Newest Rian Hughes Design teases...

[kevinbastos]

Which brings me to my next concern, that Dino has said that they won't be looking to introduce titles or characters other than what is already in the Valiant intellectual property library. Do they really need to tie their hands like this? Look at how well Chainsaw was received in Bloodshot.

Did he really say that?

I thought the they have said they want re-launch with their existing IP, but that they DO plan on introducing new characters (Bleeding Monk, Darpan, Kay McHenry). Whether we see those new characters in their own titles will probably be organic (ie: if they are really popular and a good idea is pitched, they will get a title).

Going back to some prior posts, if VEI does plan on becoming a large publisher with a scope as large as Dark Horse, Image, or IDW (not to mention Marvel and DC) they will have to introduce new characters at some point. The Valiant library is solid, but there isn't enough there to support 20+ books a month.

I don't know either way. My guess is that eventually Valiant might actually get around to reintroducing a few new things in the stories. And that may/will bring along new titles. Quantum & Woody - a BRAND new title - was Acclaim's strongest success story.

I understand that the company has a strong pantheon of available characters - and creating a new character may open up a can of worms in the whole ownership of characters - when Valiant at present has a qualified ownership of their stable of characters - and the Gold Key related properties are out there, too. Related - but outside of the realm.

Perhaps it was more of an allegiance to its history, a plan to retake the characters of old, or a worry about over-expansion. It killed the old Valiant... Quizno's and Krispy Kreme, too.

IN all seriousness - first grow the business. Don't kill yourselves. Or disappoint. Two things they have done very well.

[FormerReader]

IN all seriousness - first grow the business. Don't kill yourselves. Or disappoint. Two things they have done very well.

Completely agree Kevin.

[BugsySig]

Which brings me to my next concern, that Dino has said that they won't be looking to introduce titles or characters other than what is already in the Valiant intellectual property library. Do they really need to tie their hands like this? Look at how well Chainsaw was received in Bloodshot.

Did he really say that?

I thought the they have said they want re-launch with their existing IP, but that they DO plan on introducing new characters (Bleeding Monk, Darpan, Kay McHenry). Whether we see those new characters in their own titles will probably be organic (ie: if they are really popular and a good idea is pitched, they will get a title).

Going back to some prior posts, if VEI does plan on becoming a large publisher with a scope as large as Dark Horse, Image, or IDW (not to mention Marvel and DC) they will have to introduce new characters at some point. The Valiant library is solid, but there isn't enough there to support 20+ books a month.

What he, or maybe it was Warren, said was if you have a concept it has to be better than a current IP. At the very least, they will sit down and see if your concept fits something they already have.

I don't blame them for this. They, and their investors, put a lot of money into buying, fighting for, and retaining those IPs. VEI just wants a return on their investment.

I understand the argument that a new concept could return just as much of a profit, but that is pretty typical business logic.

And let's face it, VEI owns several hundred (or is it thousand?) IPs. Within that group has got to be almost any possible archetype that could be molded into an updated concept.

[Chiclo]

If they are really serious about becoming a top 5 publisher, then 25 titles/month has to be the goal at minimum.

Minimum? I hope not. Or if they do, a seriously long time frame like 10 years.

Cranking out titles so they seem like one of the "big players" will simply end up with a lot of crummy titles that die after 24 months. And that would result in a lot of uncertainty about VEI as a publisher thus hurting overall sales numbers.

IDW did that a few years ago. They started churning out new titles just to try to capture market share.

[jmatt]

I thought the they have said they want re-launch with their existing IP, but that they DO plan on introducing new characters (Bleeding Monk, Darpan, Kay McHenry).

I think he meant titles, not characters per se; and as you note, we've already seen new characters.

But my point is why re-introduce something that was weak back in 1992, like Hard Corps or Secret Weapons, when you could simply invent something new and dump the baggage that those titles carried?

And coming up with a totally new twist but naming it Secret Weapons for the sake of its Valiant-ness might hold the title back rather than help it. Sure, we might give it a try but Joe Comicbuyer might remember the old book and decide to pass.

That said, simply as a title, the words Secret Weapons is intriguing. It's just too bad that the book never had any actual, ya know, secret weapons. The big secret seemed to be that their suits were killing them.

[jmatt]

I understand that the company has a strong pantheon of available characters - and creating a new character may open up a can of worms in the whole ownership of characters - when Valiant at present has a qualified ownership of their stable of characters - and the Gold Key related properties are out there, too.

