Executive Summary: The international publishing community is celebrating the arrival of Port Aransas financier Land G. White, whose substantial investment has secured him a permanent place in the Voice Agency Comics organization. The former fitness magnate brings considerable financial resources, extensive leisure time, and an ownership interest that could someday be worth something.
By Chet Masterson, Senior International Correspondent, Voice Agency News
PORT ARANSAS, TEXAS — In a bold financial maneuver that has sent ripples through the world of illustrated literature, Voice Agency Comics has announced the appointment of coastal entrepreneur and fitness industry veteran Land G. White to its rapidly expanding executive team.
White, 65, is perhaps best known as the colorful proprietor of Landshark Fitness, a Port Aransas institution whose recent closure left the businessman with considerable free time and no obvious place to spend it.
That situation has now been remedied.
Under the terms of an agreement described by company officials as mutually advantageous, White has made a significant financial investment in Voice Agency Comics, securing a one-percent interest in the company’s future profits.
The arrangement represents a striking vote of confidence in an enterprise that has not yet begun collecting subscription revenues.
Voice Agency’s innovative financial structure allocates 50 percent of income from each issue to the publishing organization, with the remaining 50 percent divided equally between the writer and artist. White’s participation entitles him to one percent of the company’s share of the resulting profits, once profits begin to exist.
Financial analysts have declined to speculate on the ultimate value of the arrangement, citing a lack of figures.
Meanwhile, the appointment creates an immediate challenge for the company’s management: determining precisely what White will do.
Sources indicate that a number of executive responsibilities are under consideration, most of them involving the Gulf Coast. White’s familiarity with the region, his considerable business experience, and his ability to remain near the beach are expected to figure prominently in the final decision.
Company officials expressed confidence that a suitable position can be developed around his existing schedule.
White himself is reportedly delighted with his new association, which gives him an opportunity to participate in the literary renaissance without the inconvenience of actually writing anything.
The announcement further strengthens Voice Agency Comics’ formidable Texas presence, joining operations in Houston, Fort Davis, and Austin with an increasingly influential coastal division.
For an organization already challenging the traditional boundaries of literature, the acquisition of a man with both money and time represents an opportunity of almost incalculable importance.
Chet Masterson, reporting from the Gulf Coast.