On Disney buying Marvel
I dunno. The problem is that Disney is DISNEY. As in aggressive in managing the image of their intellectual properties, and responsive to even minor PR campaigns targeted at objections to edgy material. They're family focused, meaning that they eschew adult themes and topics.
And before you can say, 'but Marvel will still be Marvel,' what other Disney owned properties haven't modulated closer to Disney's family oriented baseline once acquired? Certainly, with the possible exception of Lost, ABC hasn't exactly produced anything 'edgy.' Not that I would particularly call 'Lost' 'edgy,' or that I'm a particular fan of it. But when's the last time that ABC produced content that brought down public controversy? When was the last time they produced material that provoked protest?
What happens to Tony Stark in the Disney owned Marvel? Will he continue to face alcoholism, or will that be quietly phased out? What about Punisher? Does he continue to be a gun-toting psychopath, or does the level of questionable ultra-violence modulate into a more Disney-esque cartoon violence? What about the Magneto family? Do they continue to be, well, as fucked up in an adult fashion as they have been, or does that all get swept under the rug and forgotten about? The serious question will be whether Marvel will in fact continue to be Marvel, or whether it will become Disney-Marvel. Is the Disney owned Marvel a Marvel that will write something as politically charged as "Civil War?" Will they continue to produce characters and story lines with complex, adult backgrounds?
My strong feeling to this is that the answer is no, that a Disney owned Marvel signals a Marvel that is moving back toward 4-color comic days. Not literally, but I do believe that Disney Marvel is going to see it's main audience not as adults, but as adolescents and kids. It is going to move aggressively to kid-sanitize Marvel's most marketable characters, and it will be as aggressive about keeping the public image of it's intellectual property as squeaky clean as Snow White. That's going to mean bad things for Marvel lines that have dramatic punch because they are about characters in conflict, characters that are less than Snow White, maybe even characters who have crossed the line. I mean seriously, what does a Disney-approved Venom look like? What about a Disney-approved Carnage?
I think overall, it's the smart thing for Marvel commercially, though. Disney is way better at marketing than Marvel ever has been, and I strongly believe that this has been a big problem at Marvel. I think that over the past decade the problem of the comic book industry has become that they are producing comic books more for collectors than they are for the general market, partially because the industry is so full of comic-book insiders that they simply haven't known /how/ to market to people who aren't hard-core comic fans. Disney also has the resources to attempt new delivery methods, and to market the properties in ways that Marvel never had the resources to invest in. For example, if Marvel can do comics on the PSP, they can certainly do them on smart phones, and Disney has the muscle to negotiate a better deal with companies like Apple, Verizon, etc. than Marvel could have ever gotten before acquisition.
On a side note, it will be interesting to see what happens to the Universal Theme parks, and to see if Marvel gets any space at Disneyland. Marvel at Disneyland would be way cool.
For the comics industry as a whole, I think it can also be a good thing. If Disney/Marvel does start to aggressively market towards adolescents and kids again, I think they'll be successful. They have all the tools necessary to make that happen, and perhaps to make it happen big. Think about this-- all the marketing savvy that produced Hannah Montanna behind Jubilee. 5-10 years from now, something like a teen-oriented live-action Generation X could have all the fervor behind it. It probably would be Disney-Channel budget, but it would certainly be an improvement over their current line of production. Comic-book material gives Disney the perfect tool to market similar shows but at 'tween and adolescent boys. Say what you will, but Disney is very skilled at creating and operating such markets.
At the very least, it will be nice to have a comic book line you can order for your elementary-school age children that is actually worth a damn while I think that the writing will be less 'adult,' 'edgy,' or 'mature,' I still believe that Disney is pretty good at putting out quality product. It has seemed to me that the kid-oriented comic books have for a long time been relegated to second and third-tier writers, but that won't be the case if Disney decides to kid-sanitize the image of Marvel's most lucrative icons.
It also means that Disney/Marvel and WB/DC don't have to compete in the same market-- DC can still continue to focus on more adult-oriented comics, and perhaps even pick up the segment of that market that Marvel is likely to lose if they go more four-color. That can be good for DC. I most certainly believe that such a move is also good for indie comic-book writers. There is still going to be a market for edgy comic book material, and if Marvel gets out of that race, then there's only DC and smaller publishers. DC has it's own issues, and so a lot of comic-artists looking to make their artistic marks will have more incentive to look to smaller comics publishers.
Ultimately, I will probably be a bit annoyed that some Marvel characters lose artistic maturity in favor of being kid-friendly. I think the bigger annoyance is that Disney actually has what it takes to make that strategy successful, perhaps even wildly so, and in the long run, I think that means in the minds of a lot of folk comics are going to be looked at less seriously as works of art and serious storytelling.
Still, I think that Disney getting behind Marvel is going to change the industry a lot, and beyond that, mostly for the better. I think ultimately, whatever they do, Disney will ultimately expand the market. I think they are going to bring innovation to the table that will force DC and other comics publishers to adapt more successful strategies, to innovate to more successfully in terms of how they operate as publishers and managers of intellectual properties, in other words, on a corporate level. Disney/Marvel has the potential to completely change the way the comics industry operates, and as a fan of comics, I look forward to it. I think this really signals that comics have finally entered the realm of big business.
