Random thoughts on the DMG takeover for Valiant...

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Jace
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Re: Random thoughts on the DMG takeover for Valiant...

Post by Jace »

greg wrote:
Jace wrote:Anyway ... a few thoughts about the three points you made above.

3) Caylo is a marketing guy, you are right he did promote a ton of books at Boom! while he was there because Boom! was putting out a ton of books. Keep in mind they scaled back massively from those 39 books once the realized that they were better off focusing on quality not quantity. Regardless, this is coincidental in regards to Mel, the amount of books produced falls under editorial not marketing. So I don;t think his hire translates into more books, that's a false equivalency.

4) Similar to #3, Illidge was the liason between the Batman Beyond comic and cartoon. He basically made sure that the stories of one did not contradict or step on the toes of the other. Much like the Mel hire I don't see how this translates into Valiant cartoons. If DMG were to bring on someone with experience in both realms like Chuck Patton, then hell yeah Valiant cartoons! That would be great!

8) As for this point ... man, it would be nice to think Valiant has the future of Marvel or DC ahead of it and it will be around as long as those two. Still I feel like this is comparing apples to oranges. The comic book market is so different now, as is the whole entertainment industry. This is the time of instant gratification, binging TV shows, I want it when I want it , how I want it, on the device I want it on. I don't think Marvel and DC had those kinds of barriers to overcome when they were 27 years old.

Just my thoughts, curious what others might think.
These are good points. Rebuttal?

3) I agree that Mel Caylo won't be saying whether they expand beyond 8 or 9 titles at a time, but he comes from a company with 39 featured titles, for all ages. Why hire a marketing guy with that kind of experience and then give him less to do?

4) Illidge knows the people who did Batman Beyond animation for WB. Who you know... uh... matters.

8) I remember when there were three channels on my television. I remember when there were two screens at my movie theater. I remember when the idea that Netflix or Youtube would expand beyond other people's real (or home) movies was weird. All of those things (network channels, A-or-B choice theaters, streaming other people's stuff) gave way to the "next thing" when we got cable, multiplex theaters, Netflix originals and Youtube streaming everything. In each case, it was the "newer thing" that got big, not necessarily overnight, but eventually... very big. Marvel and DC are like the old network channels, the A-or-B theaters, and the "only comic media currently worth streaming"... with some individual/indie successes chipping away at them. Namely, Image is in the "network" mix now, the comic shelves are at least Marvel, DC, and "other" now, and things like The Walking Dead and Hellboy have shown that it's possible to beat the big two in live action media. Image doesn't have a full slate of interconnected universe ready for media. Someone else will have to "do it all" to compete. The next "full slate" for a universe of properties literally is Valiant... even if it's tiny now. Netflix was nothing in 1996. Youtube didn't exist in 2004. Valiant is older than both. There are a billion ways to fail, so the odds are against success... but Valiant has a ridiculous amount of more assets than some of the biggest media names did when they "went global".
3) Agree, he has the experience of juggling many promotions. Still absolutely will miss Hunter, that guy had great ideas. I can't think of any Boom! marketing promotions at all, granted I only buy a few of their books no and then, sp .... Hopefully Mel can bring some of Hunter's innovation and tenacity t the table.

5) Again, anything is possible. It is true that Joe knows some people who have worked in animation.

8) Good point, Valiant is best positioned to be the next big interconnected "media-verse".

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Re: Random thoughts on the DMG takeover for Valiant...

Post by TheeBaldMoose »

greg wrote:
TheeBaldMoose wrote:Vin Diesel to placate the American audience, I could see the Dr being removed from the comic book, and insert Chinese character here. That would be relevant enough, I think.... Sure he would get blotted out in the rest of the movies, but how much of a stickler will they be on continuity inside the movies with a minor (or mid level) character?

On that thread, I could imagine one of the Harbinger kids becoming Chinese American, or something along those lines.... Who though?
Animalia. She's got unlimited potential across all ages and all types of licensing products. They'd be silly not to make her 100% Chinese. Monica Jim becomes Monica Jin. Done.

She could be a single child actor who conquers all media from Jurassic Park to Hello Kitty, bigger than Harry Potter for a billion people audience.

