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David Campiti
Campiti at the Big Apple Convention, May 21, 2011
Born (1958-05-09) May 9, 1958 (age 66)
Wheeling, West Virginia, U.S.
Area(s)Writer, Editor, Publisher
Notable works
Campiti and Associates
Innovation Publishing
Glass House Graphics / Glass House Studios
Spouse(s)Cynthia "Cynthy" Wood[1][2]
Meryl Campiti
glasshousegraphics.com
ghsanimation.com

David Campiti (/kæmˈpiːti/; born May 9, 1958) is an American animation producer, comic book writer, talent agent, and packager. He was deeply involved with a number of comics publishers in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including Eternity Comics, Pied Piper Comics, and his own entity, Innovation Publishing. As CEO of Glass House Graphics,[3] Campiti oversees an international animation studio and agency of illustrators, writers, painters, and digital designers.

Early life

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Campiti is the adopted son of Charles H. and Rose Campiti.[4][5] He graduated from Warwood High School and West Liberty University. He began writing as a child.

Career

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Campiti sold his first writing to the Wheeling News-Register while still in college, and to such magazines as Writer's Digest and Comics Buyer's Guide soon after.[5]

He was an on-air news reporter at WKWK radio, where he also wrote, performed, and produced humorous radio commercials. He soon moved on to WANJ-FM Radio.[4]

In 1982, Campiti moved from his hometown of Wheeling, West Virginia, to North Attleboro, Massachusetts, where he worked as chief copywriter at the L.G. Balfour Company and, later on, as a writer for the United Way of New England.[4]

Campiti sold comic book scripts to Pacific Comics in 1982. In 1985, Campiti wrote a short story for Action Comics #573 at DC Comics, then turned to freelance editing and comics packaging full-time.

Campiti and Associates

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Campiti's packager, Campiti and Associates (also known as Creative Concepts) supplied content for a number of small publishers launched during the so-called "black-and-white boom" of the mid-1980s, employing creators like Mark Beachum, Rick Bryant, Ron Lim, and David Lawrence.[6]

Campiti first provided content for the short-lived publisher Sirius Comics (1985–1986), where he spearheaded the creation of the superhero team Hero Alliance. Early in 1986, Campiti and writer-editor Brian Marshall co-founded the comics packager TriCorp Entertainment.[7] With private financing from Sunrise Distribution's Scott Mitchell Rosenberg,[8] Marshall and Tony Eng formed Eternity Comics;[9] Campiti packaged material for Eternity to publish, including Lawrence & Lim's Ex-Mutants.[10]

Pied Piper / Amazing / Wonder Color

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Main article: Pied Piper Comics

Beginning in the summer of 1986, after disputes arose between Marshall and Campiti,[10] Rosenberg and some investors[8] provided capital for Campiti to form two new small publishers: Amazing and Wonder Color.[8] Meanwhile, Campiti, Mark L. Hamlin, and Roger McKenzie formed Pied Piper Comics, with Hamlin, McKenzie, and Campiti sharing the title of Publisher and Campiti also holding the title of Editor-in-Chief.[10] Campiti personally edited most of Pied Piper's comics as well as writing a number of titles.[6] The plan was that Campiti would package comics for all three publishers through Campiti and Associates,[11] with Pied Piper handling "special projects such as posters and graphic novels; black-and-white [comics] were Amazing's domain, and Wonder Color would product strictly color comics."[8]

In the spring of 1987, Rosenberg revealed his involvement with the various small publishers he was financing.[12][8] The resulting fallout led to the consolidation of the various Rosenberg properties, with Amazing and Wonder Color both being shut down and a few of their titles moving to Pied Piper.[6]

Innovation Publishing

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Main article: Innovation Publishing

