SEB-standard 28: Walt Disney Presents: Marvel Comics

[SebastianPiccione]

M-i-c…k-e-y…W-o-l-v-e-r-i-n-e…

So, like any change, Disney’s purchase of marvel comes with potential for good and potential for bad. This installment of SEB-standard is really all about raising questions, and not posing any real answers. This isn’t ISSUES, I’m not about to do all the crazy research, so we’re gonna have to wait for Jeff to find the answers.

So Disney buys Marvel and the comic world spins like the teacup ride. What does this mean for us and our beloved Marvel icons? Well, since marvel has already made most of their Icons unrecognizable…Red Hulks, Retconned Spideys, Non-Supreme Doctor Stranges, Multi-avengers, Mayor Jameson, FrankenCastle Punisher, Bucky-Cap, Norman Osborne running the show, and what the F--- is up with X-Force…it’s not like things can get TOO much weirder. In fact, Disney may lean towards a more recognizable (and therefore more marketable) MU. Hey-yo!

Ok. I was kidding…partially…a little…



But, what DOES this mean?



Well, on the one hand, WARNER BROTHERS and Bugs Bunny have owned DC for years now, and that has only seemed to help the company and it’s standing in the financial world. So, technically, this should just be the same kind of thing as the DC-Warner merger, and everyone should rest easy.



So, why is everyone freaked out?



Well, Disney AINT Warner Bros.



Seb, why you hatin’ on the Mouse?



Look, I live in Florida, right under the Mouse’s thumb. I know that despite that cute smile and eunuch’s voice, Mickey can be a bigger tyrant than Victor Von Doom and Osborne combined.

Disney doesn’t share well, and they don’t play well with others. I keep picturing an ideal new Alex Ross painting. Worm’s eye view, with all the heroes in the MU rushing up to fight Galactus, who is looming over the world, hands out and Kirby-dotted to devour the MU. Galactus has Mickey’s head, big ears on the helmet, the whole 9 yards.

I worry about things like, what does this mean for neighboring amusement park, UNIVERSAL STUDIOS, and their Marvel themed ISLAND OF ADVENTURE?

On the comics end, what about the various companies that have aquired the rights to do Disney Comics? Slave Labor was doing (albeit few and far between) Gargoyles and a sort of Alice In Wonderland. Gargoyles has a cult following, and Alice is sure to be a hot property once the new Burton/Depp live action comes out. BOOM! Studios has been doing some great things with Disney properties like CARS, TOY STORY, THE MUPPET SHOW, and THE INCREDIBLES. They've even started soliciting for WALT DISNEY COMICS AND STORIES as well as a new WALL*E series. What becomes of them?


Will Disney start putting Marvel comics into larger chains, like Walmart, Target, and Barnes & Noble? If so, what will that do for the Comic Book Specialty Shops? While I know that selling more books in bigger places is good for the company, and possibly the industry, Comic Book stores are part of our culture. They don’t just sell us our books, they are where we go to be with like minded dorques and talk comics. They’re like our Elks Lodge we can talk our almost coded comic-speak. To lose them would be a serious blow to the comic culture no matter how much money Marvel made.


Now, enough Doom and Gloom, I’m starting to sound like Forby discussing our chances of making it in the comic industry! Let’s look at some of the positives.


$$$ KA-CHING!

Disney has got MAD money, son! And they are one of the most powerful marketing machines in the world. They can support anything Marvel wants to do and not worry about losses as much. I mean, obviously they want to make money, but a loss on a single project that would be devastating to marvel won’t even phase the corporate beast that is Disney.

I DO look forward to being able to buy those (ridiculously over-priced) lamenated pins they sell at the theme parks once they start featuring some Marvel Heroes.

Job Security. With Disney’s pockets, Marvel could be in a placee to offer some serious benefits and pay potential to its employees.

Movies. Disney, and more to the point, Pixar, could really do some amazing things with the MU. Imagine Pixar/Marvel. They could even make a sub-division, specifically geared towards adapting Marvel properties into films, thus separating themselves a skootch from the kid-oriented feel, all CGI marvel movies for all ages, including the comic fans. Casting would be based on voice and persona, rather than Do they/don’t they look like the character.

Granted, I’ll be pissed when I hear some commercial say “THOR on DVD and BLU-RAY, get it now, before it returns to the DISNEY VAULT January 31st!”

Disney can open up whole new possibilities that Marvel could never even have conceived of. Let’s just hope they don’t close too many doors while they open all those windows.

[CalvinCamp]

I don't think it'll be a disaster. I could see them pushing for recognizable characters for marketing reasons, but I'm not sure that's necessarily a bad thing. Probably wouldn't mean much more than a mainstream line and an alternate line running side-by-side. And we already have multiple lines, right?

The idea that they'll force Marvel to Disney-fy everything into cutesy kiddy material is just silly. They haven't done that to any of the other companies they own.

The licensing is probably a bigger issue. Universal might be screwed when their license for the amusement park stuff runs out. Or they might just license DC heroes to replace them. Either way, I don't think the amusement park question means squat for comics.

The companies licensing comics may take the biggest hit. It's quite possible Disney will run their comics through Marvel, because the smaller companies aren't going to be able to offer the kind of money that the Marvel division can. On the other hand, Marvel hasn't shown much interest in licensing Disney comics before. Disney/Marvel might leave it alone, because they don't see that much money in those comics anyway. It's still entirely possible things will go on as they are now, on that end.