Or, they could just stick with what sells 10,000 copies of comics. :D
Monica Jin, that's friggin OUTSTANDING! They would have to move her up in the movie sequences, somehow find a way to fit her into just about every movie, but I think it would work! Sure, Bloodshot 1 wouldn't have her, maybe not even the first Harbinger series (but possibly). But I could totally see all the interactions for BS2, Harb2, and HW, with her being a character that would/could explode!
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Re: Random thoughts on the DMG takeover for Valiant...

Post by greg »

TheeBaldMoose wrote:
greg wrote:
TheeBaldMoose wrote:Vin Diesel to placate the American audience, I could see the Dr being removed from the comic book, and insert Chinese character here. That would be relevant enough, I think.... Sure he would get blotted out in the rest of the movies, but how much of a stickler will they be on continuity inside the movies with a minor (or mid level) character?

On that thread, I could imagine one of the Harbinger kids becoming Chinese American, or something along those lines.... Who though?
Animalia. She's got unlimited potential across all ages and all types of licensing products. They'd be silly not to make her 100% Chinese. Monica Jim becomes Monica Jin. Done.

She could be a single child actor who conquers all media from Jurassic Park to Hello Kitty, bigger than Harry Potter for a billion people audience.

Or, they could just stick with what sells 10,000 copies of comics. :D
Monica Jin, that's friggin OUTSTANDING! They would have to move her up in the movie sequences, somehow find a way to fit her into just about every movie, but I think it would work! Sure, Bloodshot 1 wouldn't have her, maybe not even the first Harbinger series (but possibly). But I could totally see all the interactions for BS2, Harb2, and HW, with her being a character that would/could explode!
"Jin" is a common Chinese surname and very close to the original "Jim". "Jin" means "gold". That could be fitting. :wink:
Also close to "Jim" would be "Kim". If DMG decides to do a Korean version, she becomes Monica Kim.

Guess what... Jin = Kim
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jin_(Chinese_surname)

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Re: Random thoughts on the DMG takeover for Valiant...

Post by SuperMage »

greg wrote:
TheeBaldMoose wrote:Vin Diesel to placate the American audience, I could see the Dr being removed from the comic book, and insert Chinese character here. That would be relevant enough, I think.... Sure he would get blotted out in the rest of the movies, but how much of a stickler will they be on continuity inside the movies with a minor (or mid level) character?

On that thread, I could imagine one of the Harbinger kids becoming Chinese American, or something along those lines.... Who though?
Animalia. She's got unlimited potential across all ages and all types of licensing products. They'd be silly not to make her 100% Chinese. Monica Jim becomes Monica Jin. Done.

She could be a single child actor who conquers all media from Jurassic Park to Hello Kitty, bigger than Harry Potter for a billion people audience.

Or, they could just stick with what sells 10,000 copies of comics. :D
I don't think Valiant would want the backlash of racelifting one their main black superheroes.

But I think we're ignoring the obvious option, Tama the Geomancer. She's already a solo hero, and sooner or later Valiant is going to need to launch a new Geomancer comic. Presumably the Archer & Armstrong film rights probably include Eternal Warrior, Geomancer, and Timewalker considering how closely related those books are. Depending on who the Archer & Armstrong film rights we could see Tama Geomancer as an essential part of an Anni-Padda cinematic universe.

Hopefully though all the Valiant films can coexist in the same universe.

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Re: Random thoughts on the DMG takeover for Valiant...

Post by greg »

SuperMage wrote:
greg wrote:
TheeBaldMoose wrote:Vin Diesel to placate the American audience, I could see the Dr being removed from the comic book, and insert Chinese character here. That would be relevant enough, I think.... Sure he would get blotted out in the rest of the movies, but how much of a stickler will they be on continuity inside the movies with a minor (or mid level) character?

On that thread, I could imagine one of the Harbinger kids becoming Chinese American, or something along those lines.... Who though?
Animalia. She's got unlimited potential across all ages and all types of licensing products. They'd be silly not to make her 100% Chinese. Monica Jim becomes Monica Jin. Done.

