Marvel Comics and Star Wars?

[DeGenerate10]

Not sure if this would be the place to ask but I was thinking about it today. With Disney buying Star Wars and already having bought Marvel is there any chance that Marvel Comics will be taking over the Star Wars comics at some point?

[Themanofbat]

I'd say pretty good... similarly when Disney had their deal with Boom Studios, they kept publishing Disney comics... but as time went on, those became less and less until they are now all being published by Marvel...

So I would think that within 2 to 4 years, all the Star Wars' books being published by Dark Horse will trickle to Marvel...

[runawayboulder]

Yeah, it's inevitable....or whenever Dark Horse's contract runs out.

[Thwip!]

Shame...I like what Dark Horse have been doing with Star Wars lately

[bored]

At the very least, this has some historical precedence, since Marvel published the first "Star Wars" comic.

[CantThinkOfAName]

Brian Wood is about to start writing Star Wars for Dark Horse, which is pretty awesome (he's writing Conan too, basically all their big properties sans Buffy). I guess it won't last too long though.

[hippie_hunter]

I dunno. Unlike Boom and Marvel, I think that Dark Horse would be willing to pay anything to keep the Star Wars license in their hands. And if Disney makes more money through the Dark Horse license than self-publishing, I think they'll let them keep it.

Plus there are a couple of problems. Marvel's publishing focus is on their superhero line, when they got bought by Disney, sure Boom lost the Disney books, but we're not seeing Marvel publish the long running Walt Disney Comics and Stories, Donald Duck and Friends, Uncle Scrooge, and Mickey Mouse and Friends. We're not seeing the Muppets, DuckTales, and Darkwing Duck continue. And the Pixar releases are sporadic at best. Based on how Marvel Publishing has treated their Disney properties, why should they be trusted to not let Star Wars get lost in the shuffle.

Another problem it could face is that there is a possibility that Wood and Ostrander not wanting to write a Star Wars book under Marvel Publishing. Langridge refused to work with Marvel when the license moved from Boom.

[THANOSRULES]

Here's another option:

Marvel takes over Dark Horse..without Star Wars they have very little big sellers.

[hippie_hunter]

Originally Posted by THANOSRULES

Here's another option:

Marvel takes over Dark Horse..without Star Wars they have very little big sellers.

Why would they want to take over Dark Horse? Look at how they treat Icon for example, they have no real interest in creator-owned works like Hellboy, the Goon, and Usagi Yojimbo. And they really don't have any interest in licensed titles like Buffy, Alien/Predator, and Conan.

Without Star Wars though, Dark Horse is just doomed. Chances are that the creator owned properties will end up at Image (where I honestly think that they'll do better) and the licensed titles will be taken up by IDW and Dynamite.

[Thwip!]

but Goon is awesome

[TheCorpulent1]

My comic shop owner's take was pretty good, I thought: He said Disney would probably let Dark Horse keep the license because there's no money in comics. Why rock the boat just to publish Star Wars comics under Marvel that might not sell as well as the Dark Horse ones anyway? Even the Dark Horse ones don't sell enough to be significant; no realistic present-day comic's sales would be. The real money's in the movies and toys and such, which is where Disney's focusing its attention.

[THANOSRULES]

Originally Posted by TheCorpulent1

My comic shop owner's take was pretty good, I thought: He said Disney would probably let Dark Horse keep the license because there's no money in comics. Why rock the boat just to publish Star Wars comics under Marvel that might not sell as well as the Dark Horse ones anyway? Even the Dark Horse ones don't sell enough to be significant; no realistic present-day comic's sales would be. The real money's in the movies and toys and such, which is where Disney's focusing its attention.

there is money in comics..although its certainly not comparable to movies.

Disney is a successful company, and they maximize profits..if they think they can make a couple extra bucks they will do it.

Why would they want to take over Dark Horse? Look at how they treat Icon for example, they have no real interest in creator-owned works like Hellboy, the Goon, and Usagi Yojimbo. And they really don't have any interest in licensed titles like Buffy, Alien/Predator, and Conan.

Without Star Wars though, Dark Horse is just doomed. Chances are that the creator owned properties will end up at Image (where I honestly think that they'll do better) and the licensed titles will be taken up by IDW and Dynamite.

Well why would they want CrossGen, Ultraverse, and Miracleman?

[Aesculapius]

Honestly this is one of the first things that came to mind with the Star Wars buyout. I wasn't worried about the movies like some people were. I was worried about all the licensed works. Dark Horse has been doing well with it, and I would bet that it will be going to Marvel soon enough. Honestly, I wouldn't want it to.

