Do You Want The GK3 Characters At VEI?

[BugsySig]

to have the rights to reprint Masters editions, or an amazing UNITY collection would be .
If they do come back into VEI, they should certainly NOT get their own series, at least not for a long time.

This is my thinking exactly. The value of having the properties is so much more than being able to put them in the new universe. Imagine Solar and Magnus Omnibusesesesesesi (I'm pretty sure that's the correct spelling), Unity Omnibus. Being able to not have to tiptoe around legal issues when releasing stuff. Having legitimate digital editions of those books, etc. If they can own the properties outright for a good price, they could definitely have them be profitable without ever even putting them in the new universe.

Imagine getting a Solar or Magnus Masters HC with a new story by the original creatives like with some of the others.

Toys, video games, etc.

+1

I think HC collections of the original Magnus and Solar runs, along with Unity HCs and Omnibi (<---for Dunlow) would sell very well. And the digital books they could then release would be a bonus. Plus they could be included in toy licenses, etc.

These characters would then also be added to the pool from which creators can draw. I see no reason why they couldn't be incorporated into story-arcs, a major cross-over event, or each have mini-series devoted to their exploits.

Even if VEI wanted to stay at 9 titles per month, the current 7 (XO, Unity, Ninjak, Imperium, Timewalker, Bloodshot and Rai), still leave two spots for either new ongoings or rotating minis of Q&W, the GK3, etc.

Plus Rai is likely to continue its breaks between arcs. What would fit better in that space than Magnus: Robot Fighter? (The answer is nothing incase you were struggling)

[StarBrand]

I'm very pleased with the number of votes. I've started a few other polls on the board and don't recall this many votes in any of them. One thing I think we can all agree on, this is a subject board members are passionate about, and I applaud that from members on both sides of the issue.

[Sir Sandrick]

I would love to see other characters that I have known get the same treatment as XO, Harbinger, Rai, Bloodshot, etc.

I think that it would be great if, while sharing the same universe, these characters kept to their own circles kind of like Dr.Mirage. Make them interesting on their own before blending them with the rest.

I can't help but be excited at the idea of what they could do with them, but without them I know that they will still be able to conjure up great new IPs like Divinity. Mostly, like so many old things coming back these days (Star Wars, Twin Peaks, Hannibal, Alien 5 to name a few) I am excited about the possibility of their success not worried about the possibility of their failure.

Divinity, Mirage, Imperium, are extremely important books because it shows that they are not tethered to the old but intent on breaking totally new ground. That being said- An amazingly written Turok character eventually meeting up with Aric down the road to swap warrior stories... I'm in. Divinity fighting Solar with Earth shattering, parallel dimension bending, time spanning consequences? Magnus chopping robots? Imagine Venditti on Magnus -

[blujay]

I voted for Ice Cream, but I'm gonna argue against their inclusion because of Divinity.

Divinity, from an aesthetic pov, looks far better than Solar (IMHO). I think the same philosophy would greatly serve a Magnus-type character, being that Magnus is a silly silver age concept and plus he looks completely ridiculous (miniskirt and gogo boots? I'm surprised that was acceptable in the 1960's). Also, the VEI Japan looks and feels more new and interesting because it's not limited to the Robot Fighter concept.

From a creative pov. Divinity's an exciting blank slate with infinite possibilities. Although we haven't seen much of him, we're all assuming (for good reason) he's here to fit the Solar niche of omnipresence in the VEIU. After seeing VEI's Rai, who (for all intents and purposes) provides the Magnus role in a superior and updated way (better lynchpin with Bloodshot/Silk/Eternal Warrior than just being the son of two characters from the past, like some kind of Bizaro Cable). As a whole the VEI 4001 will be better served not being tied down to a preexisting concept (although FVL did a great job updating it).

Besides, I don't think anybody will argue (anymore) that name recognition alone (ala Turok) guarantees successful comics. It kinda breaks my heart to say this, but I think VEI should save it's money. After all they're a small company who needs to be smart and scrappy if they want to survive. Don't waste your time acquiring properties when you have amazing talents on hand to create new properties to fill respective archetypes.

[The Chosen 1]

Id actually be disappointed if VEI included GK into the universe. Apart from Solar, Turok and Magnus really dont have much to offer. And now that Divinity is in play, Solar seems less relevant. GK characters eem to be a little 2D. How many robots can Magnus fight, how many dinosaurs can Turok hunt. Im sure VEI could make great atory lines out of them and i was disappointed at first that VEI werent going to include them. But VEI is its own universe and doesnt need them.

