| Birth Name: | J. Michael Catron |
| Birth Date: | 9 October 1954 |
| Nationality: | American |
| Publish: | y |
| Critic: | y |
| Notable Works: | Fantagraphics Books Apple Comics |
| Awards: | Inkpot Award (2015)[1] |
Michael Catron (born October 9, 1954)[2] is an American comic book editor and publisher. He is former publisher of Apple Comics and co-founder of Fantagraphics.
Catron met Gary Groth while they were both enrolled at the University of Maryland. In 1974, Catron and Groth put on a Washington, DC-area rock and roll convention that ended in financial failure. Nonetheless, he and Groth dabbled in music publishing with the short-lived magazine Sounds Fine,[3] which they co-published until 1979. During this period, Catron also worked as a public relations assistant for Mike Gold, at the time employed by DC Comics.
In 1976, Catron and Groth co-founded Fantagraphics Books, at that point located in College Park, Maryland. They took over an adzine named The Nostalgia Journal, quickly renaming it The Comics Journal.[4] Catron acted as Fantagraphics' co-publisher until 1985, also handling advertising and circulation for The Comics Journal from 1982 to 1985, when he left the company.[5]
In 1986, Catron established Apple Comics, which began as a packager for Wendy & Richard Pini's WaRP Graphics but with its own financing structure.[6]
From 2000 to 2008, Catron served as a board member for the Grand Comics Database.[7]
Catron has been the agent for the estate of Superman co-creator Joe Shuster.[8]
In early 2012, Catron relocated to Seattle and returned to Fantagraphics as editor with the publishing company he co-founded 36 years earlier.[9] [10]