Robert "Bob" Schreck (/ʃrɛk/; born February 2, 1955)[1] is an American comic book writer and editor. Schreck is best known for his influential role as editor and marketing director at Dark Horse Comics in the 1990s, co-founding Oni Press, and for his subsequent stint as editor for DC Comics.[2] He is currently the Deputy Director of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.[3]
In the mid-1970s, Bob Schreck began working for Creation Entertainment organizing and running conventions around the country, where he got to know most of the era's comic book professionals,[2] and met aspirants and up-and-comers such as Matt Wagner,[4] who has called Schreck "a major force in the comics industry".[5] In the early 1980s he worked in the marketing department at Marvel Comics.
Comico
In 1985 Schreck and his future wife (now divorced) Diana Schutz were hired as, respectively, Administrative Director (in charge of marketing and publishing) and Editor in Chief of Comico Comics.[6] Under their stewardship Comico rose to the third best-selling comics publisher, after Marvel and DC.[7] Schreck was closely involved in the publication of titles such as Mage and Grendel, Elementals, Robotech, and Jonny Quest, was responsible for several acclaimed graphic novels including Mike Baron's Ginger Fox and Doug Wildey's Rio,[8] and secured work from such luminaries as William Messner-Loebs, Steve Rude and Dave Stevens, among many others. Despite its success, by the end of the '80s Comico was spiraling into bankruptcy[9] and Schreck and Schutz left for greener pastures.[10]
Dark Horse Comics
After a brief stint at Graphitti Designs,[2] Schreck worked at Dark Horse Comics from 1990–97,[7] where he served as marketing director, editor and group editor.[2] During this time Schreck brought several talents to a wider audience, including Mike Allred who explained, "In many ways he was my own personal marketing director.... For that and many other reasons Dark Horse launched Madman even higher into the stratosphere" [11] and Paul Pope, who credits Schreck as an important factor in his career.[12] In addition to his work as marketing director and talent recruiter, Schreck was the editor of many titles including Frank Miller's Sin City, The Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot, Madman, Art Adams's Monkeyman and O'Brien, and the anthology title Dark Horse Presents which became one of the most important places for new talent to enter the field alongside well-known names doing often experimental or edgier work.[13] Schreck was later instrumental in compelling Frank Miller to work with director Robert Rodriguez on a film version of Sin City.[14] During this time Dark Horse became the third best-selling comics publisher in the country.[7]
Oni Press
Schreck left Dark Horse in 1997 and shortly thereafter[15] co-founded Oni Press with Joe Nozemack.[16] Oni's original goal was publishing comics and graphic novels the founders would want to read.[5] Unsatisfied with the material that was dominating the industry, they believed firmly that sequential art could be used to tell virtually any story.[17] Oni titles Schreck edited include Kevin Smith's Clerks and Jay and Silent Bob comics, Whiteout, Bad Boy by Frank Miller and Simon Bisley, and the award-winning Oni Double Feature.
After leaving DC in January 2009, Schreck joined IDW Publishing as a senior editor, where he also wrote the comic book series Jurassic Park: Redemption.[20]
In 2010, he was named editor-in-chief of Legendary Comics,[21] a division he co-founded with editor Greg Tumbarello, where they launched as a top ten publisher with their inaugural title Holy Terror by Frank Miller. Other works they published include the Eisner Award-nominated Annihilator by Grant Morrison and Frazer Irving,[22]The Tower Chronicles by Matt Wagner and Simon Bisley, A Town Called Dragon by Judd Winick and Geoff Shaw, Shadow Walk by Mark Waid and Shane Davis, and Cops for Criminals by Steven Grant and Pete Woods, as well as NY Times #1 Best Selling graphic novel Pacific Rim: Tales from Year Zero, NY Times Best Seller Godzilla: Awakening, and tie-ins to Warcraft, andKing Kong.
Schreck has long been a source of editorial advice in the industry. He tells aspiring writers, "you can take the clunkiest of artists and make your story interesting, and force the artist to draw something, no matter how rudimentary, that makes my brain believe you know what you're doing. Those words really inform that picture. They make me think beyond and between the panels. If you can do that, you got it sold.... Quite honestly, you hear in the world there's something like only seven stories ever told. It's how you tell it... Go to Kinko's, create your own fun little ashcans. Tell stories. Tell stories in any format you can."[23]
Frequent collaborator Paul Pope said of working with Schreck, "He knows how to get me working on it. Sometimes it's flattery, sometimes it's encouragement, sometimes it's — well, he just opens Holy Hell before you."[12]
Schreck credits his editorial philosophy in part to the influence of Archie Goodwin,[16] explaining: "I try to provide very fertile topsoil. A place for these people to take root and grow... a certain amount of stepping back and compassion, just being able to listen to what it is... many times the writer or the artist you're working with, they're not quite sure what it is they want to say at this juncture. So you're there to hear things that even they're not picking up on and help them see it."[2]
