How the Disney/Marvel Partnership Changed Comics Forever

                                                                (Freepik/maniacvector)

Movies and comics have always drawn an impressive crowd for those who are nostalgic about collecting them in childhood, those who watched the adaptations of the films and cartoons that stemmed from them, and those who were inspired to draw their own. 

So when Disney announced they were negotiating to buy the Marvel franchise back in 2009, an upheaval seemed to divide fans. On one side, fans were excited about the possibility of what Disney might bring to the many areas that Marvel could offer, like the cartoons or interactive games for many platforms.

On the other side, fans were disgruntled, worried that Disney would only care about the film industry side of Marvel and neglect every other aspect of the company it had just acquired as an asset.

While Disney buying Marvel did help them recover from the low point in the 90’s, it also focused more on the films, pumping them out, crunch culture style, and currently has thirty-three films since they bought Marvel.

Marvel's games and comic side seem to have been cast aside for a kind of blockbuster mania for profit, even though the games and comics are still loved by fans of Disney and Marvel of all ages.

Disney even axed Disney Infinity, a game following the tried and tested method of interactive figures that scanned into a game via an e-reader, which many other franchises like Nintendo’s Amiibo or Universal’s figures for their Skylander’s game with Xbox, had made work excellently for them. 

Rob Keyes wrote for ScreenRant among the hype and was similarly shocked when it was axed, as everything seemed to go well.

“Disney shutdown (their)  developer Avalanche Software, stopped its toy production, and basically put an end to their own gaming division. Going forward, Disney will license out its properties to mitigate risk, similar to how they currently do with its Star Wars IP. It's a shocking revelation, especially given how Disney Infinity helped turn around Disney's gaming efforts (which had previously resulted in major losses).”

Even freelancers like Sean McKeever, who initially worked from 2003 - 2011 and wrote titles like Gravity, Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, and Teen Titans found himself left behind when Marvel focused more on their other money-making opportunities.

Bouncing between comics as a freelancer and videogame companies like Bioware, he found that although it wasn’t sustainable as a living, it was another way to sharpen those storytelling skills.

However, with the videogame industry experiencing layoffs just like the Avalanche Software devs, Freelancers in comic books struggle.

The writing of a script and the storyline is the same for films, video games and comics, but it differs from that point onwards. 

Washington Post’s Jared Keller writes on how Disney seems to let the corporate figures rule the roost, with comics taking a back seat to its success with online streaming service Disney+, and the infinity Saga conclusion Avengers: Endgame which

Earned  $10 billion in studio revenue for parent company Disney. In fact, “Marvel Studios’ $18.2 billion in earnings at the global box office over the past decade has become critical to Disney’s studio dominance.” according to the article, 

“Disney investors and analysts expected the launch of Disney+ to prove a success, and with Marvel such a plum target for the new era of America’s culture wars, a reactionary push toward extra-profitable cultural homogeneity may end up rooting out what has made Marvel so special for decades.“

“All stars burn bright in the emptiness of the night sky: Now, with Marvel’s cinematic success dwarfing its comic business, the heat death of the Marvel Universe appears closer than ever.”

For an article written in 2019, it couldn’t be more accurate, even now. 

Bleedingfool’s Avi Green wrote just last year that even though Marvel was saved from Bankruptcy in the 90’s, the way in which it’s struggling into film with Stan Lee in the 70’s and now, with the pandemic is pitching Marvel downwards once more.

Disney, it’s parent company, is failing it’s comic side for the success it has with cinematic wonderlust and streaming services.

That’s something independent comic illustrator, DeadEndComic’s Jess shares the opinion of.

Here is my Interview with her on what she thought about Disney changing the outlook for comics. 

When did you start your online studio?

“To be truthfully honest, it was actually quite a long time ago when I first started, like I would have to say when I was still in high school which was 2005 to 2007, roughly.” She admits.

 Did you want to work for one of the big companies when you were younger?

“I did originally, I wanted to work for marvel doing one of The Amazing Spiderman books.” Jess says, sounding wistful.

What has changed in the world of comics the most since Disney bought Marvel, In your opinion?

“Honestly, I may be wrong in saying this but I would have to say  the quality in the books mainly, I mean  even in 2022, manga is outselling North American comics mostly, from what I have heard is due to quality of the books writing or the dip in the artwork leading to the books not selling as well in the market.” She explains.

How has that affected your illustration and plans for the future?

“It actually it hasn't really affected me, in a sense. As other artists have pointed out in the past, comics are just words and pictures  that have been around forever and will continue to do so in one format or the other.  but as for the future I'm hoping to well keep doing what I'm doing.” She assures me.

 So, what are you working on at the moment? Can readers see it anywhere?

“Currently, I am working on a creator own series called Born Damned which is viewable on Webtoons and Tapas, as well as my personal website once it is properly set up.” She adds proudly. 

She has a Linktree for her work, where all her socials can be found if you would like to check it out below.

https://linktr.ee/dark_dead_end_studios_art