The Four Color Media Monitor

Bleeding Cool wonders when we'll get a Fantastic Four comic back after the newest movie adaptation went down in flames. A better question would be - why do we need a brand new series so long as some of the worst writers like Dan Slott and uninteresting knee-jerkers like Jason Aaron would be assigned to script one? That's just why any sales spike you'd see on a premiere issue would only plummet gradually once its 15 minutes are up; who's going to buy a new series other than the speculators and addicts with inertia?

However, what they say here about Isaac Perlmutter does raise some eyebrows:

Cancelled as a personal reaction by Marvel CEO and Disney’s largest single shareholder, Isaac Perlmutter, to strained relations between Marvel and Fox over the licensed film rights to their characters, held as long at they keep making TV shows and/or movies featuring them, it was just one of a number of actions by Marvel Comics to get themselves out of the Fantastic Four business. Posters, posters, toys, statues, T-shirts, T-shirts, trading cards, foreign licensed comics, each were systematically withdrawn, and the Fantastic Four were removed from promotional materials for the publisher as a whole, even as it celebrated its 75th Anniversary since the publication of a comic that featured an earlier version of the Human Torch. I was told by Marvel staffers that Isaac had demanded that posters featuring the family superhero team be pulled down from the offices so that he wouldn’t have to see them as he walked through. I am aware that Marvel staffers who would never normally talk to me, chose to leak this story in an attempt that negative publicity might reverse the decision. This did not happen.

And while not even Isaac would do similar to the much better selling X-Men, though licenses would also be withdrawn, Fantastic Four was an allowable sacrifice to make a point. Isaac loves making points. It certainly outsold the Inhumans comic – but Marvel Studios has a vested interest in keeping them going, with TV shows and films featuring them, and pushing the royal family of powered-up misfits to fulfil the role in the Marvel Universe of the X-Men. [...]

From what they say here, it sounds more like Perlmutter, bound to become royally disliked among the purists, has a hatred for the creations and views them as a scapegoat. But it's not the FF's fault for any troubles they have with movie rights they don't really deserve. It's the fault of earlier sources who sold the main film rights. An awkward decision, to be sure, but the characters are not to blame, yet Perlmutter seems to be doing just that, not unlike some of the other staff who've already taken similar approaches, like Joe Quesada did with Mary Jane Watson.

In that case, what's Perlmutter doing in this business to begin with if he doesn't respect the zygotes? Clearly, all he cares about are movies. Just follow the money, and it usually goes into the biggest grossing mediums. That's obviously where Perlmutter's going with his. And there's one business exec whom I don't have respect for. They've been running a lot of their comics properties into the ground for a long time now. If they can't keep themselves from continuing, then they should at least have the audacity to close down the publishing arm and just worry about all the movies they think are more important than the source material.

Labels: Fantastic Four, licensed products, marvel comics, X-Men