Gary Reed is the publisher of Caliber Comics, a company he started up in 1989. He was also a comic retailer in the Detroit area for 17 years. His first store opened in 1981 and within three years, he had expanded to four stores. He also co-hosted a radio show on comics for two years as well as one season on a television show. He organized a comics convention (King Kon) which re-established the Detroit area as a major comics convention area. Prior to embarking on a career in comics, Gary earned his Masters Degree in Biology and taught two years at Eastern Michigan University.

    Gary also is a comics creator and his first work was in the co-creation and scripting of Baker Street with Guy Davis which received a Harvey Award nomination for Best New Series. He also wrote many short stories for Caliber Presents including Street Shadows and Gideon’s. The very first Gideon story was with James O’Barr of Crow fame and Gideon’s was featured in the first Crow film. Writing under different names, Gary continued to write many of Caliber’s early releases. When asked why he wrote under different names, Gary replied that he didn’t want people to know he was doing so much of the writing for Caliber books and the reason he wrote so many was because he was the fastest and cheapest writer he knew.

    In addition to Caliber, Gary took over Stabur Press as President soon after the two companies merged in 1993. It was during this time that he became involved with McFarlane Toys, a new company starting up and Reed eventually became Vice-President of that company. In July of 1996, Reed left McFarlane Toys to concentrate on Caliber comics full time and assumed total control of Stabur as well. Gary lives with his wife, Jennifer, and their four daughters, Stephanie, Jessica, Alison, and Erica in a suburb of Detroit.

NOTES ON PREVIOUS SERIES

    The names that Gary has written under include Kyle Garrett, Brent Truax, Randall Thayer, Eric Jackson, and Bryan Andrews. The titles include such series as Realm, Deadworld, Killer and the King, almost all of the Tome Press titles, and many others.

    "It was a learning process on a lot of the titles. With Deadworld and Realm, I forced myself to try to structure story elements and write without thought balloons and captions, something I had found myself relying on too much, " said Gary. On the Tome Press line, it was his natural love of history and research that compelled him to do such diverse series as Cortez, ZuluNation, Red Revolution, Plague, No-Man’s Land, Books on the Bible, and dozens of others. He says that the first work he wrote that he was really proud of was Cortez and the Fall of the Aztecs which he collaborated on with artist, Mitch Waxman. "That was the first series I really felt comfortable with the finished book." The Los Angles Reader apparently thought so to as they hailed the series as ‘one of the finest examples of graphic story ever seen.’

The next major project for Reed was the Sinergy series which was a modern updating of Dante’s Inferno. It included framing and continuity scenes from artist Galen Showman and featured over 20 artists giving their own visions of the different levels of Hell. "Overall, I was happy with it," said Reed. It was an ambitious project and I think it worked for the most part. Obviously, I’d like to go back and change some things on it but that’s pretty standard for most writers." The two next worked together on a short story for High Caliber that featured the death of Percy Shelley before embarking on one of Caliber’s most critically acclaimed books ever, Renfield.

"Renfield is the story of the madman from Bram Stoker’s Dracula novel. It is a tale of a man slowly seeping into madness and having to choice between immortality and humanity," Gary explains. The series received great reviews with a critic from Fan Magazine labeling it "as the most intelligent graphic novel I’ve ever read."

Ghost Sonata, which is found in the pages of High Caliber is "basically a series of lost opportunities," says Reed. Although the original concept started off as a straight adaptation of August Strindberg’s acclaimed play, Reed pulled away from that almost completely. "It features many of the same characters and the initial scenario is the same, but I added a considerable amount to it which has changed the focus a great deal. Besides, no one can do Strindberg better than Strindberg, so why try?" The artist on the series was Andy Bennett, a relative newcomer to comics. "Andy added a stylistic approach to the series which intensified the visual look to the series," said Reed, "and gave it a unique look which was necessary since the series involves so many talking heads. I think Andy did a great job of moving the story along visually even though it’s a series heavily dependent on dialogue."

