Licensed Comics

[ManofTheAtom]

One thing Acclaim did right outside of VH 2 was expand beyond the main VALIANT Heroes line to include licensed comics.

Should VEI/Alien Books do the same? If so, which comics should they publish? Or, rather, which licenses should they pursue?

Say they tried to do science fiction and fantasy comic books again, which ones would be worth doing?

[Ryan]

It's an interesting question, the licensed comics space seems so crowded with companies like Dark Horse, IDW, etc. who's main business is doing licensed comics.

All the big, obvious properties are taken (Star Wars, Trek, Hasbro, MOTU, 007 etc.) so it would have to be a niche or underappreciated property. Then the question is what do the people at Valiant actually like? What properties would they be passionate about licensing and adapting?

I feel like a niche property would only work if there's a great deal of interest and passion for it by the people creating it. Yet in the recent past, DMG doesn't even seem to have that high of interest and passion for their own Valiant properties. It's hard to get a read on what drives DMG, beyond the obvious desire to have successful movies like the MCU. Now we have Alien, a total unknown, so who knows?

To answer your question though, some niche sci-fi and fantasy properties that could be cool in comics if done with the right people. Thundarr the Barbarian for sci-fi and Karl Edward Wagner's Kane series for fantasy.

[ManofTheAtom]

It's an interesting question, the licensed comics space seems so crowded with companies like Dark Horse, IDW, etc. who's main business is doing licensed comics.

All the big, obvious properties are taken (Star Wars, Trek, Hasbro, MOTU, 007 etc.) so it would have to be a niche or underappreciated property. Then the question is what do the people at Valiant actually like? What properties would they be passionate about licensing and adapting?

I feel like a niche property would only work if there's a great deal of interest and passion for it by the people creating it. Yet in the recent past, DMG doesn't even seem to have that high of interest and passion for their own Valiant properties. It's hard to get a read on what drives DMG, beyond the obvious desire to have successful movies like the MCU. Now we have Alien, a total unknown, so who knows?

To answer your question though, some niche sci-fi and fantasy properties that could be cool in comics if done with the right people. Thundarr the Barbarian for sci-fi and Karl Edward Wagner's Kane series for fantasy.

Thundarr would be a bit obscure, though, heh.

Anything more recent? Foundation and Invasion on Apple TV+ come to mind. Maybe even Pretty Little Liars on Max. Surely there might be a market for that.

[Ryan]

It's an interesting question, the licensed comics space seems so crowded with companies like Dark Horse, IDW, etc. who's main business is doing licensed comics.

All the big, obvious properties are taken (Star Wars, Trek, Hasbro, MOTU, 007 etc.) so it would have to be a niche or underappreciated property. Then the question is what do the people at Valiant actually like? What properties would they be passionate about licensing and adapting?

I feel like a niche property would only work if there's a great deal of interest and passion for it by the people creating it. Yet in the recent past, DMG doesn't even seem to have that high of interest and passion for their own Valiant properties. It's hard to get a read on what drives DMG, beyond the obvious desire to have successful movies like the MCU. Now we have Alien, a total unknown, so who knows?

To answer your question though, some niche sci-fi and fantasy properties that could be cool in comics if done with the right people. Thundarr the Barbarian for sci-fi and Karl Edward Wagner's Kane series for fantasy.

Thundarr would be a bit obscure, though, heh.

Anything more recent? Foundation and Invasion on Apple TV+ come to mind. Maybe even Pretty Little Liars on Max. Surely there might be a market for that.

So you mean just from a business perspective? Then yeah, just do whatever's popular. Those wouldn't be comics I'd be interested in reading though.

[ManofTheAtom]

It's an interesting question, the licensed comics space seems so crowded with companies like Dark Horse, IDW, etc. who's main business is doing licensed comics.

All the big, obvious properties are taken (Star Wars, Trek, Hasbro, MOTU, 007 etc.) so it would have to be a niche or underappreciated property. Then the question is what do the people at Valiant actually like? What properties would they be passionate about licensing and adapting?

