QUESADA/HAWKINS TALK MARVEL/TOP COW DEAL

[MattBrady]

Among this past weekend’s bigger New York Comic-Con announcements by Marvel [at the Cup 'O Joe panel] was a “packaging deal” the publisher has agree to with Top Cow Productions, the first product of which will be artist Tyler Kirkham’s upcoming two issue stint on Amazing Spider-Man #530-531. Newsarama caught up with Top Cow’s President and COO Matt Hawkins, along with Marvel’s Joe Quesada, to get a few more details.

According to Hawkins, the deal encompasses Top Cow packaging 36 issues over 30 months, Kirkham’s Spider-Man issues being two of those 36. As part of the deal, Top Cow will pencil, ink, color, and letter scripts provided by Marvel. In short, they’ll provide a disk with a finished issue for Marvel to send to the printers. Marvel will retain editorial control over the content.

On the flipside of the deal, Top Cow will also get the rights to publish eight Top Cow/Marvel crossover titles during the term of the deal, and discussion between the publishers has ranged from one-shots to limited series, with Marvel holding approval over whatever eventual form they make take and characters used.

Hawkins said the first of these projects will probably be published in the 3rd quarter of this year, and eventually some familiar creator names will be involved, including writer Ron Marz.

Back to the Marvel side, pencilers that will eventually provide art as part of this deal include Kirkham, Eric Basaldua, Mike Choi, and Top Cow founder and CEO Marc Silvestri (more on him in a sec).

”All four of these guys use the same inking and coloring teams and they're teams will most likely stay with them on the Marvel projects,” explained Hawkins. “Some names would include Joe Weems, Steve Firchow, John Starr, Sonia Oback, Jay Leisten, and Sal Regla.”

Asked to explain how the deal is different than just allowing their stable of creators to seek out freelance work at Marvel, Hawkins said that deal allows their artists – are all employees of Top Cow with long-term agreements – to retain the benefits that come with that, including health insurance. And there is another benefit to the artists as well, a benefit that Top Cow as a publisher shares in – the attention a high-profile Marvel project can give the artists…

“In my mind, it's a win-win for everyone involved,” said Hawkins.

”Given the dominance of Marvel and DC in the marketplace today and the proliferation of their characters throughout all media, the attraction is in the profile of the projects and the attention it ultimately draws to Top Cow and its exclusive creators. We did a lot of soul searching and decided we wanted a long-term partner that we could align ourselves with.

“After about 6 months of negotiations we decided that the right company for Top Cow to be with is Marvel Comics. [Publisher Dan] Buckley, [Joe] Quesada, and [Managing Editor David] Bogart were instrumental in closing the deal with us and I think we'll be working with them for many years to come.

“I'd like to thank them for putting together a deal over the course of a long negotiation that is both fair and innovative in its structure. These three guys are powerhouses of creative and business decisions and Top Cow is very proud to be in business with them.”

We also asked Hawkins whether rumors regarding Top Cow’s financial status were a factor into entering this deal…

“Well people like to talk and I'm sure following the disintegration of so many independent comic book companies people just assumed, but Top Cow has been around for 14 years now and is still alive and kicking,” he said. “We've had our good and bad times, to be sure, but we're not going anywhere. And to be blunt, of course this is a good financial deal for Top Cow otherwise we wouldn't do it, heh?”

Finally, as to how this Marvel deal will affect their own publishing slate over the 30-month term, Hawkins said the impact will be minimal.

“In 2005 we published 84 individual titles, in 2006 we'll publish 70, and in 2007 and 2008 we'll put out around 60,” he said, “This is indeed fewer books, but not a real decline in output. If you add these plus the Marvel books we're actually doing more.”

Looking to Marvel’s perspective, one can’t help think of another packaging deal with a smaller publisher that was once successful for the publisher, particularly if you’re talking with E-i-C Joe Quesada.

We asked Quesada how the deal is similar and/or different than his and Jimmy Palmiotti’s one-time Event Comics/Marvel Knights arrangement, and whether the success of that deal was a factor into creating this new partnership with Top Cow?

