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Sad news out of the Comic Book world today … an iconic member of the Marvel Comics superhero team Fantastic Four has been killed in the 50 years long running series. For the past year or so, Marvel has been working toward a climax that would result in the death of one member of the Fantastic Four … either Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch or Thing. Today, we learn which member of the fantastic foursome has died. In order to keep from spoiling the news for those of you who want to find out from Issue #587 (out today), the reveal will be kept behind the cut. For the rest of you, find out which of these iconic superheros lives no more.

Back in August we learned the news that The Walt Disney Company was interested in acquiring the entire catalog of Marvel Comics characters and, very surprisingly, Marvel was interested in selling. Today we learn that the deal, priced in the $4 billion dollar range, has been completed … Disney now owns the entire Marvel Comics company and catalog Marvel characters:

Walt Disney Co. completed its $4.24-billion acquisition of Marvel Entertainment Inc. on Thursday, bringing Spider-Man, Iron Man and 5,000 other characters under the same roof as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck. Marvel shareholders approved the acquisition Thursday morning as expected. Marvel Chief Executive Isaac “Ike” Perlmutter, who owned 37% of Marvel stock, supported it. He will oversee the Marvel business and report to Disney CEO Robert Iger. Iger said the deal can help Disney grow revenue and profit, saying in a statement, “The creative and business potential of this combination is substantial.” Marvel shareholders received $30 per share in cash, plus 0.7452 of a Disney share for every Marvel share they owned. Disney shares closed Thursday at $32.25. That valued Marvel shares at $54.03 each, and put the purchase price at $4.24 billion. The deal is Disney’s largest since it bought Pixar Animation Studios Inc., the maker of “Up” and “Cars,” for $7.4 billion in stock in 2006. Separately, Pow Entertainment Inc., a company led by Spider-Man co-creator Stan Lee, said it expanded a three-year relationship with Disney by giving Disney greater rights to its creative output and exclusive consulting services. Disney, based in Burbank, will take a 10% stake in Pow for $2.5 million, it said. Walt Disney Studios’ president of worldwide distribution, Bob Chapek, said it made sense to extend the relationship with the company partly because of Lee’s “knowledge and familiarity of the Marvel Universe.”

And that’s all she wrote … the Mouse now owns Spider-Man and Friends. I’m still not really pleased by this sale at all … the thought of such a major comic book company coming under the ownership of a company like Disney worries me to no end. I’m comforted by the fact that Disney‘s purchase of Pixar Animation has been a good union, with Pixar keeping full creative control. My hope is that Marvel will continue to have creative control as well … but if push ever comes to shove and Disney wants something a certain way, then as owners they will get their way. I suppose, at the end of the day, everyone has their selling price … everyone. Disney just happens to have the funds to pay Marvel their selling price. I just hope this deal with the Mouse doesn’t end up to be more like a deal with the Devil for Marvel.

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In late August pretty much everyone lost their shizz when the news came out that The Walt Disney Company was acquiring Marvel Comics for $4 billion mainly because there was a huge fear that Disney would interfere with Marvel and ruin those characters. BUT, what if the reverse actually happened and Marvel was able to influence the nice, sweet Disney characters instead. Illustrator Jeffrey Thomas envisions what Disney characters might look like if they received the Marvel Comics treatment … here are a few of the Twisted Princesses that he envisions:

Wouldn’t it be fantastic if instead of Disney’s wussification of Marvel’s characters, the tables were turned and instead Marvel turned the Disney princesses into Skrull invaders and zombies like this Dark Little Mermaid? All the images are by illustrator Jeffrey Thomas, who’s as twisted as he is brilliant. Please oh please can’t we at least get a comic book out of these images?

Aren’t these illustrations fantastic? I love mashing up characters like this … seeing the Disney Princesses in a more dark light only highlights their personalities, I think. Some of them look evil (ie. Ariel the Little Mermaid) but some of them just look more realistic and strong (ie. Pocahontas). I LOVE these illustrations. I urge you to visit Thomas‘s website HERE to see these illustrations in higher resolution … they’re really amazing. One can only hope that the marriage between Disney and Marvel might bring to fruition an alliance like this … my guess is that it won’t really happen but it’s nice to wish … upon a star.

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Terribly scary news to pass along today … The Walt Disney Company has announced that it is planning to acquire the Marvel Comics company — including its 5,000 characters like Spider-Man, Iron Man, The Hulk, etc. — for $4 billion in cash and stock. Um, to this I say, WTF????????

The Walt Disney Co. says it is acquiring Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4 billion in cash and stock, bringing characters like Iron Man and Spider-Man into the Disney family. Under the deal, Disney will acquire ownership of 5,000 Marvel characters. Disney said Monday that Marvel shareholders will receive $30 per share in cash plus 0.745 Disney shares for every Marvel share they own. It said the boards of Disney and Marvel have both approved the transaction, but it requires an antitrust review and the approval of Marvel shareholders.

This is terrible news! While I’m sure Disney plans on acquiring Marvel Comics for the sole purpose of keeping it the way it is, I can’t help but wonder if they will start tinkering with the way Marvel operates its comics and/or movie biz somewhere down the line if they successfully gain control. I had no idea that Marvel was in a position where they would want to sell … to anyone … let alone Disney! Says Ike Perlmutter, Marvel’s Chief Executive Officer:

“Disney is the perfect home for Marvel’s fantastic library of characters given its proven ability to expand content creation and licensing businesses.”

And here’s a quote from Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company:

“This transaction combines Marvel’s strong global brand and world-renowned library of characters including Iron Man, Spider-Man, X-Men, Captain America, Fantastic Four and Thor with Disney’s creative skills, unparalleled global portfolio of entertainment properties, and a business structure that maximizes the value of creative properties across multiple platforms and territories.”

I can’t help but feel deep in the pit of my gut that this is a terrrrrrrribly horrible idea … one that will adversely affect Marvel comics fans down the line. I mean … right? Does this sound like a good idea to anyone out there??

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