I feel like a niche property would only work if there's a great deal of interest and passion for it by the people creating it. Yet in the recent past, DMG doesn't even seem to have that high of interest and passion for their own Valiant properties. It's hard to get a read on what drives DMG, beyond the obvious desire to have successful movies like the MCU. Now we have Alien, a total unknown, so who knows?

To answer your question though, some niche sci-fi and fantasy properties that could be cool in comics if done with the right people. Thundarr the Barbarian for sci-fi and Karl Edward Wagner's Kane series for fantasy.

Thundarr would be a bit obscure, though, heh.

Anything more recent? Foundation and Invasion on Apple TV+ come to mind. Maybe even Pretty Little Liars on Max. Surely there might be a market for that.

So you mean just from a business perspective? Then yeah, just do whatever's popular. Those wouldn't be comics I'd be interested in reading though.

Yeah, I think at this point it would have to be something that helps them make noise.

[Ryan]

It's an interesting question, the licensed comics space seems so crowded with companies like Dark Horse, IDW, etc. who's main business is doing licensed comics.

All the big, obvious properties are taken (Star Wars, Trek, Hasbro, MOTU, 007 etc.) so it would have to be a niche or underappreciated property. Then the question is what do the people at Valiant actually like? What properties would they be passionate about licensing and adapting?

I feel like a niche property would only work if there's a great deal of interest and passion for it by the people creating it. Yet in the recent past, DMG doesn't even seem to have that high of interest and passion for their own Valiant properties. It's hard to get a read on what drives DMG, beyond the obvious desire to have successful movies like the MCU. Now we have Alien, a total unknown, so who knows?

To answer your question though, some niche sci-fi and fantasy properties that could be cool in comics if done with the right people. Thundarr the Barbarian for sci-fi and Karl Edward Wagner's Kane series for fantasy.

Thundarr would be a bit obscure, though, heh.

Anything more recent? Foundation and Invasion on Apple TV+ come to mind. Maybe even Pretty Little Liars on Max. Surely there might be a market for that.

So you mean just from a business perspective? Then yeah, just do whatever's popular. Those wouldn't be comics I'd be interested in reading though.

Yeah, I think at this point it would have to be something that helps them make noise.

Hmm I would suggest WWE and Nintendo then

No I would say then they should try to make noise with Valiant comics, since Alien is already licensing all of those properties. It would be weird then to license more properties to make noise for the properties they licensed initially.

Like if they want to make Foundation and Game of Thrones comics, they should just do that and not bother with Valiant.

[ManofTheAtom]

It's an interesting question, the licensed comics space seems so crowded with companies like Dark Horse, IDW, etc. who's main business is doing licensed comics.

All the big, obvious properties are taken (Star Wars, Trek, Hasbro, MOTU, 007 etc.) so it would have to be a niche or underappreciated property. Then the question is what do the people at Valiant actually like? What properties would they be passionate about licensing and adapting?

I feel like a niche property would only work if there's a great deal of interest and passion for it by the people creating it. Yet in the recent past, DMG doesn't even seem to have that high of interest and passion for their own Valiant properties. It's hard to get a read on what drives DMG, beyond the obvious desire to have successful movies like the MCU. Now we have Alien, a total unknown, so who knows?

To answer your question though, some niche sci-fi and fantasy properties that could be cool in comics if done with the right people. Thundarr the Barbarian for sci-fi and Karl Edward Wagner's Kane series for fantasy.

Thundarr would be a bit obscure, though, heh.

Anything more recent? Foundation and Invasion on Apple TV+ come to mind. Maybe even Pretty Little Liars on Max. Surely there might be a market for that.

So you mean just from a business perspective? Then yeah, just do whatever's popular. Those wouldn't be comics I'd be interested in reading though.

Yeah, I think at this point it would have to be something that helps them make noise.

