In a press release today, Alcon Media Group and Titan Publishing revealed they have formed a publishing partnership which will expand the Blade Runner universe. This expansion as set to include both fiction and non-fiction print media, which, to the joy of many comic book readers including those here at Multiversity, will include canonical comics and graphic novels, as well as publications that explore the visual and technical elements involved in the production process of a Blade Runner film.
Alcon co-founders and co-CEOs Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove described, in a statement, their confidence that the partnership will allow the world of Blade Runner to grow “organically” without sacrificing the “quality, tone and high standards” that fans have come to expect from the property. Titan co-founders Nick Landau and Vivian Cheung described how the Blade Runner universe has “barely been explored,” with the focus of the partnership seeming to be to “reveal tales from that universe that you’ve never seen before,” (perhaps including some of the ideas from our We Want Comics column last year) which is sure to please fans of the series who, after finally getting a sequel to Blade Runner last year with Blade Runner 2049, were left wanting more.
The statement detailed that Titan’s David Manley-Leach and Alcon’s director of publishing, Jeff Conner will be in charge of the editorial process of the expansion. Finally, although the press release didn’t reveal any specific details as to the release dates of any of the publications, you can be sure that any updates will not go quietly here at Multiversity.
The full press release is as follows:
Alcon Media Group and London-based Titan Publishing, a leading force in genre and pop culture publishing, are partnering in a new co-publishing venture initially focused on the Blade Runner universe.
In a joint statement by Alcon co-founders and co-CEOs Broderick Johnson and Andrew Kosove, and Titan’s co-founders, Nick Landau and Vivian Cheung, the partners stated that the companies will develop and publish a variety of both fiction and non-fiction print media. The program will feature new, in canon comics and graphic novels that dive deeper into the Blade Runner world as well as a variety of publications focused on the visual and technical sides of the production process.
Editorial duties will be handled by Titan’s David Manley-Leach, and Alcon’s director of publishing, Jeff Conner.
States Kosove and Johnson, “In partnering with the exceptional Titan Comics and Titan Books, we’re confident that the world of Blade Runner will continue to organically grow in a way that refuses to sacrifice the quality, tone and high standards of this beloved property.”
“We are extremely excited to be publishing Blade Runner comics and illustrated books,” said Titan publishers Nick Landau and Vivian Cheung. “The Blade Runner universe has barely been explored; there is so much more there. It’s an honour to be bringing this world to life in new ways for a new audience – and to reveal tales from that universe that you’ve never seen before.”
Titan has three-decade history of success in the pop culture sphere, from their celebrated Doctor Who publications (comics, magazines and books) to tie-in novels set in the Marvel and DC universes. They also release a robust line of original genre novels, from hardboiled crime to supernatural horror, cyberpunk to intergalactic adventure.
