5 GK titles! - Interview with Dark Horse's Mike Richardson

vikingspawn · Post by **vikingspawn** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 8:06 am

"Interview with Dark Horse’s Mike Richardson"

ICv2 recently interviewed Dark Horse CEO Mike Richardson. In Part 2 of our two-part interview, we talked about the manga market, Dark Horse’s movie deals, and why Watchmen wasn’t a game-changer. In Part 1 we talked about the comic and graphic novel markets and the impact of digital delivery.

http://www.icv2.com/articles/news/16480.html

Looking forward to next year, what are you excited about coming from Dark Horse?

I think we’re probably going to have the opportunity to have a sensational year. We have a lot of exciting new projects. One I’m dying to tell you about but I can’t until we sign the contract. But we have a big crossover event coming. We have a number of new titles coming. We have the launch of the Classic Media characters: Doc Solar, Magnus Robot Fighter, Turok, Mighty Samson, and Dr. Spektor. New titles and I’m telling you they look great. We’re going to try and create some excitement in a field that seems to have gotten a little bored.

We’re going to have fun with these characters, and launch some new characters along with them so it’s going to be fun. We’ve got Jim Shooter writing some of the books and we’re very excited.

How many titles are you going to do?

Over several months period we’ll introduce five titles.

Ongoing or miniseries?

Ongoing. Our Free Comic Book Day issue features Magnus and Solar. I was just looking at it. It looks sensational.
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iggy101us · Post by **iggy101us** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 8:20 am

5 titles!

myron · Post by **myron** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 9:45 am

it's kind of refreshing to hear real answers to a question instead of criptic runaround...

Tim · Post by **Tim** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 9:48 am

All I can say is "Awesome". I can't wait for these!

dhudson1 · Post by **dhudson1** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 9:56 am

They could make this a kind of Valiant continuation, a new universe from the point where Solar split in two after Gail died.

Daniel Jackson · Post by **Daniel Jackson** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 9:59 am

dhudson1 wrote:They could make this a kind of Valiant continuation, a new universe from the point where Solar split in two after Gail died.

If they have the blessing of VEI to do so, then sure.

Tim · Post by **Tim** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 10:02 am

Quick, let's save up and and buy The VEI properties and give them to Dark Horse.

dhudson1 · Post by **dhudson1** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 10:08 am

Tim wrote:Quick, let's save up and and buy The VEI properties and give them to Dark Horse.

I got $20

Crow331 · Post by **Crow331** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 10:26 am

This is gonna be great!

I wonder which books Jim is doing and who is doing the others? When are we going to hear about the artists???

Does anyone think that the big crossover event could be with VEI in order for them to drop the lawsuit? Probably not, but just a thought.

vikingspawn wrote:"Interview with Dark Horse’s Mike Richardson"

and launch some new characters along with them so it’s going to be fun.

Sounds like they are going for a full new universe right off the bat

tmcneil82 · Post by **tmcneil82** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 11:53 am

dhudson1 wrote:
Tim wrote:Quick, let's save up and and buy The VEI properties and give them to Dark Horse.
I got $20

Wonder how much change you'll get?

hotwings1979 · Post by **hotwings1979** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 12:38 pm

This is gonna be sweet! And some GK titles that weren't part of the Valiant Universe. Time to start looking for some more back issues!

Daniel Jackson · Post by **Daniel Jackson** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 1:14 pm

Crow331 wrote:This is gonna be great! I wonder which books Jim is doing and who is doing the others? When are we going to hear about the artists???

Does anyone think that the big crossover event could be with VEI in order for them to drop the lawsuit? Probably not, but just a thought.

I think that's pretty much wishful thinking.

StarBrand · Post by **StarBrand** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 3:08 pm

I wonder if Dark Horse Presents will be a 6th title tying into this line?

superman-prime · Post by **superman-prime** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 5:35 pm

wow very cool

Chiclo · Post by **Chiclo** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 9:04 pm

myron wrote:it's kind of refreshing to hear real answers to a question instead of criptic runaround...

Cryptic runaround would be an increase in VEI's output.

And I include comic output in that statement!

Todd Luck · Post by **Todd Luck** » Mon Dec 14, 2009 11:15 pm

Well those titles would will be incredible if they happen. I'm jazzed that Shooter's involved.

