned, with contributions from the likes of Ellis, John Hebert, Mark Menendez, and Jim Mooney, among others. The Mummy ran 12 issues in all, making it the company's longest-running title. Also published in 1990 was The Wild Wild West: The Night of the Iron Tyrants, a four-issue "sequel" to the TV series written by Ellis with art by Darryl Banks, and John Hebert with color art by Melissa Ellis and Deirdre DeLay.
In 1991, Millennium debuted a series of comics titles featuring Lester Dent's Doc Savage, featuring work by Ellis, Banks, Mike Wieringo, Tony Harris, Adam Hughes, Brian Stelfreeze, Steve Stiles, and Doug Wildey, among others. Ellis wrote the four-issue limited series Doc Savage: The Monarch of Armageddon, penciled by Darryl Banks, which was assessed by The Comics Buyer's Guide Catalog of Comic Books as coming the "closest to the original, capturing all the action, humanity, and humor of the original novels".[citation needed]
Also in 1991, Ellis conceived and scripted the critically acclaimed Nosferatu: Plague of Terror, a four-part series that provided a complete story of the title character's origin quite apart from the Dracula legend, featuring art by Rik Levins and Richard Pace. Finally, Ellis again turned to adapting and expanding another writer's concepts (H.P. Lovecraft), with the three-issue limited series Cthulhu: The Whisperer in Darkness, which featured the first appearance of the Miskatonic Project with art by Darryl Banks and Don Heck.
In 1992-93, Millennium introduced another Anne Rice-related project, Anne Rice's The Witching Hour, which ran for five issues, the first four of which were co-published with Comico: The Comic Company.[4] The title was intended to run 13 issues but only made it to issue #5 before being canceled.[5]
During this period, Millennium also published its first nonfiction title, Don Hillsman II and Ryan Monihan's By Any Means Necessary: The Life and Times of Malcolm X, an unauthorized biography in comic book form. Before leaving Millennium at the end of 1993, Ellis once again flexed his adaptation skills with The Man from U.N.C.L.E.: The Birds of Prey Affair two-parter.
Ownership transition and relocation
At the end of 1993, co-owners Ellis and Martin, who also functioned as the editorial and production staff, sold their shares in Millennium to Davis, but retained ownership of a number of comics properties, such as Nosferatu, The Miskatonic Project, and the new Justice Machine.[7] When Ellis and Martin left Millennium, Davis moved the company headquarters from Tampa to Rhode Island, first to Narragansett, and finally to Kingston.
Transition from licensed properties to original material
The mid-1990s saw the company publishing more original material, still mostly in the horror vein, though it also published adaptations of material created by Robert E. Howard (The Black Reaper) and Arthur Conan Doyle (The Lost World). The Black Reaper was notable in that it featured Howard's poetry alongside illustrations by comic book artists; it was halfway between a book and a comic book. During this period, Millennium also picked up Wendy Snow-Lang's Night's Children series from the defunct Fantaco/Tundra.
In 1994, Millennium acquired Arvin Loudermilk and Mike Iverson's Vigil from Innovation Publishing, first collecting material originally published by Innovation, and then launching its own line of Vigil limited series. These ran through 1996.
In 1996, Millennium also debuted Dean Haspiel and Josh Neufeld's eclectic two-man anthology Keyhole, which ran for three issues in 1996-1997 (until it moved over to Millennium's Modern Comics imprint for issue #4; Keyhole then was picked up by Top Shelf Productions for the remainder of its six-issue run).
Modern Comics creator-owned imprint
1997 was notable in that Millennium debuted its creator-owned line, Modern Comics, which featured creators from the minicomic, self-publishing, and zine scenes. This new direction for the company didn't help their fortunes, however, as in 1998 Millennium/Modern only published a handful of comics. The company didn't release any comics in 1999, and Modern's only title in 2000 was Yvonne Mojica's The Bathroom Girls Guide to Christmas Chaos.
Closure
In 2000, Millennium/Modern closed its doors for good.
Millennial Concepts
In late 2007, Ellis and Martin formed Millennial Concepts, reviving the stylized "M" that had served as Millennium's first company logo. In July 2008, Millennial Concepts joined forces with Caliber Comics founder Gary Reed's Transfuzion Publications in a joint graphic novel-publishing venture.[7]
Titles
Doug Wildey's cover for Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze #2.
Anne Rice's the Witching Hour (5 issues, 1992–1993; the first four issues co-published with Comico) — by Terry Collins, Faye Perozich, and Duncan Eagleson
Anne Rice's the Witching Hour: the Beginning (1994)
Collector's Dracula (2 issues, 1994) — reprinting Dracula stories originally published by Millennium, Eclipse Comics, and Caliber Comics
Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze (9 issues, 1991–1992) — anthology with stories by Mark Ellis, Terry Collins, and Charles Moore; and art by Darryl Banks, Scott Benefiel,[9] Nick Choles, Dave Dorman, Mark Evans, Tony Harris, Adam Hughes, Paul Orban, Brian Stelfreeze, Steve Stiles, Doug Wildey, Jim Amash,[10] Rick Davis, and Robert Lewis
Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze — Devil's Thoughts (3 issues, 1992)
Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze — Doom Dynasty (2 issues, 1991–1992) — art by Mike Wieringo
Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze — Repel (1991)
Doc Savage: The Manual of Bronze (2 issues, 1992) — by Mark Ellis and Darryl Banks
Doc Savage: The Monarch of Armageddon (4 issues, 1992) — by Mark Ellis and Darryl Banks
H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu (3 issues, 1991–1992) — written by Terry Collins and Paul Davis with art by Don Heck and Robert Lewis
H.P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu: The Festival (3 issues, 1993-1994) — by Roy Thomas, Brian Michael Bendis, and David W. Mack
Pat Savage: Woman of Bronze (1991) — one-shot with stories by Mark Ellis and art by Darryl Banks, Scott Benefiel,[9] Mark Evans, Adam Hughes, Pat Savage, Jim Amash,[10] and Robert Lewis
Weird Tales Illustrated (2 issues, Jan. 1992) — anthology with stories by Les Daniels, Paul Davis, and Faye Perozich, with art by John Bolton, Kelley Jones, and Eddy Newell
The Wild Wild West: The Night of the Iron Tyrants (4 issues, 1990) — co-written by Paul Davis and Mark Ellis with art by Robert Lewis
Original titles
After Dark (1995) — by Kim Elizabeth, Wendy Snow-Lang, Arvin Loudermilk, Mike Iverson, Faye Perozich, and Julio Brazo[12]
Armageddon Rising: The Grand Equation (2 issues, 1997)
