Dark Horse looks large for the Year of the Horse

The current year (2014) on the Chinese calendar is the year of the horse, so it’s no wonder that Dark Horse Comics is prepping for one of their biggest years to date.

Dark Horse has of course seen the Year of the Horse (a horse is a horse of course, of course) before as the company has been around and publishing some of the industry’s most groundbreaking stuff for some 33 years. This Year of the Horse though; this is one that the publisher is looking to to be something special. And there’s no reason that they shouldn’t as sales for Dark Horse’s lineup of comics saw a monster 33% growth in 2013 on the strengths of some very strong properties both existing and new.

Star Wars, Hellboy & B.P.R.D., Halo, Mass Effect and the likes of all-new superhero properties like Captain Midnight and X all boosted sales through the roof. And lets not forget the one-off stuff that garnered more than a little critical and fan acclaim like The Fifth Beatle and the incredible Hyrule Historia tome.

With all that, there’s little reason to doubt that Dark Horse had a huge year last year and this calendar year is looking like it might be every bit the winner for the company. It doesn’t hurt either that the surest year (on the Chinese zodiac at least) is the Year of the Horse- the ‘mascot’ for Dark Horse Comics. So a little mystical good fortune for the group that? They certainly hope so.

Even though they will be loosing Star Wars in 2015, 2014 is going to be a banner year for the brand while it’s still in Dark Horse’s stable. With some of the best-loved Star Wars comics of all time currently in publication from them, fans should be in for a real treat when the house of the Horse starts to wind things up for all of the various titles which include such winners as Brian Wood’s Star Wars.

Also, you’re probably not going to want to miss the interview series with Dark Horse head-honcho Mike Richardson on website CBR as they discuss what has been and what’s to come for what’s turned into one of the biggest names in comics. Catch that here.