Founded in 1996, Ignite! Entertainment published the first collection of Jeff Krell’s “Jayson” cartoons, titled “Jayson: A New Collection.” The comic strip, which takes a lighthearted look at gay life in the big city, debuted in 1982 in the Philadelphia Gay News, then achieved national acclaim in Gay Comix, Meatmen, and in syndication.
Ignite! went on to produce the 1998 off-Broadway run of “Jayson: A New Musical,” based on the cartoon series and co-written by Krell in collaboration with songwriters Romanovsky & Phillips. Other producing credits include the world premiere of Desi Moreno-Penson’s “A Divine Brew” at the Blue Heron Arts Center in 2000.
In 2005, Jeff Krell announced plans to re-launch “Jayson” in a series of graphic novels with all new stories. In anticipation of this event, Ignite! selected the best “Jayson” stories from the original run and published two new anthologies: “Jayson: Best of the 80s” and “Jayson: Best of the 90s.” Each anthology boasts new cover art and a foreword by Krell.
In 2008, on the eve of "Jayson's" 25th anniversary in comics, Krell unveiled "Jayson Goes to Hollywood," the first in a series of new "Jayson" graphic novels. This milestone was celebrated at the San Diego Comic-Con, where Krell was a featured guest on the Gays In Comics panel.
Ignite! Entertainment promotes alternative voices that have the potential to cross over to a mainstream audience. To achieve this goal, our genre of choice is comic books, although we’ll go wherever the muse takes us. The “Jayson” characters are available for worldwide licensing for all media.