[jmatt]

Which titles exactly would be drowned out by the GK characters?

The ones we would never see because they focused on old instead of new.

[slym2none]

Playing the "future" card isn't really an exercise worth getting into.



-slym

[BugsySig]

Which titles exactly would be drowned out by the GK characters?

The ones we would never see because they focused on old instead of new.

Aren't all their properties (except Divinity, which is basically Solar) old? Just because the original is old, doesn't mean you cant make it fresh again.

[Donovan]

Voted No. I'll explain later using this same space.

EDIT- Ya, so No for me. Why? Because I feel that these characters are coming on board because of popular demand. I don't see that as a good thing, although I can totally understand that the company is trying to make (most of) it's fans happy and at the same time, gain extra publicity and -of course- a rise in sales. I like the OG series ('cept Turok, never did much for me), but I did not start reading VEI in 2012 because they were the company that had these "great characters of old".

My opinion.

I voted no, and this was a great post as to why. If VEI CAN acquire the characters outright without breaking the bank then I'd be happy to have them back, but what they've built so far, well, it doesn't require them other than for a nostalgic purpose. And I hope VEI NEVER licences them. That just leads to MASSIVE problems with reprints and rights going forward. See Marvel and any of ROM, Micronauts, etc...

[Donovan]

Theoretically...

Shooter's Dark Horse GK3 versions *could* fit in to VEI continuity very nicely...

(Sorry, I was one of the few who really enjoyed those books!)

[leonmallett]

I voted for Ice Cream, but I'm gonna argue against their inclusion because of Divinity.

Divinity, from an aesthetic pov, looks far better than Solar (IMHO). I think the same philosophy would greatly serve a Magnus-type character, being that Magnus is a silly silver age concept and plus he looks completely ridiculous (miniskirt and gogo boots? I'm surprised that was acceptable in the 1960's). Also, the VEI Japan looks and feels more new and interesting because it's not limited to the Robot Fighter concept.

From a creative pov. Divinity's an exciting blank slate with infinite possibilities. Although we haven't seen much of him, we're all assuming (for good reason) he's here to fit the Solar niche of omnipresence in the VEIU. After seeing VEI's Rai, who (for all intents and purposes) provides the Magnus role in a superior and updated way (better lynchpin with Bloodshot/Silk/Eternal Warrior than just being the son of two characters from the past, like some kind of Bizaro Cable). As a whole the VEI 4001 will be better served not being tied down to a preexisting concept (although FVL did a great job updating it).

Besides, I don't think anybody will argue (anymore) that name recognition alone (ala Turok) guarantees successful comics. It kinda breaks my heart to say this, but I think VEI should save it's money. After all they're a small company who needs to be smart and scrappy if they want to survive. Don't waste your time acquiring properties when you have amazing talents on hand to create new properties to fill respective archetypes.

[leonmallett]

Id actually be disappointed if VEI included GK into the universe. Apart from Solar, Turok and Magnus really dont have much to offer. And now that Divinity is in play, Solar seems less relevant. GK characters eem to be a little 2D. How many robots can Magnus fight, how many dinosaurs can Turok hunt. Im sure VEI could make great atory lines out of them and i was disappointed at first that VEI werent going to include them. But VEI is its own universe and doesnt need them.

[Aomalle27]

Which titles exactly would be drowned out by the GK characters?

The ones we would never see because they focused on old instead of new.

By that rationale Bleeding Monk doesn't exist because Harbinger is an " old property";
Mary Maria doesn't exist because A&A is an old property. Etc etc. I'm pretty sure VEI wouldn't
drag their current slate back to the stonesge for the sake of nostalgia. New concepts and approaches were taken with their Valiant stable of characters, why wouldn't you assime the same would be true with GK characters? I believe the company was started because of two peoples love of a defunct line of characters from the 90's and their dream to resurrect that line. they brought in great talent and new visions to work with their beloved characters; and we get what we have today. they've modernized the concepts while also giving a nod to the past; I would take for granted that the same approach would apply to GK.

[Captain Craig]

Which titles exactly would be drowned out by the GK characters?

The ones we would never see because they focused on old instead of new.

This isn't an answer. It's a guess, a hypothetical that can't be proven.

