Oni Press Announces Redesigned Logo, More Publishing Initiatives ‘On the Way’

DC Comics isn't the only comics company shaking up its brand with a new logo; independent comics publisher Oni Press announced today that the company will changing the logo that the publisher has used since its inception in 1997. The new logo for the publisher (above left) is shaped like a speech bubble with a red band through the center reading "REVOLUTIONIZE COMICS" and the letters "ONI" highlighted in white. It also features the partially obscured face of an oni, the creature of Japanese folklore that inspired the original Oni Press logo and the name of the company.Editor-in-Chief James Lucas Jones discussed the history of the logo, particularly its previous design by Watchmen artist Dave Gibbons, in a press release:

The original Oni Press logo was designed by the amazing Dave Gibbons and based on a small trinket that publisher Joe Nozemack's brother had brought back with him from a trip to Japan It's an iconic image that has served us well for a long time. We can't thank Dave enough for contributing such a significant piece of our company's brand and identity.

Jones also delved into the the reasoning for the rebranding at Oni Press, whose notable books have included Scott Pilgrim, Queen and Country, Whiteout, and The Sixth Gun:

As Oni Press has evolved over the last several years, we felt it was time for a change. We're not the same company we were in 1997 and Art Director Keith Wood has continually raised the bar in terms of our books' design and packaging. It was time to let him loose on the company's core iconography. Throughout 2011, Keith worked with Cory Casoni (Director of Sales & Marketing), Joe Nozemack (Publisher), and myself to narrow down the pool of potential designs and refine his initial concepts into the modern, versatile, and downright awesome logo that will soon adorn all of our new comics.

The logo will appear for the first time on the comic The Secret History of D.B. Cooper by Brian Churilla when it hits stores March 14th. Oni Director of Marketing Cory Casoni said that the logo change is "only the beginning" for the publisher, and that there are "plenty of big announcements and new publishing initiatives on the way.

What do you think of the new logo? Let us know in the comments.