Marvel Comics used its conference call with the comics press today to outline plans for three new reality-based comic series.  The Brotherhood, The Precinct, and The Wagon begin next month and will eventually merge into one book, The Call, in December.  Chuck Austen, who is writing The Brotherhood and The Wagon, and Bruce Jones, who is penning The Precinct, were included in the conference call along with the usual suspects.  Unlike the normal wide-ranging Marvel conference calls, this week's call focused almost entirely on the launch of the reality-based series, which is currently being previewed in 5-page installments in half of Marvel's May books.  The weekly installments will be included in approximately 2 million books.

These new series will focus on real-life heroes who have no superpowers.  The Brotherhood features firemen, The Wagon follows the adventures of an EMT team, and The Precinct naturally deals with police.  All the series are set in New York and together they represent one of Marvel's biggest publishing initiatives in years.  Marvel CEO Bill Jemas called the series a 'homage to real world heroes, developed in consultation with professionals to insure accuracy and authenticity.'  Jemas said it was Marvel's first launch of a new family of heroes in a decade and 'that it's not an accident that we are emboldened to make this move now -- it's because of the momentum the Spider-Man movie has given us.  We are very quickly signing up very good, strong strategic partners who are making very substantial, in some cases, mid-seven figure investments to make this property into what we hope will be a serious long term franchise for Marvel and our business partners.'

Jemas noted that Marvel would be waging a major publicity campaign to launch the comics with Editor-In-Chief Joe Quesada set to make appearances on the Today Show and ABC Evening News to talk about The Call.  The thrust of the first wave of Marvel publicity will be directed at getting interested buyers to come into comic stores to get the comic book editions of the various Call series.  Jemas appears to be downgrading the shrinking newsstand market by concentrating the initial marketing effort at getting buyers to comic shops and then reaching the larger mainstream market via trade paperback editions sold in bookstores.  Jemas stated definitively that Marvel would not reprint any of the comic book editions, and with order cut-off dates approaching  (May 16 for the first issue of Brotherhood), he urged retailers to remember how many civilians that previous Marvel outreach campaigns had managed to bring into comic shops.

The first question dealt with the delicate matter of Marvel exploiting the real life heroics (and heroes) of 9/11 for financial gain.  Bruce Jones, who has done a superb job on The Hulk, reacted strongly to the concept that Marvel was profiteering on the 9/11 tragedy. 'This flies in the face of what the industry has been publishing.  I think Marvel is taking an enormous risk in some ways.  I am proud to be associated with this organization.  This isn't something your average comics company would do.  This isn't something that has a track record.  This is in every sense of the word, a risk.  We don't know if it's going to work. Were all hoping like hell and working like hell to that end, but Marvel should be praised for this effort, not criticized.'

When asked about Marvel's strategic partners on this project, Jemas mentioned just two -- THQ a leading manufacturer of electronic games (see 'More Marvel Videogames on Tap'), and ToyBiz.  The lead time for developing state-of-the-art video games means that, according to Jemas, it will be at least 2 years before the games hit the street.  Toy Biz, which used to be directly affiliated with Marvel, is now in the position of a typical licensee and Jemas thought it would probably take about two years for a full toy line, though soft goods might be available by next year.

As for seeing some version of The Call on the big screen, Jemas was up front, 'I don't think that anyone has ever written or drawn a comic without hoping that it becomes a television show or a movie. Out of that path of thousands and thousands of projects, this is the one property that stands a good chance, both because of the content, which we think reflects the consumer mood right now, and because of corporate backing from significant partners.'

When asked if Marvel would stick with the project even if it doesn't find favor in the superhero-dominated comics market, Jemas said yes, noting  'many times sales within the comics market are the inverse of the value of the property outside the comic marketplace.'  Jemas used Blade as an example of a property that never did much in the comic market, but which has developed into a strong movie franchise.

The Brotherhood, which debuts in June, will be a six-issue limited series written by Chuck Austen and drawn by the extremely capable David Finch.  The first issue, which will include the 25-page preview from May, will be 48 pages and will carry a very reasonable cover price of $2.25.  The Precinct will launch in July as a five-issue series written by Bruce Jones and penciled by Tom Mandrake.   Chuck Austen will also write The Wagon, a four-issue series penciled by Daniel Zezelji that bows in August.  All three series will end in November and merge into The Call (which will be written by Austen) in December.

Late Books