She could be a single child actor who conquers all media from Jurassic Park to Hello Kitty, bigger than Harry Potter for a billion people audience.

Or, they could just stick with what sells 10,000 copies of comics. :D
I don't think Valiant would want the backlash of racelifting one their main black superheroes.
Backlash from whom?

Samuel L. Jackson is Nick Fury in the movies, despite millions of people knowing Nick Fury was a white guy. Any backlash over that was just "negative advertising" which achieves the same result... advertising.

There are 150 people who can describe Monica Jim, and we're mostly right here. :lol:

Livewire is the Valiant black superhero... and she was already "racelifted" like Nick Fury.
Monica Jim could easily be any race you want, because she's defined by being able to look like a cartoon dinosaur, Lion King, and a realistic looking cat.

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Re: Random thoughts on the DMG takeover for Valiant...

Post by Ryan »

greg wrote:
TheeBaldMoose wrote:
Ryan wrote: There's also definitely a lot of potential in the film market, I think it was smart to cast Vin Diesel as Bloodshot. Fast and Furious movies are huge over here, he's one of the few truly bankable crossover stars who fans will come out for. :twocents:
Could DMG have done their research, looking for who might make the biggest splash in China, and chose to cast Diesel over others? If what Ryan is saying is true, that he is hugely successful in China, then it would totally make sense to target the market that will make the biggest splash. To us, Diesel may not be the best choice, but we are not the draw here, China is.
That's absolutely right.

Here are the top movies in China for 2017: http://www.boxofficemojo.com/intl/china ... 017&p=.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Fate of the Furious made $393,000,000 over there. It only made $226,000,000 in the U.S.

Here's another interesting point... Fate of the Furious was the #2 movie in China in 2017.
#1 was a movie called "Wolf Warrior 2". Never heard of it? Me neither. China has... it made $854,000,000.
It was a homegrown action sequel about a Chinese special forces agent who comes out of retirement to fight Western mercenaries.

Following that model, Bloodshot should be the hero, and all of the villains should probably be American or European, plus Harada as Japanese.
Bloodshot's friends probably need to be Chinese heroes themselves... and that would be the only change from the comics.
Don't expect Bloodshot to make $854,000,000 in China. Wolf Warrior 2 was a sequel. Wolf Warrior made $80,000,000.
Establish Bloodshot in the Chinese market, and promote all the other Bloodshot items for two years. Then, the sequel.

Remember how I pointed out that Valiant's 2%-3% of Marvel and DC comic sales would correspond to about $5,000,000 in box office dollars?
Wolf Warrior 2 made $2,700,000 in the U.S., and the original Wolf Warrior wasn't even released here.

Think about it. The biggest movie in the history of China and the 2nd biggest in a single market in the history of the world is a character we've never heard of.
https://www.the-numbers.com/box-office- ... gle-market" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
If you asked someone in the U.S. to list single movie box office records, they'd miss #2 of all time (and also #9 and #10... both Chinese, and both ahead of #11 The Dark Knight).

Eight hundred fifty-four million dollars.

It's got to be one of the most amazing movies of all time with special effects and budget and insane visuals, right?

Nope. Looks to me like it should make about $2,700,000 at the box office.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGNAlvAZjIY" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Our definition of success is probably irrelevant to DMG.

P.S. The Wolf Warrior 2 trailer from 2017 starts with two guys in a control booth piloting a remote drone shooting at a kid. How did Bloodshot #1 from 2012 start again? :hm:
Exactly, whoever is writing the Bloodshot script should be taking some thorough notes on Wolf Warrior 2. It seems to have that 80's action movie feel that could work for Bloodshot. (I haven't seen it yet either)

Another thing is people over here still really love 3D, and I've been seeing all the recent action movies in 4D (moving seats, wind and smoke machines, etc.) which is available in most of the mid to large cities. I assume since DMG has offices in China (right?) they're following the movie trends closely. A superhero action movie specifically engineered for a Chinese audience is an interesting and possibly very lucrative idea :hm:

They said that DMG was heavily involved with the short scenes that were added to Iron Man 3 specifically for the Chinese audience. What if that's taken to the next level and they shoot entire subplots that are different for the Chinese and Western audiences :hm:

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Re: Random thoughts on the DMG takeover for Valiant...

