Why not comics?

[VictorVonDoom]

Dear Herogames,

In Millenium book there is on one page an announcement of a comic: why not make a Champion Comic? HeroGames has his artists to boot to create their heroes in the books . Why not a comic? That would bring the RPG to his players and comicreaders to the RPG
See "Thank You , Hero" thread for more details...just edited

PS this is just a minor suggestion

VictorVonDoom (Or DrDoom from Newsarama)
"This day we are calling Doomsday"(exert from the FF)
A comiclover by heart and soul

[Steve Long]

1. Too expensive.

2. The chances of actually attracting any non-gamers to buy gaming products that way are incredibly slim.

3. We don't want to. We're a game publishing company, and few non-game projects interest us, generally speaking.

[VictorVonDoom]

shame...it would help you in the "long" run !!

You can publish it so you can use it on
a) cheap paper
b) publish in Black & white (see the essentials of Marvel reprinting their old ones - they only cost 11 dollars per TPB)
(TPB= Tradepaperback)
c)you have the rights of the heroes so why not do what you want to do with it
d)you could make RPG players more liking their characters and seeing what powers they use and so offering them a way of how some powers work by some remarks in the comics linked to the FRED manual. It would help people like me understand some powers..

[BobGreenwade]

A Champions comic was great back when Hero was an established company, and focusing strongly on the superhero setting. Unfortunately neither of those is still true -- Hero has to re-establish itself after the long hiatus, and is now trying to create multiple settings (albeit within a single meta-setting).

Also, in the 80s and 90s there was a bit more "openness" to this sort of cross-pollination, but there seems to be somewhat less now.

Indeed, a Champions comic book would be rather cool once the market for such a thing returns, and Hero Games is ready to license it out (I don't think I'd want it any other way). Heck, I'd love to see it as an animated show. Novels set in the science-fiction and fantasy settings of the Hero Universe would be great too. But now's just not the time.

[VictorVonDoom]

so they create a comic for fantasy aswell ...could serve the community right !! Then they could put ads in it over their new products

[Monolith]

Originally posted by VictorVonDoom
shame...it would help you in the "long" run !!
I do not think it would help them at all. The players that are going to come over to the HERO System will come because they are interested in what it has to offer, not because it has a comic book. The HERO System is too complicated for a casual comic book reader to want to get involved with it, IMO.


You can publish it so you can use it on
b) publish in Black & white (see the essentials of Marvel reprinting their old ones - they only cost 11 dollars per TPB)
(TPB= Tradepaperback)
DOJ gets enough grief from the fans because they do not put color in their books. I do not think DOJ needs the grief they would get for not putting color in their comic books too. :)


d)you could make RPG players more liking their characters and seeing what powers they use and so offering them a way of how some powers work by some remarks in the comics linked to the FRED manual. It would help people like me understand some powers..
If a fan does not understand that Defender is shooting an Energy Blast and is wearing Focused Armor from seeing the character's picture and reading the character's write-up then they will never figure it out from a comic book either.

[VictorVonDoom]

then they would add in the comic the stats in and the character write up of each characters, villan involved. Marvel did this with the Transformers in the 80: each time the comic contains some charactersheets...

TSR created their Buck Rogers RPG and linked a comic with it

[Balok]

I'd prefer the Hero crew keep working on games. The only way I'd want to see this happen is if they licensed their characters to a comic book company that was interesting in producing them.

Comics is a more closed field now than it was a decade ago. Marvel has been through bankruptcy and would still be in trouble if there hadn't been a surge of interest in movies. Supposedly, DC is struggling; although I haven't seen figures. I don't know whether CrossGen has gone profitable or not, yet.

All that means companies are going to be looking in house for new ideas; it's cheaper.

[ChaosDrgn]

There was a comic and it went downhill fast, becoming nothing more but a T&A fest with little storyline and not much quality to the art. The printrun apprently got so small (that or the people infolved got so greedy) that at a time of $1 or 1.25 comic books they were going for $2.95 or so.

[Storn]

While comics have some of the best storylines, artwork and creativity in years, the industry as a whole is really rocky. In some ways, worse then the game industry and one of the worst lulls in the comic industry, including the 70s.

Besides all the reasons that Steve and Bob have mentioned... this is probably the worst time to introduce a new b&w comic based on a game line in the history of comics.

As much as I would like to do sequential art... I agree with Steve and Bob wholeheartedly.

