WTF...Dynamite Brings Back...

[mateo107]

another strike against Dynamite for me, add the Phantom licensing debaccle with Moonstone. while that was, I believe, the result of an error on the part of King Features, it's still hard to fogive DE for even printing that horrid Last Phantom series (even though Kings Watch is starting to redeem them). that said, I can imaging how tempting these books could be with beautiful Alex Ross covers (hopefully the interiors will be better than the Last Phantom).

[MoonChild]

Well, they're already in bed together (VEI & Dynamic forces aka Dynamite aka VIP) so let's just wait and see how this unfolds...

Van Lente and Pak are involved. Conflict of interest?

Writers have freelanced at more than one publisher for years. VEI have their own deal with DE.

No conflict really.

Moral conflict of interest?

[Savant]

Dynamite was sued by the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate.
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page ... e&id=37044" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Dynamite takes orders, takes money, doesn't deliver product, doesn't answer phone.
http://boards.collectors-society.com/ub ... 53&fpart=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Dynamite was the 2005 "company" that stalled the return of Valiant by attempting to register trademarks belonging to Valiant characters.
They called themselves "VIP" and hid behind their lawyer for two years.
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/04/12/ ... rchandise/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's three strikes... how many do they get?

Hrm, definitely doesn't make one respect them as a company.

They do have a solid history of lateness on books as well, which is a less than endearing quality.

Finally, they do have a tendency to hop from property to property, with proliferation of books before dropping and moving on.

That said, I do enjoy the Project Superpowers stuff (which kind of died out for a couple of years, before a new mini in the last few months). Plus, what are the odds of Alex Ross covers on those books...?

I've noticed the lateness & title-hopping. They're similar to early Image in that respect.

Alex Ross covers for the Gold Key titles would certainly be cool.

[leonmallett]

Van Lente and Pak are involved. Conflict of interest?

Writers have freelanced at more than one publisher for years. VEI have their own deal with DE.

No conflict really.

Moral conflict of interest?

If moral conflict as in the parallels between VEI and old Voyager VALIANT, well I think that is just sentimentality at play.

VEI have no claim to the GK characters unless they license them (which I don't think they should do, although others may and do disagree).

So that leaves the relationship between VEI and DE; if VEI are willing to work with DE, then why should not the freelancers work with both? Why should there then be a moral conflict? Why should they be held to a higher standard, if the two companies are in fact getting along?

BTW, that is not me overlooking DE's history, which is its own can of worms...

[VEI Reborn]

I hate to say it as the first time I read it I literally got sick to my stomach.

However, Frank is KILLING it with 5 Ghosts and Im a big fan of Pak and FVL so to be honest......I cant wait to see what these guys do with the characters.


As much as I hate Dynamic lets give these guys a chance my friends as I believe you will be missing out on some good stuff.

[Aram]

Is that fourth one the occultist?

Seems to me 1 is turok, 2 is magnus, 3 is solar and 4 is?

The only Dark Key books I've read so far was Mighty Sampson series, which I liked.. though I have pretty much all the others minus maybe the occultist.. I have yet to bring myself to read them.

[Sir Sandrick]

These promos/teasers looks so Photoshop Elements from like 10 years ago... very strange...

I trust the Valiant team to keep making smart moves, they have fought too hard to get where they are to blunder into something that they didn't believe in 100%. Although this seems like a strange turn of events, I think it will work out great in the end. What can I say... Eternal Warrior #2 has me in an incredibly optimistic mood

[AnthonyF]

I really think this Dynamite thing may end up being a good thing for VEI in the long run. We shall see...

That was my hope too! VEI is more in the know of the goingons at Dynamite than we are.

[grendeljd]

These promos/teasers looks so Photoshop Elements from like 10 years ago... very strange...

I trust the Valiant team to keep making smart moves, they have fought too hard to get where they are to blunder into something that they didn't believe in 100%. Although this seems like a strange turn of events, I think it will work out great in the end. What can I say... Eternal Warrior #2 has me in an incredibly optimistic mood

I saw some discussion about the poor design of those ads in the Valiant Facebook fan pages today. I tend to agree with you & others on that point, Sand-Man. I think Carson mentioned they looked like art school amateur student work. Not exactly inspiring.

Personally I have zero interest in checking those books out, but then I've never been very interested in the Gold Key corner of the Valiant U (with a few notable VH1 exceptions such as BWS Solar & Magnus 1-4).

[comicsyte95]

If I had a bigger budget I might try Gold key Dynamite properties but I would rather keep up on getting a complete run of VEI Valiant's its just a matter of priorities.Im liking the VEI titles so far and with 15 titles (in the future),variants,tpb's,Hc's and special events,My boat is full. id rather buy what im happy with ,then start a new collection im unsure of..