“With Event we were contracted to actually package complete books soup to nuts,” Quesada explained. “The Cow deal is more of a studio deal where we get to use the talents exclusive to Top Cow on some of our Marvel books.

“I've always been a big believer in great combinations breed success and the Marvel/Event deal only solidified that for me, so I've always been a huge supporter of this deal with Top Cow.”

We also asked Quesada what the upside of this deal is for both parties, and his response echoed Hawkins’…

“It's great for Marvel because it gives us access to some brilliant talents that we normally wouldn't have access to,” he said. “It's great for Top Cow because it allows them to play with Marvel characters, it's obviously good financially for them (if not why do it?), and it also helps expose their talents and skills to the huge Marvel segmentation of the comics’ buying public.”

Finally, before we let Hawkins and Quesada go, we did get them to confirm that Silvestri will draw a six-issue project written by Brian Bendis [along with 18 covers for various Marvel projects], but neither Quesada or Hawkins had comment when asked if that project will be “Ultimate Invasion”, a project announced during last summer’s Wizardworld: Chicago, which was said to be written by Bendis and drawn by a “superstar artist” that had not yet drawn an Ultimate title.

“All I can say is that I personally buy everything Marc draws and this won't be an exception,” concluded Quesada. “He is truly one of the great draftsmen of the modern era and we're just very, very lucky to have him back at Marvel.”

For a full New York Comic-Con Index of Newsarama coverage, click on the link.

[ejulp]

silverstri would be mint on an x-men title
could been cool if he was with Brubaker

i like the spiderman pages (but what happened to garney, is this just a fill-in?)

[Jon Malin]

Looking forward to this. Congrats to the TC guys and good move by Marvel.

-Jon

[Jed Saxon]

Ah, begun the Attack of the Top Cow Clone Pencilers has.
You must be strong, Young Padawan.

[xomanowarfan]

LLLLLLLLAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEE!

[phoenx]

I think it's just a fill-in.

As for Tyler Kirkman on this as fill-in artist, I may look into picking this up and maybe continuing on with Ron Garney back as penciler. But we'll see when the time comes around.

[lezzbo]

With regards to the Amazing Spidey art ---- is that decompression or what?

[Studio D Comics]

Originally posted by lezzbo
With regards to the Amazing Spidey art ---- is that decompression or what?

Mmm, not really-- I'm assuming he's physically changing costumes between panels, not instantly morphing new ones on or whatever (haven't been following Spidey lately, so I'm not sure)

And if he is physically stepping back from the mirror & taking his pants off, putting them back on, etc. between each costume shot, that's compressed; since we're not seeing those scenes.

Just my take on it anyway



later
don

[Rawle Austin]

Wildstorm at DC? Top Cow at Marvel?

Co-operation is always good.

Haven't read any Top Cow in a while but may check these out.

I'd love to see Marvel buy the rights to Negation now they have Tony Bedard in their stable.


Growler

[Absalom]

well.... silvestri ok on a marvel title... but what is the interest to see his clones on other titles. Top Cow is silvestri for me, only silvestri, the other pencilers are just his clones, they all have the same style, storytelling and it's more boring than entertaining, just like the top cow titles, most of them are about symbiots, can't they change a bit ?? I'm not interested in this top cow/marvel deal and their soon to be cross-overs.

[Jeremy Williams]

The only advantage for Marvel is to have Silvestri draw something.

[Ceallach]

Wow. Top Cow and marvel together, that's not too bad at all.

I can't say I'll pick up the inevitable crossovers though...

I wish Marvel and DC would get back on speaking terms for some more crossover goodness

[tomwe]

"With regards to the Amazing Spidey art ---- is that decompression or what?"


JMS does seem to have a habit of writing these 'beat' panel jokes, which do work, but also seem like padding. the repeat -a-panel approach must save artists time too. it's not so bad when it's just a few headshots, but when you've used a whole third of a page for a 'beat' i feel short-changed...

