Virgin Comics Closes Its Doors

Posted on August 27, 2008

Virgin Comics has folded. Virgin Comics was an international joint venture between the Virgin Group owned by Sir Richard Branson and Gotham Entertainment, the India-based comics publisher.

Sources confirm that the venture has been closed. However, in a statement released by Virgin Comics CEO Sharad Devarajan (who is also president of Gotham Entertainment), he also confirmed that the company has closed the New York City office. Devarajan said that the company is "restructuring" and will relocate to new and as yet unspecified offices in Los Angeles.

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Virgin Comics was launched in early 2006 with an ambitious program to create a list of high profile superhero and adventure print comics inspired by Indian/Hindu mythology that could also be licensed as potential film and merchandise properties to a global audience of pop culture consumers. The high profile venture not only included financing by Branson but also included bestselling author Deepak Chopra, who is chairman of Virgin Comics and wrote a comics biography of Buddha for the house. In addition, his son, Gotham Chopra, is chief creative officer and editor-in-chief of Virgin Comics/Virgin Animation.

The Director's Cut line had comics series by Ed Burns (Dock Walloper), Guy Ritchie (Gamekeeper) and John Woo (Seven Brothers), which the company had planned to make into major feature films. The company even had a comic by porn star Jenna Jameson called Shadow Hunter. We've heard no word of a buyer, so the future of the comics looks a bit grim.

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