In 1986, inspired by the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals, American publisher, writer, and producer Mike Richardson made this idea a reality. Over 30 years later and Dark Horse Comics continues to pump out a roster of new titles as well as several licensed works. But how did Mike Richardson come to build this award-winning publishing house?
The Portland native was born on June 29, 1950 and graduated from Portland State University, where he majored in art and played for the basketball team. While in college, Richardson worked as a freelance artist and amassed a list of clients he planned on using to start an art agency. After getting married and having his first daughter, Richardson moved to Bend, Oregon and opened the pop culture store Pegasus Fantasy Books. Richardson later renamed the store Things From Another World, and the store grew to include 11 locations across 3 states. As online sales began to gain more favor, Richardson decided to reduce the number of brick-and-mortar locations.
Over the years, Richardson hosted writers and artists for signings in his retail stores. He frequently heard the creators complaining about how they didn’t own the characters they created. Using the funds from his retail operation, Richardson started his own publishing company that offered ownership to those creating intellectual properties. Along with the help of writer Randy Stradley, Dark Horse Comics released its first publication, Dark Horse Presents #1. The rest, as they say, is history. Dark Horse Comics quickly grew to include projects such as Frank Miller and Geof Darrow’s Hard Boiled, Miller’s Sin City and 300, Mike Mignola’s Hellboy, and Eric Powell’s The Goon.
Richardson’s interest in Japanese pop culture inspired the company to branch into American manga with titles including Kazuo Koike and Goseki Kojima’s Lone Wolf and Cub, Katsuhiro Otomo’s Akira, and Masamune Shirow’s Ghost in the Shell. Dark Horse followed theses successes with two of the longest running Japanese manga titles, Hiroaki Samura’s Blade of the Immortal and Kosuke Fujishima’s Oh My Goddess!. The company later published licensed works such as Aliens, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Conan, and Star Wars. Richardson later formed Dark Horse Entertainment, which has since developed numerous projects based on Dark Horse properties or licensed properties.
Two of his own creations, The Mask and TimeCop both topped the box office charts, and in 2008 he received an Emmy for the documentary, Mr. Warmth The Don Rickles Project. Along with running Dark Horse Comics and Dark Horse Entertainment, Richardson has several titles including The Secret, Living with the Dead, Cut, Comics Between the Panels and Blast Off!. In addition to his Emmy award, Richardson has also won several Eisner and Hugo awards, as well as a coveted spot in the Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide Hall of Fame.
Richardson recently announced that global video game developer/publisher Embracer Group was acquiring Dark Horse Media. In the new relationship, Richardson will remain as the CEO of the company.
