Lit The Future of Dark Horse Comics

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=41930

Of note:

...does this at last spell the end for Dark Times?

 

I'm sure in the next year or two DH will be safe. But in the long run it will absolutely go back to Marvel. I don't see any way around it given Disney's MO.

I forget, when does DH's current contract expire?

 

I'm more worried about DOTJ, there' so much I want to explore there.

 

What future?

 

In the immortal words of Ton Phanan, "no future, and no one in my future".

 

No. Randy will still keep writing Dark Times scripts and lock Wheatley in his garage to illustrate them. They won't get published, but Dark Times won't end.

 

I agree with the general sentiment that at the first possible opportunity, DH is probably going to lose the license in favor of Marvel.

This sucks because DH has been everything I would want out of a publishing company for the 20 years they've been doing these comics. Sure, there have been some really bad comics, but there have also been some of the most creative and enjoyable works in the entire Star Wars universe.They've pushed the envelope in a way that no other company associated with Star Wars has, and I totally respect them for that even if they have had to balance this out with comparatively "safe" comics at times.

All I know is that I will be enjoying every single Dark Horse release from now until they lose the license with a vigor that I haven't in a long time. Why? Because who knows what will come afterward. I don't want to miss out on savoring every release and event they concoct for the next 2 or 3 years, because after they're gone we could end up with re-booted/demolished/ignored continuity, awful camp, child-oriented material, or crossovers with other Marvel properties. Let's live it up while we still can!

 

No "like" button or emoticon can express how much I agree with your post, Shepherd492.

 

So no different from now, then?

 

The Star Wars comics license passing over from Dark Horse to Marvel?
Not in the face of the Last Battle of Coruscant and the end of the Force!

 

I think the best we can hope for would be for Marvel to hire the folks from Dark Horse's Star Wars team to continue things at Marvel. Of course, if the EU gets rebooted, there's no need...

 

That... I... you... is it possible for something to be too horrifying to even conceive of, but also utterly hilarious?

 

....do you mean.... SW characters in Avengers 2?

..............

 

Tony Stark's long-lost brother, Iaco, is Thanos's main henchman.

 

I think the future of DARK HORSE is fine. They have many great titles. They just won't have Star Wars in a few years.

 

This is very unlikely given that Lucasfilms and its affiliate properties will apparently still have a measure of their independence much like Marvel Entertainment does right now under Disney or DC Entertainment under WB.

 

Luke Skywalker could certainly hold his own on The Avengers... wonder if he could hold Hulk in a Force grip?

*queue comic book vs discussion*

 

I'm certainly saddened by the prospect of Dark Horse losing the Star Wars licence. I remember fondly between 2003 and 2005 waiting anxiously for the Clone Wars Republic comics to be released, because they extended the story for me and kept me excited for RotS. I loved that the siege of Saleucami was mentioned in the film and it's great to see the comics continue as Dark Times. Thank god Fire Carrier was announced (maybe we will have an answer after all these years as to where K'Kruhk was all those years....) before Disney bought Lucasfilm.

I realize that was a tangent about my love for Republic but it's indicative of my respect, adoration and appreciation of the way Dark Horse has gracefully and respectfully handled the universe through the aforementioned series and also Empire, Rebellion, Legacy, KotOR, Ghost Prison and countless others. That Marvel might inherit the licence on the basis of its Disney ownership is a scary one, especially considering the aura of warped timeline/continuity their flagships give off.

To be honest, DH's loss of the licence and the alternate universalism/reboot of the EU, after all the pain of TCW, would probably be the end of my fandom.

 

I feel sorry for DH too.

They've been a reliable pillar of quality during years of bad novels and games... and so naturally DH are the ones who draw the short straw for being the people who have kept many of us here, while TCW and DR have been pushing others away.

 

I have the same concerns. But looking at recent Marvel comics they still have sex, violence, politics, and other adult themes (well written is another hand...lol). Marvel more than anyone would really push the envelope with Star Wars unless the higher ups go "NO! MUST BE KID FRIENDLY"

Of course, Star Wars had rides in Disney and Disney is probably giddy with creating new ways to snare kids with it (ie keeping things camp and light)...we'll see if we ever again get good books like "The Other Sons of Tatooine" "Crimson Empire" "Ghost Prison" etc or if future SW games have a "romantic" option like "The Old Republic" MMO.

 

Scarlet Witch will probably discover Star Wars, go "no more EU" and that's how it will end. lol Or the Phoenix Force will consume the old EU.

 

And then it'll turn out everyone who died was a Skrull and all the originals can come back. Actually, Star Wars already had their "dark reign" (which ended even worse than Marvel's, hard as it is to believe that), so I'm not looking forward to seeing Marvel handle the license.

I'm already worried about Episode VII but Dark Horse's likely loss of the Star Wars license is an even bigger problem. I wasn't following comics much until KotOR and Legacy, but in bookstores I noted how good the Clone Wars TPBs were. And through years of horrible novels and annoying video games, Dark Horse was a reliable source of quality stories, often the one bright spot among a sea of confusion and rage-inducing products. They're not losing the license immediately, but their current answer sure sounds like its only for the short term. And by 2015 it'll probably be definite, as Disney will probably by then want to consolidate under Marvel (why bother licensing it out to Dark Horse when they own one of the Big Two already... well, obviously because Dark Horse is a better publisher than whatever Marvel's current summer disaster flick is but I doubt they can recognize that) with tie-ins, endless variant covers, "Whose side are you on?!" gimmick series, etc.

I was vaguely aware of the Muppet and Pixar movie comic series and I think they're still continuing, but I still miss the Darkwing Duck comic series which I think ended because Disney bought Marvel (and they haven't even done anything with it since). Too bad Ducktales never had time to improve either. With Episode VII coming out, Star Wars will probably be too big to lie dormant, but I don't trust Marvel to handle it well. Unless they simply move over all the authors and Marvel's artists and a few good writers might do well but I don't trust most of their editors.

Oh, Dark Horse you will be missed, and maybe I better start buying more of your comics before it ends. Well, Dark Times probably won't ever end, but that's a special case. Hm, wonder if they'll do any big anniversary or special commemorative issues before the end. I'd love to buy a book full of all the covers from the last five years.

 

Though I would hate to see Dark Horse lose the license since they have so greatly respected it, loved it and cared for it for all these years. Plus, I think this will shake up any of the comics that are running or might run in the future. And we have such great ones like Dawn of the Jedi and Agent of the Empire And I wanted to see Invasion continue...

 

Losing DH would be the greatest tragedy in the new calculus that is Disney-Star Wars.