Post by greg »

Ryan wrote:They said that DMG was heavily involved with the short scenes that were added to Iron Man 3 specifically for the Chinese audience. What if that's taken to the next level and they shoot entire subplots that are different for the Chinese and Western audiences :hm:
I would absolutely expect Chinese scenes that aren't included in the Western release, and vice versa... possibly even the same scene filmed with different actors... so that the ramifications of the scene still matter to the Bloodshot character... such as the introduction of Bloodshot nanite camoflauge while he's infiltrating an enemy base, but in the Chinese movie it's a Western enemy base. In the Western movie, it's a Chinese enemy base. Who cares? It's the camoflauge ability that survives the scene. Put both versions on the DVD extras. :thumb:

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Re: Random thoughts on the DMG takeover for Valiant...

Post by greg »

Another fun aspect of Valiant now being run by "people who probably have less expertise in Valiant than we do" is that we shouldn't feel ANY guilt when we complain about how Valiant could have done something better now. :lol:

Dinesh was literally one of us, being a ValiantFans.com board member before he put a penny into becoming a Valiant creator. Reasonable criticizing of Valiant has always been fine, but there was always a little bit of a "my friend could have done a better job, and I'll let him know, but I do prefer friendship to criticizing" aspect to it.

DMG wasn't here first. DMG hasn't personally shaken our hands and sat down to chat. That's actually a great thing for Valiant fans who don't want to juggle honesty and etiquette. Dinesh and Warren didn't have a problem with criticism either, but it's always a weird thing to tell a friend they messed up... especially if it was something small you could easily let go.

I didn't have a ton of unspoken criticism of Dinesh and Warren... so I'm not saying that I purposefully held my tongue (or keyboard) very much. Maybe I should have pointed out that they needed to find someone to get rid of the :!: one freaking spelling error in every issue :!: a little more often, but that's about it. :D

No matter... we're completely free now. I wonder if Acclaim would have been better if this board had been around in the first year they took over. Or even the 5th year. I heard that Acclaim often wrote their own "letters from the fans" page, since they didn't have any to use. Would they have come to us for advice? Would they have listened to our criticism? Who knows.

DMG knows we're here... and they know we have more Valiant knowledge than they do. So... maybe we'll still be heard... even if it's a little rough. :)

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Re: Random thoughts on the DMG takeover for Valiant...

Post by TheeBaldMoose »

greg wrote:Another fun aspect of Valiant now being run by "people who probably have less expertise in Valiant than we do" is that we shouldn't feel ANY guilt when we complain about how Valiant could have done something better now. :lol:

Dinesh was literally one of us, being a ValiantFans.com board member before he put a penny into becoming a Valiant creator. Reasonable criticizing of Valiant has always been fine, but there was always a little bit of a "my friend could have done a better job, and I'll let him know, but I do prefer friendship to criticizing" aspect to it.

DMG wasn't here first. DMG hasn't personally shaken our hands and sat down to chat. That's actually a great thing for Valiant fans who don't want to juggle honesty and etiquette. Dinesh and Warren didn't have a problem with criticism either, but it's always a weird thing to tell a friend they messed up... especially if it was something small you could easily let go.

I didn't have a ton of unspoken criticism of Dinesh and Warren... so I'm not saying that I purposefully held my tongue (or keyboard) very much. Maybe I should have pointed out that they needed to find someone to get rid of the :!: one freaking spelling error in every issue :!: a little more often, but that's about it. :D

No matter... we're completely free now. I wonder if Acclaim would have been better if this board had been around in the first year they took over. Or even the 5th year. I heard that Acclaim often wrote their own "letters from the fans" page, since they didn't have any to use. Would they have come to us for advice? Would they have listened to our criticism? Who knows.

DMG knows we're here... and they know we have more Valiant knowledge than they do. So... maybe we'll still be heard... even if it's a little rough. :)
LURKERS!!

