Idea and Design Works (IDW) was formed in 1999 by a group of comic book managers and artists (Ted Adams, Robbie Robbins, Alex Garner, and Kris Oprisko) that first met while working at Wildstorm Productions.[citation needed] Each of the four was equal partners, owning 25%. When Jim Lee sold Wildstorm to DC Comics in 1999, Lee turned that company's creative service department, previously run by Adams, over to IDW, allowing IDW to be profitable in its first year. With these profits, the firm decided to fund a new venture every year.[citation needed]
2000s
In 2000, IDW developed a TV show concept, getting as far as a pilot episode. For the 2001's project, Adams's Ashley Wood talked to them about publishing an art book, thus starting up IDW Publishing. Una Fanta was published in March 2002. Woods had Steve Niles send Adams some of his rejected screenplays. Adams selected one, 30 Days of Night, and paired him with artist Ben Templesmith for a comic adaptation as a three-issue series, beginning in August 2002. With low pre-orders, Adams personally pushed the comic with the distributor and major comic book stores. Soon the title's back issues were hot and were followed up with Wood's Popbot.[3]
In 2007, IDT Corporation purchased a 53% majority interest in IDW from the company's founders, removing Garner & Oprisko, while reducing Adams & Robbins to minority owners collectively at 47%. Then, in 2009, IDT proceeded to increase its interest to the current 76%, reducing Adams & Robbins's interest once again to the current 24%. Then, shortly afterwards, IDT created CTM Media Holdings via a tax-free spin-off. This new company consisted of the majority interest in IDW and CTM Media Group.[4] Eight years later, on April 3, 2015, CTM Media Holdings announced it would continue operations under a new name, becoming IDW Media Holdings, which would continue to consist of the majority interest in IDW and CTM Media Group.[5]
Beginning in 2008, the company licensed the Doctor Who series from the BBC, launching two concurrent titles: Doctor Who Classics, which reprints colorized comic strips featuring the past Doctors such as the Fourth Doctor and Fifth Doctor originally published in the late 1970s-early 1980s by Doctor Who Magazine, and Doctor Who: Agent Provocateur, an original six-part limited series featuring the Tenth Doctor and overseen and written by TV series script editor Gary Russell. An additional six-part limited series titled Doctor Who: The Forgotten started in mid-2008 by Tony Lee and Pia Guerra,[11][12] as well as a series of monthly one-shot, self-contained stories. July 2009 saw the beginning of Doctor Who, an ongoing series featuring the Tenth Doctor, written by Tony Lee and illustrated by a rotating art team.[13]
In March 2009, IDW Publishing forged an agreement with Mike Gold's Comicmix.com to publish print versions of Comicmix's online comic books. The agreement stipulates Comicmix must provide two comic books a month to IDW Publishing to publish, as well as graphic novels and trade paperbacks as demanded by the market. The books are published with both the IDW Publishing and Comicmix.com logos on the covers. As of the end of 2009, the agreement has produced print versions of the Grimjack series The Manx Cat; the Jon Sable series Ashes of Eden; Mark Wheatley and Robert Tinnell's pulp hero series Lone Justice; the graphic novel Demons of Sherwood by Tinnell and Bo Hampton; and a graphic novel collecting Trevor Von Eeden's The Original Johnson. A collection of Munden's Bar stories original to Comicmix's website is also forthcoming.[17]
In 2010, IDW Publishing released the sequel to Michael San Giacomo's "Phantom Jack" Image Comics series with "Phantom Jack: The Nowhere Man Agenda." The graphic novel is notable because it features the death of the main character, a reporter who can turn invisible.[citation needed]
IDW Publishing formed an imprint with EA Games in late 2009, called EA Comics, to focus on adaptations of the latter's video games, with initial titles including Army of Two and
Dragon Age.[19]
In January 2011, IDW Publishing announced a new Dungeons & Dragons comic series, under license from Hasbro and Wizards of the Coast. Set in the D&D4th Edition core setting, the new ongoing series Dungeons & Dragons (Fell's Five) ran for 16 issues. Several mini-series were also published including The Legend of Drizzt: Neverwinter Tales written by R.A. Salvatore.[20] Since 2014, five five-issue mini-series have been published in the D&D 5th Edition core setting.[21] A sixth five-issue mini-series, Infernal Tide, is set to be published in November 2019.[22]
In April 2011, IDW Publishing acquired the license to publish new collections of older Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics, as well as a new ongoing series beginning in August of that year.[23] In August 2017 issue #73 of the main ongoing series was published, making it the longest running comic series in the franchise's history.[24]