[TechnoViking]

Originally posted by ChaosDrgn
There was a comic and it went downhill fast, becoming nothing more but a T&A fest with little storyline and not much quality to the art. The printrun apprently got so small (that or the people infolved got so greedy) that at a time of $1 or 1.25 comic books they were going for $2.95 or so.
I remember this comic, I consider it lowest point in Hero History. The original 6 issue were ok, but quickly became a joke.

Mike

[TechnoViking]

If DOJ ever wanted to do a comic, I would suggest either doing a web comic or as a 2 page monthly feature in Digital Hero.

Although I would be interested in seeing this, I think Hero could use their resources better elsewhere.

Mike

[MarkusDark]

I am sure that if some third party wanted to create a comic, DoJ would be willing to talk licensing. ;)

[TechnoViking]

Originally posted by MarkusDark
I am sure that if some third party wanted to create a comic, DoJ would be willing to talk licensing. ;)
I would not. It could quickly become a T&A fest, and not representative of the system.

Mike

[MarkusDark]

Originally posted by Mike Basinger
I would not. First again it could quickly become a T&A fest, and not representative of the system.

Mike

As with many other products that are created third party, you'd have to work with people that would keep the spirit of the system and not just anyone who wanted a license.

[VictorVonDoom]

a comic would make the Champions Universe better to follow ...but DOJ should not miss "the comictrain" because comicbased heroes like the Champions need a comic to thrive in and to live in. Only by bringing them in books would make them more obscure and putting them in comics would make them more apppealing to a greater public

take 1 example

child buys comic of champions
Father who plays Herogames champions sees his son reading that comic. The father read also the comics. He find a new storyline for his "long" forgotten campaign game which needed a boost.
Two weeks later they play a game based on the comic (loosly)
and he can use/edit the sheets in the comics with abilities to use them in the game...

[Ben Seeman]

Originally posted by VictorVonDoom
a comic would make the Champions Universe better to follow ...but DOJ should not miss "the comictrain" because comicbased heroes like the Champions need a comic to thrive in and to live in. Only by bringing them in books would make them more obscure and putting them in comics would make them more apppealing to a greater public

take 1 example

child buys comic of champions
Father who plays Herogames champions sees his son reading that comic. The father read also the comics. He find a new storyline for his "long" forgotten campaign game which needed a boost.
Two weeks later they play a game based on the comic (loosly)
and he can use/edit the sheets in the comics with abilities to use them in the game...
Whether it would bring in more players or not, we are in no position to do such a thing anyway. It would be great to send free comics or advertisements to every mailbox on the planet to promote our games, but that's not profitable or realistic either.

[VictorVonDoom]

why not trying ??

[Ben Seeman]

Originally posted by VictorVonDoom
why not trying ??
Money, time, resources...

[Nightfly]

Or how about at least adding a cool Black/Green ballcap to the wearables section of the Online Store ;-)

[Nato]

Or how about making an animated tv series based on Champions!?! Why haven't you done that yet? And I don't mean some hand-drawn cartoon. I'm talking full-blown all CGI ala Final Fantasy. Then some dad somewhere could watch it with his 5 year old kids. Then they could plug their brainjacks into their TV set and literally be a part of the action. Now THAT'S role-playing. I think if you don't do this, Hero games will remain in obscurity like forever.

Failing that, why not a Broadway musical?

[ChaosDrgn]

Originally posted by Nato

Failing that, why not a Broadway musical?

Great, now I have visions of Dr. Destroyer tap-dancing across stage singing "I want to decimate everything," and the worst part is he has Richard Gere's voice.

Seriously a 2 page webcomic or one added to digital hero would be great to me. That's one thing I enjoyed about V&V was the comic-style art they included in the modules. I don't think I'd write the modules around it though, that kind of thing seemed to kill White Wolf off.

[VictorVonDoom]

or a movie ? :)

here i am just pulling someone leg

[Derek Hiemforth]

VictorVonDoom, I think you're missing the point. Of course it would be cool to have a comic book based on the Champions Universe. Everyone agrees it would be cool.

The problem is, it's just utterly and totally impractical. The costs involved would just ridiculously outweigh any reasonable expectation of returns in sales of the comic or increased sales of the game material the comic might generate. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but there's just no doubt. It wouldn't work.

There was a Champions comic book produced in the 1980's. At that time: Champions was a hot new RPG.
Comic books were selling well.
The comic was in color. (At first.)Despite all those things, the comic was a failure financially, and I've never heard of a single Champions player who was drawn to the game due to the comic.

Today: Champions is in the process of rebuilding after a long period of hiatus.
The comic industry has fallen on very hard times.
The comic would have to be B&W to keep the cost down to something anyone would pay.In other words, now is a less-suitable environment for a Champions comic in every way than the 1980's was, and the 1980's comic failed anyway.

