The Future of American Corporate Comic Books

We’ve seen the changes coming for many years, and now that the boom for a steady diet of super-hero films is fading, a time of reckoning on the true value of comic book properties owned by corporate entertainment giants is at hand.

It is no secret that DC Comics has been less successful at exploiting their portfolio of stories and characters, and so it should be no surprise that Marvel Comics – owned by The Walt Disney Company – is set to continue their dominance as the leader in comic books.

But – not as Marvel Comics. The time has come to no longer see Marvel properties as separate from Disney’s original creations. Disney has seen a falling off in their brand perception as a leader, and both the market and the public have invested less and purchased less from the House of Mouse. Marvel’s brand is strong and has been successfully integrated to become one of the strongest divisions in Disney’s portfolio.

Oddly enough, it was the re-examination of the thousands of Disney-branded comics produced by various publishers that provided the thought of unifiying the catalogues of material into one contiguous library under the Disney banner to enable streamlined perception, management and exploitation. And it was that simple core concept that said it was time to transition away from the competing Marvel Comics brand while maintaining the characters’ obvious popularity.

During this thorough examination of the strengths and weaknesses of the comic book properties, it was not lost on management that the market for new comics is ever shrinking. The print side of the business has been in decline for decades amid rapidly-increasing creation and production costs, and there is the inability to effectively compete against live-action and animated media and gaming. The continued strength of the market for licensed items – t-shirts, toys, etc. – presented management with a challenge. There is a need to keep comic book material available, but with the many thousands of stories produced over the past decades it is no longer required to produce new material. There are over a thousand Spider-Man stories alone, many of them touching on similar themes covering the full breadth of the character’s potential, and so investing in new material is seen as a cost that can be eliminated.

And so, managed by a team of dedicated professionals, The Walt Disney Company introduces Walt Disney Comics as the overarching entity for all its characters in comic book stories. Mickey Mouse, Spider-Man, movie adaptations and more – drawn from material produced around the world for the better part of 100 years. The Disney Perpetual Program (DPP) positions The Walt Disney Company for long-term success working hand-in-hand with Disney-branded movies and licensed items.

Converting Comics to the Disney Perpetual Program (DPP) Trade Dress

With the simple and strong corner box branding of Walt Disney Comics, it integrates seamlessly on all the comics from the various original publishers.The background colour of the corner box is designed to be chosen to naturally complement the covers’ overall colour schemes. The association of Disney to its various intellectual properties is accomplished without jarring the audience’s perceptions of the material.

An understated bar code combined with the unit price is designed to be placed where optimal on the cover layout. Incorporating variable printing techniques, batches of covers could be pre-printed with the white code area blank and then coded and priced according to current market price points as copies are released to the public.

Walt Disney’s Comics & Stories No. 372, originally published by Gold Key.

Art by Pete Alvarado. Original art scan from Heritage Auctions.

Art made production ready.

New colour version.

Disney Perpetual Program (DPP) trade dress added.

A Selection of Covers from the New Disney Perpetual Program (DPP)

The consistent, unified branding mentioned above is applied to comics from material owned by Disney and produced by former publishers Dell, Gold Key (both via Western Publishing), Panini, Marvel and more.

Digital printing will allow targetted print runs at small and large volumes, reducing waste and maximising product throughput and thereby increasing profitability for as long as the continually shrinking audience for print still consumes these items. And it almost goes without saying that online distribution through various Disney services will now have content that is truly for all ages – children through adults – ensuring Disney’s cross-demographic penetration is now complete.

The Amazing Spider-Man No. 101. Art by Gil Kane and John Romita Sr.

Captain Britain No. 11. Art by Alan Davis.

Epic Illustrated No. 8. Art by Howard Victor Chaykin.

Giant-Size Chillers No. 3. Art by Ed Hannigan & Bernie Wrightson.

Strange Tales No. 178 featuring Adam Warlock. Art by Jim Starlin.

Disney Treasury Edition No. 8 featuring a Giant Super-Hero Holiday Grab-Bag. Art by John Romita Sr.

Wolverine No. 12. Art by Kevin Nowlan.

The Air Pirates – Reconciling Past Conflicts

Once considered an annoyance by past Disney management, in recent years the embarrassment caused by the publication of the Air Pirates by a group of cartoonists looking to mock corporate art has faded and been replaced by a more pragmatic historical perspective.

Content is content, and with a segment of the reading audience entertained by this particular take on the classic Disney characters, efforts have been made to gather it and package it in archival editions. Disney’s commitment to presenting any and all content it can exploit demonstrates to the market its seriousness in being the world’s leading content provider.

Air Pirates No. 1, as originally published.

Art by Bobby London. Original art scan from Heritage Auctions.

Art made production ready.

New colour version.

Air Pirates No. 1, Disney Perpetual Program (DPP) edition.

Air Pirates No. 2, as originally published.

Art by Gary Hallgren. Original art scan from Heritage Auctions.

Art made production ready.

New colour version.

Air Pirates No. 2, Disney Perpetual Program (DPP) edition.