Disney/Marvel
So, the hot word on the street today in entertainment news is that Disney is buying Marvel.
I'll say this, and many other people have said it: I don't trust Disney with Marvel. Marvel has some good properties that they've done good things with, and an excellent movie studio (which I think is the main reason Disney wants it).
That being said, I really don't know how this will turn out. If Disney keeps a hands-off approach to Marvel, it may work well. If Disney interferes too much, I think the properties that Marvel has won't do well. I highly suspect that Disney will end up interfering, to some extent. The company line right now seems to be, "Look at Pixar! Disney isn't interfering in them!" Yeah, that's right, but Pixar doesn't produce content that's explicitly more adult-oriented than mainstream Disney. This isn't to say that Marvel produces porn, but most of its content is directly aimed at a higher age bracket than much of Disney. A better comparison, terms of content, would be Miramax, but I don't see people in Disney and Marvel making it, and this worries me.
I think that the independent comics scene will see an influx of new talent, and we might see a new major comics company put together to rival the DC behemoth, which I think is going to become dominant in the US comics industry, especially as the Disney corporate culture starts bleeding into Marvel. I've already seen Warren Ellis say outright that he won't be writing Disney comics, but I'm not sure if he'll draw a distinction between Disney and Marvel properties in the future.
In a nutshell, Disney will certainly benefit. Marvel movies will get better distribution, assuming their properties aren't killed. I highly doubt that Marvel fans will benefit, though.
I'll say this, and many other people have said it: I don't trust Disney with Marvel. Marvel has some good properties that they've done good things with, and an excellent movie studio (which I think is the main reason Disney wants it).
That being said, I really don't know how this will turn out. If Disney keeps a hands-off approach to Marvel, it may work well. If Disney interferes too much, I think the properties that Marvel has won't do well. I highly suspect that Disney will end up interfering, to some extent. The company line right now seems to be, "Look at Pixar! Disney isn't interfering in them!" Yeah, that's right, but Pixar doesn't produce content that's explicitly more adult-oriented than mainstream Disney. This isn't to say that Marvel produces porn, but most of its content is directly aimed at a higher age bracket than much of Disney. A better comparison, terms of content, would be Miramax, but I don't see people in Disney and Marvel making it, and this worries me.
I think that the independent comics scene will see an influx of new talent, and we might see a new major comics company put together to rival the DC behemoth, which I think is going to become dominant in the US comics industry, especially as the Disney corporate culture starts bleeding into Marvel. I've already seen Warren Ellis say outright that he won't be writing Disney comics, but I'm not sure if he'll draw a distinction between Disney and Marvel properties in the future.
In a nutshell, Disney will certainly benefit. Marvel movies will get better distribution, assuming their properties aren't killed. I highly doubt that Marvel fans will benefit, though.