Hmm I would suggest WWE and Nintendo then

No I would say then they should try to make noise with Valiant comics, since Alien is already licensing all of those properties. It would be weird then to license more properties to make noise for the properties they licensed initially.

Like if they want to make Foundation and Game of Thrones comics, they should just do that and not bother with Valiant.

I guess, sure.

[daniellew61]

One thing Acclaim did right outside of VH 2 was expand beyond the main VALIANT Heroes line to include licensed comics.

Should VEI/Alien Books do the same? If so, which comics should they publish? Or, rather, which licenses should they pursue?

Say they tried to do science fiction and fantasy comic books again, which ones would be worth doing?

Uh, Alien already is? Valiant is licensed with Alien Books haha.
Certainly will be more to come, for sure.

[Chiclo]

It's an interesting question, the licensed comics space seems so crowded with companies like Dark Horse, IDW, etc. who's main business is doing licensed comics.

All the big, obvious properties are taken (Star Wars, Trek, Hasbro, MOTU, 007 etc.) so it would have to be a niche or underappreciated property. Then the question is what do the people at Valiant actually like? What properties would they be passionate about licensing and adapting?

I feel like a niche property would only work if there's a great deal of interest and passion for it by the people creating it. Yet in the recent past, DMG doesn't even seem to have that high of interest and passion for their own Valiant properties. It's hard to get a read on what drives DMG, beyond the obvious desire to have successful movies like the MCU. Now we have Alien, a total unknown, so who knows?

To answer your question though, some niche sci-fi and fantasy properties that could be cool in comics if done with the right people. Thundarr the Barbarian for sci-fi and Karl Edward Wagner's Kane series for fantasy.

Thundarr would be a bit obscure, though, heh.

Anything more recent? Foundation and Invasion on Apple TV+ come to mind. Maybe even Pretty Little Liars on Max. Surely there might be a market for that.

Pretty Little Liars? Comics? Are you funnin’ us?

[Chiclo]

One thing Acclaim did right outside of VH 2 was expand beyond the main VALIANT Heroes line to include licensed comics.

Should VEI/Alien Books do the same? If so, which comics should they publish? Or, rather, which licenses should they pursue?

Say they tried to do science fiction and fantasy comic books again, which ones would be worth doing?

Uh, Alien already is? Valiant is licensed with Alien Books haha.
Certainly will be more to come, for sure.

She’s got you there.

[ManofTheAtom]

One thing Acclaim did right outside of VH 2 was expand beyond the main VALIANT Heroes line to include licensed comics.

Should VEI/Alien Books do the same? If so, which comics should they publish? Or, rather, which licenses should they pursue?

Say they tried to do science fiction and fantasy comic books again, which ones would be worth doing?

Uh, Alien already is? Valiant is licensed with Alien Books haha.
Certainly will be more to come, for sure.

Cool.

[ManofTheAtom]

One thing Acclaim did right outside of VH 2 was expand beyond the main VALIANT Heroes line to include licensed comics.

Should VEI/Alien Books do the same? If so, which comics should they publish? Or, rather, which licenses should they pursue?

Say they tried to do science fiction and fantasy comic books again, which ones would be worth doing?

Uh, Alien already is? Valiant is licensed with Alien Books haha.
Certainly will be more to come, for sure.

She’s got you there.

Indeed, heh.

[ManofTheAtom]

It's an interesting question, the licensed comics space seems so crowded with companies like Dark Horse, IDW, etc. who's main business is doing licensed comics.

All the big, obvious properties are taken (Star Wars, Trek, Hasbro, MOTU, 007 etc.) so it would have to be a niche or underappreciated property. Then the question is what do the people at Valiant actually like? What properties would they be passionate about licensing and adapting?

I feel like a niche property would only work if there's a great deal of interest and passion for it by the people creating it. Yet in the recent past, DMG doesn't even seem to have that high of interest and passion for their own Valiant properties. It's hard to get a read on what drives DMG, beyond the obvious desire to have successful movies like the MCU. Now we have Alien, a total unknown, so who knows?

