Alpha Discussion at Fan Expo '13

[Flightpath07]

I wanted to insert an election joke here, but couldn't find any worth the time. Sort of like politicians.

[Le Messor]

Yeah, that's the problem I had voting last week.
An election joke? Hmm...
The election. LoL!

[Chris]

It's also not unique to AF though; Winter Guard, MI-5, New Warriors etc. are all in a similar boat.

Looks like Marvel might be reforming the New Warriors. Speedball and Justice were in Nova 7. It's easier to showcase a team when one your teammates has his own series.

[Flightpath07]

It's easier to showcase a team when one your teammates has his own series.

Dear Marvel,

Please make a Manikin series.

[-K-M-]

[IMG]file:///C:/Users/Owner/AppData/Local/Temp/msohtmlclip1/01/clip_image001.gif[/IMG]

It's also not unique to AF though; Winter Guard, MI-5, New Warriors etc. areall in a similar boat.

As well as Invaders (which is coming back), Defenders, Excalibur and others groups such as the Order, Loners, Runaways, etc. It’s hard to be a team book nowadays if you’re not the Avengers, Fantastic Four or the X-Men.

[Flightpath07]

As well as Invaders (which is coming back), Defenders, Excalibur and others groups such as the Order, Loners, Runaways, etc. It’s hard to be a team book nowadays if you’re not the Avengers, Fantastic Four or the X-Men.

And as much as I understand Marvel's viewpoint on that (we can only market what people want to buy, without going broke ourselves - no, that's not a direct quote, just my thoughts), i also think that in the end, they (and we, as consumers) have to lay in the bed we have made.

Once you make a marketing mess (keep pushing the same few titles until that is all that anybody recognizes or cares about), it is near impossible to get out of it. In this day and age, we are a consumer-sheep market. We buy what we are told we need.

You want to make Alpha Flight, or Invaders, or Defenders, or Excalibur, or The Super Sweet Japanese Cuddly Animals Group, into the next big thing for consumers? MAKE them the next big thing!

Yup, i mean introduce a new group (new to many of the watchers, anyways) on the big screen, tie them into an Avengers movie, put out figurines, posters, comics, give them their own movie afterwards starring excellent actors.

It COULD be done. Really, it is all up to the marketing committee. They know HOW to market the next big thing (or, at least, they BETTER know how to!), it just comes down to, do they want to? After all, it takes a LOT of work to wake people up to the fact that there is more to life than the mere dribble they have been fed (see the plot of The Matrix movie as a great example of that) thus far.

[DIGGER]

Maybe Marvel's Agents of Shield will turn into that type of show having glimpses of existing characters in the Marvel universe (easter egg style if you will) just to test the market of peak the viewers interest.

[Mokole]

True. It's up to the company to drum up interest. What company creates products, puts them out, and doesn't try and market them as best they can? Who sits and waits to see if anyone will buy it? Great way to lose money. Where would Apple be if they didn't advertise the snot out of new products in ways to grab and hold attention? Having worked in publishing I know that when the publisher puts half an effort into selling a product the product fails every time. IT was quite annoying to see good work get shuffled aside because the bosses didn't want to put the time or money into the project, but put out a well-known commodity and they 'saw value in promotion' all of a sudden because it was easy. I got out years ago.

[Le Messor]

Once you make a marketing mess (keep pushing the same few titles until that is all that anybody recognizes or cares about), it is near impossible to get out of it. In this day and age, we are a consumer-sheep market. We buy what we are told we need.

In my case, I'm getting tired of reading X-Men, but that's all I'm finding enjoyable. Wolverine and The X-Men is good, Wolverine is good, Amazing X-Men looks good... the rest just lacks appeal for me.
I'd love something good that isn't X-Avengers, but at the moment I'm just happy to find something I can genuinely enjoy. I'm not gonna be picky about the idea that it's 'big'.

You want to make Alpha Flight, or Invaders, or Defenders, or Excalibur, or The Super Sweet Japanese Cuddly Animals Group, into the next big thing for consumers? MAKE them the next big thing!

Also true!

... Big Hero 6 is getting a movie...

Maybe Marvel's Agents of Shield will turn into that type of show having glimpses of existing characters in the Marvel universe (easter egg style if you will) just to test the market of peak the viewers interest.

Yeah! That'd be excellent!

~ Le Messor
"Life is like an onion: You peel off layer after layer, then you find there is nothing in it."

[Phil]

True. It's up to the company to drum up interest. What company creates products, puts them out, and doesn't try and market them as best they can? Who sits and waits to see if anyone will buy it? Great way to lose money. Where would Apple be if they didn't advertise the snot out of new products in ways to grab and hold attention? Having worked in publishing I know that when the publisher puts half an effort into selling a product the product fails every time. IT was quite annoying to see good work get shuffled aside because the bosses didn't want to put the time or money into the project, but put out a well-known commodity and they 'saw value in promotion' all of a sudden because it was easy. I got out years ago.

On the other hand though, if the marketing costs more in time/manpower/wages and expenditure then it's not worth doing.

[Jason Eberly]

Dear Marvel,

Please make a Manikin series.

But only if you can get Meshach Taylor to reprise his role as "Hollywood".

(Props to those who get that.)

[Le Messor]

But only if you can get Meshach Taylor to reprise his role as "Hollywood".

(Props to those who get that.)

Is that a reference to the 80s movie Mannequin? Where the store mannequin comes to life?
Now, now - you wouldn't deny an old man his prop.

[Jason Eberly]

Correct! Your prize is to watch the movie this weekend, all full of Anthony Edwards and Kim Catrell goodness.

And your prop is...a rubber chicken!

[Le Messor]

My prize is watching Mannequin with a rubber chicken? Because I was kind of thinking of doing that anyway...

[Sypes]

Correct! Your prize is to watch the movie this weekend, all full of Anthony Edwards and Kim Catrell goodness.

And your prop is...a rubber chicken!

Was Anthony Edwards in it? I remember Andrew McCarthy and Kim Catrell, but not Anthony. Regardless, loved the movie!