Founded in 2016 by brothers Damian and Adrian Wassel, Vault Comics quickly found both commercial and critical success in the sci-fi, fantasy, and horror comics and graphic novels space with mega hits like Barbaric, Money Shot, Heathen, and These Savage Shores. Committed to pushing the envelope and breaking barriers, Vault partnered in 2023 with Aethon Books, a leading digital-first publisher with an impressive track record of bestselling web serials. The pair sought to adapt Aethon's popular e-books and audiobooks into print comics, light novels, and graphic novels. Aethon founders Rhett Bruno and Steve Beaulieu soon saw that the two indies were very much aligned, and combined they formed a powerful force in the fast-growing genre fiction market. Recently, Aethon made the partnership official by acquiring a majority stake in Vault.
Aethon CEO Rhett Bruno and Vault CEO Damian Wassel talked with PW about how the relationship started, what made it click, and how the two genre powerhouses are transforming the way independent sci-fi and fantasy reach readers across formats.
How did Vault and Aethon connect for the first time? What made this potential partnership click?
Rhett: We first connected through our entertainment attorney Matt Sugarman, who thought there may be some commonalities worth exploring, given our companies both focus on sci-fi and fantasy. But it took a bit for us to find ways to work together. We found true alignment when Vault announced they were doing a comic for He Who Fights with Monsters, a LitRPG fantasy we publish. Besides sharing the same interests and working in similar genre spaces, we found both our companies really pushed the envelope on indies in publishing. We always wanted to expand into new formats and with authors we thought were out of reach.
Damian: As we got to know one another, we learned that Vault and Aethon were both obsessed with breaking through walls faced by independent publishers, and we had each learned to break down very different kinds of walls. Together it seemed we could overcome nearly any obstacle.
Vault and Aethon partnered in 2023 to adapt some Aethon ebooks and audio books to comics. What were some highlights of that?
Rhett: First were the exciting light novel collaborations and seeing how readers responded to The Primal Hunter or My Best Friend Is an Eldritch Horror. Our first big comic collab will be Dead Acre, which comes out this fall as a graphic novel. They did such a fantastic job. All of the early stuff was a great way for us to learn how our companies work and how best to work together as we expand. We all have specific strengths, and starting slow was a smart way to explore that before we were in the deep end. Now we help each other all the time as if we're a single, unified entity.
Now Aethon has become the majority owner of Vault. What made this deal the right one now?
Rhett: So many reasons. Having worked together since 2023, we've found so many ways we align—our expertise on digital formats and Vault's on print being at the forefront. The more we talked, the more we realized that by coming together we could really push our collective dream of being a one-stop shop for IP. We didn't have to slow things down with complications and multiple contracts and who is funding or doing what. Comics is a tough industry, and we felt access to our catalog could give Vault a wealth of IP as well as increased budgets to market and sell every project. At the same time, Vault could provide us access to print distribution in a way that indie publishers very rarely get. We could distribute not only novels but also our growing list of webcomics currently under development for digital distribution with industry leaders such as WEBTOON or Tapas. And now we can be one of the few publishers out there that can take an IP into every book format, into traditional or webcomic, and soon hopefully beyond.
Damian: We want to keep growing and building. Together with Aethon, we're able to offer a range of services and support for our creators that’s simply not possible elsewhere in the independent publishing landscape. As I said above, together there really are not any obstacles we cannot overcome.
What can you tell us about upcoming collaborations you’re most excited about?
Rhett: It's hard not to say comics because just bringing Aethon IP to visual mediums is such a cool thing. But if I'm being honest, it's the new Aethon & Vault imprint that's beginning to bring bestselling independent novels to retail print. To really go for something that hasn't been done before. I can talk about comics and getting to work with celebrities like Post Malone all day, and it's all amazing, but pushing the limits and challenging ourselves is what Aethon has always been about. And I know the Vault guys are the same way.
