"Based on _________" Comics as a Second Medium

Licensed comic books are nothing new. Take a popular movie, TV show, toy line or even video game and try to sell a comic based off it.Often less long lasting than in house publications, licensed properties add an  extra, and more complicated step-owner approval. Rarely making required reading lists, it is an uphill battle.

IDW, Boom Studios,Dark Horse and Archie have been recent masters of expanding on the source material, rather than strictly portraying the story they are adapting. IDW has GI Joe, My Little Pony, Transformers(all owned by Hasbro) ,Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles(Nickelodeon/Viacom) and the Cartoon Network properties. Boom Studios’ Kaboom imprint has Peanuts, Adventure Time, Garfield, and Regular Show. Dark Horse just lost Star Wars but still has Avatar: The Last Airbender, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Planet of the Apes and Alien among others.  Archie’s Sonic the Hedgehog(Sega) series has outlasted all the redesigns and is currently releasing its 256^th issue and Mega Man is on issue 30.

DC Comics

In the past few years, DC and Marvel have been finding a new audience in TV viewers. DC released a Vampire Diaries digital first series last year. Marvel released a graphic novel based on the popular Disney’s Once Upon A Time. Like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, DC is continuing Batman Beyond and Smallville.  DC made headlines last year when they revived Batman ’66, a new take on the pop culture phenomenon staring Adam West and Burt Ward. This capitalizes on fans who enjoy the shows and want more of it and may not be regulars at the comic book store. The instant gratification of digital gives the comics less risk, buy and try for 99 cents.

Newcomer Lion Forge Comics signed an exclusive deal with NBCUniversal last summer. Showcasing digital only stories based on Knight Rider and Airwolf(Miami Vice coming soon) the publisher is quickly churning out material, among in-house properties as well. The comics are mainly sold on Amazon for use on the Kindle, but can also be purchased on the apple iBooks store. The digital publisher announced plans for an all ages imprint: ROAR Comics, starting with Punky Brewster and Saved by the Bell available soon.

Lion Forge/NBCUniversal

Nostalgia is a huge business with today’s culture and comic book adaptions are here to stay, for better or worse. What properties would you like to see revived in comic books?