Disney Buys Marvel

[BlackKnight]

Hopefully with Disney calling the shots we won't see anymore Zombies.

Did you even read the Books,.. or are you just feeding off of the Non-Love of the Idea ?

It's beyond inappropriate to have cannible zombie Spiderman co-existing with Spiderman and friends.

AHHH,.. They Don't Bro... For 1,.. Zombie Spider-Man is from a Different Reality,.. So thats Not even the Spider-Man Every Knows from the Comics..., For 2,.. Spider-man & Friends was a Cartoon that came out in the 70's, was it not ?

If they want stuff like Hulk being a rapist and Marvel Zombies, fine. But then sell and market to adults only.

I Missed out on the Rapist Hulk Stuff,.. & Probably Also Missed your Attempt at Humor with your Post ..., But the Zombie Stuff is Already Marketed for Adults only,.. the Books all Have The Suggested Mature Reader Tags on them,.. At My comicbook Shop they don't even put the Books with the Regular or Kiddie Stuff,.. they are in the Mature Section,.. I am pretty sure a Comicbook Owner would Not let a 5 yr old Walk up to the Counter with some Zombie Marvel Books For Purchase,.. & I was at ToysRus Yesterday,.. & Scene no Zombie Toys in the Kiddie Section either.

[Earth 2 Chris]

Spider-man & Friends was a Cartoon that came out in the 70's, was it not ?

I think he is referring to the "Spider-Man and Friends" pre-school brand that is marketed on toys, clothes and diapers. Yes diapers.

The Marvel Zombies comics may be labeled for adults, but that doesn't stop comic shops from placing the merchandise based on the book front and center in their stores. When your kid has smiling happy Captain America in the car, and walks in to find rotting, skull-open Cap on the shelf, it's a bit jarring, and very unsettling to a young super hero fan.

As I have said, I am a prude about this kind of stuff. I'm not saying you can't craft stories for a more mature audience, but it's a slippery slope. To me, it's bad marketing to have Zombie Spidey co-exist with pre-school Spidey on merchandise.

Chris

[The Toyroom]

I Missed out on the Rapist Hulk Stuff

Check out The Ultimates....plus the Hulk in the 616 Universe has been getting lotsa booty this last year or so and has 2 or 3 illegit kids out there. And this is in the mainstream Marvel Universe books. I expect the Hulk to SMASH things...not be a deadbeat dad.

But the Zombie Stuff is Already Marketed for Adults only,.. the Books all Have The Suggested Mature Reader Tags on them,.. At My comicbook Shop they don't even put the Books with the Regular or Kiddie Stuff,.. they are in the Mature Section

Not at my LCS....on the shelf with the mainstream stuff,unbagged at that....

[BlackKnight]

Bah,...
I am Done Debating The Idea of people getting their Panties in a Ruffle over a Fictional Idea that I enjoyed, & Has little or No Impact with Children of the World even more so Compaired with The Real Life Crap on the News 3 Times a Day,.. or All Day Long. Zombies & Everything "Evil" in Comics is really only less than a Fraction of Whats Being sold Comicbook Related out there Today. Whatever Floats Your Boat,.. ***** & Complain & Debate away.

[thunderbolt]

Pixar, get Brad Bird on a new Fantastic Four movie!!!

[Timothy2251]

Howsabout the chance of Pixar making some Marvel CGI films? Sweet! Not seeing any drawbacks in this acquisition!

[Werewolf]

Did you even read the Books,.. or are you just feeding off of the Non-Love of the Idea ?

The same characters are marketed to adults and children. If they want to market something like a Marvel Zombies to adults it is totally inappropriate to then market the characters to children. Tagging the books as "adults only" is a cop out when Spiderman products are sold to pre-schoolers.

You can't have it both ways. Either the characters, like Spiderman, are for kids or they are not anymore. It's like Disney making a gorey R rated Donald Duck cartoon and still marketing Donald to little kids.

[johnnystorm]

Here's an idea: Disney bought all those Cross-Gen characters (just to acquire Abadazad, wasn't it? Of which they did nothing really). Could this open the door for Marvel to publish new adventures of Sojourn or Ruse? That would be pretty neat, I really like Sojourn.

[Nostalgiabuff]

I think there is a lot of potential here.....and I would not mind seeing Marvel characters at Disney theme parks either....this could also mean alot of cool action figure exclusives at the parks....just like they have done with Indiana Jones and Star Wars

[samurainoir]

The same characters are marketed to adults and children. If they want to market something like a Marvel Zombies to adults it is totally inappropriate to then market the characters to children. Tagging the books as "adults only" is a cop out when Spiderman products are sold to pre-schoolers.

That bus has already left the station two decades ago, and it was across town that seems to be driving that charter. Over at Time/Warner, DC decided long ago to differentiate the "non-mass market books" like Miller's Dark Knight Returns sans code towards their newly emerging adult market in 1986. Of course the "mass market" of newsstands and grocery stores went away and now the new mass market of bookstores is driven by many of the adult oriented material generated from that period... I think Watchmen alone accounts for a huge chunk of that, not to mention Sandman, Dark Knight etc.

