This is probably why we didn't have comic news

[frogboy4]

I guess the motion comics just vanished.

I'm wondering exactly when Boom's deal was penned - before or after Disney purchased Marvel? Because Disney could intend to bring their properties over to the folks under the Marvel banner. No shortage of artists there and the Boom comics are great learning tools. Just my speculation. It could be anything. Disney's yanking their Pixar titles too so maybe they are all Marvel Comics-bound.

And maybe Disney is just trying to get a firmer grip on next year's marketing push. Comics might not be part of that. It could really be anything. Licenses come up all the time and aren't renewed.

 

[minor muppetz]

Also, did she really say she doesn't include fan service cameos?

I don't have time to check the exact quotes, but she has talked about this in the Muppet Peter Pan thread and (I beleive) her first interview on The Muppet Mindset. I don't think she's against it, but usually wants a reason for including an obscure character that only we would know. But she has also said that she chose most of the obscure characters who appeared just in the background for the "Family Reunion" arc.

 

[Drtooth]

I guess the motion comics just vanished.

I'm wondering exactly when Boom's deal was penned - before or after Disney purchased Marvel? Because Disney could intend to bring their properties over to the folks under the Marvel banner. No shortage of artists there and the Boom comics are great learning tools. Just my speculation. It could be anything. Disney's yanking their Pixar titles too so maybe they are all Marvel Comics-bound.

That's the biggest worry of all if that even applies. I'm sure there was a deal made long before the Marvel comics, and frankly I DO NOT want to see Marvel publish another outside media comic again. They may have given ALF and Heathcliff respectably long runs (Ren and Stimpy too, now that I think about it) but that was LONG ago... I highly doubt Disney will mix their ownerships and publish Disney comics under Marvel's banner (they've done a good job separating the companies... other than Iron Man movie merchandise in Disney Stores I actually don't even notice their hands in the pie).

The Pixar titles always go in and out. I wouldn't call them "yanking." They just pop in and out as limited run series. Other than The Incredibles, everything else has been limited series of 4 issues for TPBs.

They have too many plans that they're trying to keep secret that they keep talking about to really say there's an abrupt end. I could NEVER see Marvel, even under Disney's ownership absorbing the evergreen Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck brands. And if Disney knows what's good for it, it will continue to keep Mickey and Spidey separate. Heck, I haven't heard anything about Disney yanking the Marvel comics characters out of Universal theme parks to put in their own yet. I'm sure Boom will have Disney's license as long as contractually possible.

Plus, I just don't see Marvel (again, even with Disney) publishing as many smaller lines as Boom did with Disney. They haven't published a lot of little comics like that since they had the STAR brand in the 80's. And a LOT of them didn't even last 10 issues.

As for the Muppet Show comic, this wasn't Boom's call. They AREN'T forcibly ending it. That's Roger's personal decision, and I'm going to respect that. Shame he won't even do some more scripts and outsource the artwork to Amy, Shelli or James (he's too busy with Darkwing anyway)... but then it gives Boom 2 choices. Either continue the series with a new writer or respectfully end the series as Roger leaves. Two very different possibilities. They are annoyingly hush hush about Muppet projects lately. And that does cast a shadow of uncertainty.

If the choice is up to Disney, it would be foolish NOT to publish any further Muppet comics. It is the comic geeks that buy them and the comic geeks they need to really get the movie going. They need to keep that interest up at least until after the film comes out. Then, as much as I hate to say this, any future merchandise or media WILL relate to how well the movie does.

 

[frogboy4]

That's the biggest worry of all if that even applies. I'm sure there was a deal made long before the Marvel comics, and frankly I DO NOT want to see Marvel publish another outside media comic again. They may have given ALF and Heathcliff respectably long runs (Ren and Stimpy too, now that I think about it) but that was LONG ago... I highly doubt Disney will mix their ownerships and publish Disney comics under Marvel's banner (they've done a good job separating the companies... other than Iron Man movie merchandise in Disney Stores I actually don't even notice their hands in the pie).

The Pixar titles always go in and out. I wouldn't call them "yanking." They just pop in and out as limited run series. Other than The Incredibles, everything else has been limited series of 4 issues for TPBs.