But on the other hand, I'm still doubting there's a market for all those titles or that current comic fans are going to be able to squeeze that many new titles into what they already get. Personally, 5 titles on top of the comics I already read and enjoy would be too much. I mean that's an extra 15-20 bucks a months depending on their cover price. I'll definately give them all a try but I doubt I'll be able to get them all (hopefully Shooter will only put out 2-3 on a regular basis himself).

Has there been any update on the VEI lawsuit againt Shooter since it was filed?

sanman · Post by **sanman** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 2:29 am

hotwings1979 wrote:This is gonna be sweet! And some GK titles that weren't part of the Valiant Universe. Time to start looking for some more back issues!

Yippy Skippy!! I have some Star Traks or something like that...oh, wait—never mind some JJ guy just did a movie.

maraxusofkeld · Post by **maraxusofkeld** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 9:11 am

I do like Shooter, but I find the GK characters outside of the Valiant Universe very uninteresting and if the stories are going to pay homage to the original Gold Key Titles, I have very little interest in reading them.

Daniel Jackson · Post by **Daniel Jackson** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 10:48 am

maraxusofkeld wrote:I do like Shooter, but I find the GK characters outside of the Valiant Universe very uninteresting and if the stories are going to pay homage to the original Gold Key Titles, I have very little interest in reading them.

I really liked the GK Magnus stories, but the GK Solar books left a lot to be desired, especially the later books.

One of the strong points of the Valiant Magnus was the tie in with Rai. It was a perfect fit and really added an extra dimension to the premise. It's going to be tough to replace an important character and story element like that, but if anyone can do it, Shooter will pull it off. If the story matches that wonderful looking artwork, I think they'll have a winner.

Crow331 · Post by **Crow331** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 10:51 am

maraxusofkeld wrote:I find the GK characters outside of the Valiant Universe very uninteresting

But isn't this how it all began? You also found them "uninteresting" before Shooter re-launched them in 1991, didn't you? There's no reason to believe, especially given Jim's track record, that he couldn't make them "interesting" again.

StarBrand · Post by **StarBrand** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 11:02 am

Crow331 wrote:
maraxusofkeld wrote:I find the GK characters outside of the Valiant Universe very uninteresting
But isn't this how it all began? You also found them "uninteresting" before Shooter re-launched them in 1991, didn't you? There's no reason to believe, especially given Jim's track record, that he couldn't make them "interesting" again.

No reason to believe Shooter won't introduce new characters as well. Didn't he say somewhere he's going to be using stuff he's been thinking about for years?

dhudson1 · Post by **dhudson1** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 11:12 am

Crow331 wrote:
maraxusofkeld wrote:I find the GK characters outside of the Valiant Universe very uninteresting
But isn't this how it all began? You also found them "uninteresting" before Shooter re-launched them in 1991, didn't you? There's no reason to believe, especially given Jim's track record, that he couldn't make them "interesting" again.

What little Magnus I had read before then wasn't bad. Solar looked cool, but was fairly boring. I had seen Turok, but have never read any

hotwings1979 · Post by **hotwings1979** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 1:02 pm

maraxusofkeld wrote:I do like Shooter, but I find the GK characters outside of the Valiant Universe very uninteresting and if the stories are going to pay homage to the original Gold Key Titles, I have very little interest in reading them.

I think shooter will write a good story but I agree that I don't find myself interested in the Mighty Sampson and have just a teensy bit of interest in Dr. Spektor.

I do want to go back and read the GK Magnus stories as those look pretty cool to me.

superman-prime · Post by **superman-prime** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 1:12 pm

ive read a lot of the original dr solar and they rock

sanman · Post by **sanman** » Tue Dec 15, 2009 1:25 pm

The older Gold Key comics may not have been executed as well as others from that period. For many GK cant touch what Lee or Schwartz did during the Silver or Bronze Age. However, I think there’s enough potential for any established writer (i.e. Shooter and whomever he might bring in) to run with.

To compare how these new books will do based on the earlier runs is silly. A little reinvention and good story telling will be the real factor for success. Keep me interested, engaged and entertained and I’m in and so will many others.

Dark Horse has enough fan support and recognition to get these new books into the hands of readers—many who are too young to know Valiant just as I was too young to know Gold Key. And it will be Dark Horse’s execution that will determine the strength and success of the line.