Muppet Comics Cancelled?

[dwmckim]

Yes, it is nice to have those four comics all together in one nifty book. And that's exactly what Boom's already done. They reprinted the original four comics in paperback and reprinted the next four-issue arc in paperback and so on and so forth. If that's what fans are seeking, they're already out there if you don't have them already.

If Marvel's trying to gauge how well this sells before releasing others, then they're already shooting themselves in the foot because the people most likely to buy it already has it and unless they're the completest type of collector, won't buy it again. (Heck, lots of fans already have the original four comic books AND the paperback compilation for that matter.)

I don't think the analogy between releasing the comics and the show stands up. These came out pretty recently - it's not like they're hard to find - after all Boom went into second print runs because the first sold out. No one's being deprived the opportunity to see them because they're already super-duper easy to find. (Mind you, i'm looking at this from an American perspective and maybe things are very different in Australia - so if that's the case, goody for you!)

But if you want to use the dvd analogy, then it would be more like this: The Muppet Show's been released in first, second, and third season box sets fairly recently. We've been having a longer wait than usual for season four (actually, this analogy works pretty well since the wait for the next previously expected batch of comics have been delayed.) So this would be like instead of finally getting the fourth season, we've all be anxiouly awaiting, Disney re-released season one all over again instead! (And not with the stuff that got cut the first time around restored.) I think it's safe to say there would be rioting rather than dancing in the streets.

 

[frogboy4]

Yes, it is nice to have those four comics all together in one nifty book. And that's exactly what Boom's already done. They reprinted the original four comics in paperback and reprinted the next four-issue arc in paperback and so on and so forth. If that's what fans are seeking, they're already out there if you don't have them already.

Of course many faithful fans already have these sort-run gems. Boom has printed and reprinted these in relatively short runs, but once the film comes out there's going to be a new generation of kid fans. This new larger printed, wider-run is for them along with those who remember the Muppet magic after the film. Nothing could be more perfect than the four-story introductory Muppet compilation that could easily be stocked in Disney Stores. That's a better place to look than Boom's dwindling supply or Amazon/Ebay gougers. Boom has lost the license so now only Marvel can print these up and their marketing machine reaches far beyond Boom. Why would Disney want to foot the bill for spankin' new comics yet when they've got a potentially hot property that's primarily been purchased by older fans? As much as I'd like to see new stories, this is a smart economic move that should lead to future new stories. We've all read these books, but we're not everybody.

 

[Drtooth]

This is something I support 100%. The comics were wildly popular so why not have Marvel go into a second printing of them in higher volumes and placed where more peepers are going to see them? We're bound to get new stuff eventually.

I'm sorry, but this couldn't be a bigger screw you to the people like me who have been there at the beginning and vowed never to miss an issue, and went on epic hunts to find them. A snowstorm and or sickness (forget which) kept me from buying Peter Pan until after a week came out, and I spent a LOT of time trying to look for it after. Since, I've never waited more than a DAY to grab anything up.

Secondly, it's a major screw you to the fanbase that waited oh so patiently for the 4 Seasons arc to be published, only for them to yank the license out from under a company that was hungry to publish new comics and new stories to toss it to a company that doesn't care about anything but their own super heroes no matter who owns them. They clearly did NOT want to publish new material under their banner... there's nothing other than consolidation driving this. This also spells the end for any NEW Muppet comics... even if they were to print the unprinted, if this came out quarterly, we'd have to wait ANOTHER 2 years to read something that was finished.

No, I will not support this insult. Maybe if it was like the Phineas and Ferb magazines and published NEW comics and stories I'd enjoy it. There's nothing here that makes me want to double dip, "low" price or not. If the amazing extras in the graphic novel didn't make me want to spend 10 bucks for something I already spent 12 on, a bunch of cheap little kid's games and word finds aren't going to make me pay 6 bucks for it.

 

[a_Mickey_Muppet]

why on EARTH do you ALWAYS soud so negative and like a "barking" (sorry i can NOT use the real word here) old man! gosh! everytime i see one of your posts thats mostly all you do! sorry i can NOT just sit back anymore and hear it!

just wake up Disney is a huge company and can AND will do what they want! just let it be! No i am NOT stick up for disney, just face the facts..this is real life!

 

[dwayne1115]

why on EARTH do you ALWAYS soud so negative and like a "barking" (sorry i can NOT use the real word here) old man! gosh! everytime i see one of your posts thats mostly all you do! sorry i can NOT just sit back anymore and hear it!

just wake up Disney is a huge company and can AND will do what they want! just let it be! No i am NOT stick up for disney, just face the facts..this is real life!

Wow!