ChaosDrgn's idea of a web comic or a strip in Digital Hero sounds much more promising to me. Neither would do much to bring in new players, but then, I see no reason to believe a hard-copy comic book would either. However, they might help give the Champions Universe folks a sense of ongoing life, and (if well-done) might lead to some more Digital Hero subscriptions...

[TechnoViking]

Originally posted by Nightfly
Or how about at least adding a cool Black/Green ballcap to the wearables section of the Online Store ;-)
A FREd ballcap would be cool.

Mike

[TechnoViking]

Originally posted by Derek Hiemforth

ChaosDrgn's idea of a web comic or a strip in Digital Hero sounds much more promising to me. Neither would do much to bring in new players, but then, I see no reason to believe a hard-copy comic book would either. However, they might help give the Champions Universe folks a sense of ongoing life, and (if well-done) might lead to some more Digital Hero subscriptions...

Or people submitting short stories to DH may work. The short story format would work better for the Star Hero and Fantasy Hero genres.

Mike

[MarkusDark]

Originally posted by VictorVonDoom
or a movie ?

Was there already a thread in the Non-Gaming Discussion group about who would play the various parts for the Champions? I can't remember... ;)

[Blue]

(To the tune of Rocky Horror's "Time Warp")

"It's just a hex to the left
And then a throw to the right
With your post segment 12
Heal those wounds up tight
But it's the fastball throw that really brings the pain,
Let's do the Fastball again!
Let's do the Fastball again!"

[VictorVonDoom]

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Derek Hiemforth
[B]VictorVonDoom, I think you're missing the point. Of course it would be cool to have a comic book based on the Champions Universe. Everyone agrees it would be cool.

The problem is, it's just utterly and totally impractical. The costs involved would just ridiculously outweigh any reasonable expectation of returns in sales of the comic or increased sales of the game material the comic might generate. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but there's just no doubt. It wouldn't work.
[quote]

put it then inside the adventures or the books

[TechnoViking]

Originally posted by VictorVonDoom
[QUOTE]
put it then inside the adventures or the books
Still very expensize to insert color pages and pay for the extra artwork. Also I think it weakens the strength of the binding job.

Vic trust us,
DOJ has been putting out great quality RPG material for over a year now, and that where they need to keep their focus. None of us what to see Hero System disappear again due to bad management of existing funds.

Mike

[VictorVonDoom]

not color ... black & white don't you guys at DOJ have ears ?

[TechnoViking]

Originally posted by VictorVonDoom
not color ... black & white don't you guys at DOJ have ears ?
1. I do not work for DOJ, just a fan like you.
2. Yes, I do have ears. Although I lost a pinky in th 'Nam.

Mike

[Ben Seeman]

Originally posted by VictorVonDoom
not color ... black & white don't you guys at DOJ have ears ?
First off, the only people from DoJ that have answered in this thread are myself and Steve Long.

Secondly, comments like that are going to accomplish nothing but annoyance.

Thirdly, we've already stated that we don't have any plans to do anything like that. We've also stated the reasons why we aren't going to be doing anything of the sort. Other board members have also expanded upon the reasons why. To continue to insist in the manner that you are will result in nothing.

[VictorVonDoom]

Dear Sir Seeman and Steven Long,

I was joking on that last part :)

Btw it was just a "balloon in the air": an idea, a thought of comicfanatic, a comicmaniac, a comiclover , ...

you don't mind that , don't you ??

that is why i bought the game in the first place: i want that magic feeling again from when i had MSH of TSR

[TechnoViking]

Originally posted by VictorVonDoom
I was joking on that last part :)

No problem, hard to tell some times when people are joking or being rude in board talk.

Originally posted by VictorVonDoom
I
Btw it was just a "balloon in the air": an idea, a thought of comicfanatic, a comicmaniac, a comiclover , ...

you don't mind that , don't you ??

That is fine, no ones mines. But you were given and answer, and very people want to debate after a firm answer is given.

Mike

[VictorVonDoom]

But Reality Storm brings the RPG's closer to comics: that is why i asked. There was a time of the Crossovers between Marvel & DC, the Amalgams, DC Vs Marvel, etc. Now with Realitystorm its SAS vs HERO...then something came in my mind why not bringing out a comic?

[sarcasmic mode on]
But oh yeah...we little people must crumble before the masses and obey

Oh we obey, my lord !!

[sarcasmic mode off]

jk :)