Longstanding kids graphic novel publisher Papercutz acquired by Mad Cave

Mad Cave Studios has announced that it has acquired children's graphic novel publisher Papercutz, Forbes reports. As reports continue of the comics industry growing, much of the major growth has been taking place in the kids comics market, and we have recently seen publishers with a previous focus on the adult market branch out towards comics aimed at the growing children's literature market to take advantage of that trend. Mad Cave has already made moves in this direction when, in 2021, they announced their YA imprint Maverick.

Mad Cave Studios is a newer comics publisher, established in 2014 by Mark London and based out of Miami, Florida. It seems like a savvy move to bring in not only a kids comics publisher, but also one of the earliest and most prolific ones (Forbes reports that they publish 40-50 titles a year!), to expand their market. In an industry where turnover is high and independent comics publishers tend to disappear or even fall apart after a few years, acquiring an older company can also lend a sense of stability to the proceedings.

Papercutz was founded in 2005 by Terry Nantier (founder of NBM) and Jim Salicrup (former Marvel editor) with the specific focus on creating comics for kids. Their titles include new comics based on licensed properties like Nancy Drew and Lego Ninjago alongside republished collections of classic comics like Asterix, Smurfs, and Dennis the Menace.