Radical Studios

Radical Studios

Company type	Private
Industry	Multimedia, Film production, Publishing, Digital media, Gaming
Founded	2007 (2007)
Founder	Barry Levine, David Elliott, Jesse Berger, Matthew Berger
Headquarters	Los Angeles , United States
Products	Feature films, television productions, print and digital publishing, merchandise, recorded music, digital media applications, mobile and social gaming platforms

Radical Studios is a privately held multimedia enterprise based in Los Angeles, California. Its portfolio spans feature films, television productions, print and digital publishing, merchandise, recorded music, digital media applications, as well as mobile and social gaming platforms.

History

Established in 2007 by Barry Levine, David Elliott, Jesse Berger, and Matthew Berger, Radical Publishing debuted its initial comic book series, Hercules: The Thracian Wars and Caliber: First Canon of Justice, in May 2008. These inaugural titles garnered the 2008 Diamond Gem Award for New Comic Book Publisher of the Year from Diamond Comic Distributors.

In May 2009, David Wohl succeeded Elliott as Editor-in-Chief. By September 2010, the company underwent a rebranding process, adopting the name Radical Studios.

The organization experienced staff reductions in 2011. Following this period, David Wohl exited his role in January 2012. Shortly thereafter, Radical Studios opted out of Free Comic Book Day participation and discontinued the release of Damaged issue 6.

March 2012 marked the commencement of production on the film Oblivion in collaboration with Universal Pictures, featuring Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman. Upon its April 2013 release, the movie debuted at number one at the U.S. box office with an opening weekend gross of $38.5 million and accumulated $287 million worldwide.

In February 2013, Radical Studios secured a $3 million equity investment from Los Angeles-based Wolfiskin Productions to bolster its digital initiatives and licensing efforts.

Production for Hercules, starring Dwayne Johnson and produced jointly with MGM and Paramount Pictures, began in June 2013. Released in July 2014, the film opened at number two domestically with a $29.8 million weekend and achieved a global box office total of $243 million.

In November 2018, Radical Studios initiated production on The Last Days of American Crime alongside Netflix and Mandalay Pictures. Produced by Jesse Berger through Radical Studios, the film premiered digitally on Netflix in June 2020 and emerged as the platform's most-watched movie during its debut weekend.

Film

Building on its foundation in comic book publishing, Radical strategically develops each property with the goal of adapting it into a film. This methodology serves to draw interest from filmmakers and actors early in the development phase. Frequently, Radical enlists the original comic writer to create the initial screenplay, which is then used to pitch the project to studios, thereby increasing its attractiveness to Hollywood collaborators.

Released films

• Oblivion (2013): Directed and co-written by Joseph Kosinski (Tron: Legacy), this original story was produced and distributed by Universal Pictures. The cast includes Tom Cruise, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, and Morgan Freeman. Derived from an unpublished illustrated novel, Oblivion exemplifies Radical’s strategy of utilizing intellectual property for cross-media development.

• Hercules (2014): This film is a collaboration between Radical Studios, MGM, and Paramount Pictures, directed by Brett Ratner. The screenplay, penned by Evan Spiliotopoulos and Ryan Condal, is adapted from Radical’s comic series created by Steve Moore. The movie stars Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson alongside Aksel Hennie, Rufus Sewell, Ian McShane, Joseph Fiennes, John Hurt, and Rebecca Ferguson. This production underscores Radical’s strategic alliances with major studios and leading talent.

• Abattoir (2016): Directed and scripted by Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw), this film is an adaptation of Radical’s six-issue limited series, highlighting the company’s emphasis on genre films that align with its comic book IP.

• The Last Days of American Crime (2020): Originally attached as producer and star was Sam Worthington, though the final release featured Édgar Ramírez under the direction of Olivier Megaton. This film reflects Radical’s continued commitment to broadening its presence in the market through cinematic interpretations of its graphic novels.

Films in development

• Freedom Formula: Ghost of the Wasteland: Directed by Bryan Singer (X-Men, The Usual Suspects) via his Bad Hat Harry Productions, with New Regency Productions holding the film rights. This project illustrates Radical’s strategic pursuit of film adaptations to expand market reach and diversify income sources.

• Shrapnel: After director Len Wiseman (Underworld) departed, Hilary Swank assumed starring and producing roles alongside Sean Daniel and Radical Pictures. The screenplay is based on Toby Wagstaff’s script. This adaptation aims to capitalize on growth opportunities within the action genre.

• Damaged: Featuring Sam Worthington both as lead actor and producer, with John Schwarz also producing. This venture aligns with Radical’s business approach of engaging prominent talent to enhance financial outcomes and industry stature.

Publishing

Radical Comics introduced its debut series, Hercules and Caliber, in May 2008 as 5-issue mini-series, rapidly achieving the #7 spot in North America's comic book market share according to ICV2 data. Diverging from the conventional superhero narratives typical of Marvel and DC, Radical specializes in reinterpretations of legendary figures, mythology, science fiction, fantasy, horror, historical fiction, and crime genres. Their approach prioritizes richly painted artwork combined with engaging narratives designed to attract a wide audience. Many of their comics are produced in an expanded 48-page format, significantly larger than the industry's usual 22 pages. Distribution channels include both mainstream retail outlets and niche comic book stores through Diamond Comic Distributors across North America. Although Radical briefly collaborated with Random House for mass market distribution, they returned to Diamond in 2011. By 2012, Radical had released 20 different titles but discontinued new publications after Damaged issue 5 appeared in February 2012; this series was eventually cancelled.

Key titles include:

• Hercules by Steve Moore:
  • The Thracian Wars, a limited series spanning five issues
  • The Knives of Kush, another five-issue limited run co-created with Cris Bolsin
• Caliber
• City of Dust by Steve Niles, Zid, and Brandon Chng
• Shrapnel by Mark Long, Nick Sagan, M. Zachary Sherman, and Bagus Hutomo
• Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead by Warren Ellis and Steve Pugh
• FVZA: The Federal Vampire and Zombie Agency by David Hine
• Incarnate by Nick Simmons
• Legends: The Enchanted by Nick Percival
• Aladdin: Legacy of the Lost by Dave Elliott, Ian Edginton, Patrick Reilly, and Stjepan Sejic
• The Last Days of American Crime by Rick Remender and Greg Tocchini
• After Dark, created by Antoine Fuqua & Wesley Snipes, scripted by Peter Milligan with art by Jeff Netrup

These selections underscore Radical’s dedication to varied genres and their business focus on cultivating intellectual properties that can be adapted across multiple media platforms.

Reprints

Radical Publishing also issued reprints of earlier works such as:

• Cholly and Flytrap by Arthur Suydam
• The Lords of Misrule, originally by John Tomlinson, Dan Abnett, Steve White, Gary Erskine, and Peter Snejbjerg, with recoloring handled by J. M. Ringuet

Awards

In 2008, Radical was honored with the Diamond Gem Award for New Comic Book Publisher of the Year from Diamond Comic Distributors, North America’s foremost comic distributor. This accolade recognizes the company’s influence on the industry through strong sales figures, creative excellence, and quality output.

Additionally, Legends: The Enchanted won the 2010 HorrorNews Net award for Best Original Graphic Novel and was nominated for an Eagle Award in the Favourite Single Story category that same year.

Legal

In July 2009, founder Dave Elliott initiated legal action against Radical's parent company, Blatant Entertainment, alleging unpaid compensation and contractual disagreements.

Early in 2010, Radical ceased publication of Nick Simmons' series Incarnate amid accusations of plagiarism, which affected both the company’s product offerings and its standing within the market.

References

Sources