[Carson]

Van Lente and Pak are involved. Conflict of interest?

Writers have freelanced at more than one publisher for years. VEI have their own deal with DE.

No conflict really.

Moral conflict of interest?

Exactly. They should know better.

[jmatt]

Van Lente and Pak are involved. Conflict of interest?

Writers have freelanced at more than one publisher for years. VEI have their own deal with DE.

No conflict really.

Moral conflict of interest?

Exactly. They should know better.

Ya can't fault guys for taking work where they find it. If they were stockholders in VEI, yeah. But until Valiant forks over the dough to keep them exclusive, I have no problem with it.

[comicsyte95]

Morally wrong I don't know maybe?..but you have to find work where its available today.

[bygranddesign]

I don't know VEI's finances or the cost of making someone an exclusive

But FVL should have been at the top of the priority list along with Dysart for an exclusive deal

But maybe they tried making FVL exclusive ... And there was just more money in him freelancing?

[Carson]

Here's how I explained my feelings about it on Facebook:

I felt a little angered that:

1. Dynamite is trying to steal Valiant fans (with 1990s Valiant characters). Valiant needs every 1990s Valiant fan buying books from Valiant, not Dynamite.

2. Current Valiant creators don't see it as a conflict of interest to work for Dynamite (see #1 for why this should be a conflict)

These writers are at the top of their game and can find work at at least a half dozen publishers. Why work with the same sleazeballs that tried to steal the Valiant characters by registering Trademarks just as the intellectual property was going into bankruptcy auction? Long story here, but Greg explains it in another similar thread.

My feeling is, they should know better.

I love FvL's A&A and I'm really digging Pak's EW, so I hope they stick around for a good, long time. I'm not buying the Dynamite books, but I wish them well personally in any of their professional endeavors.

The leadership at Dynamite, well, that's another story...

[comicsyte95]

If Dynamite had succeeded in stealing the VEI properties to tell you the truth I would have never bought any of those books on principle alone.

I only buy VEI books at this minute and Dynamite wont steal this fan.

[Carson]

If Dynamite had succeeded in stealing the VEI properties to tell you the truth I would have never bought any of those books on principle alone.

I only buy VEI books at this minute and Dynamite wont steal this fan.

Amen!

[jmatt]

I'm not buying the Dynamite books...

And that's kind of what I was getting at in my above comment. Without a Valiant angle, how many readers really care all that much about Magnus at this point? It's like swimming against the tide.

[dornwolf]

Dynamite was sued by the Edgar Rice Burroughs estate.
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page ... e&id=37044" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Dynamite takes orders, takes money, doesn't deliver product, doesn't answer phone.
http://boards.collectors-society.com/ub ... 53&fpart=1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Dynamite was the 2005 "company" that stalled the return of Valiant by attempting to register trademarks belonging to Valiant characters.
They called themselves "VIP" and hid behind their lawyer for two years.
http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/04/12/ ... rchandise/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's three strikes... how many do they get?

To be fair that law suit was stupid on the ERB estates behalf. They were complaining over a character showing up essentially naked on the cover for Warlord of Mars despite said character being described as naked in the books.

Everything else though....no complaints. I do agree that maybe they should work on what the have already the concept of a shared pulp universe is awesome specially since they've got Doc Savage their. Kinda wish IDW had gotten the rights.

[leonmallett]

Here's how I explained my feelings about it on Facebook:

I felt a little angered that:

1. Dynamite is trying to steal Valiant fans (with 1990s Valiant characters). Valiant needs every 1990s Valiant fan buying books from Valiant, not Dynamite.

2. Current Valiant creators don't see it as a conflict of interest to work for Dynamite (see #1 for why this should be a conflict)

These writers are at the top of their game and can find work at at least a half dozen publishers. Why work with the same sleazeballs that tried to steal the Valiant characters by registering Trademarks just as the intellectual property was going into bankruptcy auction? Long story here, but Greg explains it in another similar thread.

My feeling is, they should know better.

I love FvL's A&A and I'm really digging Pak's EW, so I hope they stick around for a good, long time. I'm not buying the Dynamite books, but I wish them well personally in any of their professional endeavors.

The leadership at Dynamite, well, that's another story...

Again I ask the question I asked before: why not? If VEI are clearly working with DE, even with what has gone before, why should freelancers be held to a different standard.

Judging them (FVL, Pak) for working with 'sleazeballs' (your words, not mine) seems hypocritical, if you do not judge VEI by the same standard.

VEI have every right to work with whom they feel is a good fit as a partner. Similar freelancers looking for work.

[NapoleonBlownapart]

Ehh, Rich Johnson posts rumors and speculation all the time. Unless he has an exclusive from a publisher, I never believe anything on his site.