[Uncle Jawa]

I'm not the biggest Top Cow fan in the world, but I do see this deal as a positive for both companies. Not that I dislike Top Cow; it's just that their product has never really excited me. They have some interesting artists, though, and it'll be cool to see them on some Marvel titles.

[Alextron]

Always loved Marc Silverstri's stuff. It will be interesting to see what he works on, I love the recent covers he's been doing with Kid Vulcan on it.

[Travel Exiter]

This is pretty sad

Top Cow is evidently facing a financial crisis.

[Kolimar]

Originally posted by MattBrady
“In my mind, it's a win-win for everyone involved,” said Hawkins.

I agree. Interesting possibilities here.

[Cray_ws]

Originally posted by Travel Exiter
This is pretty sad

Top Cow is evidently facing a financial crisis.

Actually I think its even sadder that Marvel agreed to this "packaged deal"

I can't picture Top Cow putting out 36 issuess in 30 months. I'm not even sure they can't even put out 12 issues in one year.

[SouthtownKid]

I've liked Silvestri's stuff since all the way back when he did the X-Men/Avengers limited series, back in the '80s...and all through his runs on X-Men, Wolverine, and beyond. Out of all the guys who left Marvel to form Image, I always felt he was the strongest artist, overall. Best composition, best comic book anatomy, most solid storytelling (although that slipped a LOT in the Image Age of endless splashes and pointlessly convoluted layouts).

But...

The scratchy inking style of the '90s, that puts all the burden of clarity onto the poor colorist, just doesn't play anymore. That time is past. It would be nice if we could see some brushwork on his art again... someone who could spot some solid blacks, and maybe create some depth within the panels again. Dan Green or some-freaking-body. Not a return to the '80s, but it's time to finally move beyond the '90s, while we still have a little time left in this decade. I liked seeing Silvestri on Morrison's New X-Men, but in some ways, the inking style and page layout that were throwbacks to what was popular a decade earlier, kind of made it feel like a missed opportunity. Silvestri is a great artist, who adapted the style he had in the '80s to keep it relevant into the '90s. I'd just like to see him do that again, and come into the present, rather than stay in the '90s forever. He's definitely good enough to do it, if he decides to.

Just an opinion. I think the idea that this crossover was born at least partly out of desperation, probably has some truth to it. But I still think the idea has a lot of potential, and I'm excited to see what comes out of it. I just hope everyone involved makes the most of it.

[Wade Wilson]

I am really excited because people may claim Top Cow is the Silvestri clone machine I have to say Ebas and Choi are special. I think Silvestri has really leaned on them but they have maintained their own style. I am excited that Choi and Ebas are going to be doing Marvel work. To note Mike Choi has completed his run on Witchblade effective 100 and Ebas is the rotating Cow artist. So these guys are completely free to work on Marvel books for the foreseeable future. I really hope they work on monthly titles though, not just one-shots and mini-series.

If you think this is a bad idea art wise, remember do not buy anything Brando, Finch, Benetiz, or Mike Turner are associated with because they are Cow guys. I would just hate for an uneducated fan boy to say something dumb.

[sniperboyz]

Good deal for Top Cow. Very bad business deal for Marvel. The books will either be late or lousy rush job quality. Another business mistake by Marvel.

[AllAboutMe]

Hmmph..
Nah, can't get excited over this. Best we will get out of this is a mini-series by Silvestri. The other guys are pale imitations of Silvestri and the awful Mike Turner. Not sure why Marvel sees this as such a great move when they have a better stable of artists already.
Can't really think of any Top Cow character I care to see in a crossover with a Marvel character. I still remember that train wreck crossover they did years ago...shudder...

[J.L.]

This is awsome.

J.

[Vyper]

Is anyone else reminded of the Heroes Reborn stint, when Marvel outsourced all those books to Image?

[Superfrick]

Hey! Does this mean we'll get a City of Heroes/Captain America crossover?

*snicker*