Low Key Comics or: How I learned to stop worrying and make my own comics

A Brief History


Labrynth #2 Cover
Low Key Comics, as an entity, first appeared way back in those care-free days of 1997, when a young lad by the name of Kyle Morton in Tampa began writing and drawing his own comic by the name of Jazz Devil and needed something zippy to put on the cover. At around the same time a time zone away, a comic book register monkey by the name of Joe Costello decided to start his own self-publishing scheme with a comics news-n-reviews mag, the intentionally misspelled (or so he says) Labrynth. Wisely, Joe decided he should bring along somebody with a grasp on proper spelling and dragged along his high school friend Jason Green. As all this was going on, both Kyle and Jason began obsessively posting on a message board for Erik Larsen’s masterpiece Savage Dragon.

Soon after, the boys had met up with a plethora of like-minded comics fans, guys like Sean Smith, Paul Little, Justin Crouse, and Joe Angelillo, and the whole group of pathetic nerds became lifelong ‘net buddies. College came and went, and everyone in the group somehow hung together, exchanging their ideas on what comics could and should be, and promising that one day, they might just do something about it.

Then one fateful day, Joe Costello, now married and making a living in the Big Easy, a.k.a. N’Awlins, as an illustrator/graphic designer, decided that he was now ready to commit the time to create his first full comic, and gave his old, grammatically gifted buddy Jason a call. The pair hammered out a story they soon called Trio out of a few lengthy phone calls. Jason passed along the good news.

Turns out Jason and Joe weren’t the only ones hard at work. Just for sheer fun, Sean Smith and Paul Little had hammered out a whole universe they called Hopeless Heroes, with a full cast of characters already designed and a plethora of adventures already plotted. Justin Crouse had already filled dozens of sketchbooks with a tongue-in-cheek superhero he called Everyman. Joe Angelillo had been kicking around a sci-fi story called Ghrey for years, and even drawn up a few pages. And as it turns out, Kyle Morton had hammered out a new story called The Last Days of El Rey with his brother Nick Morton. The stars had aligned: everyone was working on comics, why not work on them together?

Under Kyle’s long-unused banner, a title that certainly describes all of the label’s creators to a T, the group went hard to work at an anthology featuring snippets set within each of their respective stories. Their first publication, a 36-page collection aptly titled Low Key Comics #1, launched on May 6th, 2005, with a rock concert in St. Louis, MO, coinciding with Free Comic Book Day. The concert featured two local bands, the Maxtone Four and the Gentleman Callers, and two national touring bands, The Mercy Kiss from Los Angeles and The Fuglees from Indianapolis (who, as luck would have it, features famed comics artist Andy Kuhn). The concert was a rip-roaring success, getting over 100 copies of the book into the hands of rabid fans. Since the successful opening salvo, Low Key Comics has been independently distributed in comic shops across the United States and Canada.

Low Key continues to expand with more creators, more titles, and more sales locations. LowKeyComics.com is the place to check for each new addition to our line. We’re proud of it, and we think you’ll like it, too.

A Mission Statement
Low Key Comics is a comic publisher, but above all that, we’re a group of friends and comic lovers first. We don’t make comics to make a fortune, we make them because we have to. As such, every issue is a labor of love, and you’ll be able to tell by the blood, sweat, and tears present on every page. Also, though may all be friends, we are also a very diverse individuals, so you won’t be seeing any contrived “house style.” There is no typical Low Key book. Regardless of what you’re looking for, be it sci-fi, western, mystery, drama, or even a superhero or two, Low Key Comics is the place.

We are also currently 100% independently distributed in the home towns of each of our creators. Rather than flame out spending a fortune on nationwide distribution, we’ve chosen to live within our means, make a name for ourselves, and wait for the audience to find us. Our Store page has a complete, up-to-date list of all retailers carrying Low Key books. Be sure to hunt them down…you’ll be glad you did.

LOW KEY COMICS: High quality, Low profile.
Written By: Jason Green