I think we have tons of LURKERS on this site. Some people would much rather read than speak, and that's cool (Yea, I know you're there :wink: ). I wouldn't be surprised if there are a few DMG employees that monitor this site, watching from a distance, and that too is cool. This site has so much knowledge regarding Valiant, it would be a shame for them NOT to be monitoring this site. The data they could extrapolate from us has its value. Wanna test out a possible path/idea/story line, simply have someone pose as a "Fan", say a few things, get feedback, and there ya go!

I'm sure Dinesh still reads this site, when he has the time. He is a fan like us, and maybe this place has a certain feel. I know that's why I keep coming back, this place has a feel that I dig. I hope anyone from DMG that may be lurking on this site/page realizes that, and sees the wealth of knowledge that we can bring. We can put forth some crazy theories, some fantastic ideas, we don't hold our tongue when we complain, knowledge!

I mean, look at DBS's post about the best Lewis Larosa art. Fan favorite, free ranking from said fans, many reasons to lock him into another contract!

OK, back to lurking, you damn LURKERS! :lol:
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Re: Random thoughts on the DMG takeover for Valiant...

Post by greg »

TheeBaldMoose wrote:LURKERS!!

I think we have tons of LURKERS on this site. Some people would much rather read than speak, and that's cool (Yea, I know you're there :wink: ). I wouldn't be surprised if there are a few DMG employees that monitor this site, watching from a distance, and that too is cool. This site has so much knowledge regarding Valiant, it would be a shame for them NOT to be monitoring this site. The data they could extrapolate from us has its value. Wanna test out a possible path/idea/story line, simply have someone pose as a "Fan", say a few things, get feedback, and there ya go!

I'm sure Dinesh still reads this site, when he has the time. He is a fan like us, and maybe this place has a certain feel. I know that's why I keep coming back, this place has a feel that I dig. I hope anyone from DMG that may be lurking on this site/page realizes that, and sees the wealth of knowledge that we can bring. We can put forth some crazy theories, some fantastic ideas, we don't hold our tongue when we complain, knowledge!

OK, back to lurking, you damn LURKERS! :lol:
I read about 15 different websites daily or at least weekly and I have for many years. There are zero comments from me on 13 of them... so I'm a lurker 87% of the time and I run a message board. :lol:

It's a lot like comic book movies, which have millions of viewers in the theater, millions who watch the movies at home... many who even love the characters, and very few who have ever taken the extra (and easy) step of picking up a comic.

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Re: Random thoughts on the DMG takeover for Valiant...

Post by onearmedwampa3000 »

Interesting thoughts, Greg. As for your comparison of Valiant to where DC and Marvel were at around 27 years old, these are different times. Comic books, superhero or otherwise, we're not such a focus of pop culture. That said, I've always said it's too early for Valiant movies and TV mostly because of your point. The publishing arm isn't strong enough yet, and it looks like it never will be under this regime coupled with the majority of comic book readers not willing to invest in another publisher with a shared universe.

I just spent 3 days at C2E2 here in Chicago. The Valiant booth and panels make up at least half of my time there. The booth had a severe lack of energy and Friday's panel lacked focus and confidence. I attribute that to the vacuum left by Dinesh.

Friday's panel was strange. They announced the Ninjak vs release dates and showed 2 clips that had some decent action, but some of the worst acting I've ever seen. The crowd ate it up. When Q&A came up and everyone was asking garbage questions like "Will Bloodhound and the goat ever meet?", I used it as an opportunity to address the elephant in the room, which is exactly how Fred referred to it. I asked them to comment on how the DMG buyout will effect the comics going forward. Mel, Atom, and Fred all had a lot to say, and I realize they aren't going to go too "inside baseball", but the answers were pretty general. Fred did say that DMG continually offers as much money and resources as they need. Mel wanted to assure folks that DMG and Mintz specifically were not the enemy. And Atom was pretty empathetic. He knows how the fans feel, they all do, but I got the feeling there wasn't a lot they could do except their own jobs.

After the panel I went up to Mel and thanked him for fielding my possibly awkward question, and he, Atom, Fred and I talked for another 15 minutes about the topic more in depth. They are all great and gracious guys. I just didn't get the same sense of confidence that everyone had under Dinesh. It kind of felt like they were being watched with every word they said.

The whole situation makes me sad and frustrated, but like the points you made, just about anything could happen.