Pied Piper collapsed in 1988, but Campiti wrote a business proposal that helped raise $400,000 to finance the launch of his own venture,[13] Innovation Publishing.[14] Innovation brought literary, film, and TV tie-in series and adaptations, such as Anne Rice's The Vampire Lestat, Dark Shadows, Quantum Leap, and Lost in Space. Innovation also continued a number of titles from Pied Piper/Amazing/Wonder Color, including Hero Alliance and Power Factor.[9] Under Campiti's leadership, Innovation was one of the first companies to delve heavily into recruiting talents from Brazil, starting the American careers of Mike Deodato[13] and Joe Bennett. According to Campiti, Innovation became number four in market share, below Marvel Comics, DC Comics, and Dark Horse Comics.[13]

Glass House Graphics

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In 1993, Campiti resigned from Innovation[15] and founded Glass House Graphics,[16][13] a new comics packager. Campiti gave comics workshops at conventions and art schools in Brazil and the Philippines,[17] cementing further relationships with Brazilian comics artist, including Al Rio.[18] One of Glass House's clients was the short-lived publisher Topps Comics.[19]

In 1995, Campiti briefly served as art director of Pop Comics, a publisher of unauthorized comic book biographies.[20]

In 1997, Campiti and Glass House Graphics packaged material for the short-lived publisher Amazing Comics Group, founded by Howard Feltman. Amazing Comics released three crossover titles in 1997 (most of it using talent Campiti recruited in Brazil), all of which told the story of the "Jewels of the Rising Sun." The company was based in Shepherd, Michigan,[21] and had a publishing agreement with Gary Reed of Caliber Comics.[22]

In the early 2020s Campiti/Glass House Graphics produced graphic novel adaptations for two middle-grade series for Simon & Schuster: The Goddess Girls[23] and Heroes in Training.[24]

Campiti holds the position of CEO/Manager — USA & South America at Glass House Graphics. The company has offices in the U.S., Brazil, Manila, Jakarta, and various locations in Europe, coordinating a roster of worldwide talents that produce art, stories, and digital graphics for a range of publishers and studios.

Red Giant Entertainment

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From March 2013[25] to 2018,[citation needed] Campiti served on the board of directors and as COO of Red Giant Entertainment, a comic book publisher and "transmedia" entertainment company.

Campiti was listed as producer and character actor for Journey to Magika, the first animated film from Red Giant Entertainment, which aired on Hulu in 2014.[26] His Glass House Studios animation animated The Grubbs, a TV pilot for Keenspot Entertainment.

Other works

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Campiti's credits as writer include Action Comics #573, Exposure and Jade Warriors for Image Comics and Keenspot. Most of his work in comics was as an editor on titles like T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, Magnus, Robot Fighter, Beauty and the Beast, Dark Shadows, and Hero Alliance.

He was a "contributing writer" to Stan Lee's How to Draw Comics, released in November 2010 by Watson-Guptill/Dynamite Entertainment.[27][28]

Bibliography

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Amazing Comics

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  • Angel Heat (1997)
  • Dangerous Secrets (Amazing Comics, 1997)
  • The Experimentals (Amazing Comics, 1997)

Angel Entertainment

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  • Dream Angel (1996)

Avatar Pres

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  • Exposure Second Coming (2000)
  • Exposure Special 2001 (2001)
  • Jade Warriors: Slave of the Dragon (2001)

DC Comics

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Dynamite Entertainment / Watson-Guptill

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  • (as contributing writer) Stan Lee's How to Draw Comics (Nov. 2010)

Image Comics

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Innovation Publishing

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Pacific Comics

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  • (stories in anthology title) Vanguard Illustrated #1–3 (1983–1984)
  • (with co-writer and artist David Ross) "Avalone Episode One: Survival," in Vanity #2 (1984)

Sirius Comics

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  • Greylore #1–5 (1985–1986)