[hippie_hunter]

Originally Posted by THANOSRULES

there is money in comics..although its certainly not comparable to movies.

Very little money at that though. The majority of profits from Marvel and DC comes from the licensing for merchandise and movies like the Dark Knight and the Avengers.

Disney is a successful company, and they maximize profits..if they think they can make a couple extra bucks they will do it.

The reason why I'm posting to such an old post. Turns out that Disney is going to do it:

One of the things that many people wondered after Disney bought Lucasfilm was how long will this relationship continue? Especially since the Mouse owns Marvel, the largest comics publisher in the world. Well, it appears we now have the answer. The Suits in the know have determined that no new contracts will be given to Dark Horse after the current ones expire. So all new projects after 2013 will be handled internally by Marvel.

It's not known yet if titles will be worked into the regular line up, or will Marvel create a special branch of the company that deals with Star Wars. It'll take a couple of years for the old deals to work there course, but the stories that Dark Horse have coming down the pipeline will be the last. And you can expect anything new from Marvel dealing with Star Wars to arrive around 2015.

Well why would they want CrossGen, Ultraverse, and Miracleman?

Disney bought CrossGen almost 10 years ago and look at how that turned out. Disney ended up doing nothing with the properties until they bought Marvel, and they bombed. And Marvel bought Malibu Comics back in 1994, when the industry was much healthier and look at how Marvel treats Malibu, they do nothing with it. As for Marvelman, it's obvious why they wanted that one. It's a legacy character that would fit in well with the Marvel Universe (as opposed to the laughable Sentry) and it's one character, not a publishing company.

So my point still stands, there is nothing that Dark Horse offers to Disney or Marvel. Marvel just doesn't want to publish creator-owned titles, it's not in their strategy. There are a few exceptions like publishing Mark Millar's god awful, but high selling creator owned titles and a few titles here and there by Marvel's stable of writers, but we're not going to see Mike Mignola bring Hellboy to Icon. And there is just no interest for Marvel to absorb Dark Horse's licensed properties like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Conan the Barbarian, or Mass Effect. It just makes no business sense to acquire a publisher when there is just one property you want and it'll revert back to you within a matter of a few years anyways.

[Themanofbat]

Originally Posted by Themanofbat

So I would think that within 2 to 4 years, all the Star Wars' books being published by Dark Horse will trickle to Marvel...

I called it...

[Thwip!]

Originally Posted by Themanofbat

I called it...

We're not sure if you should be proud of that though given the news :P

[Aztec]

Well it looks like we will be getting a Marvel/Star Wars crossover at some point. I hope it makes its way to a video game.

[Thwip!]

Re: End of the world as we know it?
by Randy Stradley » Today, 12:54
My advice is don't believe everything you see. Especially if it originates on a fan site.

[Godzilla2000]

Oh boy...just what we need, Ewoks invading Asgard. >_<

[Scourge2099]

A new Annihilation featuring the Shi'ar Empire vs the Galactic Empire would be cool.

[Mace Dolex]

I don't even know why Marvel bothers to publish Disney comics if their target audience (which are whiny kids) hardly walk into a comic book store.

[hippie_hunter]

Originally Posted by Thwip!

Re: End of the world as we know it?
by Randy Stradley » Today, 12:54
My advice is don't believe everything you see. Especially if it originates on a fan site.

Blue Sky Disney has had a rather reliable track record when it comes to rumors.

[hippie_hunter]

Originally Posted by Mace Dolex

I don't even know why Marvel bothers to publish Disney comics if their target audience (which are whiny kids) hardly walk into a comic book store.

When it comes to licensed properties (and Archie) they typically have success outside of the comic book store. WildStorm's Gears of War #1 was the best selling comic in the United States in 2008, which sold over 450,000 copies. Yet it didn't show up on the charts all that well because only 10% of the copies printed went to comic book shops. But it made bank through other outlets. Boom! does very well with Adventure Time outside of comic book stores. Whenever I'm at my Wegmans and see the small comic rack, I see far more licensed titles like Sonic the Hedgehog, Simpsons, Adventure Time, Scooby Doo, Looney Tunes, and Star Wars than mainstream Marvel and DC superhero titles.

It's why it baffles me as to why Marvel took the comic book rights to the Disney Comics from Boom! and yet aren't using them. I bet that The Muppets Show, Pixar, and the legacy Disney Comics would make bank outside of the direct market. It baffles me as to why Cartoon Network licensed Adventure Time out to Boom! as opposed to publishing it with DC Comics.