They have too many plans that they're trying to keep secret that they keep talking about to really say there's an abrupt end. I could NEVER see Marvel, even under Disney's ownership absorbing the evergreen Donald Duck and Scrooge McDuck brands. And if Disney knows what's good for it, it will continue to keep Mickey and Spidey separate. Heck, I haven't heard anything about Disney yanking the Marvel comics characters out of Universal theme parks to put in their own yet. I'm sure Boom will have Disney's license as long as contractually possible.

Plus, I just don't see Marvel (again, even with Disney) publishing as many smaller lines as Boom did with Disney. They haven't published a lot of little comics like that since they had the STAR brand in the 80's. And a LOT of them didn't even last 10 issues.

As for the Muppet Show comic, this wasn't Boom's call. They AREN'T forcibly ending it. That's Roger's personal decision, and I'm going to respect that. Shame he won't even do some more scripts and outsource the artwork to Amy, Shelli or James (he's too busy with Darkwing anyway)... but then it gives Boom 2 choices. Either continue the series with a new writer or respectfully end the series as Roger leaves. Two very different possibilities. They are annoyingly hush hush about Muppet projects lately. And that does cast a shadow of uncertainty.

If the choice is up to Disney, it would be foolish NOT to publish any further Muppet comics. It is the comic geeks that buy them and the comic geeks they need to really get the movie going. They need to keep that interest up at least until after the film comes out. Then, as much as I hate to say this, any future merchandise or media WILL relate to how well the movie does.

A magazine interview a while back cited Disney as paying peanuts to Langridge and the other artists for the Muppets compared to their other non-Disney ventures, so that could be a part of this decision. Maybe he wanted a raise to continue. He certainly deserves one.

Personally, I'd love to see mainstream Marvel artists take a stab at the Muppets, but I agree with what you said. There's a good chance these won't go to Marvel. (However, I do expect that the Marvel characters will only be featured in Disney themeparks eventually.)

Either way, I'm hoping to see the Muppets leave the indy market for a bit more mainstream treatment. They deserve it!

 

[Drtooth]

Personally, I'd love to see mainstream Marvel artists take a stab at the Muppets, but I agree with what you said. There's a good chance these won't go to Marvel. (However, I do expect that the Marvel characters will only be featured in Disney themeparks eventually.)

Either way, I'm hoping to see the Muppets leave the indy market for a bit more mainstream treatment. They deserve it!

Well... consider this. An indie company would make something thrive a LOT better than a mainstream one. While we'd like to think that the Marvel brand would help push the comics... but in reality, the opposite might just happen. If they start selling slow, then chances are they won't give it another chance. Whereas a smaller company with a smaller amount of orders would take selling out their copies as a huge sign they're doing well. Marvel had quite a few cartoon character based entries in the 80's and 90's... but for every Heathcliff, ALF and Ren and Stimpy, there were a LOT of poor sellers that didn't last past 10 issues (if any) and in the late 90's when they tried getting back on the horse with licensed characters, those things lasted 1 or 2 issues (I was so disappointed Mighty Heroes was a one shot). And I'm sure that they wouldn't follow Boom's lead with each series being guaranteed 4 issues at least to be compiled into a TPB.

I don't think money was the motivation with Roger's leaving. Though, I'd assume he took Marvel's early cancellation of The Mighty Thor pretty rough (really stupid to have canned it... not only did it get acclaim, but they have a movie to hype up, and that was a perfect way to get kids in there). He clearly hinted at it being a personal matter, but ALSO it felt to me like he... well, not so much ran out of ideas, but he feels that he can't do any more of the comic without it seeming forced. Artistic temperament. Sometimes not even a huge paycheck can make you go back and do something if it seems routine. And I have to agree with that logic. He feels that leaving us wanting more is better than having us say "Ugh! Enough already" (cough cough Simpsons).

As for the Classics line... that's what I'm a little more worried about.Sherlock Holmes, given its flaws, has been a decent series so far. Not quite Snow White, but a million times more polished than Robin Hood was (first batch syndrome and all). But I do not want that to be the end of the line. There's enough future possibilities to see the series through, though I'm seeing more and more actually hit back issue bins (just not at my local comics shop... others I usually visit).

As for Boom's other comics, the only one I was highly disappointed in them canceling was the "Ultra Heroes" line. I really think that, given enough time, we could have seen some really important, well done Paperinik stories. I was really hoping they'd publish the epic story about how Donald became a Batman like figure after reading about it on wiki... I liked the Spy Donald series too, but I'd always grab Ultra Heroes whenever I had cash and no other comics came out that week.

