We were lucky to catch up with Leonce Hall III recently and have shared our conversation below.

Leonce, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

Let’s start with the fact that my brother Lee and I weren’t raised together, so when we connected in our mid-30s, it was already an impactful moment. On top of that, we found out that we had complementary talents: he, an artist, and me, a writer, and both of us enjoyed comics. It wasn’t long before we were toying with the idea of creating our own comic books. We were trying to come up with a name, but nothing had really hit yet. After a while, I suggested 50Fifty Comix, explaining that both of our names (Lee and Leonce) began with L, and L is 50 in Roman numerals. He dug it, we did a little homework, and the rest is history. Funny enough, his classmate, who ended up being our operations executive, also has a first name that starts with L, but the name of the business was already set.

Leonce, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

50Fifty Comix Publishing is home to a dedicated crew of creatives who enjoy bringing new comic book ideas to life. My partners and I are lifelong comics enthusiasts who enjoy writing and illustrating new stories that we enjoy sharing with a comics-reading audience who’s looking for something new on the landscape.

We’re home to several titles, led by our flagship series, The Natura; it’s the story of a team of elemental warriors who have to defend Earth’s natural balance from a technological threat that seeks to undo the world as we know it.

We’ll also soon feature a bi-weekly comic strip, Table 23, that focuses on the middle school goings-on of one of our main characters’ daughter and her friends.

At 50Fifty Comix, we want to deliver gripping and intriguing stories coupled with vibrant and engaging illustration; stories that take readers on a ride, touch your emotions, and inspire you to think just a little differently than before.

How’d you meet your business partner?

This story actually has two parts: first, my brother, Lee Johnson, and I weren’t raised together. We found each other a little later in life by way of our dad, and when we did, it turned out that I was a writer and he was a highly skilled artist. Beyond that, we both had a love of comic books, and had dreams of creating comic of our own. From there, a pretty natural partnership took hold on the creative side.

Secondly, Lee reached out to one of his classmates, Nesha Mars, who had run a couple of small businesses, and she applied her experience and know-how to our squishy daydreams, turning them into a solid business structure.

Where do you think you get most of your clients from?

We have online and social media presence, both of which are still growing; we have media and communications initiatives, podcasts, interviews, and the like; we have outreach and community-oriented events, and all of those are wonderful. But the best source of new clients, by far, has been in-person appearances at comic book conventions.

Being able to meet people and interact with them in an authentic way, to be able to convey our genuine faith in, and excitement for our books and merchandise, and being able to revel in their own excitement for their particular fandom (and for pop culture in general) has been the best way to invite new readers to get to know our products and to follow us on our journey as we take off for higher heights.

Contact Info:

• Website: 50fiftycomix.com
• Instagram: @50fiftycomix, @50fifty_lhall
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/50FiftyComix?mibextid=ZbWKwL
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@50fiftycomixpublishing58?si=vaovqz5BbHpjKF8e