Disney Buys Marvel

[ShiroiHikari]

The Comic industry has been in the toilet for the last couple years anyway. Every other month they're coming out with "THE BIGGEST MOST AWFUL THING TO HAPPEN TO THE EARTH EVARRR!!!!1!!one!!!" Disney can't hurt it that much.

This man speaks truth.

[Etoh*the*Greato]

Until I picked up Batgirl #1 this week, I was about two steps away from canceling everything except Hellboy, BPRD, Starwars Legacy, and Invincible. Invincible is like the one shining star of good super hero writing I see anymore.

Edit: Oh! And Powergirl is enjoyable so far.

[ChristianKitsune]

Apparently everyone here has forgotten that Disney is the company that makes LOST and every other ABC show (Greys Anatomy and Desperate Housewives), and will claim those characters as Disney characters (half jokingly).

They also own and control the entire ESPN brand, Miramax (There Will be Blood, Clerks 2, Doubt), Touchstone (Shanghai Noon, Pearl Harbor, Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, Gone in 60 Seconds) the Muppets (though they haven't done much with it yet), part of History channel (combined with Hearst and NBC), all of Fox Family/SABAN's assets and SOAPnet among other things.

They definitely aren't just all about cutesy princesses and cartoons.

This.


I mean I remember thinking things were going to be bad when Disney aquired SABAN shows (This was back when I was a huge digimon fan XD) and actually I didn't even notice a difference.

I think this just simply means that Marvel will have a stronger backing in these difficult times. I don't think we'll see anything like people are imagining.

[Solid Snake]

Wow, kind of surprising. A Marvel/Pixar team up with Disney at the head could be pretty cool if they made a film in the tradition of FF VII: Advent Children. Don't know that that would ever happen, though . IMO, this could be good for Kingdom Hearts. Thanks for the news!

[Solid Ronin]

Bendis on Ultimate Spiderman was amazing.

Let us also praise Mark Millar in Ultimates 2. Whoo!

No, but seriously. The Comic industry has been in the toilet for the last couple years anyway. Every other month they're coming out with "THE BIGGEST MOST AWFUL THING TO HAPPEN TO THE EARTH EVARRR!!!!1!!one!!!" Disney can't hurt it that much.

Bendis on U Spider-man was him doing whatever he wanted with Spidey though, and as I said that works (Unless its Bendis writing Avengers). Especially seeing that Spider-man is the biggest talker in the Marvel U.

And about the "Event" comics, Some of them work great! (Final Crisis) but I can agree that many do not (Civil War*and Blackest Night will go on this list if something cool doesn't happen REAL quick*)

Until I picked up Batgirl #1 this week, I was about two steps away from canceling everything except Hellboy, BPRD, Starwars Legacy, and Invincible. Invincible is like the one shining star of good super hero writing I see anymore.

Edit: Oh! And Powergirl is enjoyable so far.

But Etoh! That means you aren't read The Incredible Hercules or Batman and Robin and I'm hoping You've already read All-Star Superman.

[Etoh*the*Greato]

I'm actually wanting to pick up Batman and Robin, since I actually like Dick Grayson. No itnerest for Incredible Hercules or All-Star Superman. Lots of love for the new Adventure Comics, though.

[Solid Ronin]

I'm actually wanting to pick up Batman and Robin, since I actually like Dick Grayson. No itnerest for Incredible Hercules or All-Star Superman. Lots of love for the new Adventure Comics, though.

Do it! Its a fun book.

But, Herc is easily one of the best Marvel book. And All-Star Superman will make you love the Man of Steel.

[SnoringFrog]

I'm really not sure what to make of this yet. I'm expecting to see Spiderman in the next kingdom hearts though.

On another site, someone mentioned Disney possible getting the younger generations interested in comics, and that is really what worries me in this. I'm concerned disney is going to end up taking the comics and turning them into something geared at younger ages instead of maintaining their more mature audience that they currently have. Now, some things they probably can't do much with in that respect (Punisher, Moon Knight), but with others (Spider Man, Iron Man, Hulk), they could really screw things up.

My dad mentioned to me that he's wondering what will become of the movies Marvel had planned out.

