Oni Press is an American independent comic book publisher based in Portland, Oregon

Portland, Oregon

Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...

. It was founded in 1997

1997 in comics

-January:*Avengers #3 - Marvel Comics*Captain America #3 - Marvel Comics*Fantastic Four #3 - Marvel Comics*Iron Man #3 - Marvel Comics-February:...

 by Bob Schreck

Bob Schreck

-Career:One of Shreck's earliest jobs in comics was art director at Comico. For much of the 1990s Schreck was an editor at Dark Horse Comics, and went on to found Oni Press in 1997. Then he went over to work as an editor at DC Comics, where he worked on the Batman comics and the All Star titles,...

 and Joe Nozemack with the goal of publishing the kinds of comics and graphic novels they themselves would want to read. Unsatisfied with the material that was dominating the industry, they believed firmly that sequential art could be used to tell virtually any story. While Schreck left the company in 1999, Nozemack has built Oni Press into one of independent comics' most respected and innovative publishing houses by publishing one of the most eclectic and varied lines in the comic industry.

The company name derives from oni, the Japanese word for the devils or demons popular in Japanese folklore.

Overview

Oni Press used the term "real mainstream", coined by Stephen Holland of the UK comic shop Page 45, to describe its output. Traditional American comic books regard superhero

Superhero

A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...

 titles as "mainstream" and all other genres as "non-mainstream", a reversal of the perception in other media. Oni Press therefore adopted the "real mainstream" term to suggest that it publishes comic books and graphic novels whose subject matter is more in line with the popular genres of other media: thrillers, romance

Romance novel

The romance novel is a literary genre developed in Western culture, mainly in English-speaking countries. Novels in this genre place their primary focus on the relationship and romantic love between two people, and must have an "emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending." Through the late...

s, realistic drama

Drama

Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...

 and so on. For the most part, Oni Press avoids publishing superhero

Superhero

A superhero is a type of stock character, possessing "extraordinary or superhuman powers", dedicated to protecting the public. Since the debut of the prototypical superhero Superman in 1938, stories of superheroes — ranging from brief episodic adventures to continuing years-long sagas —...

 titles, unless interesting creators approach these concepts from an unusual angle. However, at one point, Rich Johnston

Rich Johnston

Rich Johnston is a writer who writes about the comic book industry.-Early life:Johnston grew up in Pontefract, West Yorkshire, studied politics at University of Newcastle upon Tyne, and was an advertising copywriter until 2009; he currently lives in Kingston Vale, London, with his wife, Janice...

 of All The Rage reported that Oni Press and Marvel Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...

 were creating a publishing deal for Oni creators to work on Marvel superhero characters, but the deal fell apart.

Oni Press publishes very few comic books on an ongoing monthly basis - Marc Guggenheim

Marc Guggenheim

Marc Guggenheim is an American television writer-producer and a writer for Marvel Comics and DC Comics. His brother is screenwriter Eric Guggenheim.-Television:...

's Resurrection, Antony Johnston

Antony Johnston

Antony Johnston is an award-winning British writer. He is known for the post apocalyptic comic series Wasteland, his graphic novel adaptations of Anthony Horowitz' Alex Rider novels, and his work with Alan Moore.-Career:...

 and Christopher Mitten's Wasteland

Wasteland (comic)

Wasteland is a monthly comic book series written by Antony Johnston, drawn by Christopher Mitten with covers by Ben Templesmith, and published by Oni Press. Issue #1 debuted in July 2006....

and, until 2007, Greg Rucka

Greg Rucka

Gregory "Greg" Rucka is an American comic book writer and novelist, known for his work on such comics as Action Comics, Batwoman: Detective Comics, and the miniseries Superman: World of New Krypton for DC Comics, and for novels such as his Queen & Country series.-Career:Rucka's writing career...

's Queen & Country. Most of their titles are either irregular recurring miniseries, often published in four to six monthly instalments, or original graphic novels

Graphic novel

A graphic novel is a narrative work in which the story is conveyed to the reader using sequential art in either an experimental design or in a traditional comics format...

.

Oni Press material initially released as comic books is usually later collected into trade paperbacks

Trade paperback (comics)

In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...

. They have published well over 100 titles, with multiple books undergoing reprints due to sustained popularity. Several of their books have won the Eisner Award

Eisner Award

The Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards, commonly shortened to the Eisner Awards, and sometimes referred to as the Oscar Awards of the Comics Industry, are prizes given for creative achievement in American comic books. The Eisner Awards were first conferred in 1988, created in response to the...

 including: Bryan Lee O'Malley

Bryan Lee O'Malley

Bryan Lee O'Malley is a Canadian cartoonist. He is best known for the Scott Pilgrim series, but is also a musician using the alias Kupek.-Career:...

's Scott Pilgrim

Scott Pilgrim

Scott Pilgrim is a graphic novel series by Bryan Lee O'Malley. It consists of six digest size black-and-white volumes, released between August 2004 and July 2010, by Portland-based independent comic book publisher Oni Press. It was later republished by Fourth Estate, an imprint of HarperCollins...

, Rick Spear & Chuck BB's Black Metal, Hope Larson

Hope Larson

Hope Raue Larson is an American illustrator and cartoonist. Her main field is graphic novels.-Biography:Larson is of German and Swedish descent. She grew up in Asheville, North Carolina, and attendedCarolina Day School...

's Grey Horses, and Greg Rucka

Greg Rucka

Gregory "Greg" Rucka is an American comic book writer and novelist, known for his work on such comics as Action Comics, Batwoman: Detective Comics, and the miniseries Superman: World of New Krypton for DC Comics, and for novels such as his Queen & Country series.-Career:Rucka's writing career...

's Whiteout: Melt

Whiteout: Melt

Whiteout: Melt is the title of a comic book limited series written by Greg Rucka, illustrated by Steve Lieber, and published by Oni Press in 2000...

and Queen & Country, with many more receiving nominations.

External links