Marvel Cancelling Fantastic Four Comics to Spite Fox?

[ChrisInBaltimore]

The Fantastic Four comics have not been good in some time. I even thought Hickman's run was pretty awful.

 

It isn't surprising news and it probably has nothing to do with Fox and everything to do with poor sales on the actual comic.

 

Marvel has shelved characters in the past and had mixed results.

 

They've shelved Thor for a while and were successful in bringing him back into his own title.

 

They also shelved Doctor Strange but have not brought him back into his own title.

 

It will be interesting to see if after shelving the characters if they are able to revive any interest in them down the line. Seems to me like a good opportunity for the characters to be lost in the Negative Zone or some such and feel the ramifications of their loss in the other titles. Then, bring them back a year or so from now in some event.

 

I think the solution is to put Dan Slott on the title. He has done some interesting things with the characters in his Spidey and Human Torch mini and then in the few crossover events too. It'd give the title a "Big Name" creator for the first time in a while. I say "Big Name" because I'm not sure if Slott is big name or not. I mean it isn't like his Silver Surfer run is going to last long term.

 

But yea shelving the characters doesn't mean they are dead forever. I just don't think the interest in a family of super heroes is that high in today's world.

[originalisbest]

The Fantastic Four comics have not been good in some time. I even thought Hickman's run was pretty awful.

 

It isn't surprising news and it probably has nothing to do with Fox and everything to do with poor sales on the actual comic.

 

Marvel has shelved characters in the past and had mixed results.

 

They've shelved Thor for a while and were successful in bringing him back into his own title.

 

They also shelved Doctor Strange but have not brought him back into his own title.

 

It will be interesting to see if after shelving the characters if they are able to revive any interest in them down the line. Seems to me like a good opportunity for the characters to be lost in the Negative Zone or some such and feel the ramifications of their loss in the other titles. Then, bring them back a year or so from now in some event.

 

I think the solution is to put Dan Slott on the title. He has done some interesting things with the characters in his Spidey and Human Torch mini and then in the few crossover events too. It'd give the title a "Big Name" creator for the first time in a while. I say "Big Name" because I'm not sure if Slott is big name or not. I mean it isn't like his Silver Surfer run is going to last long term.

 

But yea shelving the characters doesn't mean they are dead forever. I just don't think the interest in a family of super heroes is that high in today's world.

 

I do think ff was the trendsetter at the start of the Marvel age, but has since been easily surpassed by Spidey and the X-men. Take that as just my two cents with a grain of salt on top though, since mostly I'm a PCH/sci-fi collector anyway.

[HarrisonJohn]

Even if they cancelled the comics, how does that affect what Fox is doing?? They are going to go ahead and make these movies even if there is no comic, and Marvel will be the ones holding the bag with no books to promote when fans of the new movie come to their local comic book store...

 

It VERY much impacts what FOX is doing. Part of the value of the rights is that there is a popular, well known, ongoing iconic comic series being thrust onto the public month, after month, year after year. Before going forward with a movie, companies take a lot of things into consideration, like recognition of characters, marketing opportunities, cross promotion, etc. Without the comic, that is a large amount of free marketing that will be lost. This is a very 'NOW' world, things that are out of the public consciousness for any amount of time get forgotten very quickly, especially by young people, who are the likely target audience for a FF movie. FOX may decide that without the support of a paper comic and perhaps without additional help from Marvel other than the agreed upon liscencing use, that they can't project enough profits, and will terminate the movie entirely, and consequently their movie rights.

 

I would think that its evident that that is the goal of Marvel -

Make it harder for FOX to make profits from an FF movie, so FOX decides its not worth it to make it. And in not making the movie, the movie rights would revert to Marvel, which can then relaunch the comic series and make FF movies themselves..

I would be shocked if the average FF ticket buyer has any idea if there is still a FF comic or not.

[Prince Namor]

The Fantastic Four comics have not been good in some time. I even thought Hickman's run was pretty awful.

 

It isn't surprising news and it probably has nothing to do with Fox and everything to do with poor sales on the actual comic.

 

Marvel has shelved characters in the past and had mixed results.

 

They've shelved Thor for a while and were successful in bringing him back into his own title.

 

They also shelved Doctor Strange but have not brought him back into his own title.

 

It will be interesting to see if after shelving the characters if they are able to revive any interest in them down the line. Seems to me like a good opportunity for the characters to be lost in the Negative Zone or some such and feel the ramifications of their loss in the other titles. Then, bring them back a year or so from now in some event.

 

I think the solution is to put Dan Slott on the title. He has done some interesting things with the characters in his Spidey and Human Torch mini and then in the few crossover events too. It'd give the title a "Big Name" creator for the first time in a while. I say "Big Name" because I'm not sure if Slott is big name or not. I mean it isn't like his Silver Surfer run is going to last long term.

