It launched in 1983 with a line-up of creators including Frank Brunner, Mike Grell, Howard Chaykin, Joe Staton, Steven Grant, Timothy Truman, and Jim Starlin.
Among First's best-known titles were Chaykin's satirical futuristic cop series American Flagg; John Ostrander and Tim Truman's Grimjack; Baron & Rude's Nexus; Badger; Jim Starlin's space opera series Dreadstar and Mike Grell's Jon Sable, which was briefly adapted for TV.
[11] Gold later used his First Comics connections to bring Grell, Chaykin, and Truman over to DC, where they created series such as Green Arrow: The Longbow Hunters, Blackhawk, and Hawkworld.
[15][16] The company partnered with Berkley Books (then Berkley Publishing Group) to acquire the rights, and Classics Illustrated returned with new adaptations and a line-up of artists that included Kyle Baker, Dean Motter, Mike Ploog, P. Craig Russell, Bill Sienkiewicz, Joe Staton, Rick Geary, and Gahan Wilson.
Despite the merge and emphasis on creator owned properties, both 1First Comics and Devil's Due intend to maintain editorial independence.
Since 2019, First Comics has continued publishing creator-owned titles, including Inspector Oh and Love Town by Matt and John Yuan, Night Stalker by Orlando Harding, and the Dogwitch Omnibus by Dan Schaeffer.
First Graphic Novel also featured colorized reprints of early issues of the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series.