Mission.

To inspire creators to tell stories that move every reader. Our mission is to penetrate the noise and clutter in the world and penetrate the zeitgeist to inspire, entertain, and inform everyone who touches our creative efforts. Doing this should be fun for everyone who works with us. To accomplish this, we must be passionate about every novel we publish. Each novel must first inspire, inform, and entertain us at Bly Island. At the top of our aspirations is to inspire and encourage creativity… which will distinguish Bly Island Media.

BLY ISLAND START-UP PHILOSOPHY

•       We chose to start with a creative catalog. The founders of Bly Island have secured 20+ original graphic novel projects.

•       We invested in a broad development slate with strategic creative talent. Bly Island has commissioned or acquired cross-media rights to launch an original graphic novel company initially, with an eye toward building a multi-media rights company. At this time, the company is not soliciting or accepting submissions.

•       We secured a substantial distribution partner with Vinegar Syndrome Press to distribute Bly Island graphic novels directly to consumers and through traditional wholesale/retail channels.

Readers - Partners - Artists:

We are entering the Original Graphic Novel business with one objective. To have Bly Island Novels embraced by a wide and informed audience. From the first novel release in May 2024 onward, we want to be the best in our space. The first Bly Island novels follow storylines that are coaxed out of real-world events. These stories go through our creative grist-mill after many drafts by several creators. They are smart plots, entertaining stories, compelling characters, and with a particular emphasis on brilliant art.We are going to give our readers, fans, and partners a narrative of “how” the novel came together and why we chose this story/plot and how we brought the characters to life in the process of

developing the art and story.

BLY ISLAND CREATIVE BRIEF

·      Bly Island’s vision is to be a creative leader in Original Graphic Novels. Not the most prolific, but one that is anticipated with each release.

·      The company plans to earn a premium brand label by being very selective in what storylines are chosen for cross-media development. Each project selected for development must have a clear path to: first, a successful launch in the graphic novel market, and then one or more options in upstream or downstream markets.

· The company will always focus on publishing the finest OGN first while simultaneously developing a film screenplay, series episodes, a video game plan, or a traditional publishing route.

·      Whenever possible, the company will secure a production partner in one or more of these platforms while creating the graphic novel. The company intends to invest in the creative development of these additional platforms as an indication of its creative-commercial commitment

to a project.

·      Bly Island’s primary business is graphic novels. We have learned and observed that often the consumer reception in graphic novels translates to successful reception in these additional media platforms.

·      Bly Island plans to slowly expand its Original Graphic Novel market, testing wider narrative genres:

  • Thriller - Original twisted stories with a human, political, or sociological backdrop.

  •   Noir - True Crime and Detective Dramas with potential recurring characters

  • Horror - Character-driven, original, and new technology-based scary stories.

  • Dark Comedy - Based on true events that expose the ridiculous underbelly of authorities absorbed in self-importance.

  • Kids Adventure - Original stories featuring kids getting into trouble and then having to find a solution to get themselves out of trouble.

Bly Island thinks this is an excellent time to try something different. We intend to be intelligent, disciplined, and methodic in our approach. We know we don’t have all the best ideas; we have some different stories that we are betting will find an audience in the original graphic novel marketplace.

Founding Team

  • Ralph Stevens

    Founder and operating head of Vinegar Syndrome, an international leader in genre film Home Entertainment sales and now Graphic Novels through direct-to-consumer platforms and various cross-platform distribution partners, including wholesalers and direct-to-retailers. Ralph is also a stalwart in the NYC Bar and restaurant scene as an owner of several successful drinking and eating establishments. He is also an avid adventure traveler, mountain climber, carpenter, father of two, a Tesla driver, goat herder, and a great storyteller.

  • Mari Provenzano

    AS Literary Manager & Business Development Advisory Mari leads the Bly Island rights evolution into Film & Series. She proved her worth producing for several Hollywood production companies, working business affairs for MTV and Film Roman (The Simpsons, Garfield, Family Guy, etc.) and as COO for a B2B publisher and recently as Chief of Staff for a couple fast-scaling digital tech companies. She knows her way around France, Italy and every kind of media deal. And Mari has that knack to make us laugh

  • Chris Fallon

    The financial and administrative head of Bly Island brings legal and financial discipline and control, ensures the company has all the rights to projects, and assures everyone we are a financially oriented and focused enterprise. Chris’s company provides accounting/management services and sources many of our early creative rights. Oh, and he is a severe fan of terror, gore, and horror. He screams at any screen he’s in front of while uncontrollably laughing.

Creative Team

  • Jon Steele

    A former news journalist who has witnessed the worst of mankind as a news cameraman serving in every war zone in the world for three decades as a war time photographer/cameraman. Jon is also the author of the infamous autobiographic novel: War Junkie and the creator, host/narrator, and producer of the award-winning Iraq/US Army documentary series “Baker Boys: Inside the Surge”. Jon has also written several works of fiction, including a critically acclaimed series of novels: The Angelus Trilogy from Penguin.

  • Journalists, authors, TV & film writers/producers, animation writers/producers, and a wide range of smart creatives, we all collectively know that no one in the entertainment industry really knows what will work. Bly Island is currently developing its projects with people like

  • Emmett Marsh

    The artist and writer behind the first comic version of The Abomination and Tombs of theBlind Dead, as well as the artist and writer of a bunch of other film-to-comic adaptations, including Evil Toons, Bonehill Road, Don't Look in the Basement, Enter the Devil, Centipede Horror and more. He is also the artist behind The Inevitable Silence limited series and the acclaimed one-shot Revenge of The Horror Hound, and his work can be found in many comic anthologies and magazines worldwide.

  • Patrick Barb

    Author of over twenty books ranging from fright fiction to horror short story collections, including Pre-Approved for Haunting, Collection, Keylight Books/Turner Publishing, and among others coming in 2024 is The Children’s Horror, Collection, Northern Republic Press. Patrick has published several novellas and full novels in horror, terror, thriller, and mystery. Patrick is a nonstop creator, a writing machine who understands great character, smart plotting and how to build tension. Patrick is very clever at creating thriller payoff scenes that take readers to the edge. Oh yeah, he’s also got a great sense of humor.

Vinegar Syndrome Publishing

Bly Island signed a distribution agreement with VSP, who will handle printing & and all logistics/fulfillment of the Bly Island novels. Vinegar Syndrome currently has a D2C platform & and several affiliated websites. VS also has distribution into traditional wholesale and retail graphic novel publishing markets.

BLY ISLAND STRATEGIC PARTNERS

Bly Island has engaged in two strategic partnerships to assist in the areas where the company needs to rely on partners who have a specific skill set, relationships, and infrastructure that will allow Bly Island management to focus on the creative work and delegate the distribution, marketing, and building a brand identity.

TM is a digital media company that will work with Bly Island to engage with media and advertising sponsors and partners, as well as talent agencies and production companies. TM will sell advertising/sponsorships for print and digital platforms. TM will coordinate with Bly Island executives on the exploitation of the novels with production companies and managers to take Bly Island projects into film, TV, streaming & video games. TM also brings access to social media influencers to help with Bly Island marketing over and through niche social media platforms.

Trival Media 

The company is working with and securing other strategic relationships with additional partners to assist in scaling the company’s growth and building a formidable business without having to develop and carry the overhead cost of large staff cost centers and the weight of the inherent scaling costs that often weigh down startup companies. Bly Island intends to operate a very lean company that can adapt to fast-changing market conditions, quickly secure, develop, and release creative content, and bring the novels to market expeditiously at a solid operating margin.