To answer your question though, some niche sci-fi and fantasy properties that could be cool in comics if done with the right people. Thundarr the Barbarian for sci-fi and Karl Edward Wagner's Kane series for fantasy.

Thundarr would be a bit obscure, though, heh.

Anything more recent? Foundation and Invasion on Apple TV+ come to mind. Maybe even Pretty Little Liars on Max. Surely there might be a market for that.

Pretty Little Liars? Comics? Are you funnin’ us?

It's one streaming series that came to mind.

Evil on Paramount+ would be another. Is anyone making comics about that one?

[Ryan]

It's an interesting question, the licensed comics space seems so crowded with companies like Dark Horse, IDW, etc. who's main business is doing licensed comics.

All the big, obvious properties are taken (Star Wars, Trek, Hasbro, MOTU, 007 etc.) so it would have to be a niche or underappreciated property. Then the question is what do the people at Valiant actually like? What properties would they be passionate about licensing and adapting?

I feel like a niche property would only work if there's a great deal of interest and passion for it by the people creating it. Yet in the recent past, DMG doesn't even seem to have that high of interest and passion for their own Valiant properties. It's hard to get a read on what drives DMG, beyond the obvious desire to have successful movies like the MCU. Now we have Alien, a total unknown, so who knows?

To answer your question though, some niche sci-fi and fantasy properties that could be cool in comics if done with the right people. Thundarr the Barbarian for sci-fi and Karl Edward Wagner's Kane series for fantasy.

Thundarr would be a bit obscure, though, heh.

Anything more recent? Foundation and Invasion on Apple TV+ come to mind. Maybe even Pretty Little Liars on Max. Surely there might be a market for that.

Pretty Little Liars? Comics? Are you funnin’ us?

It's one streaming series that came to mind.

Evil on Paramount+ would be another. Is anyone making comics about that one?

How about Friends? Huge international audience. You could even get Jenifer Aniston to write an issue. Think of all the media coverage they would get.

[Sunlight on Snow]

Let them please focus on the Valiant characters and stories.

At this point I'm not interesting in anything else (from Alien).

[ManofTheAtom]

It's an interesting question, the licensed comics space seems so crowded with companies like Dark Horse, IDW, etc. who's main business is doing licensed comics.

All the big, obvious properties are taken (Star Wars, Trek, Hasbro, MOTU, 007 etc.) so it would have to be a niche or underappreciated property. Then the question is what do the people at Valiant actually like? What properties would they be passionate about licensing and adapting?

I feel like a niche property would only work if there's a great deal of interest and passion for it by the people creating it. Yet in the recent past, DMG doesn't even seem to have that high of interest and passion for their own Valiant properties. It's hard to get a read on what drives DMG, beyond the obvious desire to have successful movies like the MCU. Now we have Alien, a total unknown, so who knows?

To answer your question though, some niche sci-fi and fantasy properties that could be cool in comics if done with the right people. Thundarr the Barbarian for sci-fi and Karl Edward Wagner's Kane series for fantasy.

Thundarr would be a bit obscure, though, heh.

Anything more recent? Foundation and Invasion on Apple TV+ come to mind. Maybe even Pretty Little Liars on Max. Surely there might be a market for that.

Pretty Little Liars? Comics? Are you funnin’ us?

It's one streaming series that came to mind.

Evil on Paramount+ would be another. Is anyone making comics about that one?

How about Friends? Huge international audience. You could even get Jenifer Aniston to write an issue. Think of all the media coverage they would get.

That might be too old, though, heh.

[ManofTheAtom]

Let them please focus on the Valiant characters and stories.

At this point I'm not interesting in anything else (from Alien).

Yeah.

[Cyberstrike]

Depends. Some licensed comics worth the money, energy, time, and headaches because they're popular and well known and bring in readers, and others aren't like IMHO Robotech because the general hated that many fans have towards Harmony Gold. Now while I'm fan of Robotech but I've lost a lot interest in it, because the owner Harmony Gold's mismanagement of it.

