Bad Idea is an independent comic books publisher that was founded by Dinesh Shamdasani, Warren Simons, and Hunter Gorinson in late 2019. All three had previously worked together at Valiant Entertainment from 2011 to 2017.
The company's first ever publication was the promotional Hero Trade #1 distributed in September 2020. In March 2021, they started publishing monthly comics with ENIAC, a four-issue mini-series written by Matt Kindt, illustrated by Doug Braithwaite, and covers from Lewis LaRosa.
Bad Idea's publishing strategy is to produce only 2 different comic books per month, print copies only, with no plans to collect the single issues later on. The only way to purchase Bad Idea books is through their partner stores, some of which offering mail orders. All books would feature a main story and a backup short story. Since the early beginning, Bad Idea was confronted with haters and even more haters who didn't like the idea of their somewhat limited (!) and elitist ways of distribution.
First Wave
Regular Comics:
Promotional Comics:
First Wave, Part Two (aka "The Final Five")
In mid-June, Bad Idea announced that their haters were right predicting Bad Idea would not be a successful idea but one that would not last long. Therefore they would soon announce their final wave before the company would discontinue publishing comics by end of 2021. Of course, it was later revealed it wasn't quite the end of Bad Idea Comics...yet!
Regular Comics:
Promotional Comics:
- Retirement Plan #1 (Oct. 2021; one-shot)
- Werewolf #1 (Oct. 2021; one-shot)
Note: Retirement Plan & Werewolf could only be mail-ordered by redeeming the First Customer Pins from Monster Kill Squad & Pyrate Queen.
Second Wave, Part One (aka Bad Idea Two)
The second wave was preceded by a Kickstarter campaign to Stop Bad Idea in Q2 '22. Later that year, some other (or the same; or both) people were trying everything again to bring Bad Idea down at the "Stop Bad Idea" booth during New York Comic Con in October 2022. Needless to say, all those naysayers and protestors were eventually outnumbered and outsmarted by the real Bad Idea fans. Once again, the Bad Idea continued to publish a limited (!!) number of comic books.
Regular Comics:
- Burning Man #1 (Dec. 2022; one-shot)
- Escape From Wyoming #1-3 (Nov. 2022 - Jan. 2023)
- Orc Island #1-4 (Nov. 2022; weekly)
- The Ends #1-3 (Jan. 2023; weekly)
- The Finder #1 (Feb. 2023; one-shot)
- The First Seven Days #1 (Nov. 2022; one-shot sneaked into Previews Catalogue #408)
- They're All Terrible #1-2 (of 4; Dec. 2022 - Feb. 2023)
- Werewolf x Society of Fearless Frontiersmen #1 (Dec. 2022; one-shot)
Promotional Comics:
- Bad Idea Donuts Presents: Bunsen Beaver #1 (aka "Bunsen Beaver and His Pal Tree")
- Bad Idea Donuts Presents: Bunsen Beaver #2 (aka "Bunsen Beaver and the Further Adventures of His Pal Tree")
- Hero Trade: Hudson #1
- Orc Island: Andune's Story (Oct. 2022; NYCC Exclusive)
- Sacred Heart: A Hero Trade Story
- Wyoming (Oct. 2022; NYCC Exclusive)
MEGALITH
In early 2023, Bad Idea Comics finally announced the release of MEGALITH -- a project writer Matt Kindt and artist Lewis LaRosa had been working on since the very beginning of Bad Idea Comics. Unlike all previous publications, MEGALITH would not be distributed through Bad Idea's partner stores (initially), instead it would only be made available through a Kickstarter campaign. Through several tiers the complete hardcover as well as all the individual issues could be pledged for. All books would only be printed in strictly limited (!!!) numbers based on the pledges for each tier and issue, respectively.
- MEGALITH: The Complete Hardcover (Silver Hologram Edition)
- Megalith #0
- Megalith: The NORAD Conundrum
- Megalith: Escape Area 23
- Megalith: Space Seed
- Megalith: Karma Map
- Megalith: The Collapse Theory
- Megalith: Universal Language
- Megalith: Divine Intervention
- Megalith: The Mutates
- MEGALITH II Preview
It was later announced that everyone who had pledged would also receive a free comic titled "Cul de Sac: Chapter One" written by Mike Carey and illustrated by Johnathan Wayshak. This story, however, seems to be unrelated to Megalith.
During San Diego Comic Con in July 2023, Bad Idea announced the "Megalith: Old Masters Collection" available through Backerkit and featuring "massive canvas sized" editions of Megalith #0-3 with variant covers inspired by Claude Monet, Rembrandt van Rijn, Vincent van Gogh, and the great Leonardo da Vinci.
Second Wave, Part Two
TBA
- They're All Terrible #3-4
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