Former Marvel Publisher John Nee is teaming up with three IDW veterans, former EIC John Barber, former Financial and Contract Analyst Marion Copeland, and former Business Development Manager Nate Murray, to found a new creative production company, Pan-Universal Galactic Worldwide (PUG-W).
The new company plans to cast a wide net, with comics, art books, prose, and RPGs and other games, as well as offering talent consulting and custom publishing. It is currently running a crowdfunding campaign on Zoop for Conan the Barbarian – Colossal Edition, a 190-page, 11” x 17” tome featuring the artwork of John Buscema, Barry Windsor-Smith, Gil Kane, and other Conan artists shot at full size. The campaign, which includes a retailer tier, has garnered over $70,000 in pledges so far, almost tripling its initial goal of $25,000.
Next up is the comics series Signa, by Barber and artist Andrew Lee Griffith; the first issue will launch on Kickstarter in January 2024. PUG-W also is behind the successful Kickstarter campaign for Zach and Kelly Weinersmith’s game Everyone Else Thinks This Game Is Awesome. The 2021 Kickstarter pulled in over $240,000 from 4,315 backers.
Nee, the CEO of the company, is the former Publisher at Marvel Comics (see “Big Company Execs on the Move”). He was President of Wildstorm from 1992 to 1998, when it was acquired by DC; he stayed on at DC for 10 years, leaving in 2008 as Senior VP, Business Development. He is also the co-founder of Cryptozoic Games. Barber, who will be EIC of PUG-W wrote and edited IDW’s licensed comics, including Hasbro properties, before becoming EIC in 2018 (see “John Barber Out at IDW”). Murray will be Publisher; he founded IDW’s games division, was Head of Gaming at Indiegogo (see “IDW’s Nate Murray Moves to Indiegogo”) and is a co-founder of Clover Press. Copeland, who has 27 years’ experience in various industries, will be the “Finance Diva.”
Source: ICv2
