MIKE RICHARDSON
The Man Behind The Fictional Characters That Make Us Smile. By Jenny Werth
I
n Greek mythology, Pegasus is a flying horse who has the amazing power to soar through the sky. From the Middle Ages until the Renaissance, Pegasus also symbolized wisdom and a source of inspiration for poets. It’s an enchanting animal that harbors the supernatural ability to feel the freedom of flight while galloping across the sky. Pegasus evokes the kind of magical visuals inside one’s mind that fill the artistic pages of comic books. It’s unlikely you’ll actually ever see Pegasus, yet the unexpected does happen. Behold the incredible journey of Mike Richardson. Here is a man who spent $2000 to start a tiny 400-square-foot comic book store called Pegasus in Oregon, and ended up with a multi-million dollar empire. Last year alone, his company, Dark Horse, brought in around $30 million. Interestingly, his climb from ‘small-town’ to ‘Hollywood VIP’ has been a remarkably smooth transition, especially when compared to the frequent ‘rejection-bound’ path many Angelenos experience during their quest toward their big break. That being said, it’s certainly notable that Mike ‘made it,’ without ever having had any kind of ‘plan’ toward such tremendous success. Literally, step by step, Mike founded a series of businesses in order to create a publishing and filmmaking world that was suited to his purposes. And it all began with the writers who first visited his small comic store. Besides putting up tons of enticing visuals around his flagship store, he also began bringing in comic writers and authors for signings. Mike recalls there hadn’t been that kind of presence before in Bend, Oregon; he also soon learned some other essential facts that changed the course of his life. “When we’d go out to dinner (with writers) I’d hear that the creators didn’t get to own the creations they made, so I realized I needed to start a publishing company,” Mike recalls. It didn’t matter that he didn’t know anything about the publishing world- he simply decided it was a necessity and took funds from his retail operations and created Dark Horse Comics. Just. Like. That. Dark Horse Comics was a novelty at the time- it wasn’t the norm to treat writers and artists as though they were partners. However, Mike’s
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