 

But yea shelving the characters doesn't mean they are dead forever. I just don't think the interest in a family of super heroes is that high in today's world.

 

Yeah, I wonder about Slott myself.

Is he a big name writer or is he a big name because he works on the Amazing Spider-man?

The only time that book has spiked in sales is when they've done some kind of event or gimmick, and really the numbers other than that are very average. (Though all of Marvel's numbers seem a bit flat).

The FF have had a fair amount of big names on it over the last couple of years: Millar with Bryan Hitch, Hickman...

[paperheart]

they may as well do the same w/ Spider-Man to spite Sony

[Dr. Balls]

The FF have had a fair amount of big names on it over the last couple of years: Millar with Bryan Hitch, Hickman...

 

+1 to Slott. I hadn't read any ASM in decades until Superior, and I thought he did a great job bringing new readers, because I am now reading ASM regular.

 

Perhaps the FF is truly done and needs to be retired? It sucks to think about, but they have tried to repackage them plenty of times, and it doesn't seem to appeal to a wider audience. If you make too drastic of a change, it ceases to be the FF. Not enough change, and those four are the same ol' same ol'.

 

I say disband the FF, have Reed cheat on Sue and they go their separate ways, have Thing join the X-Men and put Torch in deep space to go bang Orion slave girls.

[Prince Namor]

Maybe Marvel has no plan. Maybe they're just doing this to be a dik and that's it.

[Prince Namor]

The FF have had a fair amount of big names on it over the last couple of years: Millar with Bryan Hitch, Hickman...

 

+1 to Slott. I hadn't read any ASM in decades until Superior, and I thought he did a great job bringing new readers, because I am now reading ASM regular.

 

Perhaps the FF is truly done and needs to be retired? It sucks to think about, but they have tried to repackage them plenty of times, and it doesn't seem to appeal to a wider audience. If you make too drastic of a change, it ceases to be the FF. Not enough change, and those four are the same ol' same ol'.

 

I say disband the FF, have Reed cheat on Sue and they go their separate ways, have Thing join the X-Men and put Torch in deep space to go bang Orion slave girls.

 

Or... Give it to Warren Ellis and let him go all out.

If you're gonna lose it, you're gonna lose it. Better to burn out than fade away.

 

Maybe he could have them taking on earth foes from the Universe that the planet isn't even aware is going on. The FF have been preserving the safety of the planet out of view of everyone - they seem irrelevant because they've been out of sight, but in reality they've been more relevant than ever.

 

[ChrisInBaltimore]

The Fantastic Four comics have not been good in some time. I even thought Hickman's run was pretty awful.

 

It isn't surprising news and it probably has nothing to do with Fox and everything to do with poor sales on the actual comic.

 

Marvel has shelved characters in the past and had mixed results.

 

They've shelved Thor for a while and were successful in bringing him back into his own title.

 

They also shelved Doctor Strange but have not brought him back into his own title.

 

It will be interesting to see if after shelving the characters if they are able to revive any interest in them down the line. Seems to me like a good opportunity for the characters to be lost in the Negative Zone or some such and feel the ramifications of their loss in the other titles. Then, bring them back a year or so from now in some event.

 

I think the solution is to put Dan Slott on the title. He has done some interesting things with the characters in his Spidey and Human Torch mini and then in the few crossover events too. It'd give the title a "Big Name" creator for the first time in a while. I say "Big Name" because I'm not sure if Slott is big name or not. I mean it isn't like his Silver Surfer run is going to last long term.

 

But yea shelving the characters doesn't mean they are dead forever. I just don't think the interest in a family of super heroes is that high in today's world.

 

Yeah, I wonder about Slott myself.

Is he a big name writer or is he a big name because he works on the Amazing Spider-man?

The only time that book has spiked in sales is when they've done some kind of event or gimmick, and really the numbers other than that are very average. (Though all of Marvel's numbers seem a bit flat).

The FF have had a fair amount of big names on it over the last couple of years: Millar with Bryan Hitch, Hickman...

 

Millar and Hitch's run was short and I felt it was sort of lackluster. It showed a lot of promise then just ended.

 

I wasn't a fan of Hickman's run. Everything just felt to grand. It wasn't bad though.

 

Honestly, I think Waid and Ringo's run was the last outstanding run on the title and that was 10+ years now, I believe.

[awakeintheashes]

It's definitely making the rounds, "'Fantastic Four' May Live On-Screen, Disappear From Comics" - CBR

[Buzzetta]

The FF have had a fair amount of big names on it over the last couple of years: Millar with Bryan Hitch, Hickman...

 

+1 to Slott. I hadn't read any ASM in decades until Superior, and I thought he did a great job bringing new readers, because I am now reading ASM regular.

 

Perhaps the FF is truly done and needs to be retired? It sucks to think about, but they have tried to repackage them plenty of times, and it doesn't seem to appeal to a wider audience. If you make too drastic of a change, it ceases to be the FF. Not enough change, and those four are the same ol' same ol'.

