Perhaps confirming long-lived rumors of an impending close, official word came today that Dreamwave productions, home to Pat Lee as well as the Transformer license, is closing shop.
The e-mail was sent to various press outlets from a new aol account rather than normal channels for Dreamwave communication. Dreamwave's official website, http://www.dreamwaveprod.ca/ has been shut down.
The release, if true, would come as fairly small surprise to many observers, as the company had reprotedly slowed or stopped paying freelancers (as reported by Rich Johnston in Lying in the Gutters at www.comicbookresources.com), and many Dreamwave staffers and creators, when asked by Newsarama about problems with the company said they were waiting for studio head, Pat Lee to release official word of the shutdown.
Roger Lee, co-founder of Dreamwave, has registered and opened the website, http://www.dreamengine.ca/
The studio was/is due to ship the first issue of its Beast Wars miniseries this month, as well as a relaunch of its Warlands property, as well as continue its ongoing Transformers series.
The press release reads:
Dreamwave Productions announced today that after eight years in the comics industry, four of which they were self-published, they will be ceasing operations.
Established in 1996 by brothers Pat and Roger Lee, Dreamwave infused a stagnant comic book market with art and design that effortlessly combined the then dominant “American” art style with the newly emerging Japanese “Manga” art style. Since then, the company had grown to become one of the comic book industry’s premiere publishers, producing a variety of original titles.
In 2002, Dreamwave firmly established itself in the comic industry as a force to be reckoned with when it launched an all-new Transformers comic’s line. The return of the 80’s icons shattered industry sales records, skyrocketing the book to the number one sales slot for an impressive six months. The Toronto-based company’s other successful licenses included Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Duel Masters from Japan, as well as properties like Devil May Cry and Mega Man from video game giant Capcom Entertainment.
President of Dreamwave Productions, Pat Lee stated “there are a number of reasons for my decision to close Dreamwave”, citing that “the shrinking comic book market combined with a weak U.S. dollar and unsustainable monetary commitments has finally proven to be too financially taxing.”
As the only Canadian independent comics publisher, Dreamwave Productions has struggled in recent years to maintain its status within a relentlessly shrinking comic book market. Unfortunately, consistently diminishing sales totals over the last several years have taken their toll on the small publisher and made it impossible to continue.
The specific details for closure have not yet been released but Lee assures both fans and clients alike that “although this is the end of Dreamwave as a comics publisher, I will still be penciling a number of new exciting projects in conjunction with other studios in the upcoming years.”
Newsarama Note: Dreamwave's claim of being the "Canadian independent comics publisher" is somewhat misleading, as Arcana, UDON, and the recently launched Speakeasy are all headquartered in Canada.
The e-mail was sent to various press outlets from a new aol account rather than normal channels for Dreamwave communication. Dreamwave's official website, http://www.dreamwaveprod.ca/ has been shut down.
The release, if true, would come as fairly small surprise to many observers, as the company had reprotedly slowed or stopped paying freelancers (as reported by Rich Johnston in Lying in the Gutters at www.comicbookresources.com), and many Dreamwave staffers and creators, when asked by Newsarama about problems with the company said they were waiting for studio head, Pat Lee to release official word of the shutdown.
Roger Lee, co-founder of Dreamwave, has registered and opened the website, http://www.dreamengine.ca/
The studio was/is due to ship the first issue of its Beast Wars miniseries this month, as well as a relaunch of its Warlands property, as well as continue its ongoing Transformers series.
The press release reads:
Dreamwave Productions announced today that after eight years in the comics industry, four of which they were self-published, they will be ceasing operations.
Established in 1996 by brothers Pat and Roger Lee, Dreamwave infused a stagnant comic book market with art and design that effortlessly combined the then dominant “American” art style with the newly emerging Japanese “Manga” art style. Since then, the company had grown to become one of the comic book industry’s premiere publishers, producing a variety of original titles.
In 2002, Dreamwave firmly established itself in the comic industry as a force to be reckoned with when it launched an all-new Transformers comic’s line. The return of the 80’s icons shattered industry sales records, skyrocketing the book to the number one sales slot for an impressive six months. The Toronto-based company’s other successful licenses included Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Duel Masters from Japan, as well as properties like Devil May Cry and Mega Man from video game giant Capcom Entertainment.
President of Dreamwave Productions, Pat Lee stated “there are a number of reasons for my decision to close Dreamwave”, citing that “the shrinking comic book market combined with a weak U.S. dollar and unsustainable monetary commitments has finally proven to be too financially taxing.”
As the only Canadian independent comics publisher, Dreamwave Productions has struggled in recent years to maintain its status within a relentlessly shrinking comic book market. Unfortunately, consistently diminishing sales totals over the last several years have taken their toll on the small publisher and made it impossible to continue.
The specific details for closure have not yet been released but Lee assures both fans and clients alike that “although this is the end of Dreamwave as a comics publisher, I will still be penciling a number of new exciting projects in conjunction with other studios in the upcoming years.”
Newsarama Note: Dreamwave's claim of being the "Canadian independent comics publisher" is somewhat misleading, as Arcana, UDON, and the recently launched Speakeasy are all headquartered in Canada.