Red Diaries was, according to Reed, one of his most ambitious projects. "It deals with the conspiracies theories behind JFK, Robert Kennedy, and the idea that Marilyn Monroe was murdered instead of committing suicide," stated Reed. "I had a basic understanding of everything going in but the more research I did, the more the pat answers started to fall apart. It seems like I’m in the middle of this huge monstrous conspiracy that gets even more tangled up with every new bit of research. I was worried about filling up four issues initially but now, I don’t think four issues will be enough." The art team are pencillers Chris Jones and Lawrence Campbell with Larry Shupat providing the inks. Additional scenes are included from Nate Pride and Ken Meyer Jr. "It’s quite an extensive project and all the contributors have done a great job on their end. I know it’s not standard comic fare, but I think this is a series that has a great potential to show some of the versatility in comics."  To read an interview with Gary regarding Red Diaries.

Reed stepped away from writing regular series as he devoted more time to publishing. He did create some titles for the New Worlds imprint from Caliber. Inferno, Raven Chronicles, Searchers, and Level X were his creations in which he then brought other writers in to flesh out the series. "On those series, yes, I created the initial concepts but the writers that followed definitely added a lot to them. The incarnations you see now are not just my creations but are more joint efforts, especially on Inferno and Searchers." On Raven Chronicles, Gary wrote most of the earlier issues, specifically issues 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 10, and 11. He said he still had to get his Tome Press fix and wrote some books such as Mythology's Mistresses.

ON HIS CURRENT PROJECTS

With an editorial staff handling many of the day to day activities of Caliber, Gary has had a chance to devote himself to more writing. In 1997 and 1998, he worked or developed some of the following series. He has spent much of 1998 working on film treatments for some of the Caliber titles that hopefully, will be announced shortly.

SAINT GERMAINE is a series that has received a great deal of acclaim since its release in early 1997. The series, which features the proclaimed immortal character of legendary fame, was first illustrated by noted artist Vincent Locke. Locke, who was the original Deadworld artist, is probably best known for his year’s stint on Sandman with Jill Thompson. Also, for Vertigo, Vince did the four issue American Freaks mini-series and is currently inking over Michael Zulli on a new Witchcraft series. For Paradox Press, Vince illustrated the nearly 300 page book, History of Violent,. "Saint Germaine is one of the most enjoyable series I’ve done," said Reed, but he also noted that it was one of the hardest. "It’s a series that basically I have no idea of where I’m going with it from issue to issue. I approach each issue individually and then when it comes time for the next one, I decide then where I’m going with it." Because Locke has so many commitments from DC, Saint Germaine is featuring different artists on a run of one shot stories before a new artist is assigned for the next multi-parter. Reed explained that the "one-shots" dealing with the Sioux Ghost Dance, Man in the Iron Mask, and Falstaff-the recurring character in some of Shakespeare’s plays. The next multi-part story will cover the life of Casanova. To read an interview with Reed on Saint Germaine.

TROY is based on the great epic, The Iliad, from Homer. However, in addition to the events covered in Homer’s classic, Troy will also cover the events that led up to the Trojan War as well as the events afterwards. "One of the things I wanted to do here was to approach Troy from the human element. In Greek Mythology, so many of the events are triggered and manipulated physically by the Gods but I wanted to keep it strictly on a mortal basis," said Reed, who also noted "that although there is no intervention from the Gods, some actions by the participants may be initiated by their own beliefs in those Gods." The series is illustrated by Philip Xavier, the noted artist of the popular series, Legendlore, also from Caliber.

SEEKER may seem like a familiar character to long time comic fans as Seeker was a series initially published by Sky Comics and was featured in Caliber’s Power Cardz and Stormquest comics. Originally created by Joe Martin, Reed and Martin discussed relaunching the character in a new series, something that was radically changed from the previous incarnation. "Seeker was something I enjoyed playing with. It was basically a super hero book and I’m not terribly fond of those so I wanted to try and do something different with it. I hope I succeed," said Reed. Seeker may appear as standard fate initially but Reed said that some surprises are in store.

GESTALT is a one shot that spins off from Seeker. "The identity of Gestalt will be entertaining for those fans who read the original Seeker series but it’s basically an introduction of a character that we assume no one knows who it is. Gestalt is an important character in the Seeker mythos and this one shot establishes her." Look for a regular Gestalt series upcoming in late 1998.

