Here’s a random question, brought on by a hypothetical that appeared in my head out of nowhere earlier today: Who is the most valuable superhero publisher?
Maybe if I explain how I ended up with the question, it’ll make more sense; I was reading something about Disney earlier this week, and specifically about the Disney love of branding and how valuable said branding is to the corporation, and I found myself thinking, “I wonder if Disney would have rather owned Superman than Spider-Man?” There’s something about Superman – The iconic quality, sure, but also the wholesomeness and optimism – that makes me think that he just seems more “Disney” than any of the Marvel characters, even if the latter are far more successful and popular on the pop cultural stage as it is today… But that does make him more valuable for a company like Disney? Is Superman past his sell-by date in today’s world, beyond a specific market?
If you were looking to purchase a comic publisher for your corporate overlords, would you go for Marvel or DC, and why for whichever one you choose?
(Personally, I think Marvel might be a better investment in the short term, but DC has Batman, so…)
September 15th, 2011 at 10:57 am
DC has Batman. That kind of sums things up. He’s THE perennial, a success time after time in every market and every medium. Add in Superman, who is still a bigger icon than any Marvel character even without being a big hit.
Marvel’s array of heroes have yet to really show staying power, outside of Spider-Man. Ask me again in 20 years if Iron Man and Thor and Cap are still big.
September 15th, 2011 at 11:18 am
I would rather have marvel but im a huge marvel fan,even thou i buy more dc comic’s now aday’s.
September 15th, 2011 at 11:49 am
youre missing the point of why diseny bought marvel in the first place. disney already had the wholesome family and elementary school market locked up. they also do very well with the tween and teenage girls. they didn’t have pre teen and teenage male market. they then decided that it would be a better move to buy marvel and lock up their characters rather than just licence them, probably because no other entertainment company can exploit IP over multiple channels better than disney.
whether a company values Marvel’s or DC’s IP more will depend on what kind of company it is. if it’s a straight up conglomerate with no real brand or some private equity/LBO firm, then you’d just add up the value of characters and see which can be had for a better price. if they were offered at the same price, my guess, based on movies, is that Marvel characters have a greater present value. DC has batman and superman but marvel’s bench is far deeper, as the GL vs Thor movies indicated. other people may figure out different values and have DC ahead of Marvel. There’s no wrong answer though, as long as you can back up your valuations with solid reasoning. then it depends on how well you follow through with your plan after the acquisition. also external factors can completely ruin the best laid plans and smartest decisions (ie there still a ton of luck in the equation).
September 15th, 2011 at 11:56 am
Yeah, Jaroslav is right — Disney bought Marvel because they attract a demographic that Disney’s properties don’t. So, no, Disney wouldn’t have wanted DC.
That said, I’d take DC, if only because if comics were to ever die off completely, Superman and Batman would still be around in some form or another. Spider-man might, but odds are better on DC.
September 15th, 2011 at 1:01 pm
I would choose Marvel. So I can relish in the joy of FIRING THE SALES DEPT AND EDITORS INVOLVED WITH EVERY NEXT_BIG THING TIE-INS (Brevoot and Quesada top of my hitlist) for their role in the demise of Marvel and making me turn away from them!!! And then return it to the great and wonderful House Of Ideas it once was.
September 15th, 2011 at 2:07 pm
I would buy Marvel just to make a Heroes for Hire Blacksplotation movie.
September 15th, 2011 at 3:08 pm
man i so wish they would do a hero’s for hire movie with luke danny and misty
September 15th, 2011 at 4:24 pm
i would buy Marvel just to Fire Joe quesada and Tom Brevoort…
September 15th, 2011 at 7:42 pm
When I saw the title I thought you were gonna talk about the 20 pages for $3.99 vs the 20 pages for $2.99