Those familiar with pop culture know comic books are dominated by tight forms in spandex and two publishing behemoths, Marvel Entertainment and DC Comics. The comic book-savvy know the medium has the capability to tell original stories that go beyond superheroes. The comic book-devoted know how hard it is for those new voices to break into print.

Now, five Plateau and Sumner-area creators, and three like-minded associates from surrounding towns, are making room for new voices on the comics rack.

Creator’s Edge Press officially announced itself as a new independent comic publishing company Feb. 22, after several months of working behind the scenes. They already have 19 titles on their docket, the majority of them in-house projects. Each member has at least one story in various stages of production. Series titles are reserved for members, but the company also accepts submissions for one-shots, miniseries and graphic novels from independent creators. Four hours after posting the call for submissions, Editor-in-Chief Josh Inman and Art Director/Editor Travis Bundy had received 180 replies from all over the world, including responders from Europe and South America.

“A lot of the people submitting were good enough to work for Marvel or DC,” Bundy said. “But a lot of them were too mainstream, which isn’t really what we’re looking for.”

What the company is looking for is almost absolutely anything outside what can already be seen from the major publishing houses. They will accept adults-only and children’s stories alike, whether they’re drawn on a computer or with crayons, as long as it wows them as a group. The first outside submission slated for publication is “The Devil’s Trail,” a Western-themed horror book by Stephen Lindsay, known in indie comics circles for his book “Jesus Hates Zombies.”

The company will debut the first three of its titles Saturday at the Emerald City ComiCon.

Inman, of Buckley, will spend the convention performing the dual roles of networking and advertising by recording video blogs as he meets with other creators.

“I’m just going to harass everybody I see and load it up online,” he said.

Saturday’s show will be the first of several conventions – including Spokane ComiCon and Crypticon and the Jet City Comic Show, the latter two in Seattle – where Creator’s Edge will have a booth. Each convention is also sponsored by either the publishing company or Comic Evolution, the Puyallup comics shop out of which the members meet. “Right now we’re predominantly preparing for Emerald City, which will be our coming out party,” said Chuck Messinger of Wilkeson. In addition to being the marketing director for Creator’s Edge, he is the proprietor of Comic Evolution. “We have a very detailed game plan over the next calendar year to make sure we’re a force for the future.”

Creator’s Edge members gathered for a March 3 meeting that lasted into the wee hours of the morning as they went over their convention schedule and heard proposals for 10 titles by visiting artist Brian Myers.

As they started, everyone grouped to take care of their own business. Messinger and Myers examined inked pages for Messinger’s upcoming story “Waste.” Bundy drew new pages for the latest issue of his fantasy epic “Jeff,” and IT Manager Shawn Gates of Bonney Lake discussed putting together the code for an online store.

Every day has been a learning curve, but none of them are stumbling in the dark, Messinger said. Quenton Shaw and Josh “Bile” Cantrell, the distribution and publishing directors, both have experience self-publishing their own titles, and Messinger is a self-described “shameless bromancer” of industry contacts.

With their contacts – and many phone calls by Ash Mearns – they have reached agreements with 150 comic shops nationwide, plus stores in Canada and Holland. Every title will receive a 500-issue print run to maintain collectibility, with popular titles earning second printings with an alternate cover. Creator’s Edge is also in talks with some movie studios about creating comic adaptations or tie-ins with movies. The studios could not be disclosed because the deals are still being negotiated.

“The main thing is that for each book we print, we want it to work as a resumé for the creator, so that hopefully it can help them get a job at a big company,” Messinger said.

“It’s open season on the indie genre,” Shaw said.

More information on Creator’s Edge can be found at www.creatorsedgepress.com.