They have kind of ticked off a lot of other companies and lost a lot of fans over the years for with lawsuits over petty and trivial things that has resulted in other franchises ranging from Battletech, Exo-Squad, G.I. Joe, and The Transformers having products canceled or changed to avoid an idiotic lawsuit (look up the time sued Hasbro over of limited edition SDCC of the G.I. Joe jet Skystriker colored like the Autobot Jetfire and when they lost they lost Hasbro started making new Jetfire toys to look like their Veritech Jets just to give HG a giant middle finger and then they said that they would never do something like that to Hasbro and guess what? They did just that last year with fans of Transformers/Robotech/Macross not really liking or trusting HG and the toy company to deliver the goods).

They have angered not only fans of other properties but Robotech over canceling the Shadow Chronicles 2 animated movie for live action movie that has been in development hell for over 20 years! Fans of the anime franchise Macross (which the first act/war/chapter of the series was adapted from) hate them from stopping any other Macross shows, movies, and OVAs from being officially released in any other part of the world besides Japan and Asia on any format or platform and what few that did get released in west from getting re-released (although that is hopefully over due to Sony finally getting HG and Big West, the owners of Macross to make peace so that they can make that damn live action movie) and I'll believe it when I have a Blu-Ray of Macross Plus in my hands. They have constantly moved the comic from publisher to publisher sometimes for legit reasons and sometimes because they could get more money from another publisher, and they seem to be very demanding and other times they don't seem to give a damn what you do as long as their guy named Rick Hunter, a woman named Lisa Hayes and giant spaceship with a squad of transforming jets.

Some properties just aren't popular outside of the cult followings like Centurions: Power Extreme while you could sell the comic because Jack Kirby and Gil Kane's involvement in the show (they both did some of the character designs) or just off Kirby's name alone in the case of Thundarr The Barbarian but even then trying to figure out who owns the rights and then getting the rights then finding a creative team that are fans or at the they're familiar with the series to bring it back and do it justice. Hell I would love to an Exo-Squad comic picking up from where the show left off, but it's hard sell when Universal the owners of it haven't done a damn thing with it since they canceled the series.

[ManofTheAtom]

Depends. Some licensed comics worth the money, energy, time, and headaches because they're popular and well known and bring in readers, and others aren't like IMHO Robotech because the general hated that many fans have towards Harmony Gold. Now while I'm fan of Robotech but I've lost a lot interest in it, because the owner Harmony Gold's mismanagement of it.

They have kind of ticked off a lot of other companies and lost a lot of fans over the years for with lawsuits over petty and trivial things that has resulted in other franchises ranging from Battletech, Exo-Squad, G.I. Joe, and The Transformers having products canceled or changed to avoid an idiotic lawsuit (look up the time sued Hasbro over of limited edition SDCC of the G.I. Joe jet Skystriker colored like the Autobot Jetfire and when they lost they lost Hasbro started making new Jetfire toys to look like their Veritech Jets just to give HG a giant middle finger and then they said that they would never do something like that to Hasbro and guess what? They did just that last year with fans of Transformers/Robotech/Macross not really liking or trusting HG and the toy company to deliver the goods).

They have angered not only fans of other properties but Robotech over canceling the Shadow Chronicles 2 animated movie for live action movie that has been in development hell for over 20 years! Fans of the anime franchise Macross (which the first act/war/chapter of the series was adapted from) hate them from stopping any other Macross shows, movies, and OVAs from being officially released in any other part of the world besides Japan and Asia on any format or platform and what few that did get released in west from getting re-released (although that is hopefully over due to Sony finally getting HG and Big West, the owners of Macross to make peace so that they can make that damn live action movie) and I'll believe it when I have a Blu-Ray of Macross Plus in my hands. They have constantly moved the comic from publisher to publisher sometimes for legit reasons and sometimes because they could get more money from another publisher, and they seem to be very demanding and other times they don't seem to give a damn what you do as long as their guy named Rick Hunter, a woman named Lisa Hayes and giant spaceship with a squad of transforming jets.

