Fri May 30, 2008 4:54PM6 comments ›
Fri May 30, 2008 — by Van Jensen
Disney Partners With Zappa, Adds Graphic Novel Line
Kingdom Comics to 'rejuvenate' old properties
The ginormous media behemoth known as Disney apparently sees promise in the future of comics, as the "House that Walt Built" is creating a publishing wing to make new graphic novels out of old Disney properties.
The news has generated lots of coverage already, including articles on Cinematical, ACED Magazine and Reuters. The best breakdown comes from the Hollywood Reporter, which explains this has a whole lot to do with comics being quite the hot ticket.
The creation of Kingdom Comics positions the studio as a player in the scorching comic book scene. Many studios have aligned themselves to the big companies -- Warner Bros. owns DC Comics, Marvel has a distribution deal with Paramount, Universal has a first-look deal with Dark Horse Comics -- leaving very few players up for grabs. It also will put the company in business with established and untapped talent in what essentially will be a R&D division, letting it develop possible franchises in a way that will cost less than a low-end spec.
The people behind Kingdom Comics are writer-actor Ahmet Zappa (Frank's son), executive Harris Katleman and writer-editor Christian Beranek (of publisher Silent Devil).
No creators or projects have been announced yet, but Cinematical has some thoughts on the potential graphic novels:
Will we be seeing Old Yeller re-imagined as an avenging canine superhero? Will Pollyanna be rejuvenated as a butt-kicking young woman who insists that everyone look on the bright side of life? Disney has produced more than 200 live-action properties over the years -- check out a list of 30 favorites from UltimateDisney -- so there's plenty to choose from.
Jump to comments (6) 
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Comments (6)
MARK WHEATLEY (5:15 PM on Fri May 30, 2008)
Didn't they just let DISNEY ADVENTURES and DISNEY COMICS die?
Russ Rogers (5:26 PM on Fri May 30, 2008)
This might be why they let DISNEY ADVENTURES and DISNEY COMICS die. You wouldn't want to compete with your own new comics line by offering a cheaper, omnibus comic in supermarkets.
Who knows! Disney is such a behemoth, this new comics line might be coming out of an entirely different corporate arm than the old magazines. It kind of sounds like they are creating a whole new division.
MARK WHEATLEY (5:29 PM on Fri May 30, 2008)
I can't think of a better way (other than free comics on the internet) to promote graphic novels than digests at the supermarket checkout.
Russ Rogers (5:38 PM on Fri May 30, 2008)
The few Disney Digests I picked up were rehashes of old ideas with new toy promotions (a la Winks and W.I.T.C.H.E.S.). The books lacked any spark. It's why Disney Animation had to buy up Pixar. Pixar was the only thing connected with Disney that was producing consistent, quality and original animated movies. What was Disney busy making? Jungle Book 2, Peter Pan 2, Lion King 1 1/2. Even the less popular movies like Brother Bear and Atlantis were getting sequels because Disney couldn't come up with enough original new ideas.
MARK WHEATLEY (6:45 PM on Fri May 30, 2008)
That is usually not a case of, "can't come up with a new idea". Usually it is a case of, "I'm going to cover my ass and do a sequel rather than risk being blamed for a new idea that fails." Other than that quibble - you have a point.
Mike Gold (9:10 PM on Fri May 30, 2008)
Well, it's a sad day for creator's rights as another big corporate publisher with the media industry's worst reputation for only doing business under "we own it all" terms now re-enters the comics business. I guess when the Evil Empire steps up to the plate, there's money to be made so it's some sort of sad confirmation of creator's efforts.
But that title makes me think they'll be selling 'em door-to-door at 8 in the morning.