Marvel Cancels "Thanos: Son of Titan" #1

[CBR News]

Marvel Comics' most recent Marvel Mailer retailer update lists the upcoming "Thanos: Son of Titan" #1 by Joe Keatinge and Richard Elson as cancelled.


Full article here.

[XPac]

First the Doom thing got cancelled, and now this.

Villains are just getting no love at marvel these days.

[cookepuss]

My initial reaction was one of outrage. However, now that I've settled down, I think that I'm okay with this. Marvel's pushing Thanos pretty hard. I have no doubt that the he will still be in the movies, as Marvel/Disney will toss money in the direction of any potential obstacle. It's just that, if they don't slow down, many readers might be well burnt out on Thanos by the time he makes his movie debut.

[NMoline]

Just pay the creators.

[Lord Bravery]

Disappointed with this news. Was looking forward to it. And Keatinge seemed to have a real passion for the character.

I'm sure when Avengers 2 rolls around and it's confirmed Thanos will be the big bad there will be more comics featuring him.

[cookepuss]

Just pay the creators.

A dangerous proposition. If Starlin was working for Marvel under a typical work for hire situation, paying him off would set a bad precedence. Work for hire is a fairly simple concept. You work for me. I pay you. Anything you make while under my employ belongs to me. Suggesting that a creator owns a character, in whole or part, undermines the concept of work for hire. That'd be like paying royalties to every programmer or designer who helped create MS Windows. That's lunacy. Unless there was some prior agreement, if Starlin created him as part of working for Marvel, Thanos is work product and thus Marvel's IP. Marvel wouldn't owe him anything, legally or morally. Still, they could essentially settle with him out of court for a token sum, just to shut him up, as they did with Stan Lee. Undisclosed terms & such. That might be acceptable. They certainly don't want to risk a court decision though. That'd open up a massive Pandora's box.

[BrotherUnitNo_4]

So now Starlin cares that he made Thanos before going to Marvel?

[PwrdOff]

What does it say about the industry that under no circumstances is a book ever able to pick up readers and build a following as it goes along?

[Desaad]

https://twitter.com/StephenWacker/st...37896755867648

For those interested, plans have indeed changed on Thanos. Nothing too dramatic, we just jumped the gun a bit.(cont.)

@joekeatinge and Rich Elson both have projects coming up in the Spidey office that we’ll be announcing soon. They're bloody great!


http://twitter.com/joekeatinge/

Joe Keatinge ‏@joekeatinge

For those wondering - https://twitter.com/StephenWacker/st...37896755867648 … & https://twitter.com/StephenWacker/st...38522256609281 … - say everything there is to say. #Thanos

[CyberHubbs]

What does it say about the industry that under no circumstances is a book ever able to pick up readers and build a following as it goes along?

The Walking Dead did it.

I'm sure a few others have.

[cookepuss]

So now Starlin cares that he made Thanos before going to Marvel?

It's a good question. Marvel could argue abandonment and suggest that Starlin knowingly & willingly gave up his rights to Thanos. They could ask the fundamental question, "If Starlin felt that Thanos held value, and that he still owned him, why now? Why not all those times Marvel made use of Thanos?" Were I a judge and somebody made that case, I'd have to cast a suspicious glance in Starlin's direction. Why now? You're greedy and see how Avengers made $1.5B worldwide. Why not before? You gave him up to Marvel of your own free will. Here's your "created by" credit. Move along. Marvel will probably settle, but I think that this is one they can win if they wanted to fight it.

[cookepuss]

For those interested, plans have indeed changed on Thanos. Nothing too dramatic, we just jumped the gun a bit.(cont.)

Still contend that backing off of Thanos just a tad couldn't hurt. Marvel doesn't want to OVERsell him to its readership. Burnout is a strong possibility if they do, as with the over-promotion of Deadpool from a few years back.

[BrotherUnitNo_4]

Keatinge AND Elson in the Spidey office? Hmmmmmm.

Marvel NOW indeed.

[Boabie]

I don't think Starlin is being in the least unreasonable. One of the most successful films of all time includes a character of his, and the sequel will no doubt star the same character (and maybe other of his creations) and they can't pay him anything?! I understand that having him at the premiere would have been a spoiler (I didn't know about the hidden scene content prior to the film, thankfully) but couldn't they have flown him out to a private screening in Hollywood or even went to him with a DVD of the film the week before? Something to say thanks, something to acknowledge his contribution.

I've met Starlin and interviewed him a few weeks ago for BACK ISSUE magazine. He's a perfectly reasonable guy and not in the least egotistical. He wouldn't be hard to deal with and wouldn't be looking for some outrageous deal. I understand how the Work for Hire deal operates, I just think there should be some exceptions when a character is so hugely popular and lucrative.

[ChristmasFanatic]

Just release an Omnibus and we will call it even Marvel.