Malibu Comics
Malibu Comics was an American comic book publisher . Malibu was founded in 1986 by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg , in 1994 Marvel Comics bought the publisher. Marvel published Malibu titles until 1996, but then stopped producing new Malibu material.
Eternity Comics
Malibu began to publish comics in 1986, the first Malibu series was ex-mutants of David Lawrence and Ron Lim, which appeared under the label Eternity Comics. Other early Eternity titles included Dave Cockrum's Futurians , Brian Pulidos Evil Ernie , Dinosaurs for Hire , The Trouble with Girls , adaptations by Dracula , Robotech , Plan 9 from Outer Space , War of the Worlds and the American sitcom I Love Lucy . The template for the successful Hollywood film Men in Black was also released by Malibu.
The image deal
In 1992, some famous cartoonists were dissatisfied with the two major publishers, Marvel and DC . Rob Liefeld was the first to ask Dave Olbricht of Malibu if the publisher would publish a comic series by Liefeld. Olbricht also accepted titles from Eric Larsen and Jim Valentino . When these three and a few other cartoonists finally merged to form Image Comics , Malibu helped announce, print and ship the new series in the first year of the new publisher's existence. Due to the great success that Image had in the early days, Malibu also earned very well and soon had enough capital to create its own superhero universe.
Licensed series and bravura
Malibu also released comic book adaptations of some successful TV, novel and computer game series. Star Trek, Tarzan and Mortal Kombat comics appeared on Malibu, among others. Bravura was a Malibu label under which series appeared, the rights of which remained with the authors and draftsmen. Bravura has released Jim Starlins Breed , Howard Chaykins Power and Glory and Marv Wolfman's The Man Called AX , among others .
Ultraverse
Malibu brought in a group of seasoned comic book writers to help start the universe. Instead of developing the history of this universe over time, the founders of the Ultraverse planned fundamental properties of the universe in advance. Mike W. Barr, Steve Englehart , Steve Gerber, James D. Hudnall, Gerard Jones, James Robinson, and Len Strazewski created their heroes and villains against a backdrop designed by science fiction writer Larry Niven . The name of the universe was originally supposed to be Megaverse, but a legal problem with Palladium Books forced the authors to rename it Ultraverse.
Before the first issues of Ultraverse were published in June 1993, Malibu launched a massive advertising campaign. In addition to classic advertisements in comic magazines and comics, posters were printed and even television advertisements were made, something that the comic market had not seen before. When the first three Ultraverse titles - Prime , Hardcase and The Strangers - came out, the campaign paid off and the series sold well.
Malibu soon released around 15 Ultraverse titles, including Exiles , Firearm , Freex , Night Man , Prototype , Sludge , Solitaire , The Solution , Warstrike and Wrath . Malibus Marketing remained innovative, so James Robinson's Firearm # 0 appeared with a thirty-five minute video that served as an introduction to the comic. A video game for the Sega Mega-CD for Prime was also released. Malibu was able to bring fan favorite Barry Windsor-Smith on board to create Rune , a series about a vicious vampire .
In 1994 the US comic market collapsed when collectors realized that comics were not an investment after all and that not every No. 1 had to automatically increase in value. Malibu was also affected by the decline in sales and the publisher tried to counteract this with the break-thru crossover that ran through most of the Ultraverse titles. Nevertheless, sales continued to decline, and Malibu discontinued series such as Hardcase and The Solution .
Bought out by Marvel
In November 1994, Marvel Comics bought Malibu and made the publisher part of its Marvel West division. Most important to Marvel was Malibu's computer coloring department, the results of which looked way better than Marvel's classically colored series. In the Godwheel Crossover, a Marvel figure came to the Ultraverse for the first time, the thunder god Thor was summoned by the Ultraverse villain Lord Argus, for which Rune ended up in the Marvel Universe. That started a trend that manifested itself in more and more guest appearances by Marvel characters in Ultraverse series. That decision proved to be a mistake, and when Marvel began swapping the original Ultraverse creators for in-house writers, Malibu's demise accelerated. Even a Night Man TV series and an Ultraforce cartoon series couldn't change that.
Marvel went on to remodel the Ultraverse at its own convenience, forcing pointless changes on the original creators. Fans reacted negatively to the changes and the series lost more and more readers. When Marvel went bankrupt in 1996, extreme cost-cutting measures were taken: In addition to the discontinuation of all licensed series, the entire Ultraverse series was also discontinued and the Malibu workforce, apart from the coloring department, was laid off. Prime , Night Man and All New Exiles were the last Malibu series, along with some one-shots and mini-series. In January 1997, Ultraverse: Future Shock was published, the conclusion of the Ultraverse.
Film projects
Malibu founder Rosenberg is the CEO of Platinum Studios, a company that specializes in film adaptations of comics and, in collaboration with Marvel, is trying to bring Malibu characters into Hollywood. After Men in Black and Men in Black 2 , a Prime film adaptation is currently under discussion.
future
In 2001, an ultraverse revival was briefly discussed, but after promising reports from Marvel and Steve Englehart, the project came to nothing. The rights to Malibu's titles are still with Marvel, but a revival of the Ultraverse is currently not in sight.
Web links
- Malibu Comics at comics.org
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Patrice Apodaca: Publishing: After inking strategic deals, Malibu Comics has become a leader in the world of mutants and super-heroes. , The Los Angeles Times. October 13, 1992. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
- ↑ a b L. D. Straub: Comic Book Giant Marvel Buys Upstart Rival Malibu , The Los Angeles Times. November 4, 1994. Retrieved December 29, 2016.