[Sentinel Prime]

MasterJailer, on 01 September 2009 - 10:47 AM, said:

Sentinel Prime, on 01 September 2009 - 11:35 AM, said:

Marvel is too high profile with a "younger" audience for Disney to let them keep up adult style books. They wouldn't want to be represented like that.

You've got to keep that "high profile" in perspective.

Disney probably doesn't even know anything called "X-Factor" even exists much less be concerned with what's in it. The bright side ...I guess... of comics being such a narrow niche market is that they'll probably be left alone. Disney isn't into micromanaging editorial. They'll look at the big strokes. I still say that Disney will most likely see how comic sales go for the next couple of years. If sales don't dramatically improve, Disney isn't going to want to bother publishing something that sells twenty or thirty thousand copies and they'll shut the comics producing end of things down. They can keep the characters alive in trades, movies, cartoons, etc.

Well, they'll know because some media jack-a$$ will make a big deal out of it, guaranteed. I could totally see Nancy Grace or Bill O'Reilly highlighting it as soon as some right wing prude emails them about it.

Wow, the end of monthlies. That's sad. Hopefully we'll see them really make an effort to put comics back into people's hands by making them actually, oh, I don't know, AVAILABLE to your average person again.

And maybe knock that price back down a little, too.

Ouch.

I'll say this, it's inspired some passionate comics discussions! I think it's been since the Death of Superman that comics have gotten this kinda attention!

[darthfoley]

Sentinel Prime, on 01 September 2009 - 11:35 AM, said:

And I echo the fact that almost no one reads comics these days, I ran a shop in the height of the 90s comic explosion, and now it's a mere fraction of that at best.

Most of the people buying comics then weren't reading them anyway; they were storing away their multiple lenticular glow-in-the-dark cover, polybagged with a trading card clusterfuck books and drooling over the 'profit' they would make a few years down the line. It was a speculator bubble, nothing more.

Yes, comic sales have dropped off radically. So have toy sales. It's the nature of the modern world - kids would rather play video games. The core audience for each is still there; the question is how much of a profit/loss game would Disney want to play with the publishing part of Marvel.

I don't really see them changing anything at Marvel for a while; and I certainly don't see them 'forcing' Marvel to stop publishing adult oriented books.

I just see this as Marvel trying to gain a foothold in a niche they had no real presence in, and doing it in the most expeditious way possible.

[ARROW]

darthfoley, on 01 September 2009 - 09:28 AM, said:

Sentinel Prime, on 01 September 2009 - 11:35 AM, said:

And I echo the fact that almost no one reads comics these days, I ran a shop in the height of the 90s comic explosion, and now it's a mere fraction of that at best.

Most of the people buying comics then weren't reading them anyway; they were storing away their multiple lenticular glow-in-the-dark cover, polybagged with a trading card clusterfuck books and drooling over the 'profit' they would make a few years down the line. It was a speculator bubble, nothing more.

Yes, comic sales have dropped off radically. So have toy sales. It's the nature of the modern world - kids would rather play video games. The core audience for each is still there; the question is how much of a profit/loss game would Disney want to play with the publishing part of Marvel.

Marvel and DC sales are down from years past, but comicbook sales over all are not.........if you look at manga.
Titles like Shonen Jump and Tokyo Pop sell in the millions monthly, and manga like Deathnote is reported to have sale in the 20 million copies range. Thems is big numbers, on anyone's ledgers.
marvel biggest asset is that its steadfastly marketed its characters for years, its found way to get them out there, albeit in a almost staccato,haphazard way. The comics themselves are just a consideration, not the be-all and end-all. As long as they profit, they'll continue...and for now the comics are still profiting.

[Dragon66]

I hope this story helps:
http://www.deadlineh...ey-marvel-deal/

[I AM SCI-FI]

With Disney owning ABC, I really hope we get live-action Marvel tv series.
NBC's HEROES has proven that a live-action X-Men series would work.
Of course, that would be a while with FOX's X-Men deal.

[yojoebro82]

The owner of a local comic store says it will be a good thing. This store happens to be the 4th largest comic store in the country, so I figure the guy knows what he's talking about.

[Gundam Prime]