I don’t mean for the writers/artists, they seem to be living fairly well, I mean does AOL/Time/Warner make money off of DC Comics? And I’m talking just comics, not any of the assorted merchandising tie-in’s ie; dolls, video games, movies, TV shows T-Shirts, etc.
Just the comic books themselves.
And yes, I’m including TP’s and graphic novels
Hard facts on DC are proving tricky to uncover, but even if the comic-book operation was hemoraging money, the merchandising value of Superman alone would make it worthwhile.
Marvel, however, has been having bankruptcy problems for a few years, now, possibly because prior to the first X-Men movie, they hadn’t had a hugely successful film or television tie-in.
Not true.
The live action Hulk show on CBS was on for 3 years… and the toys and cartoons for Spider-Man and the X Men were very successful.
But IIRC, Marvel didn’t get all that much for the shows.
Ron Perlman (Satan incarnate – he nearly killed the entire comics industry) bought Marvel in an LBO (they didn’t want Jim Shooter owning it) and plunged it deep into debt. He tried to make up for it by flooding the market with lame comics and cheap gimmicks (this was when comics were booming). The flood drive fans away, and the boom collapsed, and Marvel went bankrupt. (Not even counting the Hero’s World fiasco.) Someone else bought it up.
Comics have contracted since then. The economics at DC was always that the comics were allowed to break even, so they probably are. Warner does the merchandising, not DC.
Marvel is publicly held. But I’d guess they’re trying to do the same: break even on the comics and make the big money in merchandising.
You can actually get a good idea of how Marvel are doing by checking out their reported finances on major stockmarket reporting websites. (This information is free - it was the subject for study by Authority and Planetary creator Warren Ellis in his book Come in Alone.)
Marvel are mired in junk bond debt, to one of the big banks (can’t remember which). They had a restructure about 3-4 years ago in order to avoid dissolution. The proceeds from the Spider-man movie (10% gross income, the balance going to Sony and its affiliates) are being used to pay off some of this debt.
Marvel are reportedly in discussions with a number of companies, including Viacom and Sony, for a buy-out.
With the plunging market for superhero comics over the past 10 years, publishing comics isn’t exactly a lucrative business anymore, it seems. Writer/editor Doug Moench (sp?) has said that AOL/TW treats DC as its creative “ghetto”. I suspect they’re just happy to own Superman and Batman.
OTOH, comics publishing seems to be by far Marvel’s primary regular revenue stream these days (now that the superhero toy boom of several years ago is over). Although certainly the movie money is helping their massive debt service requirements, comics pay the rent, and I believe Marvel is about to have its third profitable quarter in a row.
Other companies (Oni, CrossGen) all seem to be doing OK, and they don’t have a business other than the publishing of comics. I don’t know to what extent Image is supported by TMP’s toy money, but that’s gotta be less than it was a few years ago, even if they get a big piece.
–Cliffy
Yes, but that Hulk show was so dissimilar to the comic book (i.e. no “HULK SMASH!!” or giant robots or supervillians or whatnot) that I doubt it inspired anyone who saw the show to subscribe to the comic. I’ll admit the 'toons may have helped increase interest in the comics, but the quantity and quality of the Marvel-based toons have never been as high as the DC material, especially since DC has a major studio (Warner) behind it.
Marvel is screwed unless they can get absorbed by a larger company that can merchandise the characters effectively. The same company can also pump enough money back into the comics to keep them afloat during lean periods and allow continued creativity and innovation. If the second X-Men is a major success (as it almost certainly will), then 20th-Century Fox might consider making a bid and if Marvel’s management is smart, they’ll go along with it. After all, DC’s connection with Warner gives them a television channel, the WB, for good quality live-action work based on their characters like Smallville and Birds of Prey (though the jury’s still out on that one) so Marvel could benefit mightily from having a relationship with Fox Television.
Comic books at Warner have become a loss-leader of sorts; a department with shaky profits that you keep around because it benefits other, more profitable departments. Marvel needs to go the same route. They may have a few profitable quarters in a row, but ths isn’t like factory production. The death, resignation or retirement of a popular artist or writer can put the company in a tailspin, as fickle fans claim on the internet that Adventures of Phallus-Man haven’t been as good since Joe Inker left after issue #341. If the company is having financial trouble, it will become naturally harder to hang onto their best artistic talent.
If Marvel had a large company to bail it out, they wouldn’t be on the verge of bankruptcy for years at a time. Sure, they’d have to accept some interference from the corporate suits, but nothing comes free.
Wow, I’m glad that commerce degree finally came in handy.