 

[Drtooth]

why on EARTH do you ALWAYS soud so negative and like a "barking" (sorry i can NOT use the real word here) old man! gosh! everytime i see one of your posts thats mostly all you do! sorry i can NOT just sit back anymore and hear it!

just wake up Disney is a huge company and can AND will do what they want! just let it be! No i am NOT stick up for disney, just face the facts..this is real life!

Wake up to this... we got SCREWED out of a great comics series.

I've been massively supportive of EVERYTHING DIsney has done up to this point... the Virmups were amazing, releasing the show on DVD, and then releasing the rest of the series uncut due to complaints, The Pookalooz (the Muppet ones were the only ones that really sold), Letters To Santa was great.... even Disney's treatment of Mavel has been wonderfully non-intrusive. I Like Disney a crapload more than I like Warner Bros (which has no clue what it's doing outside DC comics), Sony (I Hates me some sony) and the others. Disney has come a LONG way since the dark days of ONLY Hanna Montanna... Phineas and Ferb are perhaps the best cartoon I've seen in a long time... What's negative about that?

I'm MERELY pointing out the fact that due to consolidation, we lost out on a great comic story arc that, even if it does get published, we'd have to wait even longer for. And all we're getting is a Crappy magazine version of stuff we already bought made specifically for kids who... let's face it... DON'T buy magazines anymore. This isn't the 80's-90's weird period where every cartoon character had a short running magazine, you know.

Why can't I drill this into anyone's head?

A Comic Book company that WANTED to do great stuff with the license LOST the license to a company that has NO desire to do anything with it! And this isn't just Muppets, it's Pixar too. Pixar's always been a priority, no argument or complaint there. I DO NOT see how this is positive at all. Especially since there was time WELL enough to release the final arc through Boom before these cheap kiddy reprints (which, I needn't tell you might be edited for AD SPACE) started happening.

I'm sorry, but NOTHING about this is positive. We LOST something... we're not GAINING anything. This isn't a NEW comic, it's crappy reprinting. The ONLY silver lining in this is it seems to be the first step to movie marketing... fine... but I completely, utterly, and unabashedly DO NOT see this as a mark improvement OR even good news. The license SHOULD have stayed at Boom.

 

[Drtooth]

You know what's absolutely awesome and I'm completely not sick and tired to death of? Trying to have a conversation, having some one "maturely" and "reasonably" waste everyone's time calling me out, having to explain myself through logic and rationality why I disagree.... THEN not having anyone bother to continue the conversation.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go reread the same comics I already bought WITHOUT having to wait until July or having to pony up 6 bucks.

 

[frogboy4]

You know what's absolutely awesome and I'm completely not sick and tired to death of? Trying to have a conversation, having some one "maturely" and "reasonably" waste everyone's time calling me out, having to explain myself through logic and rationality why I disagree.... THEN not having anyone bother to continue the conversation.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go reread the same comics I already bought WITHOUT having to wait until July or having to pony up 6 bucks.

I support your right to your opinion. I feel kind of shafted too, but pronouncing the comic series dead is kind of drastic. I do think Boom had too many many Muppet titles running at the same time and that was unwise. I kind of felt Disney would tie up the comics before the film and resume the series afterward. They kind of did, however it seems they forgot to release the last issue in the series. That's a big mistake. One that will likely be remedied at some point seeing that the work has been completed and paid for.

We have no idea what the plans for Muppet comics are at Marvel except that apparently they want comic-collectors to know the label change. This recent reprint isn't for the fans or collectors, but that press release most certainly is for us. It indicates to me that they have some sort of plan in place to bring new Muppety goodness to all of us under one of the largest labels in the industry. Boom had some great artists, but there's no shortage of artists at Marvel! The storytelling is the only area that concerns me. We just can't be worried with what hasn't happened yet.

The Marvel move makes perfect sense. If I worked for Disney this is the call I would make. At least Marvel will have a lot of fantastic reference material and let's not forget the Muppets were at Marvel first. Disney knows the Muppet comics have award-winning prestige and a fan-base and it seems they want to capitalize on it rather than abandon it. They just want to take a lot more people along for the ride. Kermit and the gang were given star treatment over at Boom and maybe they'll get lost in the sea of Marvel releases. We just don't know yet. There could be some cool stuff with top Marvel artists that we don't know about. It's a property that creative people really want to be a part of - especially with this new movie coming out.

It would be nice if they'd stagger reprints with new material. I just don't see much movement for new material this year. That kind of blows. If we're not getting new stuff by this time next year than you bet your bippy I'll be complaining! We've been patient before and should be patient again. Not everything is going to be smooth sailing. I'm just thinking long-term gains.

 

[Drtooth]

I do have a problem with the lack of discussion and how any slightly negative opinion equates no support to how anything is being handled. Now, again, I've been pretty happy with how Disney was doing things up until just now... even with Marvel, they weren't intrusive and let them do what they were doing.

