Gold Key, the first company to publish Star Trek and Twilight Zone comic books, is under new ownership and is now poised to make a major comeback.
The Spec Tales podcast interviewed Lance Linderman, a comic book enthusiast who purchased Gold Key -- now operating under the license Gold Key Entertainment LLC -- alongside Adam Brooks, Mike Dynes and Arnold Guerrero in late 2021. "The more I thought about it, I was like, you know what, if I could acquire Gold Key, that gives me a front of the door entrance to whatever meeting I want -- maybe not whatever meeting I want, but it gives me a really good step into the industry to have conversations with people like you guys and other people in the industry," Linderman said of the purchase. According to Linderman, the final acquisition for the company included not only cash but also a comic book -- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1.
Since the purchase, Linderman said Gold Key is mainly focusing its attention on two different areas. The first involves finding working and talented creators within the comic book industry. "We have a writer and we have some artists we're talking to," Linderman said. "I can't say the names of those people, yet, but some of the names [are people] you guys are definitely aware of... As much as we recognize the value of getting a big name, we're really more interested in pulling a bit of a passion play. We're kind of going after the names of people we collectively really love and respect, also. There are still some big names in that pool, but it's not like I'm going after just the biggest guy right now -- although, they're all really talented. We're kind of sitting and [looking at] who we've read, looked at and think could illustrate stories in a way that's really thoughtful and angular."
Secondly, Linderman said that Gold Key is looking into some of the past titles published at the company and seeing how they might be able to resurrect them. While some of these properties are tied up in deals with other publishing companies, Linderman said they're currently in talks with the Borris Karloff estate for a potential deal. "[Karloff] is the legendary Frankenstein -- that iconic Frankenstein image we've all seen. It's tattooed on a million people's bodies. Or [he also played] the Mummy. Karloff was brilliant. We're very interested."
"What does Borris Karloff look like, today, if it came out with some guys who are thinking a little bit darker than you would have thought in the '60s?" he continued. "Nothing is finalized, nothing is set in stone -- it's something we're discussing amongst each other and we're working on. We are in conversations."
That sense of nostalgia is important for the reinvented Gold Key, Linderman said -- so much so that they're looking at physically releasing comic books in a format similar to what was used in the 1960s. "The new books going forward, they're going to have the look, the feel and the smell of the books from the era we love and collect," he said. "I'm super pumped about that. It's costing us way more to do it that way, but those are the sort of details we're trying to be thoughtful of."
Gold Key was initially created in 1962. Apart from Star Trek and Twilight Zone comics, the company was known for creating characters like Doctor Solar, Turok and Magnus, Robot Fighter. Gold Key also published Walt Disney and Warner Bros. comics for a time. After losing several properties over the years, the comic book publishing division shut down in 1984.
Source: Spec Tales
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