Newer interview with Murph

[TristanHuwJones]

I'm surprised no-one else has made mention of this. Looks like bad news for those holding out on the Forever War

check it out.

[Roseangelo]

Yeah, I saw that just a little bit ago. Still catching up on all the after-work stuff, though.

The Forever War news is extremely disheartening.

And there's a lot of little things in this interview and yesterday's that just pizzas me off (not at Murphy, though).

[TristanHuwJones]

Still, as Murphy said (or Jim Morrison, quoted by Murphy) "the future's uncertain..."

[Roseangelo]

Originally Posted by TristanHuwJones

Still, as Murphy said (or Jim Morrison, quoted by Murphy) "the future's uncertain..."

Well, that's part of what pizzas me off. It shouldn't be as uncertain as it is.

[Janus Prospero]

Aww, I'm sorry guys. I know a lot of you were looking forward to the conclusion of the Archie series.

Absolutely. We should know this Friday (July 13) whether or not Imagi (animation studio) and Warner Brothers/Weinstein Group (distribution) plan on going forward with a sequel.

It's nice that we have an actual date for this.

I’m very excited about one particular thing that is centered on the 25th anniversary but it would be premature of me to talk about it now as it is not yet set in stone.

Hmmm...the plot thickens.

[Spitfire]

Good going Laird, **** tease Archie fans for the past 4 years about a story arc that was promised to us and they can it.

You know I used to think maybe him disliking the Archie series was just a rumor but this pretty much confirms it. Guess it hits him hard that someone made a better comic series out of his characters then he is capable of.

Also I love how Playmates gets to have a say in the new direction of the show. How stupid do you have to be to allow a TOY company say in what the actual series is like?

[gobo]

Such bile!

I'm guessing it's not that they're relinquishing command to Playmates, but it would seem rather stupid to not at least entertain their suggestions. Surely not all of them will be jokes. Hopefully (but highly unlikely), none of them will.

[Andrew NDB]

Great interview by CJJ, hit all the big ones. Nice work, man!

[Roseangelo]

Well, from what I understand it was Playmates who pushed for the abrupt end to Fast Forward. I think their input into the series is probably just, "Make a show that actually allows us to make action figures that sell!"

[Andrew NDB]

Originally Posted by Roseangelo

Well, from what I understand it was Playmates who pushed for the abrupt end to Fast Forward. I think their input into the series is probably just, "Make a show that actually allows us to make action figures that sell!"

Would make sense to me. We know the FF figures kind of bombed, movie figures sold well... logic dictates, "Yo, guys... make the cartoon more like the movie!"

[MrPliggins]

Originally Posted by Spitfire666xXxXx

Good going Laird, **** tease Archie fans for the past 4 years about a story arc that was promised to us and they can it.

You know I used to think maybe him disliking the Archie series was just a rumor but this pretty much confirms it. Guess it hits him hard that someone made a better comic series out of his characters then he is capable of.

Also I love how Playmates gets to have a say in the new direction of the show. How stupid do you have to be to allow a TOY company say in what the actual series is like?

I don't think this confirms anything as it's now set as unlikely but not impossible. It sure doesn't mean he didn't like the series. He did do a number of covers for them. It seems he's just trying to take a little break now and we should cut him some slack instead of speculating his views.

Playmates has put tons of money into the franchise since (near) the beginning. Of course they're going to want some say. There is more than just Laird paying for this stuff, after all.

[Roseangelo]

Originally Posted by MrPliggins

I don't think this confirms anything as it's now set as unlikely but not impossible. It sure doesn't mean he didn't like the series. He did do a number of covers for them. It seems he's just trying to take a little break now and we should cut him some slack instead of speculating his views.

I half agree with this. The thing is that other comments from Murphy have made it seem quite clear that Peter does not, in fact, like the Archie series. I don't get it either because he contributed both cover art and new characters to the series. Peter can feel free to prove us all wrong on this, though.

But I don't think it is Peter's apparent dislike for the series that is endangering the publication of The Forever War. Both of these interviews make mention of just how small and unorganized the publishing division of Mirage is (TWO people, neither of which are working full-time in publishing) and I can't help but think it's a simple lack of manpower that's keeping this from seeing the light of day. It sounds like Peter refuses to hire new staff and without the staff to put the books together the future is likely to continue to look murky. So in this sense it is Peter's fault, just not for the reason Spitfire states.

[ThemanthatwouldbeRaphael]

Personally, I don't care much about the Forever War.

