The Four Color Media Monitor

It looks like a legal dispute of some sort is keeping Tribune Media Services from granting Archie the rights to developing a new series for the famous police detective, and now, their project's been called off (via SyFy):

The abrupt cancellation of the series, well before it was due to hit shelves this April, was announced in a series of tweets from the Tribune Content Agency in Chicago—which have, weirdly enough, since been deleted. The tweets confirmed that the series, unfortunately, had to be scrapped due to a licensing error on Tribune’s part, after the discovery of a pre-existing deal that made it impossible for the new series to go ahead.

Here’s the full text of the original statement, which was soon confirmed by the series’ planned co-writer, Alex Segura:

Due to an unfortunate error on our part, Tribune is sad to announce that there will not be a DICK TRACY comic book series from Archie Comics. While we had high hopes for the book and Archie Comics negotiated the deal in good faith and is not at fault, we discovered a preexisting licensing deal that precludes us from continuing with this project. We apologize to Archie Comics, the very talented creators and their many fans.

Oh, their creators aren't so talented these days. Not ever since they went around the SJW bend in the river. And they recently lost the license for producing Sonic the Hedgehog comics. It's evident their fortunes have flagged so badly they'd never be able to manage a licensed book and make enough profit to pay back the licensing sources.

Interestingly enough, it's also noted that this may not be the first time Tribune Media Services was unable to arrange a deal to farm out the property:

...In the last decade, Tribune has been through several legal battles with actor Warren Beatty—who directed and starred in the 1990 film adaptation—which allegedly lead to a planned series by Brian Michael Bendis and Mike Oeming being cancelled.

Good grief. Bendis wanted to write Tracy too? I wouldn't trust him after what he did to Scarlet Witch in 2004. It's decidedly a good that deal was cancelled, if it was ever originally approved. Bendis is one the most overrated destructors of modern superhero comics, and wouldn't be fit to write one based on a newspaper strip character either.

Labels: Archie, comic strips, licensed products, msm propaganda, politics