Disney buys Marvel (plus I'm back!)

Let's hope that Marvel is treated better than that broom

Evidently crazyness infects the world when I'm gone, because Disney purchased Marvel Entertainment today, sending Marvel's stock skyrocketing, their stockholders into glee driven dance-offs, and their comic fans into a tizzy as everyone worries about our favorite characters becoming "Disney-fied."

Of course, Disney is not a company that has thrived for decades because they are stupid. They are the company who owns Miramax, so it's not like they went to QT and said "hey, perhaps you should replace the Gimp scene in Pulp Fiction with a friendly game of poker" (no pun intended). Our characters will be fine. It's par for the course that comic fans read this news and immediately think the sky is falling, but that's the nature of comic fans - we're kind of crazy. Given that I'm a comic fan by way of corporate life, I see the silver lining: added longevity and exposure of the product. For a long time, Marvel's biggest problem was assured cash flow, and with this move Marvel now is safe enough that they can take even bigger risks in the future. What those risks are, I don't know (ROM: Space Knight...the movie!), but I'm excited to find out.

On another note, I'm back in action. Empowered by repeated compliments about my blog (thanks Eric and Erik!) I'm going to look into writing more than ever. Beware Goldies, beware.

The zenith has been reached

Cover to Amazing Spider Man #576

I have officially reached the apex of my dorkdom. It simply cannot get any higher.

This week in Amazing Spider Man #576, I had a letter published. First letter in the letters page, David Harper, Anchorage, AK. There I am. Raving about a comic book.

My cup runneth over with excitement.

It's pretty much the coolest thing ever to happen to me, and it was the first time I've really felt a buzz from pure excitement in quite some time. I found it hard to purchase my comics without grinning ear to ear, and strangely I didn't reveal to my friendly neighborhood comic vendors at Bosco's that it happened. I think it was sheer disbelief. I've wanted to have a letter published in a comic since I was little, but this is the first time I've ever written in or been published. I mean, they may not admit it, but it's every comic fans dream to have a letter published on the letters page.

I may be insane, but I think this is more exciting for me than when Newsweek quoted my blog. Perhaps if they wanted to quote me about comic books, we may have a winner there. However, it wasn't, so it isn't. Take a look at it if you get the chance, but I know the average person doesn't really come by a comic book store often.