Dark Horse Comics was founded in 1986 by Mike Richardson in Milwaukee, Oregon, with the concept of establishing an ideal atmosphere for creative professionals. Richardson started out by opening his first comic book store, Pegasus Books, in Bend, Oregon, in 1980. From there he was able to use the funds from his retail operation to start his own publishing company.

Dark Horse Books and Characters: Hellboy, Ghost, Lobster Johnson, The Strain, Avatar the Last Airbender, Star Wars

DC Comics, Inc. (founded in 1934 as National Allied Publications) is one of the largest and most successful companies operating in the market for American comic books and related media. It is the publishing unit of DC Entertainment, a company of Warner Bros. Entertainment, which itself is owned by Time Warner.

DC Comics Books and Characters: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Aquaman, Justice League

IDW Publishing, also known as Idea + Design Works, LLC and IDW, is an American publisher of art books, comic books and comic strip collections. The company was founded in 1999 and has been awarded the title “Publisher of the Year Under 5% Market Share” for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 by Diamond Comic Distributors.^[1] In 2010 IDW was the fifth largest publisher of American comic books.

IDW Publishing Books and Characters: Teen Age Mutant Ninja Turtles, Doctor Who, Transformers, GI Joe, Locke & Key

Image Comics is an American comic book publisher. It was founded in 1992 by high-profile illustrators as a venue where creators could publish their material without giving up the copyrights to the characters they created, as creator-owned properties. It was immediately successful, and remains one of the largest comic book publishers in North America.

Image Comics Books and Characters: The Walking Dead, Savage Dragon, Invincible, Morning Glories, Saga

Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media. In 2009, The Walt Disney Company acquired Marvel Entertainment, Marvel Worldwide’s parent company, for $4.24 billion.

Marvel Comics  Books and Characters: Spider-man, Captain America, The Hulk, Thor, Iron Man, The Avengers, The X-Men