I'd disprove this by noting that no matter how many titles VEI bumps up their out put to, they will still be rotating titles. Hell, Marvel & DC do it. How many Captain Marvel/Moon Knight/Punisher turnovers are there in any decade? Deathstroke twice already in 3 years, Nightwing ends, Grayson begins all while still trying Klarion, Sinestro, Aquaman & the Others.

VEI wouldn't not have an opportunity to put forth new characters/titles just because the GK3 are in play.

[Aomalle27]

was about to argue with you until I saw you're use of the double negative. Nicely played "wouldn't not"

[jmatt]

Aren't all their properties (except Divinity, which is basically Solar) old?

Mmm, I think it's a stretch to say he's 'basically Solar'. The origin and characters are light years apart. That's kinda like saying Solar and Superman are basically the same, imo.

VEI wouldn't not have an opportunity to put forth new characters/titles just because the GK3 are in play.

Well that's a hypothetical, too. But I don't think it can be disputed that money that is spent on re-introducing the GK3 can't also be spent on developing new characters.

[BugsySig]

Aren't all their properties (except Divinity, which is basically Solar) old?

Mmm, I think it's a stretch to say he's 'basically Solar'. The origin and characters are light years apart. That's kinda like saying Solar and Superman are basically the same, imo.

Basically Solar may be a stretch, true, but in terms of "human who has received god-like powers" its a pretty similar archetype.

VEI wouldn't not have an opportunity to put forth new characters/titles just because the GK3 are in play.

Well that's a hypothetical, too. But I don't think it can be disputed that money that is spent on re-introducing the GK3 can't also be spent on developing new characters.

That's a fair point. But I'll leave it to the business people to determine which of the two would be more profitable. Either way, you gotta spend money to make money.

[omega_override]

Mmm, I think it's a stretch to say he's 'basically Solar'

They share a similar, general concept. But yes, the two are almost completely indistinguishable. And from what I've read of Solar, I don't think he had the capabilities to alter people's genetic makeup

[Donovan]

After the first issue of Divinity, I think it's still a small leap to declare Divinity a complete Solar replacement. I think Kindt will have quite the curveball in the issues ahead and am pretty sure it will be quite different.

[ErikG]

I voted yes. Because (nostalgia kicking in) the VEI universe (VH3?) doesn't seem complete without the GK3. I want Seleski somewhere out there, doing his cosmic Woody Allen thing; I want at least one >SQUEE< sound effect in 4001; and Turok? I prefer Joshua Fireseed, who could fit quite easily in both Faraway and Unity.

If the GK3 return to Valiant, I have no doubt that VEI will do a great job with them. I believe we shouldn't make too much of the GK3 failures at the other publishers -- Dark Horse gave us typical Gold Key stories, which suffered because the world has moved on from that style. That said, I do agree with Donovan: the Shooter stories for Dark Horse were good and I enjoyed them for what they were: attempts to do modern Gold Key tales. I particularly liked Turok story-wise, but the art at the end could have been better.

As for what has just been done with the GK3 at the publisher so detested by posters here, I throw up my hands. Magnus was maybe passable as a very weird take on the original Gold Key stuff, but Turok? What was that about? I really don't want to swear (because of the occasional presence of innocent Canadians here) but I haven't read anything this bad since... um... Let me put it another way: I don't think I've read anything this bad ever! Solar may be the best of the lot, but that's not saying much. And let's say nothing at all about Spektor... Is it because The-Publisher-So-Detested had no justifiable opportunity for put out multiple T&A covers for the titles and so didn't really care?

I think that the GK3 failed at these publishers because they went the old Gold Key route, unlike VH1, which threw them out into a vaster universe of other heroes and interactions. VEI can do this again. After all, there may be a North Am orbiting the Earth like Japan. Solar could be out in the Universe somewhere, looking for Gayle maybe, and appear in cosmic-type tales. Turok (as Fireseed) could fit in anywhere. He doesn't have to hunt dinosaurs all the time -- and there are plenty of those in Faraway. As long as VEI doesn't go all Nineties Vertigo on the characters the way they did with Shadowman (which I think completely destroyed Jack Boniface's potential within the VEI universe, not to mention Master Darque's -- End Times was, IMO, abominable).

Now that I think of it, even the Mighty Samson could fit in on the devastated Earth of 4001... GK4 anyone?

And, yes, I want the VH1 GK3-related deluxe hardcover reprints too. Even though I have all the issues in my boxes, I want those hardcovers on my shelves. Very very much.

Here's hoping...