J.M. DeMatteis, current writer of Booster Gold and one of the creators behind Justice League International and The Life and Times of Savior 28, announced on his blog today that he’s departing as Editor-in-Chief of Ardden Entertainment. DeMatteis cites creative differences for the exit, although it doesn’t sound like anything too traumatic, as he’s still got nothing but kind words for the executives at Ardden, a company which has made a name for itself by bringing classic properties like Flash Gordon and Casper the Friendly Ghost back into circulation. DeMatteis’s post says that the departure is related to editorial disagreements surrounding the revival of old Atlas Comics properties.

Says DeMatteis:

“After a couple of very enjoyable years as editor-in-chief of Ardden Entertainment—working on Flash Gordon, Casper and the Spectrals and the recently-announcedAtlas Comics revival—I’ve decided to take my leave of the company.  It’s been a great ride building this new company with Ardden co-publishers Brendan Deneen and Rich Emms—both of whom, I hasten to add, are terrific guys—but, as we’ve all worked together to prep the Atlas material, co-creating the new versions of Grim Ghost, Phoenix and Wulf the Barbarian, it’s become clear that we have different visions of how to proceed.  After pondering long and hard, I decided the best thing would be to put on my parachute and exit the Ardden Tower, leaving the Atlas revival in Brendan and Rich’s very capable hands.  It was fun flexing my editorial muscles, seeing the comics world from the other side of the desk, and I may do it again one of these days.

I wish Brendan, Rich and Jason Goodman’s Atlas team great good luck with the new books.”

When contacted by Newsarama, Brendan Deneen said, “Rich Emms and I are sad that Marc has decided to move on but as his fan and his friend (not to mention his former manager!), I have learned an incredible amount under his tutelage.  His edits on my Flash Gordon scripts were phenomenal and he is a brilliant storyteller.  He remains a close friend and I will continue to read all of his material in all its varied forms, just like I’ve been doing for the last couple of decades.”

Deneen went on to provide the following, new organizational structure for Ardden Entertainment and Atlas Comics:
Publishers:  Brendan Deneen & Rich Emms
Editor-in-Chief:  Brendan Deneen
Designer-in-Chief: Rich Emms
Consulting Editor:  Jim Krueger
Consulting Designer:  Adam Boreham
Managing Editor:  Cody DeMatteis
Assistant Editor:  PJ Feffer
Assistant Editor:  Zach Frankel

Added Deneen, “Despite Marc’s departure, we have put together a new, larger staff about which I am extremely excited.  This past weekend’s New York Comic-Con proved to me that Ardden and Atlas have a very, very bright future, and we are expanding accordingly.  I look forward to having the already-legendary Jim Krueger edit our comics, especially my Flash Gordon scripts, and to have Rich and Adam continue their incredible design work.  Cody DeMatteis, who’s been with us for awhile now, will continue to oversee our artists and writers (and I have a feeling he’ll be editing my and Jim’s Phoenix scripts).  Finally, I’m excited to introduce PJ and Zach, two extremely talented young writers who will help keep Ardden and Atlas on track.  I truly feel that 2011 is going to be a big one for both Ardden Entertainment and Atlas Comics.”

This entry was posted on Monday, October 11th, 2010 at 2:12 pm and is filed under News & Views. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.