BOCA RATON, Fla., July 12, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Curiosity Ink Media – the family entertainment engine for Grom Social Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ: GROM) today announced The Legion of Forgettable Supervillains, the company’s original intellectual property (IP) franchise, will make its highly anticipated debut as a graphic novel exclusively in comic bookstores on Wednesday, July 27, prior to its wider release wherever books are sold, beginning Tuesday, August 9th. The first in a series of planned releases, The Legion of Forgettable Supervillains centers around a group of failed superheroes who inadvertently find greater success and acclaim in villainy and is being released by Dynamite Entertainment, Curiosity’s publishing partner. The announcement was made jointly today by Grom CEO Darren Marks and Nick Barrucci, Dynamite CEO and Publisher. Investor relations information on Grom Social Enterprises, Inc. is available at https://investors.gromsocial.com.
Publishing will serve as a gateway for future planned brand extension opportunities including a recurring series, feature films, consumer products, global merchandising and cobranding. Additionally, the trailer for the graphic novel is now promoting its release at: https://youtu.be/U5_ZRNv_Ztk. For Grom, the book release is being overseen by Curiosity Ink Media’s EVP and Publisher, Jon Rosenberg.
The Legion of Forgettable Supervillains centers around Ben Mondo and his rag tag group of friends, all of whom aspire to be superheroes and each with an abysmal track record of heroic feats. Frustrated in his career, Ben is ready to hang up his cape. However, after stumbling upon a bank heist, he is mistakenly identified as the robber. Reveling in his newfound notoriety, Ben sees a path to fame and success in pivoting to villainy. Armed with fresh hope and possibilities, Ben creates The Forgettable Supervillains Society. Together, the legion finds the change to be just what they needed, as it instantly transforms their lives from boring to breakthrough, and their villainous acts become interpreted as heroism.
“The timing couldn’t be better because now, more than ever, the world needs saving and who better for the job than The Legion of Forgettable Supervillains, a group of heroes who know a thing or two about overcoming the odds,” said Rosenberg. “We’re so excited to have teamed up with the experts at Dynamite Entertainment to bring these characters and their unique stories to life. We see great potential in taking our supervillains from page to screen to join the legion of beloved anti-heroes who dominate pop culture.”
“At Dynamite, we're all about heroes and villains, one of the core genres and stories in the comics art form,” said Nick Barrucci, Dynamite CEO and Publisher. "The Legion of Forgettable Supervillains is going to be a thrilling way to explore that classic dichotomy, and for particularly young readers to learn a lot about what it means to help others, even if you think you're a bunch of villains.”
About Dynamite Entertainment
Dynamite was founded in 2004 and is home to several best-selling comic book titles and properties, including The Boys, The Shadow, Red Sonja, Warlord of Mars, Bionic Man, A Game of Thrones, and more. Dynamite owns and controls an extensive library with over 3,000 characters (which includes the Harris Comics and Chaos Comics properties), such as Vampirella, Pantha, Evil Ernie, Smiley the Psychotic Button, Chastity, and Peter Cannon: Thunderbolt. In addition to their critically acclaimed titles and bestselling comics, Dynamite works with some of the most high-profile creators in comics and entertainment, including Gail Simone, Christopher Priest, Leah Moore, Kevin Smith, David Walker, Vita Ayala, Danny Lore, Neil Gaiman, Garth Ennis, Darick Robertson, Mark Russell, Brandon Thomas, Amy Chu, Reginald Hudlin, Nancy Collins, David Walker, Steve Orlando, Greg Pak, Jenny Frison, Matt Wagner, and a host of up-and-coming new talent. Dynamite is consistently ranked in the upper tiers of comic book publishers and several of their titles - including Alex Ross and Jim Krueger's Project Superpowers - have debuted in the Top Ten lists produced by Diamond Comics Distributors. In 2005, Diamond awarded the company a GEM award for Best New Publisher and another GEM in 2006 for Comics Publisher of the Year (under 5%) and again in 2011. The company has also been nominated for and won several industry awards, including the prestigious Harvey and Eisner Awards.
About Curiosity Ink Media
Curiosity Ink Media is a global media company that develops, acquires, builds, grows, and maximizes the short, mid & long-term commercial potential of Kids & Family entertainment properties and associated business opportunities. Driven by a best-in-class leadership team, Curiosity Ink Media’s multi-faceted I.P. library is designed to amass ongoing value through strategic stewardship, partnerships, and highly targeted market entry.
About Grom Social Enterprises, Inc.
Grom Social Enterprises, Inc. is a growing social media platform and original content provider of entertainment for children under 13 years of age, which provides safe and secure digital environments for kids that can be monitored by their parents or guardians. The Company has several operating subsidiaries, including Grom Social, which delivers its content through mobile and desktop environments (web portal and apps) that entertain children, let them interact with friends, access relevant news, and play proprietary games while teaching them about being good digital citizens. The Company owns and operates Top Draw Animation, which produces award-winning animation content for some of the largest international media companies in the world. Grom also includes Grom Educational Services, which has provided web filtering services for K-12 schools, government and private businesses. For more information, please visit gromsocial.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains statements, which may constitute “forward-looking statements.” Those statements include statements regarding the intent, belief, or current expectations of Grom and members of its management team as well as the assumptions on which such statements are based. Such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Important factors currently known to management that may cause actual results to differ from those anticipated are discussed throughout the Company’s reports filed with Securities and Exchange Commission which are available at www.sec.gov as well as the Company’s web site at www.gromsocial.com. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results.
For Grom Social Enterprises/Curiosity Ink Media
Marianne Romano
+818-681-0849
media@gromsocial.com
For Investor Relations
Colette Eymontt
TradDigital I+832-331-2399
colette@tradigital.com
For Dynamite Entertainment:
Vincent Faust
Dynamite Entertainment
+856-312-1040 Ext. 122
Vincent.faust@dynamite.com
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/8b0cc0ec-edc7-4929-8e21-d600375f0d16
A video accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c422e1f7-9734-489f-9170-5e399585d217
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