Lower Decks

I take a brief hiatus and return to the news that the House of Mouse is buying the House of Ideas? Did anyone see this coming or can the number of people aware of the sale be counted on both hands? Dire predictions of how Disney will ruin Marvel abound on the Internet, but apparently it could take until the end of the year for the acquisition to actually take place, so there’s plenty of time to learn more before worrying.

Marvel Stock Climbs to New Heights

It seems today is a great day to be a Marvel shareholder. Marvel stock closed at $48.37, up 9.72 points or a huge 25.15%, according to Yahoo! Finance. The same can’t really be said for Disney; its stock closed at $26.04, down 0.8 points or 2.98%. I’ve seen some opinions suggesting that Disney overvalued Marvel’s worth by offering to pay a combined cash/stock total of $50 per share. But The Motley Fool (via The Beat) thinks otherwise.

Comic Book Resources has industry reactions to the news, most of which are positive. Judging from the 750+ comments at the CBR Forums, though, fans are decidedly split on the prospect of Disney acquiring Marvel. Personally, I’m of the opinion that if Disney takes a hands-off approach to Marvel comics and focuses more on licensing and films, this can only be good news for Marvel.

Let’s Dream Big

It’s far too earlier to be hoping that Disney will somehow manage to bring prices down from $3.99 to $2.99 or perhaps allow Marvel to continue publishing underperforming titles. But one can hope. How about Disney pushing comics outside of speciality stores in a big way? This could revive the comics industry, which for years has been servicing a dwindling fan base. New readers, even if they’re youngsters and they’re reading titles based on Disney characters, can only be a good thing.

Plus, perhaps the Night Nurse will finally receive a second regular series.

Why Can’t Comics Come Out on Time?

One of the reasons I haven’t written a column in three weeks is that many of the books I had hoped to read and perhaps discuss haven’t come out. Or, to be more precise, several of the miniseries/limited series that were supposed to wrap up so I could finally start them haven’t yet. Marvels: Eye of the Camera #6, which was supposedly due out on July 1st, won’t be released until November 11th. I have no idea where Hotwire #4 is and can’t find any information at Radical’s website (it might be coming out September 2nd). The same goes for Ignition City #5. It was due out on August 26th, I think, but didn’t show up.

I also haven’t received Fathom #9 yet, although it has apparently been released or is due out September 2nd. Who knows. It’s frustrating to me that I can’t find information about delayed comics and given that I read so few titles, when several don’t show up I’m not left with much to hold me over.