Originally founded by A. David Lewis in 2000 as Serious About Comics, Caption Box has since grown also to encompass both academic and creative comic book works. Serving alternatively as either studio imprint or complete self-publishing house, Caption Box first printed through Red Eye Press of California to produce Mortal Coils in 2002, followed by its trade paperback collection Mortal Coils: Bodylines in 2004, the original graphic novel The Lone and Level Sands in 2005, and the God Complex novel in 2006. All along, though, Caption Box also has remained faithful to its academic side, with Lewis speaking at conferences nationwide, contributing to The International Journal of Comic Art (for which he is now an Editorial Board member), and founding the Ever-Ending Battle research project.
Winner - 2006 Howard E. Day Prize ![]() Read about it here. |
As a small press, Caption Box has had the excellent opportunity to feature the work of artists such as Evan Quiring, Jason Copland (Western Tales of Terror), Jason Narvaez, Dan Cooney (Valentine), James Woodward (Crazy Mary), Ed Dukeshire (Sword of Dracula), Jesus Barony (Grundlands), Joanne Mutch (Rummblestrips), Chris Moreno (Dracula Vs. King Arthur), Taki Soma, and mpMann (Arcana Jane). In its scholarly capacity, Lewis has partnered Caption Box with the International Comic Arts Association (ICAA), Newsarama.com's The Pulse, the National Association of Comic Art Educators (NACAE), BrokenFrontier.com, the Popular/American Culture Association (PCA/ACA), University of Florida's Comic Scholars List, the Gaiman Archive, and Dr. Gene Kannenberg's ComicsResearch.org.
- 4/10/2005 - Surprise APE & SPACE Advance of The Lone and Level Sands
- 5/2/2005 - Washington DC Event for National Free Comic Book Day
- 5/21/2005 - New Caption Box Web Site, Blog, Address, and Convention Schedule
- 7/14/2005 - Archaia Studios Press Expands
- 8/11/2005 - Caption Box Moves to Massachusetts
- 9/26/2005 - Rucka & Ryan on WizardWorld Boston “Ever-Ending Battle” Panel
- 12/29/2005 - Earliest Novel by Mortal Coils Creator Finally Released
- 2/19/2006 - Mortal Coils for Film, Blog Milestone, and Tentative Convention Schedule
- 3/2/2006 - Closure Collection Released Through Lulu.com
- 4/13/2006 - Silent Devil to Publish Empty Chamber
- 4/20/2006 - Lone and Level Sands Wins the Day Prize (ASP release)
- 5/22/2006 - The Lone and Level Sands Nominated for Three Harvey Awards (ASP release)
- 11/16/2006 - Reader's Group Guides for Award-Winning Lone and Level Sands (ASP release)
- 1/24/2007 - Empty Chamber Signs Deal with Comflix (Silent Devil release)
- 2/20/2007 - Archaia Studios Press Announces 2007 Schedule: Some New Kind of Slaughter... (ASP release)
- 8/22/2007 - Early Glimpses and Reviews of Some New Kind of Slaughter
- 10/5/2007 - Follow the Floods of Some New Kind of Slaughter (ASP release)
- 1/3/2008 - Graven Images conference keynote speaker James Sturm
- 3/4/2008 - Comic Book Creators of Many Faiths Come to Boston University Conference
- 7/21/2008 - Experience the San Diego Comic-Con Through Twitter
2008
- March 16
Boston Comic-Con - Boston, MA
Event site - April 11-13
Boston University "Graven Images: Religion in Comic Books & Graphic Novels" Conference - Boston, MA
Event site | Read coverage 1 | Read coverage 2 - April 18-20
New York Comic-Con - New York, NY
Event site | Read coverage/video - July 24-27
San Diego Comic-Con International - San Diego, CA
Event site | Read coverage
2007
- February 23-25
New York Comic-Con - New York, NY
Event site | Read coverage
- April 4-7
Popular Culture Association / American Culture Association (PCA/ACA) National Conference - Boston, MA
Event site | Read coverage 1 | Read coverage 2
2006