September 6, 2011, for the 10th anniversary of 9/11, IDW Publishing teamed up Charlie Foxtrot Entertainment and released the graphic novel Code Word: Geronimo, written by retired Marine Corps Captain Dale Dye and Julia Dye, drawn by Gerry Kissell with inker Amin Amat.[25]Code Word: Geronimo reached #22 on Diamond Comics top 100 list its first month after release.[26] During that same year, the company has published its first crossover series Infestation.[27]
In February 2013, IDW Publishing announced a partnership with Cartoon Network to publish comics based on the network's television series and reprint older Cartoon Network comics.[30]
In April 2017, IDW Publishing acquired a license from Lucasfilm to produce a range of all-ages Star Wars comics.[34]
In July 2017, Sega announced a partnership with IDW to publish comics based on Sonic the Hedgehog beginning in 2018, following the conclusion/cancellation of the previous series by Archie Comics.[35][36] IDW has also launched new imprint called Black Crown, handling creator-owned comics.[37]
In April 2018, publishers IDW Publishing and Oni Press announced a crossover between the Rick and Morty comic book and Dungeons & Dragons co-written by Jim Zub and Patrick Rothfuss with art by Troy Little.[38] The four issue mini-series, Rick and Morty vs. Dungeons & Dragons, was first published in August 2018.[39] In May 2019, a sequel mini-series was announced: Rick and Morty vs. Dungeons & Dragons: Chapter II: Painscape. It will be written by Jim Zub and Sarah Stern with art by Troy Little.[40][41]
In 2019, the company went under financial difficulties and got help from JPMorgan Chase evaluating strategies to be profitable.[42]
In May 2019, IDW offered itself as an investor in Clover Press, a new independent publisher founded by Ted Adams (cofounder and former CEO of IDW) and Robbie Robbins (cofounder, executive vice president, and art director at IDW).[43][44]
In July 2019, it was announced that IDW Publishing had acquired the classic Sunday strip publisher Sunday Press Books.[45]
2020s
Between April and May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, IDW was forced to furlough and then lay off several employees, including Managing Editor Denton Tipton, Associate Publisher David Hedgecock, Senior Graphic Artist Gilberto Lazcano, Senior Graphic Designer Christa Miesner, and Brand & Marketing Manager Spencer Reeve.[46] In July 2020, Chris Ryall announced that he would step down from his position of President, Publisher, and Chief Creative Officer to launch a new imprint named Syzygy Publishing, but he is still editor of future Locke & Key projects.[47] Jerry Bennington was promoted to President, Nachie Marsham was promoted to Publisher, and Rebekah Cahalin was promoted to General Manager and Executive Vice President of Operations covering IDW Publishing, and Veronica Brooks was promoted to Vice President of Creative Affairs.[48]
Around 2021, IDW announced that the comic book license for Disney properties would pass to Marvel Comics, while the license for Lucasfilm's Star Wars passed back to Dark Horse Comics.[49] In September 2021, IDW announced that its partnership with Diamond Comic Distributors would switch to Penguin Random House.[50] In December 2021, The Library of American Comics announced that they would be moving to Clover Press.[51] That same month, John Barber announced that he would step away from the role of Editor-in-Chief.
In January 2022, IDW announced that they would lose the comic book licenses for Hasbro's Transformers and G.I. Joe by the end of the year, but would continue publishing other Hasbro licenses, including My Little Pony and Wizards of the Coast's Dungeons & Dragons.[52]
On April 27, 2023, IDW cut 39% of their staff and delisted from the New York Stock Exchange; the company also restructured its C-suite and experienced an almost 50% drop in its share price.[53]
Netflix announced a television adaptation on September 28, 2018 of the comic series created by Steve Niles to be produced by High Park Entertainment in association with IDW Entertainment, who would also be involved in the distribution of the series internationally.[61] The series debuted on Netflix on January 23, 2020, and was canceled after one season.
Netflix announced a television adaptation of the comic series created by William Laurin and Glenn Davis, on April 16, 2018, with 10 episodes produced by High Park Entertainment in association with IDW Entertainment, who would also be involved in the distribution of the series internationally.[62] The series debuted on Netflix on December 5, 2019, and was canceled after one season.
^Bradley, Drew (February 16, 2015). "IDW: The Small Press Days". Multiversity Comics. Archived from the original on June 15, 2019. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
^"CTM HOLDINGS". ctmholdings.com. Archived from the original on February 22, 2016. Retrieved December 31, 2015.