Some properties just aren't popular outside of the cult followings like Centurions: Power Extreme while you could sell the comic because Jack Kirby and Gil Kane's involvement in the show (they both did some of the character designs) or just off Kirby's name alone in the case of Thundarr The Barbarian but even then trying to figure out who owns the rights and then getting the rights then finding a creative team that are fans or at the they're familiar with the series to bring it back and do it justice. Hell I would love to an Exo-Squad comic picking up from where the show left off, but it's hard sell when Universal the owners of it haven't done a damn thing with it since they canceled the series.

Definitely.

Good faith, an audience, and passionate talent are all necessary for the success of any property, really.

[Ryan]

Depends. Some licensed comics worth the money, energy, time, and headaches because they're popular and well known and bring in readers, and others aren't like IMHO Robotech because the general hated that many fans have towards Harmony Gold. Now while I'm fan of Robotech but I've lost a lot interest in it, because the owner Harmony Gold's mismanagement of it.

They have kind of ticked off a lot of other companies and lost a lot of fans over the years for with lawsuits over petty and trivial things that has resulted in other franchises ranging from Battletech, Exo-Squad, G.I. Joe, and The Transformers having products canceled or changed to avoid an idiotic lawsuit (look up the time sued Hasbro over of limited edition SDCC of the G.I. Joe jet Skystriker colored like the Autobot Jetfire and when they lost they lost Hasbro started making new Jetfire toys to look like their Veritech Jets just to give HG a giant middle finger and then they said that they would never do something like that to Hasbro and guess what? They did just that last year with fans of Transformers/Robotech/Macross not really liking or trusting HG and the toy company to deliver the goods).

They have angered not only fans of other properties but Robotech over canceling the Shadow Chronicles 2 animated movie for live action movie that has been in development hell for over 20 years! Fans of the anime franchise Macross (which the first act/war/chapter of the series was adapted from) hate them from stopping any other Macross shows, movies, and OVAs from being officially released in any other part of the world besides Japan and Asia on any format or platform and what few that did get released in west from getting re-released (although that is hopefully over due to Sony finally getting HG and Big West, the owners of Macross to make peace so that they can make that damn live action movie) and I'll believe it when I have a Blu-Ray of Macross Plus in my hands. They have constantly moved the comic from publisher to publisher sometimes for legit reasons and sometimes because they could get more money from another publisher, and they seem to be very demanding and other times they don't seem to give a damn what you do as long as their guy named Rick Hunter, a woman named Lisa Hayes and giant spaceship with a squad of transforming jets.

That's interesting. A lot of niche properties have similar stories. Not popular enough to have major crossover success, but just enough of a fanbase that companies keep trying to put it out in some form.

Some properties just aren't popular outside of the cult followings like Centurions: Power Extreme while you could sell the comic because Jack Kirby and Gil Kane's involvement in the show (they both did some of the character designs) or just off Kirby's name alone in the case of Thundarr The Barbarian but even then trying to figure out who owns the rights and then getting the rights then finding a creative team that are fans or at the they're familiar with the series to bring it back and do it justice. Hell I would love to an Exo-Squad comic picking up from where the show left off, but it's hard sell when Universal the owners of it haven't done a damn thing with it since they canceled the series.

That was sort of my point earlier, there are a ton of niche, cult properties out there that have plenty of potential. 80s cartoons, classic sci-fi fantasy novels, etc. All it would take to make them a bigger success (IMO) would be the right people who have the passion and the backing to do it. The right timing and some luck helps too.

The obstacles are too big for most of those properties though. You would have to navigate all the murky legal quagmire of the rights, ownership, who created what etc. for some of these properties. On top of that, people who are so passionate about certain properties that they would basically work for free to revive them are probably better off just creating their own similar IP.

