Cracking the Internet in half

In the five years since I’ve gone from being a comic book fan to comic book retailer I’ve heard news from Marvel that was supposed to crack the Internet in half. After all those years, they did it. In case this is the only website you ever read, Disney announced that they had acquired Marvel Comics for the sum of $4 billion. Twitter was filled with speculation. Most of it was fearful and misplaced. Will all future Marvel Comics Movies be PG only? Unlikely. Disney and created lots of R rated movies through Disney’s Miramax division. Will Reed Richards discover a new Marvel Universe inhabited by Disney character superheros? Unlikely. Marvel Zombies was successful, but not Marvel Apes proving that not all Alternate Universe concepts work. Will Marvel end is distribution deal through Diamond Comics and sell directly to comic and book stores? Unlikely. Marvel and Disney by proxy should have learned their lessons from Marvel’s acquistion of Heroes World more than 10 years ago. The biggest thing to come out of this unlikely but logical coupling is synergy. So in the spirit of the Disney and Marvel merger, I want to talk about how you can bring synergy into your creative life.

One great thing about a merger like Disney and Marvel is the creative capital that it brings together. What’s got everyone buzzing is the possibility of the collaboration of creative teams and ability to expand the use of character in a whole new way. Imagine the Pixar team creating a Fantastic Four movie (other than The Incredibles). Imagine Marvel exclusive writers and artists creating Disney property comics. Imagine Marvel inspired rides and attractions at Disneyland designed by Disney Imagineers. Imagine Disney cruises where Marvel characters as much a part of the cruise as the Disney Princesses. Imagine Miley Cyrus as Dazzler. The possibilities are endless. Collaborating with other creators can happen on a local level. Daniel Davis created a local organization called Tiny Army to unite Arizona illustrators, share knowledge and experiences and help each other succeed.  They meet on a monthly basis and talk about topics like marketing, promotion, sales, distribution, and printing.  They coordinate events like 24 Hour Comics Day and First Friday Gallery Shows.  Other localized organizations including Arizona Drink and Draw Social Club, Drink and Draw Social Club and Mid Missouri Comics Collective.

The best way to master a task is to be able to teach it.  When I heard that Brian Miller was teaching a class at Estrella Mountain Community College, it confirmed my belief that he is a genius.  He and Kristy had just released their first book Hi-Fi Color for Comics.  The best way to sell books have the book made required text for the class.  If you are teaching the class, you get to see the parts of the class that the students struggle on and have content proof readers for your book.  Students are always looking for shortcuts to reduce their workloads.  Having a class devoted to your profession validates it as a career choice for people thinking of getting into it.  For a company that relies on flatters to meet tight deadlines, having an unlimited supply of potential new flatters is invaluable.

Synergy doesn’t have to be on a huge scale like the Disney/Marvel merger.  Great things can happen on smaller local scale.  Join a local creative group.  Teach a class.  Collaborate with local creators to make an anthology.  All of these things can bring synergy into your creative life.

Shawn Demumbrum
SpazDog Comics
www.spazdogcomics.com

Email: shawn@spazdogcomics.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/SpazDog
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