Rock, Paper, Cynic Webcomic and ChiZine Publications Team Up

The press release:

Rock, Paper, Cynic and ChiZine enter co-operative agreement

TORONTO, Ontario (March 30, 2014) — ChiZine Publications (CZP) and popular webcomic Rock, Paper, Cynic (RPC) are pleased to announce a cooperative venture. RPC is now an imprint of ChiZine Publications, an internationally acclaimed press.

Rock, Paper, Cynic was started by Peter Chiykowski, a Toronto-based cartoonist, as an online webcomic. The comic’s focus is “celebrating things that make the world weird and exciting, and poking fun at things that bring people down.” With its growing reach and popularity, including being shared by “geek” icons such as George Takei and Nathan Fillion, RPC began publishing chapbooks and mini-posters.

By becoming an imprint of ChiZine Publications, Rock, Paper, Cynic will be available through ChiZine Publications’ distribution channels: Harper Collins in Canada and Diamond Book Distributors internationally. As well, Rock, Paper Cynic’s titles will be featured in the CZP catalogue.

Under the terms of the agreement, Chiykowski will retain creative control over Rock, Paper, Cynic.

“We’re known for being a ‘dark’ publisher, but we’ve done some satire and humour in the past. Rock, Paper, Cynic brings the same thought-provoking quality as our titles,” says Sandra Kasturi, co-publisher of ChiZine Publications. “We’ve always thought Peter’s work was smart, hilarious and odd—and hope that through our distribution channels he can reach an even wider (and weirder!) audience.”

“ChiZine’s readers recognize something strange and wonderful when they see it,” adds Chiykowski. “I think that they’re going to get a kick out of Rock, Paper, Cynic.”

Rock, Paper Cynic’s latest book, The H.M.S. Bad Idea, will be published in mid-November.The H.M.S. Bad Idea will be an anthology of geeky comics about bad ideas, lost causes and “choosing ‘awesome’ over ‘right.’” It will be the first Rock, Paper, Cynic title published under the agreement.