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When former Marvel president Bill Jemas joined Take-Two Interactive — the parent company of Grand Theft Auto‘s Rockstar Games — recently, it raised some eyebrows and many questions about what he called the company’s new “graphic fiction imprint.” Now he’s starting to offer some answers.
In an interview with Comic Book Resources, Jemas said that the goal of the new imprint isn’t to create comics based on existing Rockstar Games or 2K Games properties — although he admits that “it’s possible, maybe likely” that might happen in the future — but to create all-new properties for Take-Two to exploit across platforms.
Bill Jemas Joins Take-Two Interactive
“I’m — I don’t want to say trained — but I think my natural disposition has always been to tell the story and then adapt the story to every possible form of media and merchandise, “Jemas admitted. “When I look at a comic story, I’m always thinking about how the costumes could be Halloween costumes, how the footwear might become sneakers, how the storylines would adapt to games. I just think that’s a good way to think about development.”
To begin with, Jemas said, the imprint will look to comic book writers and artists to create stories aimed at noncomic readers. “I think what will set us apart is we’re going to be telling Ultimate-style stories intended to reach out to new readers,” he explained, referring to the Marvel imprint he created to draw new readers to the publisher. “I sort of have a knack for putting those types of teams together and a particular stick-to-itiveness to make sure the comics come out that way.”
The imprint will launch with digital releases and “a handful of printed books” this summer, according to Jemas.
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