Date: Mon, 21 Nov 1994 10:30:08 -0500 From: [g--l--n] at [falcon.bgsu.edu] (Metroplex) Subject: FtP 512 ==== FIT TO PRINT by cathrine yronwode for the week of November 21, 1994 THIS IS FIT TO PRINT NUMBER 512: The area code for Austin. WEATHER REPORT: It's a grey day; we're all back on Standard Time, the winter cloud patch has rolled in, and rain is in the offing. This is the time to snuggle up and read. The most important reading i've done this week consisted of wading through the unartistic California Ballot Pamphlet. By the time you see this, the votes will have been cast and i will know whether our tough local anti-smoking ordinance will endure or whether a multi-million dollar campaign waged by cancer stick manufacturers will have convinced folks to go with a weaker state wide law. I guess you can tell which side i'm on, can't you? RUMOUR COMES TRUE, ALMOST: A while ago i ran something about the then-current rumour that DC was negotiating to buy Malibu. Shortly after that, Marvel, Paramount, and even Microsoft entered into talks with Malibu and the winner was: Marvel! Everybody is talking about it, of course, and today a long time industry insider gave me his take on the situation. This man-i'll call him Vulcan, because he is so analytical-prefers to remain nameless, but i will note that he does not work for Marvel or Malibu (or Microsoft, or Paramount, or DC, or Krause), so he is relatively neutral on the subject. According to Vulcan, Malibu had been feeling the pinch. The same industry wide malaise that drove Eclipse under, that scuttled Silver Moon before it got off the ground, that imploded Innovation, that capsized Majestic, and that has everyone and his brother running scared, had Malibu on the ropes. It was said they were starting to fall late on payments to some of their suppliers. They had strong selling material, but they needed a cash transfusion, so they went looking for a buy out. In the end, Marvel made the best offer, and this offer was predicated on four factors, "the four aspects of Malibu that Marvel wanted to incorporate," according to Vulcan. In no particular order, these four factors were: * Marvel wanted market share. "If Malibu went under, its market share would have been divided among the survivors." By acquiring Malibu, Marvel could ingest Malibu's market share. * Marvel wanted better colouring. The colouring department at Malibu is "second only to that at Image" and Marvel is well aware of the fact that it is behind the curve in the conversion to contemporary colouring techniques. For Marvel, "buying Malibu means acquiring a great colouring department" and, perhaps, cookie-cuttering its methods for the rest of the line. * Marvel wanted licensing success. One of the odder wrinkles at Marvel lately has been the company's relative failure at turning high profits on licensed properties. "Malibu proved it could be done with Star Trek: The Next Generation." Marvel hopes that Malibu's know how "will be transferrable" to the new parent company. * Marvel wanted a creator owned line. With the slow demise of the Epic line, signified most dramatically by the departure of Sergio Aragones and Mark Evanier for Image, "Marvel has just about run out of steam on creator owned properties." While Epic is not dead yet, it is not as lively as Malibu's Bravura line, which features the talents of Walt Simonson, Dan Brereton, and Jim Starlin. For Marvel, "buying Malibu means latching onto some of the top free agents in the field." (There is a little hint of irony to this: Jim Starlin was the first person to win a creator ownership contract at Marvel.) Vulcan went on to say Malibu's management will stay in place after the buy out, which is especially noteworthy, coming on the heels of the ouster of Tom DeFalco at Marvel. Finally, the Malibu name will remain as an imprint and the offices will remain at the same location. Vulcan chuckled over that "Yep," he said, "It looks like Ol' Smiley Stan may be soon working out of the Malibu offices. Who'd have predicted that?" ==== Fit to Print appears in print each week in Comics Buyers Guide and is available via e-mail. Tell your friends! To subscribe to Fit to Print via e-mail send a request with the words "Subscribe FtP" in the subject header and your address in the body of the message to [g--l--n] at [bgnet.bgsu.edu.] You will be added to the list and receive the next available issue. Backissues are available. FTP to nspace.cts.com and look in the Comics/About Comics/Comics News/Fit to Print directory. Responses are welcome and should be directed to [g--l--n] at [bgnet.bgsu.edu.] Fit to Print is Copyright 1994 Cathrine Yronwode. All rights reserved.