And before you can say, 'but Marvel will still be Marvel,' what other Disney owned properties haven't modulated closer to Disney's family oriented baseline once acquired? Certainly, with the possible exception of Lost, ABC hasn't exactly produced anything 'edgy.' Not that I would particularly call 'Lost' 'edgy,' or that I'm a particular fan of it. But when's the last time that ABC produced content that brought down public controversy? When was the last time they produced material that provoked protest?
What happens to Tony Stark in the Disney owned Marvel? Will he continue to face alcoholism, or will that be quietly phased out? What about Punisher? Does he continue to be a gun-toting psychopath, or does the level of questionable ultra-violence modulate into a more Disney-esque cartoon violence? What about the Magneto family? Do they continue to be, well, as fucked up in an adult fashion as they have been, or does that all get swept under the rug and forgotten about? The serious question will be whether Marvel will in fact continue to be Marvel, or whether it will become Disney-Marvel. Is the Disney owned Marvel a Marvel that will write something as politically charged as "Civil War?" Will they continue to produce characters and story lines with complex, adult backgrounds?
My strong feeling to this is that the answer is no, that a Disney owned Marvel signals a Marvel that is moving back toward 4-color comic days. Not literally, but I do believe that Disney Marvel is going to see it's main audience not as adults, but as adolescents and kids. It is going to move aggressively to kid-sanitize Marvel's most marketable characters, and it will be as aggressive about keeping the public image of it's intellectual property as squeaky clean as Snow White. That's going to mean bad things for Marvel lines that have dramatic punch because they are about characters in conflict, characters that are less than Snow White, maybe even characters who have crossed the line. I mean seriously, what does a Disney-approved Venom look like? What about a Disney-approved Carnage?
I think overall, it's the smart thing for Marvel commercially, though. Disney is way better at marketing than Marvel ever has been, and I strongly believe that this has been a big problem at Marvel. I think that over the past decade the problem of the comic book industry has become that they are producing comic books more for collectors than they are for the general market, partially because the industry is so full of comic-book insiders that they simply haven't known /how/ to market to people who aren't hard-core comic fans. Disney also has the resources to attempt new delivery methods, and to market the properties in ways that Marvel never had the resources to invest in. For example, if Marvel can do comics on the PSP, they can certainly do them on smart phones, and Disney has the muscle to negotiate a better deal with companies like Apple, Verizon, etc. than Marvel could have ever gotten before acquisition.
On a side note, it will be interesting to see what happens to the Universal Theme parks, and to see if Marvel gets any space at Disneyland. Marvel at Disneyland would be way cool.
For the comics industry as a whole, I think it can also be a good thing. If Disney/Marvel does start to aggressively market towards adolescents and kids again, I think they'll be successful. They have all the tools necessary to make that happen, and perhaps to make it happen big. Think about this-- all the marketing savvy that produced Hannah Montanna behind Jubilee. 5-10 years from now, something like a teen-oriented live-action Generation X could have all the fervor behind it. It probably would be Disney-Channel budget, but it would certainly be an improvement over their current line of production. Comic-book material gives Disney the perfect tool to market similar shows but at 'tween and adolescent boys. Say what you will, but Disney is very skilled at creating and operating such markets.
At the very least, it will be nice to have a comic book line you can order for your elementary-school age children that is actually worth a damn while I think that the writing will be less 'adult,' 'edgy,' or 'mature,' I still believe that Disney is pretty good at putting out quality product. It has seemed to me that the kid-oriented comic books have for a long time been relegated to second and third-tier writers, but that won't be the case if Disney decides to kid-sanitize the image of Marvel's most lucrative icons.
It also means that Disney/Marvel and WB/DC don't have to compete in the same market-- DC can still continue to focus on more adult-oriented comics, and perhaps even pick up the segment of that market that Marvel is likely to lose if they go more four-color. That can be good for DC. I most certainly believe that such a move is also good for indie comic-book writers. There is still going to be a market for edgy comic book material, and if Marvel gets out of that race, then there's only DC and smaller publishers. DC has it's own issues, and so a lot of comic-artists looking to make their artistic marks will have more incentive to look to smaller comics publishers.
Ultimately, I will probably be a bit annoyed that some Marvel characters lose artistic maturity in favor of being kid-friendly. I think the bigger annoyance is that Disney actually has what it takes to make that strategy successful, perhaps even wildly so, and in the long run, I think that means in the minds of a lot of folk comics are going to be looked at less seriously as works of art and serious storytelling.
Still, I think that Disney getting behind Marvel is going to change the industry a lot, and beyond that, mostly for the better. I think ultimately, whatever they do, Disney will ultimately expand the market. I think they are going to bring innovation to the table that will force DC and other comics publishers to adapt more successful strategies, to innovate to more successfully in terms of how they operate as publishers and managers of intellectual properties, in other words, on a corporate level. Disney/Marvel has the potential to completely change the way the comics industry operates, and as a fan of comics, I look forward to it. I think this really signals that comics have finally entered the realm of big business.