Arrow Comics was one of the original independent publishers of black-and-white comics in the mid-1980s, starting out in Ypsilanti, Michigan by founders Ralph Griffith and Stuart Kerr.
History
Origins
Griffith and Kerr were just getting ready to publish a local comic fanzine called Fantastic Fanzine, when the first issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles came out. Spurred on by the success of this fairly low production level book, Griffith and Kerr set about to gather their own 'bullpen' of local comic creators and start a comic company, using Fantastic Fanzine as a springboard. With their motto "Our Target is Entertainment; Our Aim is Quality", they intended to bring to the black-and-white comic book market their idea of quality work, in comparison to what they thought was sub-par work intended only as a source of revenue for the larger publishers. Fantastic Fanzine ran thirteen issues in its first volume, during which time Griffith and Kerr discovered local Michigan artists Randy Zimmerman, Guy Davis, Vincent Locke, Susan Van Camp, Mark Bloodworth, and Tim Dzon. In December 1985, Tales From The Aniverse by Zimmerman and Van Camp was published, followed shortly thereafter by The Realm and Deadworld. Other titles included Nightstreets and System 7, but it was not long before Arrow found itself caught up in the infamous "black and white bust", and the revenues from their largest selling titles were held up in the bankruptcy hearings of several major comic book distributors of the day. In 1989, in order to salvage their legacy, Griffith and Kerr okayed the move of their most popular titles, Oz, The Realm, and Deadworld to Caliber Comics.
1993 revival
Griffith and Kerr briefly resurrected Arrow Comics in 1993 with The Dead, a horror title that pushed the envelope of gore even farther than their earlier Deadworld. Artist Jason Moore, later of Evil Ernie inking fame, brought Arrow's founders morbid and shocking visions to life.
2008 revival
With strong support from Internet readers, the most recent incarnation of Arrow Comics has been spearheaded by Randy Zimmerman and Scott R. Moore. The new Arrow is publishing new webcomics Spank the Monkey and Rebel Nun. Some of the best Arrow comics from the 1980s are planned to make "comebacks", including a new Fantastic Fanzine.