For example, let's say some ultra passionate person creates a Centurions comic that is popular and revives the franchise and it spawns movies, games, etc. For all their blood, sweat, and tears that would be needed to create that innovation, they would probably just get a small cut and the people who would actually profit are the owners, financers, etc. Not worth it when the creators barely make a living wage just so some person who was born rich can buy more houses and cars.

[Cyberstrike]

Depends. Some licensed comics worth the money, energy, time, and headaches because they're popular and well known and bring in readers, and others aren't like IMHO Robotech because the general hated that many fans have towards Harmony Gold. Now while I'm fan of Robotech but I've lost a lot interest in it, because the owner Harmony Gold's mismanagement of it.

They have kind of ticked off a lot of other companies and lost a lot of fans over the years for with lawsuits over petty and trivial things that has resulted in other franchises ranging from Battletech, Exo-Squad, G.I. Joe, and The Transformers having products canceled or changed to avoid an idiotic lawsuit (look up the time sued Hasbro over of limited edition SDCC of the G.I. Joe jet Skystriker colored like the Autobot Jetfire and when they lost they lost Hasbro started making new Jetfire toys to look like their Veritech Jets just to give HG a giant middle finger and then they said that they would never do something like that to Hasbro and guess what? They did just that last year with fans of Transformers/Robotech/Macross not really liking or trusting HG and the toy company to deliver the goods).

They have angered not only fans of other properties but Robotech over canceling the Shadow Chronicles 2 animated movie for live action movie that has been in development hell for over 20 years! Fans of the anime franchise Macross (which the first act/war/chapter of the series was adapted from) hate them from stopping any other Macross shows, movies, and OVAs from being officially released in any other part of the world besides Japan and Asia on any format or platform and what few that did get released in west from getting re-released (although that is hopefully over due to Sony finally getting HG and Big West, the owners of Macross to make peace so that they can make that damn live action movie) and I'll believe it when I have a Blu-Ray of Macross Plus in my hands. They have constantly moved the comic from publisher to publisher sometimes for legit reasons and sometimes because they could get more money from another publisher, and they seem to be very demanding and other times they don't seem to give a damn what you do as long as their guy named Rick Hunter, a woman named Lisa Hayes and giant spaceship with a squad of transforming jets.

That's interesting. A lot of niche properties have similar stories. Not popular enough to have major crossover success, but just enough of a fanbase that companies keep trying to put it out in some form.

Some properties just aren't popular outside of the cult followings like Centurions: Power Extreme while you could sell the comic because Jack Kirby and Gil Kane's involvement in the show (they both did some of the character designs) or just off Kirby's name alone in the case of Thundarr The Barbarian but even then trying to figure out who owns the rights and then getting the rights then finding a creative team that are fans or at the they're familiar with the series to bring it back and do it justice. Hell I would love to an Exo-Squad comic picking up from where the show left off, but it's hard sell when Universal the owners of it haven't done a damn thing with it since they canceled the series.

That was sort of my point earlier, there are a ton of niche, cult properties out there that have plenty of potential. 80s cartoons, classic sci-fi fantasy novels, etc. All it would take to make them a bigger success (IMO) would be the right people who have the passion and the backing to do it. The right timing and some luck helps too.

The obstacles are too big for most of those properties though. You would have to navigate all the murky legal quagmire of the rights, ownership, who created what etc. for some of these properties. On top of that, people who are so passionate about certain properties that they would basically work for free to revive them are probably better off just creating their own similar IP.

For example, let's say some ultra passionate person creates a Centurions comic that is popular and revives the franchise and it spawns movies, games, etc. For all their blood, sweat, and tears that would be needed to create that innovation, they would probably just get a small cut and the people who would actually profit are the owners, financers, etc. Not worth it when the creators barely make a living wage just so some person who was born rich can buy more houses and cars.

