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From Newsarama.
Terry
It's been around two years since Conan graced the pages of comics,
and by Crom, he may just be coming back soon. In a deal made public September 26th, a Swedish company, Paradox Entertainment, bought 20% of the Conan Sales Company, the corporation which holds all right to Conan. The particular agreement between Paradox and CSC both gives the management of the Conan property to the Swedish company and allows Paradox the option to purchase all remaining stock in CSC as well, effectively owning the Conan property outright. As a company, Paradox labels itself as a publisher, created to build science fiction, fantasy and alternative history brands in cross- media platforms. Its brands to date include Mutant Chronicles, Europa Unversalis, Kult, Heavy Gear, Hearts of Iron, and Crusader Kings. Returning Conan to comics is something that tops the list of Paradox CEO, Theodore Bergquist. "Comics are obviously something we want to see Conan return to," Bergquist told Newsarama http://161.58.84.234/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=1&t=000223. "Since the property has its roots in publishing and pulps, that's an important channel for us to work in. Marvel worked with Conan for over 20 years, and it was their best-selling comic for years. This isn't something that we'll put on ice � seeing Conan return to comics is important for the property." While Bergquist declined to go into specifics, he said that there was tremendous interest in Conan as a comic book property, but did not say if an announcement of a publishing plan was imminent. According to Bergquist, the time is ripe for a return of Conan to all forms of media, and the head of Paradox cited the Warner Brothers option for a third Conan film, as well as the TDK license that allows the company to make cross-platform videogames starring the character, and the ongoing publishing plan with TOR books. "We've got two major challenges: The first is to be true to the great Conan fan base, and the second is to elevate the Conan brand and its characters preparing the property for another sixty years in the entertainment industry," Bergquist said. "We feel that Paradox is well suited to take on such tasks." Marvel's last Conan comic was released in 2000, and reportedly, the comic license reverted back to CSC at the time. According to comments made by Marvel's Editor in Chief Joe Quesada concerning the publishing rights to similar characters, the rights to publish Conan comics may have been lost in the shuffle during the publisher's bankruptcy years. More recently, Cross Plains Comics acquired the comic rights to virtually the entire Robert E. Howard library of characters except Conan, with publisher Richard Ashford looking to acquire Conan if he could. Cross Plains couldn't get its footing in the market, and folded in 2000. If Conan is to return to comics, where would the Cimmerian land? The comics landscape has changed tremendously since the barbarian's heyday at Marvel, and it's anyone's guess. Here's some idle speculation, ideas floated that should not be interpreted as fact� While Marvel would be a historical match for the property, Quesada and Marvel President Bill Jemas have been fairly consistent in passing on publishing licensed properties, and have even seen tow other historically Marvel licensed books, GI Joe and Transformers, have their licenses end up at other publishers. The possible Conan film at Warner Brothers would also seem to make DC or Wildstorm a possible landing pad for Conan, however, DC has been slow or reluctant to produce comics based on other Warner Brothers films and television series (Harry Potter, The Matrix, Smallville), so the mere presence of Conan as a possible film at Warner Brothers guarantees nothing. With a film tie-in out of the way, it's hard, but not impossible, to see where Conan would fit in among DC's various imprints. Dark Horse has vested much effort into licensed properties over the years, and Conan would seemingly fit right in among Star Wars, Buffy, and other proerties that stretch between media. Likewise, a small studio could conceivably pull a Dreamwave with the license, either publishing on their own (if they have the resources) or publishing the book through Image. As recent acquisitions would suggest, CrossGen shouldn't be taken out of the picture either, as a Conan title could seemingly be published under CGE, whose definition says it publishes "Affiliated Creator- Owned comics - Comics created and owned by companies outside of CrossGen." Given that the Conan film rights are at Warner Brothers, and the videogame rights are locked up with TDK, Conan comics under CGE would be a fit. While CrossGen will be launching its own barbarian title, Brath in January, given its history, a Conan comic could be the crown jewel (in terms of licensed properties) of a burgeoning line of comics with a science fiction/fantasy bent. |
