The DC reboot is killing our retro toys

[The Bat]

I think it was more to do with the how much Mattel thinks they need to sell to be a success to them. Like with Matty collector they seem to think if something doesn't get a 10 minute or less sellout it's not worth their while and they might was well cancel it.

I agree.

[ukaking]

DC lets Mattel know what comics are hot and Mattel makes the figures that are linked with that hot selling comic. Pretty basic. At the time those figures were to be made, my local comic shop owner said Green Lantern was killing all the other DC titles in sales.

[MIB41]

Right, but DC can didctate what Mattel produces as far as characters go. I did read somewhere that they wanted them omly to produce current stuff and no more classics to get in line with what's being published. Look no further than the Action League stuff being so heavy in the direction of the Ranbow Skittles Lanterns right now instead of classic characters.

It is DC's license, so they can dictate what they like. But if the demand remains high for the classic characters, I'm sure they will return. Although I consider killing off market share to be insane when that affects the bottom line. Your talking about re-branding the entire company with no options for revenue if it fails. Taking away product diversity because you want to push a different brand is highly risky. I bet the shareholders will have something to say if too much is tampered with on the product line. I think you would want to use the comics as the test market before fully committing product to the concept. Who is the nut job running DC anyway? Sounds like a clown.

[Nostalgiabuff]

If I am not mistaken DC dictated which characters Mego made in the 70's as well. this is nothing new. I think it has been gone over to death, but the real reason for the failure was a variety of issues, price point, lack of distribution and lack of promotion. You could not even find wave 3 and 4 at retail and wave 2 only became available in these parts at the discount retailers like TJ Maxx and Marshalls.

[thunderbolt]

It is DC's license, so they can dictate what they like. But if the demand remains high for the classic characters, I'm sure they will return. Although I consider killing off market share to be insane when that affects the bottom line. Your talking about re-branding the entire company with no options for revenue if it fails. Taking away product diversity because you want to push a different brand is highly risky. I bet the shareholders will have something to say if too much is tampered with on the product line. I think you would want to use the comics as the test market before fully committing product to the concept. Who is the nut job running DC anyway? Sounds like a clown.

Three clowns actually, Didio, Lee and Johns. DC/WB has this narrow vision to only promote what's current and not dilute the brand.

[samurainoir]

Warner owns DC and DC is licensed to Mattel. Yes, Mattel is encouraged to promote whatever Warner and DC are promoting. Case in point, those ridiculous Green Lanterns that killed the Retro Action line. Not only Retro Action but DCUC series 17 was all Green Lanterns. For those of you that like Green Lantern it was great but the rest of us hated it. Mattel is not going to just go along releasing whatever they want when Warners and DC are promoting big movies or big comic related events. They are going to be encouraged to promote the product as well.

Well, given the amount of promotional money and marketing DC/Warners have poured into Green Lantern in the past year or so, it appears most Other Green Lantern product out there has reportedly been quite successful. Building off the popularity of the Green and colored Lantern centric Blackest Night, I've never seen DC Direct release such a depth of characters in so short a time for any other line of action figures. The Green Lantern movie figures have been reported to be selling quite well despite the underperformance of the movie. The DCUC Green Lanterns sold out at Matty collector quite quickly.

As much as it saddens me, the conclusion I'm seeing here isn't the fact that Green Lanterns were chosen, it's the format that collectors (other than our little bubble here) are not responding to.

THE GREEN LANTERN WITH THE BROCCOLI HEAD SOLD OUT BEFORE THE RETROS

[hedrap]

Your talking about re-branding the entire company with no options for revenue if it fails. Taking away product diversity because you want to push a different brand is highly risky. I bet the shareholders will have something to say if too much is tampered with on the product line. I think you would want to use the comics as the test market before fully committing product to the concept. Who is the nut job running DC anyway? Sounds like a clown.

All decisions right now are about how to modernize DC into something akin to Ultimate Marvel, while not accruing heavier costs. This isn't Dido, Lee and Johns. It's starts with this woman, Diane Nelson

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/bu.../10warner.html

She was answering to Robinov, when he was film chief. Now, he runs the show - and was the main force behind relaunching Batman.

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/mar...binov-20110329

So these are the two dictating what goes with DC, from publishing and upward. They wanted to modify the entire library into one cohesive, uniformed property and that's what we're at the start of. Dido, Johns and Lee's job is to sell it and take the heat for their bosses. They know if people caught wind that a pair of execs decided this, blowback would be huge at SDCC. If it bombs, Dido falls on his sword and they continue with business.

The death of RA, just like JLU and DCUC, was directly effected by this. Now whether EMCE was ever told this by Matty, I have no idea. But I can assure you, every DC-related decision is going through this filter.

As for Matty, they don't care. They want the license because Batman and handful of others sell. If they said "pass", some mid-tier company would grab it because financing from a bank would be a breeze once they hear "I have the exclusive toy rights for Batman and Superman". It's the Mego/StarWars lesson.

[thunderbolt]

^^^ Right, its also Lee, Didio and Johns who are actually "creating" this crud, so they will share the blame, or take all of it if this tanks.

[samurainoir]

Whether you like the Joe Quesada era of Marvel or not, I think of it's success over the past dozen years as the exact opposite of the current DC regime. He went after the talent, and then got out of their way. He also headhunted an editorial team that was known for their ability to get along with and nurture that talent.

The results of this has generally been successful... So much so that the movies draw heavily from Marvel Comics themselves as R&D. Particularly the Ultimate stuff.

Meanwhile, it appears that DC's heavier editorial hand has resulted in much talent from DC ending up on Marvel's best sellers. DC had Mark Miller, Jason Aaron, Ed Brubaker, Jeph Loeb who are now huge players over at Marvel (Loeb even heading up marvel's TV division). Now, two of DC 's successful 52 architects... Waid and Rucka have also found their way over to Marvel based on negative experiences at DC. Marvel now has a powerhouse stable of creators driving their content... Not editorial.

[Figuremod73]

if only marvel and dc would try to get some of those artist and writers from the seventies and eighties they wouldnt have to try reboots and gimmicks...im rather new to megos and new retro megos and i think they are better than 90% of whats in the toy stores currently

[mirrorman]

if only marvel and dc would try to get some of those artist and writers from the seventies and eighties they wouldnt have to try reboots and gimmicks...im rather new to megos and new retro megos and i think they are better than 90% of whats in the toy stores currently

Ditto.

I don't think much of what's available now either.

[MIB41]

I think the only one who knows if re-branding was the real cause for the demise of the Retro lines is Paul. But all indications we were given was the line did not sell enough.

[samurainoir]

if only marvel and dc would try to get some of those artist and writers from the seventies and eighties they wouldnt have to try reboots and gimmicks...

They have done this time and time again without the resulting sales.

If that is really what folks want, they had better run out right now and buy the Retroactive books by the pantload or forever hold their peace.

Although the folks in the comic book forum haven't really been responding too favourably to these. Including the return of the legendary Neal Adams on Batman Odyssey.

[johnmiic]

Diane Nelson is blonde and very attractive. That means she must know nothing about comic-books.

[ctc]

>They have done this time and time again without the resulting sales.

I think folks like the IDEA of the past more than the ACTUALITY.

Don C.