Disney, Marvel, Tokyopop, Kodansha, ADV – and more

ADV , anime, comics, Disney, Kodansha, manga, Marvel, Tokyopop

So the Geekonomy has gone bugnuts crazy the last week.  Let's count the ways it changed:

  • Disney bought Marvel, giving them thousands of properties, control
    of more pop culture icons, and an endless parade of bad cartoons of
    Wolverine/Mickey Mouse fusions.
  • Kodansha is ending its licensing deal with Tokyopop.
  • ADV seems to be transferring it's properties to a holding company, making it sound like they're basically dead.

And I was worried about the Everything Wars.

First of all, let me state I DO NOT see this as part of the
Everything Wars – those are battles over technology and access.  THis
is what I've called the Secondary area of the Everything Wars – content.

And
there's a lot to chew over.  So in this analysis, let me do the chewing
– and figure out what it means for you in your career.

Read more

Backlog In Media

Imagine you're someone that produces media – or maybe you already do  Perhaps you make video games, or manga, or fantasy novels.  You have a good thing going, and of course you have competitors, but you can deal with them.  You can do more, faster, better . . . except there's one competitor that's getting better all the time and has a LOT more material than you could ever produce.

The backlog of games, anime, comics, media etc. that's out there now.  That's a growing competition for everyone working in media right now.

Read more

Streaming Video: Coming Soon, to a Mainstream Near You

Last weekend, during a broadcast of American institution The Simpsons, a commercial appeared for Hulu, the streaming video service. It featured Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane doing the voices of several of his creations, including Stewie and Peter Griffin.

What was unusual about the spot is that you had network TV promoting what, in the future, may be its biggest competitor – streaming video services.

Read more