More on Marvel/Disney Merger

Vaneta has a great column on Newsarama.com today with initial retailer reactions about the Marvel/Disney merger.

Some worry about how this new merger will impact the Boom! Studios Disney owned properties already being published. Others are concerned with how Disney will handle distribution of Marvel comics - will they leave Diamond and try to self distribute? will they want more visibility in large retailers like Target and Wal-Mart and leave the direct market in the cold? And what about the MAX line? Will a child-focused company like Disney want to be tied to mature themed titles like Punisher?

Those that are optimistic believe that Marvel will continue the way they have been, publishing their titles as usual because Disney will be more interested in merchandising and movies - comic book revenue is a pretty small part of Marvel's profit, believe it or not. Marvel's relationship with the direct market has not been that strong of late, so some suggest that this gives retailers a chance to reestablish relationships with the Disney version of the comic book company. Some believe the reach of Disney is greater than Marvel's, and that can only help to spread the popularity and familiarity of comics to the general public.

Everyone makes reasonable points, but let's face it, right now it is too early to tell what, if anything the buy out will achieve, and if it ends up being good or bad for us retailers here in the direct market. Definitely check out Vaneta's column, linked above, it's an easy read and very intersting. At the bottom are some other good links to other columns related to the buy-out. Feel free to share you're opinions here!