Comic Industry: Devil's Due And 1First Comics Merge

Well this is somewhat interesting. Devil's Due a company I'm very familiar with and currently love their line up of titles is merging with 1First Comics... a company that's sound vaguely familiar, but I just can't place their titles. They're calling the merger "the first so-called mini-major comics publishing company since the establishment of Image." Which I get, they're saying it's creator-owned at its heart and run by creators, but I've never heard the term "mini-major" before. You can read the full story on Deadline, but here's the important parts below:

The merger combines each company’s comics libraries and business infrastructure, with implications for both the comics industry and film/television. The merger brings together 1First cofounder Ken F. Levin’s film and television development team, and the marketing and convention expertise of Devil’s Due. The details concerning development of properties owned individually by either Devil’s Due or 1First prior to the merger will be worked out in the coming months.

After the merger, Devil’s Due and 1First will continue to exercise relative autonomy in publishing decisions, and to emphasize creator-owned comics. Through the end of 2015, Devil’s Due / 1First Comics LLC will release six original graphic novels, and launch five new ongoing comic series, as well as reissue trade collections of previously published titles. These titles will begin shipping in September.