| Parent company | Disney Publishing Worldwide (Disney Parks, Experiences and Products) |
|---|---|
| Status | Revived as an imprint byDisney Publishing Worldwide in 2013 |
| Founded | 1990 |
| Defunct | 1993 |
| Key people | Len Wein (editor-in-chief) Art Young (editor) Bob Foster (editor) Cris Palomino (editor) |
| Publication types | Comic books |
| Imprints | Vista Comics (planned) Touchmark Comics (announced; never published) |
Disney Comics is currently a label ofDisney Publishing Worldwide and was acomic book publishing company operated byThe Walt Disney Company from 1990 to 1993. It was connected with W. D. Publications, Inc., which was a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company that publishedDisney comics during that time span.[1][2][3] W. D. Publications, Inc. created Disney Comics in 1990 so that The Walt Disney Company would not have to rely on outside publishers such asGladstone Publishing.[4] In the US, Disney only licensedDisney comic books to other publishers prior to 1990.
Since the demise of the Disney Comics line, Disney continued to print comics in the magazineDisney Adventures, which was published from 1990 to 2007. Disney has licensed their properties to various US comics publishers. Disney reentered the periodical comics market through their 2009 purchase ofMarvel Entertainment. Marvel and Disney Publishing began jointly publishingDisney/Pixar Presents magazine in May 2011 but did not revive the Disney Comics imprint, asBoom! Studios (and laterIDW Publishing) would continue to publish classic Disney character comics.[5]
In its first year and a half, Disney Comics published:
Additionally, during the company's first year, eighttrade paperbacks calledDisney Comics Album were published. These featured older stories, prefaced by opening editorials similar to the earlierGladstone Comic Album series.
Giant-sized seasonal specials included two issues apiece ofAutumn Adventures andHoliday Parade, and one issue apiece ofSpring Fever andSummer Fun. All of these titles were new to Disney and most were published only by them, with the exception ofSpring Fever (revived byGemstone Publishing in 2007–2008).
In this period, aggressive plans for expansion were announced. At oneComic Con panel, slides of a realistic European barbarian strip were previewed as one of many new titles in development. One planned imprint,Vista Comics, would showcase superheroes, many to be adapted from Disney films such asTron andThe Scarecrow of Romney Marsh, and was being developed by comic book writer and animated TV story-editorMartin Pasko. A second imprint,Touchmark Comics (named to echo Disney'sTouchstone Pictures label for adult-targeted films) was actually announced, with formerDC Comics editor Art Young at its head. Among the scripts Touchmark acquired wereEnigma byPeter Milligan andSebastian O byGrant Morrison.[6] A third imprint,Hollywood Comics, was to be modeled after the newly launchedHollywood Pictures film label and offered a 64-page graphic novel adaptation of Hollywood Pictures' first film,Arachnophobia, as its debut offering. An adaptation of theFinal Fantasy video game franchise (specificallyFinal Fantasy II) was also in the works, withKurt Busiek writing at least two issues.[7]
Editor-in-ChiefLen Wein'sMarvel Comics-esque approach to the Disney characters was criticized by many older Disney fans.[citation needed] The hiring of Wein has been championed by the comic book creative community as an alternative to the much disliked former Marvel Comics Editor-in-ChiefJim Shooter, who had made a favorable impression when interviewed by Disney management.[8][better source needed] Prior to the launch of the comics division, Disney management proclaimed their intention to quickly become a dominant presence in the comic book market, competing with industry leadersDC andMarvel.
These unreasonable expectations, coupled with poor sales, led to a mass cancellation in 1991. Echoing what had been called theDC Implosion of the 1970s,Duckburg Times editor Dana Gabbard dubbed this theDisney Implosion.[9]Walt Disney's Comics and Stories,Uncle Scrooge, andDonald Duck Adventures were the only surviving titles.
Following the cancellations, the three titles continued being published along with an occasional mini-series based on a TV show or a movie. These included:
All plans for expansion, however, were cancelled. Editor Art Young moved back to DC, and many of the unpublished Touchmark titles were published as part of its newVertigo imprint.[10] Wein left andMarv Wolfman concentrated on being comics editor ofDisney Adventures. In a mini-renaissance, editorsBob Foster,Cris Palomino, andDavid Seidman brought an appreciation of the classic Disney characters to the three continuing titles. Foster especially after a lifetime of involvement with Disney comic books and strips specialized in reprinting rarities even seasoned fans were unaware of. The Disney Studio finally decided to shut down its comic book publishing division in 1993.
In November 2013,Disney Publishing Worldwide revived Disney Comics as an imprint in the US for sporadic publishing.[11] The imprint's first publication was theSpace Mountain graphic novel, its first original graphic novel, released on May 7, 2014.[12]