I'm more worried than anything about this, but I have a feeling it won't ruin too much, if anything, in the end. However, if this happens:

http://eisu.deviantart.com/art/DD-meets-DW-135429949

I will be very pleased.

[ShiroiHikari]

I think Disney already said they won't be interfering with any of Marvel's existing deals with other movie studios. So pretty much everything that's already been announced is going on as planned.

Also, Disney owns Pixar and they don't really exercise creative control over them, so I don't see them messing with Marvel either.

[sdzero]

http://eisu.deviantart.com/art/DD-meets-DW-135429949

Wow! Darkwing Duck! I have not seen him since...since....what did Disney do with him? Do not tell me they threw him in the dreaded "Disney Vault"!:wow!:

[Maledicte]

Seconding the recommendation for All-Star Superman. It's all collected so you don't need to worry about catching up. Also shout-outs for Gotham Sirens, Fables/Jack of Fables, House of Mystery, Greek Street, and Top Cow has retooled their Witchblade and Darkness titles, two comics I never thought I'd recommend to anyone.

Oh, wait, this was about Marvel wasn't it...

What's so bad about aiming comics at the younger generation? Readers have to start somewhere--personally, I started off with, well whaddya know, the comic pages in the back of the Disney Adventures magazine. Goodness knows I barely see any kids coming into my store , even fewer coming in without their geeky parents. We need new blood if the industry is going to stay strong.

One of the things that bugs me about the industry is, as Etoh mentioned, the constant "THINGS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME EVAAARRR" crossovers/events the "Big Two" seem to pull every 6 months (coughULTIMATUMcough), which not only alienate potential new readers (CONTINUITY ALERT) but tend to irritate longtime fans as well. Another thing that's annoying is the over-focusing on titles written and drawn by a small handful of writers and artists, squelching out promo space for new talent. (I'm not saying that Ellis/Simone/Gaiman/Kirkman/Dini/Straczynski/Waid/Marz et al should stop writing, though. In fact they should never stop. )

If you'll allow me to be overly optimistic for a moment, the Disney/Marvel merger could mean new titles, written by fresh or underused talent, aimed at newer readers, who won't feel ostracized and will buy more books, keeping the industry afloat. Hey, I can dream, can't I?

[Debitt]

Viral metnioned Disney possible getting the younger generations interested in comics, and that is really what worries me in this. I'm concerned disney is going to end up taking the comics and turning them into something geared at younger ages instead of maintaining their more mature audience that they currently have.

I doubt they'd actually want to squander 3 billion dollars by alienating devoted fans like that. If Disney does ANYTHING, it'd probably just be adding new spin-offs and titles to Marvel's selection while maintaining the old order as well. Like SirThinks2Much said, it could do more good to the industry than harm.

[Sparx00]

You know what came to mind? If Disney buys Marvel, do you think that Dreamworks will try to buy DC?

[ShiroiHikari]

I agree with Debitt and ST2M. New blood will keep the industry going. Do people really want to see comics fizzle out? (Arguably, they already have.)

Edit: DC is already a subsidiary of Warner Bros.

[Riggidig]

Coming Soon: Mickey Mouse and Spiderman vs Peg-Leg Pete and Doctor Octopus!

Special Appearance by Tony Stark and Scrooge McDuck, hanging out in the Duckville Money Bin.

That made me LOL. Really.

[SnoringFrog]

What's so bad about aiming comics at the younger generation?

I think it would mar what they currently are to do so. As it stands they're aimed at an older generation (age varies depending on the comic I suppose, but overall I'd say they are for more mature audiences than say...well I'm really not sure lol). I don't want to sacrifice story-depth/maturity or have to see things "toned-down" for young readers. I like my comics as they are.

Also (I may have said this in my earlier post, I don't recall), I want Deadpool to meet Jack Sparrow, or at least Spider-man meets Jack Sparrow. I don't really care why or how, I just think the interaction between those characters would be hilarious.

[Maledicte]

I think it would mar what they currently are to do so. As it stands they're aimed at an older generation (age varies depending on the comic I suppose, but overall I'd say they are for more mature audiences than say...well I'm really not sure lol). I don't want to sacrifice story-depth/maturity or have to see things "toned-down" for young readers. I like my comics as they are.

