Less than a year after the Dabel Brothers studio left Image for Devil's Due, Dabel Brothers Productions has officially parted ways with Devil's Due. According to a press release posted on the Dabel Brothers Website, '...plans are still being finalized with regards to Hedge Knight and Dragonlance' (the two Dabel Brothers series published by Devil's Due), but '...no future DBPro licensed or creator-owned series will feature the familiar red devil logo of Devil's Due.'
The press release also states: 'The studio is currently engaged in negotiations with several potential partners for their (sic) future publishing needs, while also exploring avenues that would allow them to publish under their own impetus.'
The DBPro pullout from Devil's Due appears to be without rancor, at least on the part of the studio, which took pains in its press release to '...wish Devil's Due the best in all their future endeavors.'
It was back in September of 2003 when DBPro left Image for Devil's Due (see 'Roaring Studios Books Split'), but less than a year later the studio is on the move once again. It should be interesting to see where they end up this time -- affiliated with a larger publisher or publishing on their own. During 2002-2003 some mid-range comic publishers tried to build market share by luring studios away from other publishers with ever more lucrative publishing deals, but today's comic book publishing climate is much different.