Comics / Spotlight

What Is IDW Strategy Behind Its Recent Revivals?


By Hervé St.Louis
November 2, 2005 - 22:25

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Transformers #0
IDW Publishing is one of the most dynamic new publishers of the millennium decade that has cut itself a piece in the mind and heart of comic book fans in a shrinking market. Recently, IDW (Idea - Design - Work) was the chosen publisher holding the Transformers’ comic book license. Now, IDW will also publish Peter David’s Fallen Angel series that DC Comics cancelled in the spring of 2005. What are the motives behind this?

IDW is not the only publisher that has printed comic book contents published by others in the past. In fact, Marvel Comics published the Transformers during the 1980s and 1990s. It is the old version of Canadian publisher Dreamwave that acquired the rights to the Transformers’ comic book business. However, the secrecy around the attribution of the Transformers’ comic book rights by owner and toy maker Hasbro has raised several highbrows.

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Metal Gear Solid
While several publishers were in the running to obtain the rights to the Transformers, after the first Dreamwave folded, few expected IDW Publishing to receive the license. Few had even added IDW as a potential publisher of the Transformers. Most expected Devil’s Due, Dark Horse or even Marvel Comics to receive the Transformers’ rights.

Before the announcement that IDW would publish the Transformers’ comic books, many perceived the publisher as another small press publisher attempting to create a library of series that would appeal to a mainstream audience. IDW had published many comic book adaptations of games and television series like CSI and Metal Gear. Most of these series barely appeal to the core super hero / science fiction market that dominates the comic book market.

Holding the Transformers’ rights put IDW in the midst of the current comic book market. Dreamwave’s folding also aroused more curiosity about IDW. Suddenly, IDW was playing with the big boys of the comic book industry. In a strange way, IDW had already been playing with the big boys as it had acquired several films, games and television series’ comic book adaptation license with large mainstream appeal. The Transformers’ deal was just business as usual.

But Is It Original?

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CSI
IDW probably has a business development plan that calls for the strengthening of its reach and market share through the acquisition of more film, game and television series’ licenses. The Transformers' license is a good attempt to reach this objective. However, continuing publishing of the cancelled Fallen Angel’s series does not reinforce its mainstream presence objective. Fallen Angel is a comic book series featuring mystical characters that may or may not be ciphers from DC Comics’ universe adapted in a mystery setting.

Fallen Angel appeals most of all to comic book readers, not mainstream casual readers like those who probably make up IDW’s bulk audience. Fallen Angel is a romantic super hero series. Although the Transformers share much of the target market of traditional super hero comics, it also has a wider appeal. Fallen Angel does not exist without super heroes.

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Fallen Angel #3
IDW has also revived many older comic book series such as Grimjack and Jon Sable. In a sense Fallen Angel follows this tradition. Still, while the Transformers’ deal seems like a good business decision, Fallen Angel deal seems is not as clear. Fallen Angel was cancelled by DC Comics because of falling order levels. Can IDW profit where DC Comics could not?

Pundits have long argued that a poor seller at DC Comics and Marvel Comics is a top seller for a smaller publisher. For Fallen Angel to be a success for IDW it needs to capture all former fans of the DC Comics version, attract new comic book fans and possibly expand outside this core, where IDW already has experienced in It’s up to IDW to make its move.


Last Updated: August 31, 2023 - 08:12

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