[bygranddesign]

Here's how I explained my feelings about it on Facebook:

I felt a little angered that:

1. Dynamite is trying to steal Valiant fans (with 1990s Valiant characters). Valiant needs every 1990s Valiant fan buying books from Valiant, not Dynamite.

2. Current Valiant creators don't see it as a conflict of interest to work for Dynamite (see #1 for why this should be a conflict)

These writers are at the top of their game and can find work at at least a half dozen publishers. Why work with the same sleazeballs that tried to steal the Valiant characters by registering Trademarks just as the intellectual property was going into bankruptcy auction? Long story here, but Greg explains it in another similar thread.

My feeling is, they should know better.

I love FvL's A&A and I'm really digging Pak's EW, so I hope they stick around for a good, long time. I'm not buying the Dynamite books, but I wish them well personally in any of their professional endeavors.

The leadership at Dynamite, well, that's another story...

Again I ask the question I asked before: why not? If VEI are clearly working with DE, even with what has gone before, why should freelancers be held to a different standard.

Judging them (FVL, Pak) for working with 'sleazeballs' (your words, not mine) seems hypocritical, if you do not judge VEI by the same standard.

VEI have every right to work with whom they feel is a good fit as a partner. Similar freelancers looking for work.

I would offer this analogy - VEI and DE getting together for some mutually benificial agreement on merchandising is like our 2 political parties occasionally getting together to pass a law. They are working together but they are not usually happy about it - they do it for their own self presevation. But if 2 of our best speech writers were also now writing for the other team, that would be a little questionable of them.

Just because VEI and DE are working together on a few things doesn't mean they like each other.

[kjjohanson]

If Dynamite had succeeded in stealing the VEI properties to tell you the truth I would have never bought any of those books on principle alone.

I only buy VEI books at this minute and Dynamite wont steal this fan.

I'm not trying to defend Dynamite, but just wanted to clarify something here: Dynamite was never trying to steal the VEI properties. Those properties were locked up in the auction. It was the trademark (the ability to use the name of the original Valiant properties) that was the issue.

To illustrate this (the is the best possible example I can think of, and one I think everyone will understand): Marvel Comics trademarked "Captain Marvel" in the '60s, despite the fact that there was an existing Captain Marvel character. But that gave them no rights to use the Billy Batson character. The rights to that character was still owned by Fawcett. After those rights were acquired by DC, they had full rights to use the character and the name of the character, they just couldn't sell a product by that name, which is why "Shazam" is always incorporated in the title whenever they publish a book.

VEI was never in jeopardy of not being able to use the Valiant characters. But maybe they'd be publishing Project Rising Spirit, Aric of Dacia, and Klang! instead of Bloodshot, X-O Manowar, and Quantum & Woody if they lost the trademark fight.

[Chiclo]

being on this board for a while and more importantly being around the comics for decades I've seen and heard some of the more shall we say shady dealings that have gone on there. I have no problem with the company trying to make money and build itself off as long as you do it above board and fairly. That's not something that they can say truthfully. I understand this is a small market you have to do what you have to do but I also think that when you screw people over and do things that are less than ethical you deserve the reputation that you get.I don't think there's much more reason for me to go into detail but that is the gist of it.

I have met Nick Barrucci, the president of Dynamite/Dynamic Forces, twice. The guy is a hustler. You almost leave a Dynamite panel at a convention wondering if he won the company in a dice game. Dynamite panels at conventions almost become lectures on copyright and intellectual property law as it applies to comics - what can we get away with publishing without having to pay licenses, that sort of thing. I have been following Dynamite pretty closely for about 5 years and I buy a lot of their books. They really do hop not only from title to title but from license to license very quickly. Anyone remember their forgettable Highlander or Stargate comics? Their Robocop comics were pretty good. I used to really, really like Dynamite. After several years of late books and shifting publishing interests, my enthusiasm has waned considerably.

Contrasting greatly, I have had the chance to meet Dinesh Shamdasani once. Dinesh is a comic book fan with a laser-like focus on the Valiant properties who only wants to see them prosper. When Valiant wins, Dino wins. I am glad that Valiant has a steward like Dino and not some common hustler who would probably lose interest and quit publishing Valiant after 18 months (or 6 months).

Nicky B has family on this board. He has read this thread. He may respond to this post. It makes me sad to see him almost trolling on behalf of Dynamite.

[Chiclo]

Just a quick note... these topics about Dynamite are in the General VALIANT Discussion section of the board.

Once the "new" of the discussion wears off, I'll move them to the NON-Valiant section of the board, where they belong.

Maybe in the Dark Key subsection?

Would there be a new subsection for the Dyna-Keys?