Damian: I couldn’t be more proud of the graphic novel collaborations we have in the works. We’re creating some of the most beautiful books I’ve ever seen, with some of the best comics talent in the world. That’s a privilege for us and a boon for the market. Meanwhile, the thing I’m most engaged with day to day is the launch of our upcoming Aethon & Vault line of novels. There’s a huge thrill in getting to introduce bookstores to some of the bestselling books on earth. Some of our authors have sold millions and millions of books, yet never had their work on the shelves of their local bookstore. We get to deliver that while attracting a whole new audience to their beloved work. Opportunities like that don’t come around every day.
One exciting aspect of your partnership is the success of properties like Return of the Runebound Professor that blend very modern formats, such as light novels, webtoons, and LitRPGS, some based on formats that have been popular in Asia for a while. How do you see all these trends working together?
Rhett: As stated above, we're producing webcomics at a rate I'm not sure any other western publisher is right now because the genre of some of our biggest hits really aligns with what is popular in that medium—LitRPG, progression fantasy, cultivation, and so on. With Vault on our side, we now have the opportunity to take those digital comics and convert them into print to be distributed as graphic novels, bringing the incredible stories and art to brand-new readers. Vault instantly will have a manga line filled with comics based on properties with millions of collective sales. And we hope that makes enough waves to lead to translations of our content around the world and especially in Asia. Our question is: how do we reach the most readers? And, that's how. Maybe one day that success will lead to new formats such as TV/film.
What other projects in this vein have been a hit with readers?
Rhett: He Who Fights with Monsters, The Primal Hunter, Defiance of the Fall, Mark of the Fool, System Universe, An Outcast in Another World, Battle Mage Farmer... There are so many that have sold so well in book form that we have adapted them, or soon will, to webcomics, as well as converting them into printed graphic novels. And those are just original published titles from Aethon. There's so much content out there beloved by readers that we want to bring to new readers in new ways.
Damian: On our side, we’re known for Barbaric, Money Shot, Heathen, These Savage Shores, Dying Inside, Brandon Sanderson’s Dark One, and lots of others. We’re looking forward to continuing to build huge new series like Post Malone’s BIG RIG.
Vault has been in the comics space for nearly 10 years. Has your approach to genre comics changed in that time?
Damian: What hasn’t changed? It’s hard to imagine a more tumultuous period in the history of comics and graphic novels. We’ve invented whole new approaches to publishing and selling comics, brought global superstars to the comics medium, experimented with format, and we’re still not sure we have it all figured out. But that’s what makes Vault tick. We’re always looking for the new best way to deliver amazing stories to readers.
Likewise for Aethon, you launched in 2018, what have you learned about genre fiction since then?
Rhett: Honestly, that people love it. It isn't the niche that it may have been last century. It's mainstream. And readers want a variety! From deep-thinking hard science fiction to the romantasy that has taken traditional publishing by storm. We publish all sorts of sci-fi and fantasy but have really found our greatest success in a niche we felt has been ignored by traditional publishing for some time, which is true blockbuster content: the action-packed sci-fi and fantasy that allows for pure escapism and, honestly, fun. Sure we publish heady stuff too, but fun, pulpy fiction still has such a ravenous fan base. There is now so much room for both. And just because a series is action-heavy doesn't mean deeper themes and character explorations can't also shine.
What are you most excited about with the Aethon/Vault partnership going forward?
Rhett: Honestly, getting to work every day with Damian and Adrian. I know it sounds corny, but for six years Steve and I have been a team handling so much and handling all the pressure. For the first few years of Aethon, we honestly did everything ourselves before bringing on more staff. To now be able to lean on like-minded industry veterans for their experience and friendship and make decisions as a team is a lot of fun. It brings new challenges, and we don't always agree, but Steve and I thrive in a collaborative environment. We went from a text chain between me and Steve dinging all day long as we hashed out our next steps to a group chat with more voices and more ideas. And with all of us involved, I wonder how far we can push this thing, which is more exciting than anything. We want to find out.
Damian: I couldn’t have said it better. There’s that old saying, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” Aethon and Vault have spent the last seven years going terrifyingly fast. This isn’t to say we’re slowing down, but jointly we have set ourselves some audaciously ambitious goals, and we’re looking forward to going very far together.