TV and Movie divisions have followed suite to maximize the franchise and licensing potential. I certainly wouldn't take kids to see The Dark Knight or Batman Begins... Joker and Scarecrow are way too scary. On the flipside, you have to give them props for seeing the pendulum swing that way and creating new Kid Friendly Batman material like Brave and Bold, and Superfriends.

As long as they are making billions dollars off of the adult movie goers/fans/collectors and can sell kids action figures and pajamas at the same time, you're going to see the respective companies try to maximize profits off of both revenue streams. Arguably the Adult market could potentially be much more lucrative for them these days given the ticket sales for the last Batman movie, and the price points on expensive statues and adult-themed video games like Arkham Asylum or Mortal Kombat VS DC.

Disney is looking at the bottom line of what Marvel is currently worth, I'd say there aren't going to be huge changes with the comic books since it's pretty much not where the real $$$ resides with the exploitation of these characters. Marvel has had in incredibly successful decade given the previous bankruptcy, so why mess with what appears to be working?

Not really taking a side here... just pointing out the simplest of economic realities when it comes to big multinational multimedia conglomerates that exist purely on profits. Unless the aspect of social responsibility become a huge PR problem (as we sometimes see over at DC/Warner), why would Disney mess with what appears to be working with Marvel currently? Of course this is Disney, so you never know.

[samurainoir]

Our acquisition of Pixar three years ago exemplified our focus on creating high-quality, technologically innovative entertainment that appeals to audiences all over the world. The acquisition of Marvel offers us a similar opportunity to advance that strategy, to build a business that’s stronger than the sum of its parts and to drive Disney’s long-term growth.

Interesting that they mention Pixar.

Someone with a better understanding of corporate economics and structure can correct me if my interpretation of events is wrong, but what fascinates me about the mention of Pixar... essentially on paper, Disney bought Pixar, but Lassater and co. were put in the driver's seat at Disney Studios.

Given the fact that Marvel was sold for cash and SHARES. It will be interesting to see where this put the heads of Marvel Studios within the Disney corporate hierarchy?

[WheresRICHARD]

the next issue of spiderman is going to go alittle something like this

Peter: "Hey MJ, I really have strong feelings for you. Some might even call it love... So I'd like to take our relationship to the next level."

MJ: "Oh Tiger, do you really mean it?"

Peter: "Yes. Will you take this promise ring to abstain until marriage?"

MJ: "I thought you'd never ask."

[Next Panel just after the proposal]

*Knock, Knock*

Peter: "Who is it?"

King Pin: "It's Wilson Fisk, the King Pin. I hereby renounce my life of crime, and accept full responsibility for my actions. Plus I'm giving all my money to charity."

I think it's been a few decades since Disney has espoused abstinence.

[WheresRICHARD]

I've been joking about this, but put me in the corner that thinks this is a GREAT thing. It gives Marvel money it's needed for years, allows them an avenue to bring lots more of their characters to TV, and likewise an outlet to bring Disney characters to comic books. I see little down side to this.

[WheresRICHARD]

I've been joking about this, but put me in the corner that thinks this is a GREAT thing. It gives Marvel money it's needed for years, allows them an avenue to bring lots more of their characters to TV, and likewise an outlet to bring Disney characters to comic books. I see little down side to this.

Oh and as someone else said, it now actually gives Marvel the money to buy the rights to Superman if the Siegel family is interested in selling once the copyrights revert to them in a couple of years.

[WheresRICHARD]

That bus has already left the station two decades ago, and it was across town that seems to be driving that charter. Over at Time/Warner, DC decided long ago to differentiate the "non-mass market books" like Miller's Dark Knight Returns sans code towards their newly emerging adult market in 1986. Of course the "mass market" of newsstands and grocery stores went away and now the new mass market of bookstores is driven by many of the adult oriented material generated from that period... I think Watchmen alone accounts for a huge chunk of that, not to mention Sandman, Dark Knight etc.

TV and Movie divisions have followed suite to maximize the franchise and licensing potential. I certainly wouldn't take kids to see The Dark Knight or Batman Begins... Joker and Scarecrow are way too scary. On the flipside, you have to give them props for seeing the pendulum swing that way and creating new Kid Friendly Batman material like Brave and Bold, and Superfriends.

As long as they are making billions dollars off of the adult movie goers/fans/collectors and can sell kids action figures and pajamas at the same time, you're going to see the respective companies try to maximize profits off of both revenue streams. Arguably the Adult market could potentially be much more lucrative for them these days given the ticket sales for the last Batman movie, and the price points on expensive statues and adult-themed video games like Arkham Asylum or Mortal Kombat VS DC.

Disney is looking at the bottom line of what Marvel is currently worth, I'd say there aren't going to be huge changes with the comic books since it's pretty much not where the real $$$ resides with the exploitation of these characters. Marvel has had in incredibly successful decade given the previous bankruptcy, so why mess with what appears to be working?

Not really taking a side here... just pointing out the simplest of economic realities when it comes to big multinational multimedia conglomerates that exist purely on profits. Unless the aspect of social responsibility become a huge PR problem (as we sometimes see over at DC/Warner), why would Disney mess with what appears to be working with Marvel currently? Of course this is Disney, so you never know.

Disney is also testing the waters of so-called "motion comics," i.e., downloadable comics with limited animation / sound effects. In fact, Stan Lee is doing one for them right now which is doing quite well on iTunes.