The problem with both the Centurions: Power Extreme and Thundarr the Barbarian was that weren't that popular to begin with. As a toyline Centurions: Power Extreme was NEVER a big hit and the show is/was a cult classic at best, and IMHO I think without Kirby and Kane's involvement with the show it would likely forgotten and even with their involvement it's more of curiosity than anything it's not a ground breaking series. The owners would have to invest a LOT of money in of different multimedia ventures (comics, video games, toys, novels, TV, and film) to bring it back as a mainstream hit and even then it's more down to luck and timing for it to a be a success.

[ManofTheAtom]

The problem with both the Centurions: Power Extreme and Thundarr the Barbarian was that weren't that popular to begin with. As a toyline Centurions: Power Extreme was NEVER a big hit and the show is/was a cult classic at best, and IMHO I think without Kirby and Kane's involvement with the show it would likely forgotten and even with their involvement it's more of curiosity than anything it's not a ground breaking series. The owners would have to invest a LOT of money in of different multimedia ventures (comics, video games, toys, novels, TV, and film) to bring it back as a mainstream hit and even then it's more down to luck and timing for it to a be a success.

Isn't Armorines sort of like Centurions? It's been awhile since I've watched the cartoons. But, it's essentially the same concept, guys in suits of armor.

[Ryan]

The problem with both the Centurions: Power Extreme and Thundarr the Barbarian was that weren't that popular to begin with. As a toyline Centurions: Power Extreme was NEVER a big hit and the show is/was a cult classic at best, and IMHO I think without Kirby and Kane's involvement with the show it would likely forgotten and even with their involvement it's more of curiosity than anything it's not a ground breaking series. The owners would have to invest a LOT of money in of different multimedia ventures (comics, video games, toys, novels, TV, and film) to bring it back as a mainstream hit and even then it's more down to luck and timing for it to a be a success.

Yeah, that's a good point. There are a few examples of extremely niche properties that weren't very popular the first time having more success on a second attempt, but not many. The most notable is Star Trek, that was cancelled after 3 seasons and then grew a huge cult fanbase. That's a pretty unique case though.

My original point was not to say that 'Valiant should license Thundarr', it was that if Valiant gets into licensing properties (which seems very unlikely), they should only license properties that the people at Valiant would be personally invested in and passionate about.

The world doesn't need more mediocre comic adaptations of current tv series. Acclaim's licensed comics of Quantum Leap, Sliders, etc. are not an example of what any comic book company should follow IMO. Those were bad comics made by a bad company who were just trying to squeeze a buck out of anything they could. They shouldn't be held up as something to strive toward.

[Chiclo]

Valiant should continue with Sliders comics. Oberon Geiger had a lot of great potential that was wasted. Have Maggie Beckett be the main character!

[ManofTheAtom]

Valiant should continue with Sliders comics. Oberon Geiger had a lot of great potential that was wasted. Have Maggie Beckett be the main character!

The way I'd do a Sliders comic I'd start with a reboot, showing new iterations of Quinn, Rembrandt, the Professor, and Wade go off on their journey from the start. I'd tell a more cohesive story, using the Kromagg as better defined villains, while still adhering to the original premise of the series.

THEN I'd have these new iterations land on the Earth from the first episode of the original series and meet the original Rembrandt, who in the last episode of the series returned to his home world and used the virus to kill the Kromagg that took it over. It would turn out that the new iterations are actually just variants from another world in the multiverse that happen to be younger than the original ones (sort of like in that one episode where they landed on a world in which Quinn was still a child).

I'd also like to see the revelation that the original Professor did not die, he was replaced by his double from the world seen in "Post Traumatic Slide Syndrome" who is the one that died on Maggie's world. The Professor could have put together his own team of Sliders from that world to find Quinn and the others.

Both teams of Sliders could then find a way to split Mallory back into two individuals and, somehow, restore Wade, who was last seen as a sort of head in a jar.

This was an interesting video I found on YT the other day.

John Rhys Davies Shares Sliders Regrets & Reboot Hopes