Disney Buys Marvel; Local Comic Shop Optimistic

The Walt Disney Co. just grew bigger with its acquisition of Marvel Entertainment Inc., the company responsible for some of the most famous comic book characters in history.

But what does the mouse mean for the X-Men?

Though details of what Disney’s intentions towards Marvel are remain scarce, with only the boilerplate reassurances coming through official channels, online speculation runs the gamut from optimism to anger and, of course, pictures of Mickey Mouse dressed as the Wolverine.

Brian Hellevang, an employee of Paradox Comics-n-Cards in downtown Fargo, is cautiously optimistic, though he stresses its too early to really tell what the impact will be.

“I’m not expecting Spider-Man meets the Lion King anytime soon,” he said. “It doesn’t change anything necessarily. Marvel may produce more all-ages comics. More Disney comics can’t hurt young readers.”

Hellevang doesn’t think regular readers will mind the change as long as their comics continue to have good stories.

“The average consumer might not know who publishes Batman or Superman,” he said. “As long as there are good comics being published, that’s all that matters.”

Speculating as to why Disney would want to buy Marvel, Hellevang sees it as a way for Disney to gain a new demographic.

“They’ve got the teen girls between Disney princesses and Hannah Montana and the Jonas Brothers,” he said. “This could be a way for them to go after the guys.”

Paradox, where Hellevang works, currently sells Disney comics in the form of Golden Age reprints of popular series featuring Donald, Scrooge, Mickey, and other Disney icons. Hellevang doesn’t see those contracts being voided yet, though Marvel may publish Disney content in the future.

He also doesn’t think it will effect any movie deals. Sony has the rights to Spider-Man movies, for instance, so there won’t be a Disney version until that contract expires and if Disney decides to make those movies in-house. The days of licensing Marvel characters is probably over, considering Disney’s media empire runs the gamut from television to radio to movies and, yes, comic books. Any adaptation featuring Marvel creations can be done in-house instead.

“My gut feeling is that Disney wants to add more recognizable characters to its brand,” Hellevang said.

Will we see an X-Men theme ride at Disneyland?

According to Hellevang, “Absolutely.”

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