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Re: Random thoughts on the DMG takeover for Valiant...

Post by greg »

onearmedwampa3000 wrote:Interesting thoughts, Greg. As for your comparison of Valiant to where DC and Marvel were at around 27 years old, these are different times. Comic books, superhero or otherwise, we're not such a focus of pop culture. That said, I've always said it's too early for Valiant movies and TV mostly because of your point. The publishing arm isn't strong enough yet, and it looks like it never will be under this regime coupled with the majority of comic book readers not willing to invest in another publisher with a shared universe.

I just spent 3 days at C2E2 here in Chicago. The Valiant booth and panels make up at least half of my time there. The booth had a severe lack of energy and Friday's panel lacked focus and confidence. I attribute that to the vacuum left by Dinesh.

Friday's panel was strange. They announced the Ninjak vs release dates and showed 2 clips that had some decent action, but some of the worst acting I've ever seen. The crowd ate it up. When Q&A came up and everyone was asking garbage questions like "Will Bloodhound and the goat ever meet?", I used it as an opportunity to address the elephant in the room, which is exactly how Fred referred to it. I asked them to comment on how the DMG buyout will effect the comics going forward. Mel, Atom, and Fred all had a lot to say, and I realize they aren't going to go too "inside baseball", but the answers were pretty general. Fred did say that DMG continually offers as much money and resources as they need. Mel wanted to assure folks that DMG and Mintz specifically were not the enemy. And Atom was pretty empathetic. He knows how the fans feel, they all do, but I got the feeling there wasn't a lot they could do except their own jobs.

After the panel I went up to Mel and thanked him for fielding my possibly awkward question, and he, Atom, Fred and I talked for another 15 minutes about the topic more in depth. They are all great and gracious guys. I just didn't get the same sense of confidence that everyone had under Dinesh. It kind of felt like they were being watched with every word they said.

The whole situation makes me sad and frustrated, but like the points you made, just about anything could happen.
Thanks for those details - definitely a good documentation of C2E2.

For these particular comments:
onearmedwampa3000 wrote:Interesting thoughts, Greg. As for your comparison of Valiant to where DC and Marvel were at around 27 years old, these are different times. Comic books, superhero or otherwise, we're not such a focus of pop culture.

I'm not sure that 1965 and 1988 were very similar either... except that DC and Marvel were both 27 years old, respectively.
onearmedwampa3000 wrote:That said, I've always said it's too early for Valiant movies and TV mostly because of your point. The publishing arm isn't strong enough yet, and it looks like it never will be under this regime coupled with the majority of comic book readers not willing to invest in another publisher with a shared universe.
It doesn't take a huge comic seller to make a big splash in media. The Walking Dead had few readers before the show. Hellboy has a "movie franchise" with statues, toys, and other merchandise and still doesn't sell many books.
As I said earlier, there are a billion ways that DMG could fail, but successes have been built on much less than what Valiant has now.

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Re: Random thoughts on the DMG takeover for Valiant...

Post by Ryan »

greg wrote:
Ryan wrote:They said that DMG was heavily involved with the short scenes that were added to Iron Man 3 specifically for the Chinese audience. What if that's taken to the next level and they shoot entire subplots that are different for the Chinese and Western audiences :hm:
I would absolutely expect Chinese scenes that aren't included in the Western release, and vice versa... possibly even the same scene filmed with different actors... so that the ramifications of the scene still matter to the Bloodshot character... such as the introduction of Bloodshot nanite camoflauge while he's infiltrating an enemy base, but in the Chinese movie it's a Western enemy base. In the Western movie, it's a Chinese enemy base. Who cares? It's the camoflauge ability that survives the scene. Put both versions on the DVD extras. :thumb:
IMO the best way to handle it would be (Hi DMG if you're listening :hi: ) to keep the main scenes and plot of the movie the same, and even have the "Chinese" and "Western" subplots exist in both versions, the only difference being the time spent developing the different subplots and side characters. Then when you buy the deluxe Blu-Ray or whatever you could choose to watch the 'full' cut that would have all the scenes for a longer more developed movie.

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Re: Random thoughts on the DMG takeover for Valiant...