Now, yes, it's a little drastic to say they're "dead," but I just don't see them doing anything constructive with Pixar's Toy Story and Cars characters (i.e. the money makers) let alone the Muppets. I do think they WILL be lost in the sea of more popular Super Heroes (again, it took the Muppets 12 years to get another movie... we've had 2-3 Marvel comic movies a year since Spider-Man 2).

It isn't so much the license was lost. I can live with that. Roger had his foot out the door anyway, and wanted to wrap things up cleanly so he could work on other things. I totally respect his decision, as asking him to do more would reek of nasty fan badgering. It's just that the way Disney chose to end things with the license (several months shy of a 2 year agreement, mind you) was very disappointing.

Now IF they have big big plans, fine. Prove me wrong. I want to be proven wrong and see more stuff. If they just toss out a one shot magazine as a merchandising afterthought, it doesn't make sense.

The main problem I have isn't the lost license, it isn't that we may or may not see new stuff, but the fact that we don't even get a decent ending, regardless of the fact 4 issues could have been released well before the Marvel imprint started (which is months off yet). That's like canceling a pretty good running TV show, not showing the last couple episodes and then re-releasing the first 3 episodes on a DVD, even though they've been released as part of the first seasons years before.

The magazine is clearly for the impulse buyers and little kids. I can deal with that. But, and this goes for both the Pixar license and the Muppet license, they need to focus a little on the fans who followed since the beginning. No one wants to be pushed aside for a gamble. Even if it's just a 4 issue miniseries, give us the end, and we'll be happy. Still... I find it completely pointless for Marvel NOT to have absorbed (or started working on) the motion comics. We all can agree the future of print media isn't that rosey, and the BEST way to get these comics out to a public that needs to be reminded is digitally.

Maybe if we write carefully worded letters to Marvel, we'll be heard and we'll see something happen. I think at this point we need to tell them there's an audience. Besides... how many times CAN you kill Spider-Man or one of the Fantastic Four of and resurrect them to combat sagging readership?

 

[frogboy4]

I do have a problem with the lack of discussion and how any slightly negative opinion equates no support to how anything is being handled. Now, again, I've been pretty happy with how Disney was doing things up until just now... even with Marvel, they weren't intrusive and let them do what they were doing.

Now, yes, it's a little drastic to say they're "dead," but I just don't see them doing anything constructive with Pixar's Toy Story and Cars characters (i.e. the money makers) let alone the Muppets. I do think they WILL be lost in the sea of more popular Super Heroes (again, it took the Muppets 12 years to get another movie... we've had 2-3 Marvel comic movies a year since Spider-Man 2).

It isn't so much the license was lost. I can live with that. Roger had his foot out the door anyway, and wanted to wrap things up cleanly so he could work on other things. I totally respect his decision, as asking him to do more would reek of nasty fan badgering. It's just that the way Disney chose to end things with the license (several months shy of a 2 year agreement, mind you) was very disappointing.

Now IF they have big big plans, fine. Prove me wrong. I want to be proven wrong and see more stuff. If they just toss out a one shot magazine as a merchandising afterthought, it doesn't make sense.

The main problem I have isn't the lost license, it isn't that we may or may not see new stuff, but the fact that we don't even get a decent ending, regardless of the fact 4 issues could have been released well before the Marvel imprint started (which is months off yet). That's like canceling a pretty good running TV show, not showing the last couple episodes and then re-releasing the first 3 episodes on a DVD, even though they've been released as part of the first seasons years before.

The magazine is clearly for the impulse buyers and little kids. I can deal with that. But, and this goes for both the Pixar license and the Muppet license, they need to focus a little on the fans who followed since the beginning. No one wants to be pushed aside for a gamble. Even if it's just a 4 issue miniseries, give us the end, and we'll be happy. Still... I find it completely pointless for Marvel NOT to have absorbed (or started working on) the motion comics. We all can agree the future of print media isn't that rosey, and the BEST way to get these comics out to a public that needs to be reminded is digitally.

Maybe if we write carefully worded letters to Marvel, we'll be heard and we'll see something happen. I think at this point we need to tell them there's an audience. Besides... how many times CAN you kill Spider-Man or one of the Fantastic Four of and resurrect them to combat sagging readership?

You're entitled to your opinion. This seems to me and that you're stuffing every bit of negativity into this new Marvel venture when the only fans really got shafted was in not getting Roger's final issue. Who's to say that won't still happen? The comics changed labels. That's it. And their first venture is republishing a popular piece. These wild theories you're proposing make it seem like the end of the world when there's no real evidence of that. I know where you're coming from, but the angst seems to be getting a little too toxic for me on this subject.

The truth is that I wish we could get Boom quality writing from the Marvel staff and Palisades quality figures from Disney's toy division, but I'm more concerned with seeing the Muppets in films and on television. I can wait a year for new comics.