Okay. I can't sleep. I guess I'm getting used to staying up the whole night because of the different time zone. However, here are two ideas I had.
Philip: How about calling the event "Ultimate Alliance"? First of all, thanks to the videogame, that name is already familiar to Marvel fans. And if Rich Johnston or Steven Saunders get wind of the name, rumors about a Marvel Universe/Ultimate Universe crossover will come up. Fans don't like the idea of such a crossover (this isn't DC after all), so if we reveal that the Alliance consists of Namor, Victor von Doom, Black Panther, Magneto and whoever I have forgotten, it will come as a positive surprise.
Sean: About the whole "Big Money Comics" situation... We could use this to our advantage. Their company is new. Steve Wacker is a great editor, so he knows his stuff. "Big Money" reeks of a huge budget, reminescent of the early Crossgen.
Let's face it, their comics will probably be successful. But nobody knows that yet for sure.
So how about a crossover between Marvel characters and Big Money characters? That way, if Big Money really is as successful as I predict (because let's face it: Why else would Tom include them in this simulation?), we can use their market power to spotlight our characters. If they tank, we can say that we at least tried to help them off the ground.
If you don't mind, I would like to contact Steve Wacker for a X-Men/Big Money League crossover that would run in its own book, separate from the characters' ongoings. Does he have interest at all? Which Big Money characters would be suited best for this project?
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9 comments:
While I'm all for wishing Wacker well in his new adventure, I'm not sure I want to lend him our biggest guns - whether it be the X-folks or Spidey - to help him launch his new competitor's line.
I think we just need to factor in the major media blitz that his company is sure to come out of the gate with.....
Not so sure about Ultimate Alliance. Don't think it will rub the fans the right way at all. What would they call themselves? United Front? The Pact?
Oh, and no way in Hell does Magneto ever join a group called Axis of anything. Remember his concentration camp tatoos?
I think you;re spot on with the Crossgen analogy.
Because of that, I'm not sure if a crossover is the way to go though. The suggestion is that they'll be creating their own more-or-less closed universe and trying to set that up with some internal continuity, so why muddy it up with Marvel characters so early in the game? Plus, there's going to be LOTS of hassels with the legal dept. Not sure if it'd be worth it and/or whether or not we could actually get a book published in the timeframe we're looking at. I think the challenge from Tom here is retaining creative talent and trying to ensure that we don't have everybody jump ship on us. That's why I jumped on several exclusives right out of the gate.
But that brings up an interesting point for everyone. WE've got several creators in place NOW, but that's not to say they won't leave later. I don't know that I want to get exclusives on everybody for budget reasons, so some spots are going to remain open to free agents. I want YOU GUYS, as editors, to come up with lists for yourselves of who you might want to tag if Creator X leaves for BigMoney.
Lesson of the post... keep a backup plan handy at all times. (Hmm... recurring theme)
I agree with Sean 100%. There's no way to join forces with them; that's not what Tom's after. If you're an avid reader of Tom's blog, you'll know his desire to have a third party is that it requires the two current companies to seriously up their games creatively.
So we've got to outgun them. With a crossover.
Or whale death for our two biggest characters.
By all means keep suggesting alternate titles for the Defenders, Mike; I feel like that your disapproval of that name is the only thing keeping you from hopping on board with the project, so if you generate suitable alternative I'll be willing to give in.
Thing is, I'm not sure you're going to. United Front, Pact, Ultimate Alliance, again these are all terms that indicate their cooperation with each other. If you can come up with a team name that directly or indirectly demonizes America and has a nice ring to it I'll be more game for a compromise.
Here's a thought. Use minor Marvel characters for which there is film interest for the crossover. Deathlok, Ghost Rider, Blade, Antman etc...
"Ratio"
"The Brotherhood"
"Sons of Gaia"
"The Council"
"Allies"
Again, these are mostly declarations of cooperation. And one earth-mother hippy name.
Ratio's more on the right track, but isn't a good team name.
The Balance of Power or just the Balance, for example, demonstrates a little more of the edge I think the title needs, though I don't like that name and it's not quite intense enough.
I actually like Balance of Power. While I agree that it's not a good teamname, it could work as the title of our crossover.
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