Other publishers

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References

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  1. ^ "Cynthia Wood". Who's Who of American Comics Books, 1928–1999. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  2. ^ Dave Campiti entry, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  3. ^ Perkins, Jason. "Contact – David Campiti". www.glasshousegraphics.com. Archived from the original on January 11, 2018. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c "David Campiti". quantumleappodcast.com. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
  5. ^ a b "David Campiti". www.glasshousegraphics.com. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
  6. ^ a b c Campiti and Associates, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Retrieved December 27, 2021.
  7. ^ "Brian Marshall entry". Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Retrieved March 13, 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d e "Distributor Finances Five Publishers". The Comics Journal. No. 115. April 1987. pp. 12–13.
  9. ^ a b Vaughn, J.C. (2015). "Dinosaurs for Hire: Tom Mason interview..." Overstreet Comic Book Marketplace Yearbook 2015-2016. Diamond Comic Distributors. Retrieved March 16, 2023. Of [Rosenberg]'s four original secret companies, Amazing and Wonder were run out of West Virginia by David Campiti.... Amazing, and Wonder were closed down, and Campiti went on to his own company, Pied Piper (and later Innovation). Ex-Mutants had been created by David Lawrence and Ron Lim, and was published by Campiti through the Amazing imprint. But they lost control of the title in a bizarre dispute with Scott that I could never figure out – this had all happened just before I signed on to Malibu.
  10. ^ a b c David Lawrence (w). "An Explanation" Lawrence & Lim's THE NEW HUMANS, vol. 1, no. 1 (July 1987). Pied Piper Comics.
  11. ^ "Campiti and Associates entry". Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Retrieved December 25, 2021.
  12. ^ Rosenberg, Scott (March 1, 1987). "New Goals... New Directions... New Management...! A Re-Organization of Amazing Comics". Amazing Comics Premieres. No. 5.
  13. ^ a b c d "Special Interview: David Camptiti" (PDF). TreasureChambers.com. October 2020.
  14. ^ "David Campiti – LinkedIn".
  15. ^ "Newswatch: Campiti Leaves Innovation". The Comics Journal. No. 161. August 1993. p. 27.
  16. ^ MHCHICAGO (July 25, 2010). "Comic Book Creator Interview David Campiti". CNN iReport. Archived from the original on March 17, 2017. Retrieved February 13, 2023.
  17. ^ "Newswatch: Campiti Holds Art Seminar in Brazil". The Comics Journal. No. 175. March 1995. p. 29.
  18. ^ Campiti, David (January 31, 2012). "Remembering Al Rio". Bleeding Cool.
  19. ^ Raphael, Jordan (August 1995). "The Truth Is Out There? Dispute over Topps' X-Files". Newswatch. The Comics Journal. No. 179. pp. 14–15.
  20. ^ Sanford, Jay Allen (April 21, 2008). "Pacific Comics: The Inside Story, plus RIP Rocketeer Creator, Comics & Censorship". San Diego Reader.
  21. ^ "Amazing Comics Group". Grand Comics Database. Retrieved March 18, 2023.
  22. ^ Feltman, Howard (1997). "The Ninth Order". Angel Heat: The Ninth Order. No. 1. Amazing Comics Group.
  23. ^ Goddess Girls: Athena the Brain. Aladdin. February 22, 2022. ISBN 978-1534473867.
  24. ^ Heroes in Training Graphic Novel Mythical Collection (Boxed Set). Simon & Schuster. October 24, 2023. ISBN 9781665940078. Retrieved March 17, 2023.
  25. ^ "Top Comics Industry Talent Agent Joins Red Giant Entertainment: David Campiti Brings Over Three Decades Experience to Red Giant Board of Directors". Marketwired (Press release). March 5, 2013. Archived from the original on May 30, 2013.
  26. ^ "Red Giant Entertainment Wraps "Magika" Post-Production". Marketwired. March 6, 2013.
  27. ^ Moondaughter, Wolfen (December 6, 2010). "Stan Lee's How to Draw Comics". Sequential Tart.
  28. ^ Fratz, D. Douglas (2012). "Stan Lee's How to Draw Comics review". SFSite.
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