MAGNETIC PRESS European Comics Move Under POLARITY Banner

#NYCC: MAGNETIC PRESS TO OPERATE INDEPENDENTLY UNDER POLARITY BANNER  Formerly An Imprint of Lion Forge, Mike Kennedy’s Prestige Portfolio of European Comics Returns to Full Service Publisher of Comics and Graphic Albums

ST. LOUIS—Three years almost to the day after the acquisition of Magnetic Press was announced at New York Comic Con, the former Lion Forge imprint is announced to return to its status as full-service publisher under the David Steward II founded Polarity holding company, which also operates Lion Forge Comics and Oni Press. Independently established in 2014 by founder Mike Kennedy, former publisher of Archaia Entertainment, Magnetic Press was acquired by Lion Forge in October of 2016 and rebranded as The Magnetic Collection. Kennedy has received numerous accolades in Magnetic’s first five years of operation, including 17 Eisner Award nominations over their first four consecutive years of eligibility. “What Mike Kennedy achieved with the establishment of Magnetic Press in both the quality of content and its presentation was what drew my interest from the beginning,” says Polarity founder and president, David Steward II. “Now that we have consolidated Lion Forge and its imprints through our merger with Oni Press, it seemed the right time to have Mike return to publisher status, to continue to carry out his vision under our larger family of brands.” “Magnetic enjoyed so many proud achievements with so many wonderful books released over the past three years with Lion Forge” says Magnetic Press founder and publisher, Mike Kennedy. “We’re now looking forward to building on that momentum with even more exciting and unique titles and projects with Polarity’s enthusiastic support. Being able to define our own strategies and to focus a spotlight on our talented authors in the way that best suits their individual appeal will allow us to kick off some dynamic plans for increased growth and fan engagement in the coming year.”   Titles planned for 2020 include the dystopic fantasy Nils: The Tree of Life by Jerome Hamon and Antoine Carrion), Streamliner by Fane, Paris 2119 by Zep and Dominique Bertail, and Gunland by Captain Artiglio. The coming year will also the continuation of sci-fi series Infinity 8  by Lewis Trondheim and ORPHANS by Roberto Recchioni and Emmanuel Mamucari, as well as the return of several popular series including KLAW by Ozanam and Jurion and The Ogre Gods by Hubert and Bertrand Gatignol. Other titles will be announced in the coming months, with Magnetic offering something for all ages across its diverse lineup.    The company will also build a robust gaming catalogue with new original projects and more, adding to current titles like the graphic novel/RPG hybrid Hugo Broyler  and the fantasy card game universe The World of Cassyno. Magnetic Press, LLC will be distributed in both the direct and book markets exclusively by Diamond, with an active digital first strategy through Comixology. About Magnetic Press   Magnetic Press is a subsidiary of Polarity that publishes graphic novels, art books, and periodicals curated with a focus on internationally recognized content and talent, presented with premium quality design and production value. The Magnetic brand was founded by Mike Kennedy in 2013 as the independent publishing company Magnetic Press, Inc, featuring creators both new and established from around the world, sharing their stories with an English-language audience often for the first time. Their award-winning library includes such celebrated titles as the Love series of wordless wildlife graphic novels, as well as Eisner-nominated books A Sea of Love, Watersnakes, Herakles, Doomboy, A Glance Backward, Little Tails, The Ghost of Gaudi, and Dave Dorman’s Wasted Lands Omnibus. Magnetic has earned a total of 17 Eisner Award nominations in their first four-of-four years of eligibility. Magnetic also won the Gold Medal of Excellence in the graphic novel category of the 2015 Independent Publisher Awards for Love: The Fox. About Polarity Polarity is a diversified global media company founded in 2018, with a mission to bring authentic content to a diverse global audience.  The name Polarity conveys opposing forces and a global perspective to build a captivating range of assets. To create a richer content experience and offering, we believe in the value of embracing diversity and highlighting opposing views and voices.