Post by nonplayer »

greg wrote:
Maybe I should have pointed out that they needed to find someone to get rid of the :!: one freaking spelling error in every issue :!: a little more often, but that's about it. :D
:funnypost: :thumb: :clap: :!: :!: facepalm :high-five:
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Re: Random thoughts on the DMG takeover for Valiant...

Post by kjjohanson »

greg wrote:8) Valiant is about 27 years old. When DC was 27 years old, it was 1965. The Adam West Batman movie and TV series hadn't started yet. Nothing but comics and a few weird toys. Christopher Reeve wouldn't become Superman for 13 more years. When Marvel was 27 years old, it was 1988. No movies, no theme parks, some Saturday morning cartoons, lunchboxes, a few cool toys... the Hulk television show, and some weird live-action Spider-man stuff, and a Howard the Duck movie. Two horrible movies would come along in 1989 and 1990. Valiant isn't far behind where Marvel and DC were at the same age... but Valiant is decades behind them right now.
While I'd love if this was a fair comparison, I don't think it is. You're leaving out the George Reeves Superman serials. And tons of Marvel merchandising. The general public was aware of both companies' characters at a similar period after their creation. That can't be said of Valiant. Mainly I think that is due to comics having become more niche. Successful movies could change that, of course.
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Re: Random thoughts on the DMG takeover for Valiant...

Post by mkb28 »

Am I the only one that thinks this cover image of Bloodshot looks a lot like Vin Diesel?

http://valiantentertainment.com/2018/04 ... this-july/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

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Re: Random thoughts on the DMG takeover for Valiant...

Post by greg »

mkb28 wrote:Am I the only one that thinks this cover image of Bloodshot looks a lot like Vin Diesel?

http://valiantentertainment.com/2018/04 ... this-july/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
That was my first thought also. He was definitely used as the basis for that drawing.

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Re: Random thoughts on the DMG takeover for Valiant...

Post by grendeljd »

Just wanted to say that I appreciate all the positive commentary with regards to the future of Valiant under DMG. Its nice to hear your hopeful projections of the future possibilities.

It is now a new era for the company and our favourite characters [I'm getting really tempted to refer to them as VMG now], and much as I've expressed misgivings over the way DMG has handled this takeover, I do sincerely hope that it doesn't all go down the toilet from here. This doesn't *have* to turn into another bad 'Acclaim era' for Valiant, despite some indicators that it *could* go that way.
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Re: Random thoughts on the DMG takeover for Valiant...

Post by grendeljd »

greg wrote:
onearmedwampa3000 wrote:Interesting thoughts, Greg. As for your comparison of Valiant to where DC and Marvel were at around 27 years old, these are different times. Comic books, superhero or otherwise, we're not such a focus of pop culture. That said, I've always said it's too early for Valiant movies and TV mostly because of your point. The publishing arm isn't strong enough yet, and it looks like it never will be under this regime coupled with the majority of comic book readers not willing to invest in another publisher with a shared universe.

I just spent 3 days at C2E2 here in Chicago. The Valiant booth and panels make up at least half of my time there. The booth had a severe lack of energy and Friday's panel lacked focus and confidence. I attribute that to the vacuum left by Dinesh.

Friday's panel was strange. They announced the Ninjak vs release dates and showed 2 clips that had some decent action, but some of the worst acting I've ever seen. The crowd ate it up. When Q&A came up and everyone was asking garbage questions like "Will Bloodhound and the goat ever meet?", I used it as an opportunity to address the elephant in the room, which is exactly how Fred referred to it. I asked them to comment on how the DMG buyout will effect the comics going forward. Mel, Atom, and Fred all had a lot to say, and I realize they aren't going to go too "inside baseball", but the answers were pretty general. Fred did say that DMG continually offers as much money and resources as they need. Mel wanted to assure folks that DMG and Mintz specifically were not the enemy. And Atom was pretty empathetic. He knows how the fans feel, they all do, but I got the feeling there wasn't a lot they could do except their own jobs.

After the panel I went up to Mel and thanked him for fielding my possibly awkward question, and he, Atom, Fred and I talked for another 15 minutes about the topic more in depth. They are all great and gracious guys. I just didn't get the same sense of confidence that everyone had under Dinesh. It kind of felt like they were being watched with every word they said.

