Independent comics. Lasting impact.
About 12-Gauge
The story
behind the
stories.
12-Gauge produces and publishes comics and graphic novels from some of the most respected creators in the business. Crime. Horror. Action. Stories that stay with you.
Body Bags / Jason Pearson
The beginning / 2004
It started
with a Ride.
Keven Gardner saw room for more crime and action/adventure stories in comics. He founded 12-Gauge to give those stories a home, with a commitment to quality that has shaped every new series.
Its flagship title, The Ride, began with Gardner’s concept: a 1968 Camaro and the people whose lives it changes. The anthology became a place for outstanding comic creators to flex their creative muscles.
The first story brought together Doug Wagner, Brian Stelfreeze and Cully Hamner. Published by Image Comics, The Ride #1 debuted as the top-selling new black-and-white comic of 2004.
Building the catalog
More stories.
More territory.
Crime / Action
Body Bags
Following The Ride, 12-Gauge brought back Jason Pearson’s Body Bags, the story of a father-and-daughter bounty-hunting team. Reprints and new stories sold out quickly, strengthening the company’s reputation as a home for distinctive comics.
Comics / Entertainment
The Occult Crimes Taskforce
12-Gauge helped develop this original series, co-created by Rosario Dawson and drawn in her likeness. It appeared on The Today Show, Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Access Hollywood. Dimension Films optioned the property shortly after its first issue.
First licensed property / 2009
The Boondock Saints
Original stories by filmmaker and series creator Troy Duffy brought The Boondock Saints to comics. Published in 2009, it became 12-Gauge’s first licensed property and an important addition to the catalog.
Revenge / Redemption
Luke McBain
Country music artist Trace Adkins lent his likeness to the hard-as-nails lead in an adventure developed by writer David Tischman and Keven Gardner. Adkins promoted the comic with appearances including The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson and a feature in USA Today.
A wider world of 12-Gauge
A taste for
the unexpected.
The catalog ranges from the FBI procedural 25 to Life and the magical world of Magus to Mick Foley’s R.P.M.
Collaborations include Anti, developed with producer Gale Anne Hurd; Sherwood, Texas, a modern take on Robin Hood; and graphic novel adaptations of bestselling author Ace Atkins’ Nick Travers stories.
Working again with Image Comics, 12-Gauge released Loose Ends by Jason Latour, Plastic, The Hard Place and Matador by Devin Grayson and Brian Stelfreeze. Its development projects have also included Skull One-Six with bestselling author Kevin Maurer.