Disney has no reason to muck with established properties that are doing well with older readers, but the thing is, there's PLENTY of titles that are aimed at that maturity group and barely any aimed at younger readers. It'd be much easier to work with new material that stands outside of established canon. Marvel is already doing something like that with its Marvel Adventures series, but overall it's a very small segment of the overall market. They wouldn't have to tone down anything, just make stepping-stones to the bigger titles. As it is, the comic book industry is very new-user unfriendly, and I think Marvel shot themselves in the foot with the ULTIMATUM storyline, as the Ultimate line was a good starting point for new readers.

As opposed to manga/anime, which has material for people of any age/maturity bracket, which is why it's so successful. No one ever accuses manga distributors of dumbing stuff down if they simultaneously publish kid titles, teen titles, and mature titles.

[battletech]

Disney distributes Miyazaki films. You might have Disney start to get in to manga because of this.

[mechana2015]

They wouldn't have to tone down anything, just make stepping-stones to the bigger titles. As it is, the comic book industry is very new-user unfriendly, and I think Marvel shot themselves in the foot with the ULTIMATUM storyline, as the Ultimate line was a good starting point for new readers.

I realy can't agree more. I lost track of the comic book industry for about 5 years and in that time I lost all sense of being able to figure out what was happening. Everything recently has been part of one big overarching story or another that cross over so much stuff, theres no way to keep track of it all without investing considerable time and money in the run, including issues for series I don't really care about.

As of now I only read american comics when people hand them to me, and they're usually contained stories across a few volumes, not the super-mega-catastrophy event of the decade. If Disney makes them more accessable by providing a middle level of comic, a story more along the lines of what I'd read, I'm all for that.

[SnoringFrog]

Disney has no reason to muck with established properties that are doing well with older readers, but the thing is, there's PLENTY of titles that are aimed at that maturity group and barely any aimed at younger readers. It'd be much easier to work with new material that stands outside of established canon. Marvel is already doing something like that with its Marvel Adventures series, but overall it's a very small segment of the overall market. They wouldn't have to tone down anything, just make stepping-stones to the bigger titles. As it is, the comic book industry is very new-user unfriendly, and I think Marvel shot themselves in the foot with the ULTIMATUM storyline, as the Ultimate line was a good starting point for new readers.

As opposed to manga/anime, which has material for people of any age/maturity bracket, which is why it's so successful. No one ever accuses manga distributors of dumbing stuff down if they simultaneously publish kid titles, teen titles, and mature titles.

I don't mind the approach of simultaneous, separate series for the stepping-stone effect you mentioned. As long as the mature series stay as they are, I'm pretty much fine with it.

[Maledicte]

I'm pretty sure Disney is going to keep its fingers out of Marvel's MAX comics at the very least.

And I agree with what Mechana said: Disney owns companies that put out adult-centered entertainment. I don't see them toning down the sex or adding cartoon characters to ABC's primetime shows.

[Roy Mustang]

Stan Lee Blesses Union

[quote="ICv2"]Living legend Stan Lee weighed in on the Disney acquisition of Marvel (see “]

Also just found this as well.

D23: 5 good signs about the Disney-Marvel merger

[font="Book Antiqua"][color="Red"]Col. Roy Mustang[/color][/font]

[Maledicte]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyYb_r4cZHE

Because it seemed pertinent to the discussion.

[Dante]

Please let me summon Captain America in Kingdom Hearts III.

Disney may purchase Marvel... but what happens when Wal Mart Purchases Disney?!

[Debitt]

Disney may purchase Marvel... but what happens when Wal Mart Purchases Disney?!

People will argue about it on CAA.

[rocklobster]

That would be so awesome!

[Maledicte]

That is so flipping amazing. XD

[Maledicte]

Sorry for the double-post, but Worth1000.com held a Photoshop contest combining Disney and Marvel: link

My personal favorites:

[Debitt]

AMAZING.

Now....I want to see manips going the OTHER WAY.

[rocklobster]

Mallard Fillmore just weighed in on this.