The whole situation makes me sad and frustrated, but like the points you made, just about anything could happen.
Thanks for those details - definitely a good documentation of C2E2.
+1. Glad to hear this kind of feedback.

I empathize with the OG people still at Valiant who are dealing with this regime change, it makes me feel sad to think of what they're going through. It's like the wind has gone out of their sails & they're left trying to steer a ship with no rudder in this intermediate stage of change. The sooner they can get into some concrete planning for the future of the line under the new leaders, the better it will be for everyone, I think.
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Re: Random thoughts on the DMG takeover for Valiant...

Post by Paul Nolan »

Regarding your point 3/ Caylo left Boom! Just before Christmas. He has been hired for two reasons 1/ he's blooming good at what he does and 2/ he was available.

Regarding point 4/ Joe Illidge is a highly respected editor, I suggest the hire is more to do with the fact that he's well liked and good as his job as an editor rather than anything to do with animation.

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Re: Random thoughts on the DMG takeover for Valiant...

Post by greg »

Paul Nolan wrote:Regarding point 4/ Joe Illidge is a highly respected editor, I suggest the hire is more to do with the fact that he's well liked and good as his job as an editor rather than anything to do with animation.
I'll agree with that one. Primary reason, a good editor... secondary benefit, experience with WB animation.

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Re: Random thoughts on the DMG takeover for Valiant...

Post by TheeBaldMoose »

greg wrote:
mkb28 wrote:Am I the only one that thinks this cover image of Bloodshot looks a lot like Vin Diesel?

http://valiantentertainment.com/2018/04 ... this-july/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
That was my first thought also. He was definitely used as the basis for that drawing.
I wonder if we start to see a slow transition from what we know now as Bloodshot's face, to Vin Deisel's Bloodshot face, just to get people more comfortable with his look...
Moose

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Re: Random thoughts on the DMG takeover for Valiant...

Post by SuperMage »

TheeBaldMoose wrote:
greg wrote:
mkb28 wrote:Am I the only one that thinks this cover image of Bloodshot looks a lot like Vin Diesel?

http://valiantentertainment.com/2018/04 ... this-july/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
That was my first thought also. He was definitely used as the basis for that drawing.
I wonder if we start to see a slow transition from what we know now as Bloodshot's face, to Vin Deisel's Bloodshot face, just to get people more comfortable with his look...
It'll only be temporary either way. Comic book characters resembling the actors that play them in the movies only last a few years. Marvel stopped using the Chris Pratt Star-Lord after the launched All-New Guardians of the Galaxy after three years. DC's Jor-El hasn't been Marlon Brando in decades. Pretty sure Storm isn't Halle Berry anymore either.

The iconic versions of comic book characters will always end up being what the publisher defaults back to. Even Superman is going back to wearing trunks once Bendis takes over.

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Re: Random thoughts on the DMG takeover for Valiant...

Post by kjjohanson »

SuperMage wrote:
TheeBaldMoose wrote:
greg wrote:
mkb28 wrote:Am I the only one that thinks this cover image of Bloodshot looks a lot like Vin Diesel?

http://valiantentertainment.com/2018/04 ... this-july/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
That was my first thought also. He was definitely used as the basis for that drawing.
I wonder if we start to see a slow transition from what we know now as Bloodshot's face, to Vin Deisel's Bloodshot face, just to get people more comfortable with his look...
It'll only be temporary either way. Comic book characters resembling the actors that play them in the movies only last a few years. Marvel stopped using the Chris Pratt Star-Lord after the launched All-New Guardians of the Galaxy after three years. DC's Jor-El hasn't been Marlon Brando in decades. Pretty sure Storm isn't Halle Berry anymore either.

The iconic versions of comic book characters will always end up being what the publisher defaults back to. Even Superman is going back to wearing trunks once Bendis takes over.
And Nick Fury?
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Re: Random thoughts on the DMG takeover for Valiant...

Post by depluto »

Too much dead space in between interesting announcements ... this should be an exciting time for us and there's just not a lot to chew on.


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