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What's in a name

Posted by Matt Yocum on January 19, 2012 at 6:20pm

I've been mulling over possible imprint names to unite all my various independent stories under one brand name.  Would love to hear any thoughts on the various ones I have so far.  They are:

- Otherwhere

- Hangar 19 (the idea being you think you know what's in Hangar 18, but you have no idea what's next door to it in Hangar 19)

- Front Porch Entertainment

- Hyperion Entertainment (after both the epic poem by John Keats and my all-time favorite novel, Hyperion, by Dan Simmons which achieves a level of quality and imagination I could only hope to attain in my own fiction)

- Perpetual Motion

- Sons of Thunder

- Complete Geek Entertainment

- SDG Entertainment (this comes from Soli Deo Gloria, which basically means "for glory to God alone" and was used by past artists, e.g. Bach and Handel, to give God credit for their work)

You see that some of these have "Entertainment" at the end, and some have nothing (any of them could end in "Entertainment" or "Productions, but not "Comics" since it will cover all my fiction, including novels and short stories).  The idea is it would be an imprint name like Robert Kirkman's "Skybound," DC's "Vertigo," or Marc Silvestri's "Top Cow Productions." 

I've narrowed down from a ton of possibilities and these are a few remaining.  Thanks for any thoughts any of you have.

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Comments

  • Matt Yocum January 29, 2012 at 11:10am

    It's settled.  After a lot of deliberation and some great comments from everyone here, I've decided that my imprint will be "Hangar 19."  For those who are familiar, Hangar 18 is a place where supposed alien technology or beings have supposedly been kept in secret at the Air Force's Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, OH.  The idea behind Hangar 18 is, you think you know what's in Hangar 18; you have no idea what's behind the doors of Hangar 19. 

    It works for me for many reasons.  First, it's easy to say.  Imprints or company names like Marvel, Image, DC, and so on, are all easy, catchy, short names.  Although I really liked the possible name Perpetual Motion, Hangar 19 seems like a short, easy name.

    Second, it works with my background.  I've been an active duty Air Force officer for over 18 years now, and went to the Air Force Academy for 4 years before that.  So over 22 years of my life have been in the Air Force.  So that theme matches up.

    I realized that you don't have to always explain what your imprint, company, or logo name means.  For example, J.J. Abrams production company, Bad Robot.  I have no idea what it means.  But I know every time I see it, it's a J.J. Abrams produced movie or TV series and will likely be good (e.g., Star Trek, Super 8, MI:4, Fringe, etc).  That showed me that I don't need to explain the concept of Hangar 19 every time. 

    Thanks for everyone's thoughts.  That helped greatly.

    Matt

  • Martin Murtonen January 21, 2012 at 9:37am

    Matt - I think letting it ferment is exactly right! It will all coalesce.

    Martin

  • Matt Yocum January 20, 2012 at 7:03pm

    Dan, Gerard, Martin - thanks for all commenting on this.  Your thoughts have GREATLY helped me in formulating which direction to go for an imprint name.  For some reason I have absolutely no problem choosing titles for stories, but this has been a tough one to crack.  Breaking down the respective titles has really helped me. 

    Still not 100% certain which, if any, of these I'll decide on, but I'm definitely narrowing it thanks to all your comments and thoughts.  I'm kind of letting it all ferment in my head as I continue writing on various projects.  I know one of them will cement firmly in place and I'll know exactly which one it should be.

    And if it's any consolation, my wife and I are having the same challenge deciding on names for our soon-to-arrive twin boys.  :)

    Matt

  • Dan Lawlis January 20, 2012 at 7:41am

    I like Hanger 19 and Perpetual Motion. These are very subjective decisions though. In the end I would really ask yourself is, if you were in a book shop, what would you want to see as a buyer, what have you always wanted to see that isn't there now. 

  • Gerard Lee January 20, 2012 at 5:55am

    "Perpetual Motion" has an energetic, fanciful sound to it I really like. The phrase says it all too. Some of your others make me feel like I need to be 'In on the joke', like "Front Porch Entertainment". It's a good name, but leaves me wondering why you chose it.

    Jesus called James and John 'Sons of Thunder' and today it sounds like a great name, but I'm not sure He meant it as a compliment, though I think there was affection in it. "You know not what spirit you are of"... Well, I'm not sure, I think it's in Luke 9: 54+...

    May God inspire you to a wonderful name Matt!

    Gerry

  • Martin Murtonen January 19, 2012 at 9:14pm

    Hey Matt,

    This indeed is a very important decision. Consider the readability and ease of saying it. Also does it reflect strongly what you are about?

    Marvel and Image are I think the most powerful and succinct names in comics. They say exactly what you need to expect from comic. That "Image" even came up with their name is a brilliant master stroke - it cut through the chaff immediately and put them on the map. You don't even need to see a comic picture and the idea of "Image" comics is stuck in your mind. 

    DC is known because of it's ongoing 70+ year legacy, and they own Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman but to the common Joe, they think Superman belongs to Marvel. Weak name though.

    Dark Horse? No idea what this means. I mean I understand it means come from behind...but it's always...behind.

    Let's think of some other comic names: IDW? Meh. BOOM! - Effective to a point. Dynamite Entertainment? It's ok...SLG (Slave Labor Graphics) Ape Entertainment? First:Second - great name though baffling. 

    Going over your names....

    • Otherwhere - too "other" feels limiting
    • Hangar 19 - likeable. logo variations abound in my mind - like an H over the 19...but the catch is understanding the root? This might be your strongest name.
    • Front Porch Entertainment -this would make sense if you are going to make comics and stories that are more "Folky" and it may be limiting. If your content doesn't match your brand name, then your dead in the water because of the visual and mental disconnect. Also a long name.
    • Hyperion Entertainment - Hyperion has been used to death in various categories
    • Perpetual Motion - not great, not bad - but do you see this as your overarching theme?
    • Sons of Thunder - Hm. Again, will your content reflect the ongoing theme? Thunder Sons? Thunder Boys? IF targeting only guys might be a brilliant choice.
    • Complete Geek Entertainment - understand it - but limiting
    • SDG Entertainment - the root is likeable - but you only contract your name after the audience does for you. Going with just Soli Deo Gloria as a name could be interesting - but then feels like a very high-end brand.

    Whatever name you go with needs to be true to you and your history - and also true to what you think conceptually is the core of your content. What is it you like to write about? What are some of your major recurring themes? If you name your brand after that - it will make much more sense.

    To me Kirkman's "Skybound" makes complete sense in light of who he is, what he writes (especially in Invincible) and is reflective of where he's going. The umbrella of his idea, if you will gives him lots of room to play. THOUGH - it does limit him a bit because if the promise of the word "Skybound" isn't reflected in the work, then there will be that mental disconnect.

    Hangar 19 from this batch to me is the strongest from this batch.

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