 

[frogboy4]

The Muppet comics are great, but they kind of started over-loading them. There were so many titles out at one time that maybe it's time for a rest.

Landgridge did hint that Disney felt much of the payment for the Muppets was in "exposure" which means in artist speak -- they don't pay that much. It's not rare for big companies to be cheap.

Even though I like Boom, I think it's time for the Muppets to rise back to where they were and not be stuck in indy and underground pergatory. It's the next step. But I do like the viral videos and indy stuff as well. I just feel it should be peripheral to the greater things.

 

[Drtooth]

Even though I like Boom, I think it's time for the Muppets to rise back to where they were and not be stuck in indy and underground pergatory. It's the next step. But I do like the viral videos and indy stuff as well. I just feel it should be peripheral to the greater things.

All major properties are licensed to indie companies. Other than DC, but they ONLY do Warner Bros properties anyway (ideally Marvel should do Disney, but that's another subject). Even then, they are mostly based off of cartoons based off comics. Sure, they still have Looney Tunes and Scooby-Doo... they had nice long runs.

It's not that I wouldn't support the idea... Ideally, if we had the same motivation and people behind the comics, and they were allowed a generous run of well over a year, and given the right amount of freedom and they were allowed to be successful... there's nothing wrong with that.

Unfortunately, that isn't the case. Here's how I'd see Marvel handle Muppet comics... We'd get a "this is MERCHANDISE" type treatment, they'd use in staff writers (regardless if they know the source material or not), and if they don't sell a whopping amount of issues consistently, they'll end the series at a moments notice. Not to mention the comic would be MUCH shorter to fill with ads seen on every other page.

Think about it... From Sonic to Shrek, Simpsons to Star Wars, they're all handled by third party companies. Marvel has enough characters on their plate to want to do anything with someone else's . And as I mentioned in a Muppet Mindset look back at a Star comics magazine, if they need to get children to read comics, all they need to do is make kid friendly versions of their own characters.

Above all, who gave us Muppet toys in 2002? Mattel or some other company? If a mainstream company made the Muppet toy line, it wouldn't have lasted past series 2, and they wouldn't want any fan input. I see the same thing with the comics. That said, I've noticed only die hard fans bother with the mainstream titles anymore, and head straight for indies. There's a huge movement towards indie comics by the comic geek crowd. If we can only get them to read Asterix and Lucky Luke more, that would be sensational.

 

[beaker]

As for the Muppet Show comic, this wasn't Boom's call. They AREN'T forcibly ending it. That's Roger's personal decision, and I'm going to respect that. Shame he won't even do some more scripts and outsource the artwork to Amy, Shelli or James (he's too busy with Darkwing anyway)... but then it gives Boom 2 choices. Either continue the series with a new writer or respectfully end the series as Roger leaves. Two very different possibilities. They are annoyingly hush hush about Muppet projects lately. And that does cast a shadow of uncertainty.

I agree that Boom, NOT Marvel, needs to be the sole imprint of all Disney/Pixar/Muppet worlds comics. A few years ago the small Slave Labor Graphics(SLG) was the imprint for Disney titles(Gargoyles, Tron, etc) but Boom Kids works fine. In fact anyone can pick up all Boom Kids titles at Toys R Us, Borders, Barnes and Noble or the local comic store.

But why do you feel the Muppet's comic future rises and falls with Roger? Has Amy's fill in role as artist, and all the story fable spinoffs not shown the franchise can go on without any of his involvement?

Given 2011 is to be the big push for the Muppets, I see no reason why we won't see a flurry of new Muppet titles and a continuation of the Muppets proper in some form. As well as(speculating here) a big Monsters Inc title push for the sequel coming out. Heck I'd LOVE to see an Up comic, given that's my favorite Pixar film ever.

Above all, who gave us Muppet toys in 2002? Mattel or some other company? If a mainstream company made the Muppet toy line, it wouldn't have lasted past series 2, and they wouldn't want any fan input. I see the same thing with the comics. That said, I've noticed only die hard fans bother with the mainstream titles anymore, and head straight for indies. There's a huge movement towards indie comics by the comic geek crowd. If we can only get them to read Asterix and Lucky Luke more, that would be sensational.

heh, you and your european kid comic tastes:3 But yeah it took the vision of ex Resaurus Ken Lilly to take that crafty love of late 1990's era video game toys to revolutionize the Muppet fan market. Between Palisades, Sababa and a few other companies, we were able to enjoy that nice 2002-2004 merchandise offering.

