A Few Thoughts On DMG Entertainment Acquiring Valiant

DMG Entertainment released through Hollywood Reporter news this morning they would fully acquire Valiant in an attempt to further push that comic-book bsed media company into other platforms. This is the same company that previously acquired a significant stake in the company to a similar end.

The announcement comes with news that CEO Dinesh Shamdasani, one of the fans that revived the company and began publishing characters from the line in 2012, is going to transition out of the company. Part of the charm of this current revival for the top-five publisher has been the fannish joy that its executives and creators had for the 1990s version of the company.

I don't have much to say about companies aggressively trying to get comics characters into other media. The Valiant characters strike me as a pretty average group of characters for that sort of thing -- nothing with the genius of Kirby or the time-worn appeal of the DC-related icons, but certainly touching all the bases in terms of character types and featuring possible stories from a slew of working creators. I suspect there are audiences in other media as comfortable with the other-media iterations of superheroes where Valiant's riffs on several steady types won't feel confusing even if that perceived view never picks up a comic. It might be worth noting the new man in charge says that they haven't made too many plans to shake up the comics end of things, which is nice because Valiant provides a lot of work, work I'm lead to believe pays pretty well, to people I would like to see working.

I also note that this seems more in line with how long phases at media companies -- all comics-related companies -- are likely to last now. I don't see as many lifetime-invested as shaping up into an ideal as much as people working five to ten years on something and maybe doing something else. That's probably a reach, though.
 
posted 11:25 pm PST | Permalink
 

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