What I am excited for:

The mystery project for the 25th Anniversary
Sequel News by Friday
The Mikey(and hopefully Don) Miniseries
and one more TMNT/Cowboys of Moo mesa team up

[OldSchooler]

Originally Posted by Spitfire666xXxXx

Good going Laird, **** tease Archie fans for the past 4 years about a story arc that was promised to us and they can it.

You know I used to think maybe him disliking the Archie series was just a rumor but this pretty much confirms it. Guess it hits him hard that someone made a better comic series out of his characters then he is capable of.

Also I love how Playmates gets to have a say in the new direction of the show. How stupid do you have to be to allow a TOY company say in what the actual series is like?

That really wasn't necessary, was it? I don't recall anything being confirmed either way, it just looks unlikely. I recall a fourth movie looking pretty unlikely, and the Lost Season ever airing being unlikely.

The Archie comics being better is purely subjective to an individual point of view. It seems to hit you harder than it should. I'll bet a lot of people here were looking forward to it more than you were, but ultimately, it's just a comic book. Look at all the comics and T.V. shows that have come to sudden ends without ever continuing. Then again, there are always the ones that somewhere down the track, come back again. And how do you know what he's capable of? His story is still going and it's not as though you have some kind of capability gauge on Laird or likely that you know him personally well enough to judge that!

And on your final point, read what Dan Berger had to say on the matter of toys and T.V. shows.

http://danberger.biz/columns/toystory.html

[MrPliggins]

Originally Posted by Roseangelo

I half agree with this. The thing is that other comments from Murphy have made it seem quite clear that Peter does not, in fact, like the Archie series. I don't get it either because he contributed both cover art and new characters to the series. Peter can feel free to prove us all wrong on this, though.

But I don't think it is Peter's apparent dislike for the series that is endangering the publication of The Forever War. Both of these interviews make mention of just how small and unorganized the publishing division of Mirage is (TWO people, neither of which are working full-time in publishing) and I can't help but think it's a simple lack of manpower that's keeping this from seeing the light of day. It sounds like Peter refuses to hire new staff and without the staff to put the books together the future is likely to continue to look murky. So in this sense it is Peter's fault, just not for the reason Spitfire states.

I wasn't aware there was other proof of Laird's dislike. It seems a little odd to me, but of course he probably feels about it similar to how he feels about the old cartoons. Doesn't have anything against them, but doesn't care to see them continue.

I was trying to get the point across that you got across in your second paragraph. I think the disorganization is more to blame and not Laird. But to be honest, to me, it won't be a big thing if these don't get made...only because I haven't read the archie comics since they came out, and don't remember them well. Though if it did come, I'd definitely pick it up..

[Raph'N'Roll]

That was an interesting interview, I'm not really concerned about the Forever War too much, although I'd much prefare that than those Cowboys, they would have fit far better into the old toon than a Mirage comic.
I just hope the news about the movie sequel is good news.

[VaughnMichael]

*Walks out of thread seriously shaking his head*

[Andrew NDB]

The verdict on the sequel will be made... on Friday the 13th, kids!



No sequel!

Seriously, there's good leeway to be positive about. Though strange as it was that no decision was reached following the Licensing Show, it's stranger still that the verdict will be reached still before any DVD sales are tabulated.

[Janus Prospero]

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

The verdict on the sequel will be made... on Friday the 13th, kids!



No sequel!

LMAO!

Originally Posted by Andrew NDB

Seriously, there's good leeway to be positive about. Though strange as it was that no decision was reached following the Licensing Show, it's stranger still that the verdict will be reached still before any DVD sales are tabulated.

Wow...it's nice to see you optimistic about something. I think...I think it's a good thing.

I'm not surprised that a decision wasn't made at the Licensing Show, as I really think Murphy meant that discussion of a sequel wasn't going to occur until after the show. I think your point about the DVD release is a good one that we should consider. While I don't think it's too early to give a green light to a sequel, I seriously doubt they'll outright say, "NO!" this Friday. Because then if DVD sales do amazingly well, they'll hate themselves. So, if the answer this Friday isn't a "Yes" then I think it'll either be a "Maybe" or a "The time isn't right, but we'll consider it in the future."

[***First of Two Latin Kings***]

Even after the decision is announced on Friday regarding a sequel, it could be changed. I wouldn't worry about it too much. We're gonna get what we get.

Rose-- can you send me a link to *your* blogspot if it's not too much trouble?