Will Disney try to put monthly comics in the large chain and book stores? Maybe. But will the stores want anything to do with them? They certainly aren't going to take them on a non-returnable basis like the direct market does. Trades are already in bookstores, so that wouldn't be a change (though it'd be cool if they showed up in dept stores). Personally, I'm pretty sure the monthlies will stay in the comic shops, just like they are now.

At most we might see a comeback of the "newstand" comic (though probably only a limited selection of material), and I think that could only be a good thing - I'd love to see the Marvel Adventures line appearing in checkout endcaps at my local Kmart & Walmart, next to Archie and Jughead (and I also think making them in a similar chunky, digest-sized format would be a smart move). I don't think even that would severely impact the comic shops, though. In time it might help them, as kids "graduate" to an interest in what else is out there. That's certainly how I found the comic shops years ago.

On the other hand, I think the idea that Disney is going to throw tons of money at comics is a pipe dream. They bought Marvel so they could make money from Marvel, not so they could spend extra money they didn't know what to do with. Pay isn't going to go up - what corporate overlord has ever paid an employee more just because they could? The rates & benefits at Marvel aren't going to go up until the creatives can get a better deal somewhere else and start leaving - maybe not even then, because there are plenty of talented up&comers who would happily step in to take their place.

I think the movies are what Disney is really interested in. That's the big money, the big profit potential, and that's where they'll invest. Marvel is going to be on their own with the comics (other than any trickle-down benefits they get from greater IP visibility), and they better make sure they keep them profitable in their own right.

[SebastianPiccione]

Damn, Calvin! Your response is better than my column.

Hmn..."PITCHING CAMP" has a nice ring to it...time for you to get a column! :D

[StevenForbes]

See that, Calvin? That's JUST how I got started doing TWO columns!

[tiggerpete]

I think this can be both good and bad, on one hand, Disney takes over and now Iron Man has mouse ears on his armor, on the other, Disney makes Marvel so big it envelops the entire medium choking out all competitors making the only available comics in the MU (no more DC, Image, Dark Horse, IDW, Boom, etc)

given those options, I will take Stark Mouse Ears any day.

[MichaelRoberts]

Disney Vault... hadn't heard that one yet. Nice.

[CalvinCamp]

Damn, Calvin! Your response is better than my column.

Hmn..."PITCHING CAMP" has a nice ring to it...time for you to get a column! :DUhmm... thanks.

But I don't think I'd know what to do with a column if I had one. I'm pretty good at running my mouth (sometimes entirely too much), if someone else says something that gets me thinking - but, if left to my own devices, I'd probably just sit staring at a blank screen wondering what to talk about.

[JeffHaas]

Great article Sebastion. I think there is really no way to guess how this purchase by Disney will affect Marvel. The primary factor is going to be how "involved" the disney suits choose to be. And what they say and what they'll do will probably be quite different. And as you said WB owning DC will be quite different, probably then Disney owning Marvel. Disney has a different style business plan which has their primary focus on intertwining multi-media sources. How dedicated they are to integrating Marvel into their network remains to be seen. One thing that WB may show is the potential difficulty that Marvel may find now in producing their movies. There are now more hands in the pots, more egoes and more suits who feel they should enter their two cents. I do not think Marvel will have the creative freedoms they once had with their movies. Disney will probably also be anxiously awaiting their contracts for Marvel based rides at Universal and their contracts with Boom! for their comics to end as soon as possible.

Possible benefits is that the cross-marketing often exhibited by Disney may be Marvel comic based shops will pop-up at their parks. This may help increase the visibility of those comics as they are heavily trafficed by kids who are with parents already in their spending place.

I, honestly, do not feel that Marvel movies and comics will suddenly have guest appearences by disney characters, although do not be surprised to see spiderman and hulk, etc walking around Disney World like Mickey, etc. More likely though will be that Disney based movies, for kids especially, will show the characters wearing Marvel apparel, etc. This just guesswork obviously, with no data really researched.

[LukeHalsall]

I think it'll be a case of wait and see.

I dont personally like the fact that Disney owns Marvel because I think it is sad that a company that has survived for 70 years should have to be bought and I can see that there maybe possible changes. Another reason i don't like the thought of Disney buying Marvel is the issue they had with DVDs a bit of time ago. For example, they never released the classic 90s cartoon shows like Spiderman or X-Men as full seasons. Its taken till now for them to come out and I dont think they are still owned by Disney as the boxes say that they're made by Clear Vision.

But...

If they say that they are going to keep things the way they are, they'll probably do it for the time being. I think in the end it will all depend upon who is in charge of Disney at the time. At the mo, they seem relatively happy in keeping the Marvel status quo but that doesn't mean it will be like that forever.

[SebastianPiccione]

I saw this pic on Dave Ryan's Facebook page, and thought of Pete.

Also, this poses a burning question. If Disney sued Marvel to prevent Howard the Duck from going pantless because he looked too much like Donald, but now Disney OWNS Marvel...can Howard ditch the pants now?

[tiggerpete]

just have everyone go without pants, it'll send a great message to the kids.:D

[DaddyD]

*creeps in and takes a peek* Hmmm... shh. *whispers* Hey, Seb.
Well good work here. Glad to see things are going well. Food for thought, of course. As for my own thoughts on the Mouse and Marvel... well, it's business. And that's all it is. As a company Disney knows a cash-cow when it sees it and hopefully they'll leave well enough alone and allow Marvel to do what Marvel does best. I'm not so sure things are going to change so much at the "House of Ideas" now that they are owned by the "House of Mouse" but we'll see. Of course, I don't want to see anything ridiculous either but I'm interested to see where this takes us.