- January 27
New England Comics Writers/Artists Networking Event - Allston, MA
Event site | Read coverage
- February 24-26
New York Comic-Con - New York, NY
Event site | Read coverage
- May 13
Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo (SPACE) - Columbus, OH
Event site | Read coverage
- June 2-4
WizardWorld Philadelphia
Event site | Read coverage
- June 25
Granite State Comicon - Concord, NH
Event site
- August 13
Larry's Wonderful World of Comics - Chelmsford, MA
Event site
- September 9-10
Baltimore Comic-Con - Baltimore, MD
Event site
2005
- March 3
Barnes & Noble Booksellers - Storytelling & Graphic Novels: Authors Panel - Arlington, VA
Event site | Read coverage
- April 16
Small Press and Alternative Comics Expo (SPACE) - Columbus, OH
Event site | Read coverage
- May 7
Free Comic Book Day @ Beyond Comics 2 - Washington, DC
Event site | Read coverage
- June 3-5
Wizard World Philadelphia - Philadelphia, PA
Event site
- August 14
Comic Book Show - Chelmsford, MA
Event site
- September 23-34
Small Press Expo (SPX) - Bethesda, MD
Event site
- September 30-October 2
Wizard World Boston - Boston, MA
Event site | Read coverage
Comics | Articles, Essays & Presentations
Comics
"Alabaster Cities" - 9-11: Emergency Relief (Alternative Comics Group)
"Brief Quiet" - Attic Wit #7 (Wasp Comics)
"Brief Quiet (Redux)" - Potlatch Project #4
Closure: The Collected Short Comics of A. David Lewis (Caption Box) link
"Cross" - Threads #2 (Committed Comics)
"A Customs Fit" (Sky Dog Comics) - Even More Fund Comics
"Dimension Vectors" - Reflux #3
Dracula Vs. King Arthur (Silent Devil; as Editor)
God Complex [prose novel] (Caption Box) link
"The Hand We're Dealt" - Opi8.com link
The Lone and Level Sands (Caption Box)
The Lone and Level Sands (Archaia Studios Press)
Mortal Coils #1 (Red Eye Press)- "Disembodiment" & "Deeper Blue"
Mortal Coils #2 (Red Eye Press) - "What Gazes Also" & "Vaya Con Dios"
Mortal Coils #3 (Red Eye Press) - "Of Things Passed" and "Remembrance"
Mortal Coils: Bodylines (Red Eye Press/Caption Box) - Includes new "Dungeon Horrible", "Darkness Visible", and "Doleful Shades"
Mortal Coils Presents...The Line (Red Eye Press) - 2003 SPX Exclusive
Mortal Coils Presents...Free Bodies (Caption Box) - Free Comic Book Day edition, includes "Godpoint" and "Pit Stop (Redux)"
Neo Dawn #1-3 (Committed Comics; as Scriptwriter)
Out of Sequence (Silent Devil) - Webcomic link
"Pit Stop" - Attic Wit #6 (Wasp Comics)
"Surreality Shows" - These Things Happen (Opi8.com)
"Threnody's Coda" - Third Eye II (Third Eye Publishing)
Valentine #2 (Red Eye Press; as Associate Editor)
Valentine #7 (Red Eye Press; as Associate Editor)
Valentine #8 (Red Eye Press; as Associate Editor & Scriptwriter)
Valentine #9 (Red Eye Press; as Associate Editor & Scriptwriter)
Articles, Essays & Presentations
Comic Book Scriptwriting (XWRI 104-01) - Georgetown University SCS course, Summer 2004
Ever-Ending Battle symposium - International Journal of Comic Art vol. 8, issue 1, Spring 2006 (in press)
Examining Comic Books as Literature (XLIT 162-01) - Georgetown University SCS course, Spring 2004
"Fingeroth, Lewis, and Superman on the Couch" - Comicon.com's The PULSE feature link
"Four Bearers: On the 40th Anniversary of the Fantastic Four" - Comic-Con International: San Diego 2001 Souvenir Book
"Keys to the Kingdom" - Popular Culture Association Annual Conference, Spring 2002 link
"Kingdom Code" - Popular Culture Association Annual Conference,
Spring 2001
"Kingdom Code" - International Journal of Comic Art vol. 4,
issue 1, Spring 2002
Library of Babble - On-going Broken Frontier column series link
"Living Legends: The Mart Nodell Interview" - Comicon.com's The PULSE feature link