My guess is that we will eventually see the GK characters subsumed by VEI at some point. What else are the owners going to do with them? If Shooter couldn't make 'em work at Dark Key, they're effectively dead for another 20 years. Cutting a deal with VEI is a no-brainer.

[Chiclo]

I understand that the company has a strong pantheon of available characters - and creating a new character may open up a can of worms in the whole ownership of characters - when Valiant at present has a qualified ownership of their stable of characters - and the Gold Key related properties are out there, too.

My guess is that we will eventually see the GK characters subsumed by VEI at some point. What else are the owners going to do with them? If Shooter couldn't make 'em work at Dark Key, they're effectively dead for another 20 years. Cutting a deal with VEI is a no-brainer.

Just wait until ol' Nicky B gets a crack at it and we get Magnus and Turok from Dynamite.

[BugsySig]

I thought the they have said they want re-launch with their existing IP, but that they DO plan on introducing new characters (Bleeding Monk, Darpan, Kay McHenry).

I think he meant titles, not characters per se; and as you note, we've already seen new characters.

But my point is why re-introduce something that was weak back in 1992, like Hard Corps or Secret Weapons, when you could simply invent something new and dump the baggage that those titles carried?

And coming up with a totally new twist but naming it Secret Weapons for the sake of its Valiant-ness might hold the title back rather than help it. Sure, we might give it a try but Joe Comicbuyer might remember the old book and decide to pass.

That said, simply as a title, the words Secret Weapons is intriguing. It's just too bad that the book never had any actual, ya know, secret weapons. The big secret seemed to be that their suits were killing them.

Marvel does the same thing all the time. They will take a totally new concept or group of characters and slap "Defenders" or "The Order" or "New Warriors" or "Guardians of the Galaxy" on it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but it's basic business strategy to avoid TM a CR pitfalls and capitalize on a previous IP.

I'm not saying it's right or wrong, its just how it is. Besides, very few people remember these books from the 90s outside of us "20%-ers", or if they do they have a skewed memory of it anyway.

[bribri]

Which brings me to my next concern, that Dino has said that they won't be looking to introduce titles or characters other than what is already in the Valiant intellectual property library. Do they really need to tie their hands like this? Look at how well Chainsaw was received in Bloodshot.

Setting aside your joke about Chainsaw being well received...keep in mind that Chainsaw was already in the Valiant intellectual property library. They were part of the Acclaim series.

[lorddunlow]

Which brings me to my next concern, that Dino has said that they won't be looking to introduce titles or characters other than what is already in the Valiant intellectual property library. Do they really need to tie their hands like this? Look at how well Chainsaw was received in Bloodshot.

Setting aside your joke about Chainsaw being well received...keep in mind that Chainsaw was already in the Valiant intellectual property library. They were part of the Acclaim series.

I think that was his point. He was saying they reused an already bad concept and it wasn't well-received. (Although I had no problem with those characters - they were good fodder for Bloodshot.)

[jmatt]

He was saying they reused an already bad concept and it wasn't well-received. (Although I had no problem with those characters - they were good fodder for Bloodshot.)

That.

[tetrisdork]

I understand that the company has a strong pantheon of available characters - and creating a new character may open up a can of worms in the whole ownership of characters - when Valiant at present has a qualified ownership of their stable of characters - and the Gold Key related properties are out there, too.

My guess is that we will eventually see the GK characters subsumed by VEI at some point. What else are the owners going to do with them? If Shooter couldn't make 'em work at Dark Key, they're effectively dead for another 20 years. Cutting a deal with VEI is a no-brainer.

Just wait until ol' Nicky B gets a crack at it and we get Magnus and Turok from Dynamite.

Somehow, I can believe that. And we get Alex Ross covers forever.

[Chiclo]

I understand that the company has a strong pantheon of available characters - and creating a new character may open up a can of worms in the whole ownership of characters - when Valiant at present has a qualified ownership of their stable of characters - and the Gold Key related properties are out there, too.

My guess is that we will eventually see the GK characters subsumed by VEI at some point. What else are the owners going to do with them? If Shooter couldn't make 'em work at Dark Key, they're effectively dead for another 20 years. Cutting a deal with VEI is a no-brainer.

Just wait until ol' Nicky B gets a crack at it and we get Magnus and Turok from Dynamite.

Somehow, I can believe that. And we get Alex Ross covers forever.

Or at least for the first 3 issues, and then issue 4 is five months late and issues 5 and 6 are cancelled due to lateness.