And yeah, truth be told other than the free comic book day stuff, I havent picked up and read a mainstream or super hero title since the mid 1990's. Im allll about the indie stuff. While I still go regularly to comic stores as I have been doing since the early 1980's, I mostly just go to pick up Sonic, Muppets, Ratchet and Clank, Gold Digger, occassional TMNT and The Tick, and then a few more obscure indie/underground stuff(mostly SLG and Oni Press)

I care nothing for super hero comics, and laugh how the art seems stuck in 1992 Rob Liefeld mode.

 

[beaker]

Even though I like Boom, I think it's time for the Muppets to rise back to where they were and not be stuck in indy and underground pergatory. It's the next step. But I do like the viral videos and indy stuff as well. I just feel it should be peripheral to the greater things.

I agree. It's been cute and nice to have the Muppets kept to a low profile niche underground market and fan base for the last decade.

But it's time for the Muppets to get the Toy Story 3 marketing treatment(although, I am beyond sick of seeing anything Toy Story related at this point)

When I wear my furry Fozzie or Animal hat, or a Muppet shirt,
at the mall or stores I get at least 20 people(seriously) coming up and saying how much they love the Muppets and hat, and asking where they can get it. At least 20, heck the moment I put the hat on everyone from construction workers to elderly women
just light up.

I am so sorry to Disneyana fans, to Looney Tunes fans...but I really believe that even though the Muppets are more niche and underground fandom and visibility wise, that those classic characters do not even come close to eliciting the kind of wide smiled magic and joy that the Muppets and Jim Henson characters bring to people. I doubt many people would light up as much if I was wearing say, Spongebob or Mickey merchandise...as much as virtually every middle aged woman in America stuffs their houses with Disneyana and Pooh.

But the fact is, there is something beyond magical about Kermit, Fozzie, Animal and the gang that resonates with people. There isnt "International Disney Kids" or "Foreign Spongebob" going into war torn countries of impossible impoverishment to brighten kids days and educate them. NO! It's International Sesame Street, going into every nook and cranny of this crazy world.
And finally with the Hub, a whole new generation of people will now get to see the magificant opus that is Fraggle Rock and its message of peace.

But bottom line is, I am 100% with you Frogboy...the Muppets NEED to go Supernova critical mass. Wash away the idea that the Muppets "died with Jim Henson", that the Muppets are "baby" or "old nostalgia stuff". Wash away the bad taste left from two decades of Elmo.

I want to log onto Muppet central and see thousands of new fans rekindling their Muppet passion. I want to see a tidal wave of mainstream, collector, limited edition and every day Muppet merchandise that will make the 2002-2003 period look like a tumbleweed farm. The Muppets since 1990 have been relegated to this niche ghetto with all these misconceptions, I want to see that paradigm shattered and a new glorious era rising.

 

[minor muppetz]

Regarding the small pay people are saying langridge and others get, I recall reading a quote from one comic book writer/artist who said he was offered a job for one of the Muppet comics (I think Muppet King Arthur) because of the amound he was offered (can't remember if he said a speciffic amount, but said that he turned it down after learning hwat he'd get paid and "wanted to feed his family").

Langridge said that he was already thinking of stepping down even before his "grown up issues", and that he probably won't work for the Muppets again even if he works for Boom! But I'm thinking, if they continue/revive "Muppet Classics" by the time Langridge's issues go away (or at least get better, depending on what the issues are) maybe Langridge could write a fairy tale adaptation.

In Langridge's last Tough Pigs interview, he mentioned that after "The Four Seasons" there'll be a storyarc about romance. I wonder how much of that had been worked on. It'd be a shame if they don't at least have another writer take over what may have been planned for that.

If Boom! decided to do a Muppet comic storyarc seperate from TMSCB or Muppet Classics, it'd be interesting to see a comic book storyarc that's somehow related to the upcoming movie. Maybe not a straight-on adaptation, but maybe something that takes place at the Muppet Studios and involving Walter somehow.