"Never to Wake: In Continuing Praise of Neil Gaiman's Sandman" - The Gaiman Archive link
"The Nightmare and the Dream: A Literary Survey of Watchmen and Sandman" - Comic Arts Conference, 2000 San Diego Comic-Con link
"One for the Ages: Barbara Gordon and the (Il)Logic of Comic Book Age-Dating" International Journal of Comic Art vol. 5, issue 2, Fall 2003 (Available online at Once Upon a Dime)
"One For the Ages" - Comic Arts Conference, 2002 San Diego Comic-Con
"Pedro and Me and Us" - Hypertext essay link
PopMatters.com (as Comic Book Critic and Section Editor) - reviews on Berlin: City of Stones, Book One; To Hell and Back: A Sin City Love Story; Image Introduces...The Believer; JLA; The Sentry; Tom Strong; Valentine; Vesper; the feature Truth, Justice, and the British Way; and interviews with the creators of 9-11: Emergency Relief, Jamie Delano, Ron Lim, and Kurt Busiek link
"Pro Vs. Pro: Lewis & Gallagher Talk Even More Fund" - Comicon.com's THE PULSE feature link
"Pro Vs. Pro: Lewis Talks Comics with Paul Ryan " - Comicon.com's THE PULSE feature link
"The Relationship Between Biblical Midrash and Comic Book Retcon"
- Comic Arts Conference, 2001 San Diego Comic-Con
"The Secret, Untold Relationship Between Biblical Midrash and Comic
Book Retcon" - International Journal of Comic Art vol. 4, issue
2, Fall 2002
"Seduction of the Insolent (or, Retraction of the Innocent)" - SequentialTart.com "Redirected Male" column link
"The Shape of Comic Book Reading" - NinthArt.com feature link
"To Be Made in His Image: On Thor's 40 Years of Valor" -
Comic-Con International: San Diego 2002 Souvenir Book
"To Be Made in His Image: On Thor's 40 Years of Valor (2003)"
- ComicWorldNews.com Guest Column
"Understanding Comics Scholarship" - Comicon.com's The PULSE feature link
"Who Killed Dream of the Endless?" - Comic Arts Conference, 2001 San Diego San Diego Comic-Con link
Emerging from the field of comic book academia, A. David Lewis has
presented scholarly papers on the comic book medium at conference across
the country as well as writing for The International Journal of
Comic Art, The Pulse, and Broken Frontier. Graduating with an English
& Psychology B.A. in 1999, he joined Georgetown University in Washington,
DC to pursue a Master's Degree in English Literature. In 2002, Lewis
completed the M.A. and debuted his own title, the dark suspense anthology
MORTAL COILS (http://captionbox.net/mortalcoils), which went on to be named
a winner in the 2003 Cinescape Literary Genre Competition. The first
collected Mortal Coils trade paperback BODYLINES was released in 2004
under his Caption Box (http://www.captionbox.net) imprint, with the
follow-up edition for 2005's Free Comic Book Day. His graphic novel
with mpMann and Jennifer Rodgers, THE LONE AND LEVEL SANDS, was released in hardcover format from Archaia Studios Press (http://www.aspcomics.com) in 2006.
He has since returned to Boston with his fiancee (and, as of October 2007, his wife), first serving an an
instructor at Northeastern University then joining Boston University's
Division of Religious and Theological Studies for his PhD degree, all
the while maintaining his devotion to popular culture and the arts. Since that time, he worked with Jason Copland on Empty Chamber and Danielle Corsetto on their portion of Postcards: True Stories That Never Happened. At Boston University, Lewis worked to organize the "Graven Images: Religion in Comic Books & Graphic Novels" conference in April 2008. He has again collaborated with mpMann on the new World Flood eco-epic Some New Kind of Slaughter called "a truly relevant bond between the Joseph Campbell stuff and the Inconvenient Truth/post-Katrina subtext. A-" by Entertainment Weekly.