HELSING is a series that chronicles the crusade that Abraham Van Helsing initiated when he killed Dracula in the novel from Bram Stoker. "This series chronicles the lives of the Van Helsing family as they picked up the mantle of their predecessor and continued the battle against the creatures of the night, " explained Reed. The series covers the events of Samantha Helsing with occasional back up stories that feature some of the earlier Van Helsings. Reed noted that not all of them were successful. Art from the series is by X-Men’s John Lowe. With back up stories from different artists including Guy Davis who appears in issue two. To read an interview with Reed on Helsing.

MAGUS is a character that first appeared in Saint Germaine in a brief shot as readers discovered that he was the father of Lilith, Germaine’s long time companion. In this series, illustrated by Craig Brasfield, Magus and Lilith are confronted by Beelzebub, the Lord of the Flies and his henchman, Al-Halquat. Reed explained that Beelzebub is "owed" by Magus and has come to collect. The debt…the hand of Lilith in marriage. To read an interview with Reed on Magus.

Reed said that although he is involved in quite a few projects currently, many of the titles will be turned over to other writers who can come into an established character with the groundwork already laid out.

UPCOMING PROJECTS

CRIME CHRONICLES is a series from Tome Press that covers the famous and infamous criminals and the men that hunt them down. Each stand alone issue will feature a person or subject. The first issue spotlights Jack the Ripper which is followed by the second issue touching on the Prohibition Wars. Upcoming issues will feature Sweeney Todd, John Dillinger, Burke and Hare, and many others.

THE RAIN PEOPLE will make appearances in the Caliber Core series and will be background characters that will appear through out the Core universe much like the Raven Chronicles characters do. In fact, the Rain People were first introduced in Raven Chronicles #3 but now have left the jungles to inhabit the deep caverns of the old subway systems in New York. Recently Gary announced that Tom Snigoski has been brought in to take over the writing chores.

SPIRAL is a story of a woman descending into madness as she attempts to exact vengeance. Reed said that this is a pretty dark series and will first appear in Caliber Core before spinning off into it’s own limited series.

DISCIPLES is a series that Reed came up with the initial concept of and is working in close association with creators Chris Dows, Colin Clayton, and Lawrence Campbell to become one of the major titles in the Caliber Core universe. Reed said that he is happy with the progress and expects that once the initial concepts are fleshed out, the other creators will take full creative control over.

Reed said that there are quite a few other projects percolating, especially in the Tome Press line but its too premature to mention exact titles.

CHECKLIST FOR REED

Gary Reed - The following are series that Reed either wrote or came up with the original concept for.
    Baker Street
    Caliber Presents
    Calibrations
    Deadworld
    Gestalt
    Ghost Sonata
    Helsing
    Inferno
    Level X
    Magus
    Mechanoids
    Piece of Steak
    Raven Chronicles
    Red Diaries
    Renfield
    Robyn Hood
    Saint Germaine
    Searchers
    Seeker
    Troy
    Twilight People
    Untouchables

Randal Thayer
    Bounty
    Deadworld
    Killer of Crows
    Plague
    Raven Chronicles

Eric Jackson
    Art of Aubrey Beardsley
    Art of Currier & Ives
    Art of Frederic Remington
    Art of Heath Robinson
    Art of JJ Grandville
    Art of Mucha
    Book of Apocrypha
    Book of Genesis
    Book of Tarot
    While 50 Million Died

Brent Traux
    Cortez and Fall of the Aztecs
    Dance of Death
    Disasters of War
    Disparates
    Donnelly Tragedy
    Frankenstein
    High Caliber
    Illustrated Guide to Dinosaurs
    Life and Death of Jesus Christ
    Navarro
    Plague
    Pre-Raphelite Persuasion
    Raven Chronicles
    Realm
    Realm Handbook   
    Red Revolution
    Siege of the Alamo
    Song of the Cid
    True Spy Stories
    Zulunation

Kyle Garret
    Caliber Presents
    Dead-Killer
    Gideon’s
    Gringo
    Killer and the King
    Negative Burn
    No-Man’s Land
    Raven Chronicles
    Realm of the Dead
    Renfield
    Sinergy
    Street Shadows
    Thumbscrew
    To Kill a King