Lion Forge Lion Forge Comics was founded in 2011 by David Steward II and Carl Reed to give ethnically diverse creators an outlet to create ethnically diverse characters. The company began as a digital publisher but experimented with print comics when digital sales began to plateau industry wide. Initially, Lion Forge worked on developing their own original properties. However, the company picked up
NBCUniversal 1980s properties
Airwolf,
Knight Rider,
Miami Vice,
Punky Brewster, and
Saved by the Bell. In 2012, the company launched its initial titles, and followed that up with American Greetings properties
Care Bears,
Madballs, and
Packages from Planet X. By 2014, Lion Forge had staff in
New York and Los Angeles in addition to its headquarters in St. Louis. In mid 2014, the company announced a children's line, Roar Comics, would launch with six titles. They also announced
IDW Publishing would publish and distribute print version of their comic books. It expanded its print line in the Fall of 2016 with the CubHouse
imprint for grades pre-K through 12, splitting that age group off from Roar Comics. Both lines would be under Andrea Colvin as senior editor. By late 2017, it had grown to 30 employees located in St Louis,
Chicago, and New York City, with many employees
remote working, and with Geoff Gerber as the company president. In October 2017, it purchased the New York City-based comic journalism site
Comics Beat. Steward created a subsidiary called Syndicated Comics to control assets and content generated by
Comics Beat. In 2018, Steward II founded
Polarity, a media company intended to develop Lion Forge characters outside of comics, as well as serve as a holding company and investment platform for animation and other pop culture content. In February 2018, Lion Forge Comics indicated that it would enter the picture book market with a line under its CubHouse imprint that would hit the stands in May with two original picture books. In May 2018, Lion Forge announced its middle reader imprint, Caracal, with its first titles to hit the stand in late 2018. Lion Forge announced in June 2018 the Quillion imprint for tabletop gaming inspired stories to debut in September 2018. In November 2018, after a year of rapid expansion in staff and focus, the company laid off twelve out of approximately sixty employees primarily in editorial, in a restructuring move.
Oni–Lion Forge Publishing Group On May 8, 2019,
Oni Press announced a merger with Lion Forge Comics with the merger negotiated by Polarity.
Newsarama reported that "in March 2019, Oni was the 10th ranked publisher on Diamond's Direct Market market share chart with 0.74% in dollar share and 9th in unit share with 0.64%. Lion Forge was not ranked in the top 10". All editorial, marketing, and production operations were moved to
Portland – where Oni Press was headquartered – from
St. Louis, where Lion Forge was headquartered. Joe Nozemack stepped down as president of Oni Press and, per Polarity, "moved into an unspecified 'board and advisory' role"; James Lucas Jones, of Oni Press, remained as publisher and became president of OLFPG.
OPB reported that "Lion Forge cut ties with editor-in-chief Andrea Colvin, associate editor
Christina "Steenz" Stewart, editor Jasmine Amiri, senior editor Amanda Meadows and Kayla Tan, a production and logistics coordinator". Elbein noted that the layoffs raised concerns about workplace practices at Oni–Lion Forge, particularly given the company's public commitment to inclusivity. In response, David Steward II stated that the layoffs were a business decision necessary to maintain the company's stability and mission. Jones became interim editor-in-chief. were fired by Polarity. On July 14,
The Beat reported that a staff purge continued with the company laying off some of the most prominent members of its staff, including senior VP of sales and marketing Alex Segura, sales manager Henry Barajas, and senior editor Amanda Meadows and editor Jasmine Amiri. ==Lines==