 

I say disband the FF, have Reed cheat on Sue and they go their separate ways, have Thing join the X-Men and put Torch in deep space to go bang Orion slave girls.

 

Dan Slott's entire tenure was to clean up Joe Quesada's mess. If they had done what they did with Doc Ock while Peter and Mary Jane were married, I could have seen that as the straw that broke the camels back and broke up that marriage the right way instead of a deal with Mephisto. In the end Slott made Peter Parker AND Spider-man a loner again.

[HarrisonJohn]

Watch FF get a sales spike now.

[bb8]

The Fantastic Four comics have not been good in some time. I even thought Hickman's run was pretty awful.

 

It isn't surprising news and it probably has nothing to do with Fox and everything to do with poor sales on the actual comic.

 

Marvel has shelved characters in the past and had mixed results.

 

They've shelved Thor for a while and were successful in bringing him back into his own title.

 

They also shelved Doctor Strange but have not brought him back into his own title.

 

It will be interesting to see if after shelving the characters if they are able to revive any interest in them down the line. Seems to me like a good opportunity for the characters to be lost in the Negative Zone or some such and feel the ramifications of their loss in the other titles. Then, bring them back a year or so from now in some event.

 

I think the solution is to put Dan Slott on the title. He has done some interesting things with the characters in his Spidey and Human Torch mini and then in the few crossover events too. It'd give the title a "Big Name" creator for the first time in a while. I say "Big Name" because I'm not sure if Slott is big name or not. I mean it isn't like his Silver Surfer run is going to last long term.

 

But yea shelving the characters doesn't mean they are dead forever. I just don't think the interest in a family of super heroes is that high in today's world.

 

Yeah, I wonder about Slott myself.

Is he a big name writer or is he a big name because he works on the Amazing Spider-man?

The only time that book has spiked in sales is when they've done some kind of event or gimmick, and really the numbers other than that are very average. (Though all of Marvel's numbers seem a bit flat).

The FF have had a fair amount of big names on it over the last couple of years: Millar with Bryan Hitch, Hickman...

 

Millar and Hitch's run was short and I felt it was sort of lackluster. It showed a lot of promise then just ended.

 

I wasn't a fan of Hickman's run. Everything just felt to grand. It wasn't bad though.

 

Honestly, I think Waid and Ringo's run was the last outstanding run on the title and that was 10+ years now, I believe.

 

I really liked Hickman's run. I thought it got back to the roots: family feel and science super-adventure.

[bb8]

So does anyone know the actual details of the license deal between Fox and Darvel? Does Disney retain merchandising rights? What percentage of receipts do they get? Interwebs seem hazy on the subject.

[1dingo]

Somewhere there is a comic creator, smiling, now Marvel knows how they felt when they signed over their rights just so they could pay their bills.

[Bosco685]

So does anyone know the actual details of the license deal between Fox and Darvel? Does Disney retain merchandising rights? What percentage of receipts do they get? Interwebs seem hazy on the subject.

 

Both publicly traded companies. Do enough research of their financial filings and it may come up in those.

 

Twenty-First Century Fox, Inc. SEC Filings

 

Walt Disney Company (The) SEC Filings

[chrisco37]

It would be sad if they cancelled "The Worlds Greatest Comic Magazine" as it is one of the foundations of the entire MU. It's also the book that got me into SA books when I started collecting.

 

That said, it hasn't been a great book for a long time. It's had it's moments. I thought the Waid run about 10 or so years ago was pretty good. But before that you have to go all the way back to the epic Byrne run for good stories.

 

Regardless of what Marvel does, the Lee/Kirby run will always be my favorite. It was magical. It would've been so cool to be a kid buying those off the rack and experiencing it real time.

[markseifert]

Even if they cancelled the comics, how does that affect what Fox is doing?? They are going to go ahead and make these movies even if there is no comic, and Marvel will be the ones holding the bag with no books to promote when fans of the new movie come to their local comic book store...

 

It VERY much impacts what FOX is doing. Part of the value of the rights is that there is a popular, well known, ongoing iconic comic series being thrust onto the public month, after month, year after yea

 

Another theory on this stuff is that it's being looked at from the IP angle. Apparently, the licensing deal is that anything being currently created in the comics under the FF & specific characters' title/brand can be used by Fox on an ongoing basis.

 

So, one way of thinking from their perspective would be that it's better to have creators and staff focused on stuff that THEY can use for film/etc, rather than feeding that to Fox at zero additional cost.

 

Again, just a theory. But who knows. The next few months will tell the tale on this issue.

 

 

[rp12367]

If it goes it will be back! It's all about the $$$

 

[Comicopolis]

They should do something dramatic with the book - kill off those annoying kids, separate Reed and Sue, change the Thing back into Ben for a while. God knows what you can do to make Johnny Storm interesting.