David Campiti (; born May 9, 1958) is an American animation producer, comic book writer, talent agent, and comics 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,
Early life
Campiti is the adopted son of Charles H. and Rose Campiti.
He graduated from Warwood High School and West Liberty University. He began writing as a child.
Career
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
[ Campiti and Associates, Who's Who of American Comic Books, 1928–1999. Retrieved December 27, 2021.]
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.
Pied Piper / Amazing / Wonder Color
Beginning in the summer of 1986, after disputes arose between Marshall and Campiti,
Rosenberg and some investors
provided capital for Campiti to form two new small publishers: Amazing and
Wonder Color.
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.
Campiti personally edited most of Pied Piper's comics as well as writing a number of titles.
The plan was that Campiti would package comics for all three publishers through Campiti and Associates,
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."
In the spring of 1987, Rosenberg revealed his involvement with the various small publishers he was financing.
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,
Innovation Publishing.
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.
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 and Joe Bennett. According to Campiti, Innovation became number four in market share, below
Marvel Comics,
DC Comics, and Dark Horse Comics.
Glass House Graphics
In 1993, Campiti resigned from Innovation
and founded Glass House Graphics,
a new comics packager. Campiti gave comics workshops at conventions and art schools in
Brazil and the
Philippines,
cementing further relationships with
Brazilian comics artist, including
Al Rio.
One of Glass House's clients was the short-lived publisher
Topps Comics.
In 1995, Campiti briefly served as art director of Pop Comics, a publisher of unauthorized comic book biographies.
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,
In the early 2020s Campiti/Glass House Graphics produced graphic novel adaptations for two middle-grade series for Simon & Schuster: The Goddess Girls
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
From March 2013
to 2018, 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.
Other works
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.
Bibliography
Amazing Comics
-
Angel Heat (1997)
-
Dangerous Secrets (Amazing Comics, 1997)
-
The Experimentals (Amazing Comics, 1997)
Angel Entertainment
Avatar Pres
-
Exposure Second Coming (2000)
-
Exposure Special 2001 (2001)
-
Jade Warriors: Slave of the Dragon (2001)
DC Comics
Dynamite Entertainment / Watson-Guptill
-
(as contributing writer) Stan Lee's How to Draw Comics (Nov. 2010)
Image Comics
Innovation Publishing
-
Beauty and the Beast (1993)
-
Forbidden Planet (1992–1993)
-
Mike Baron's The Group Larue (1989)
-
Hero Alliance Annual (1990)
-
Hero Alliance Manual
-
Hero Alliance Quarterly (1991–1992)
-
Hero Alliance Special (1992)
-
Legends of the Stargazers (1989–1990)
-
Lost in Space (1991–1993)
-
Piers Anthony's On a Pale Horse (1991)
-
Quantum Leap (1991–1993)
-
The Vampire Companion (1990–1992)
Pacific Comics
-
(stories in anthology title) Vanguard Illustrated #1–3 (1983–1984)
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(with co-writer and artist David Ross) "Avalone Episode One: Survival," in Vanity #2 (1984)
Sirius Comics
-
Greylore #1–5 (1985–1986)
Other publishers
External links
