A HORSE OF A DIFFERENT COLOUR

When it comes to the major publishers, Dark Horse tends to be a bit of a... well... dark horse.

When you think of the other companies, certain personalities come to mind. Marvel has Jemas and Quesada, perceived as loudmouthed hecklers with 18-oz beer cups and giant foam hands. DC's Paul Levitz comes across as an uptight executive who hates risks and surrounds himself with neurotics. Image has the heroic Valentino, the villainous McFarlane and an assembled crew of former slackers who have all grown up and bought SUVs. And, yes, everyone knows not to drink the water at CrossGen.

But Dark Horse? Who runs Dark Horse? What's the mission statement? Where's the HQ? Unless you've ever had to deal with them on a professional basis, you're unlikely to know. It's like... it's like...

It's like a business.

If asked to name something associated with Dark Horse, the first thing people will probably mention is the licensing deals. STAR WARS, BUFFY, ALIEN. And then there's the merchandising. All pretty straightforward niche business stuff.

The second thing they'll think of is creators like Frank Miller, Mike Mignola and Matt Wagner, or their respective properties, SIN CITY, HELLBOY and GRENDEL. They'll think of Japanese imports like LONE WOLF & CUB, OH MY GODDESS , APPLESEED, BLADE OF THE IMMORTAL and ASTRO BOY. They'll think of Stan Sakai's USAGI YOJIMBO and Sergio Aragones' GROO.

In short, they'll think of the work. No baggage, no bombast, no bullying tactics; just comics.

It seems Dark Horse is alone among the major comic publishers in just getting down to the business of publishing comics. It's really quite bizarre. It's almost as if Dark Horse isn't trying to compete; as if it doesn't want to be in the same playground as the other kids. Which, of course, is probably true. Dark Horse excels in doing those things that the other major publishers don't do. It's a successful and respected importer, a licensor of properties with in-built fan bases that would never settle for a BUFFY copy or a STAR WARS clone, and a dedicated home to marquee talents with whom it has established seemingly unbreakable relationships.

In a way, it does work against the company, at least from the perspective of the hardcore comic store visitor. Dark Horse is the first publisher in Previews, but also the one that readers skip past to get to DC. It's the first publisher people forget. There's no 'Dark Horse style', and Dark Horse zombies are fairly thin on the ground.

On the other hand, it's admirable that there's one publisher out there that really does go about its business on its own terms. Dark Horse seems almost immune to the mob-mind of hardcore comics fandom. It's a book publisher that happens to have a slot in a comics catalogue. It's the exemplar of the bookstore model. It is, perhaps secretly, what other comic publishers want to be when they grow up.

Now Dark Horse is launching a new line of horror titles. What's the line called? 'Darker Horse'? 'Headless Horseman'? 'Horse Noir'? Nope. There is no snappy brand, nothing that screams 'Vertigo for a new millennium'. It's almost as if the company expects each book to succeed on its own terms and find its own audience! Now, that's scary.

Grown up publishers don't need to rely on fanboys.

MOTION SICKNESS

Speaking of grown ups, let's talk superhero movies.

The DAREDEVIL movie just about edged past expectations, doing excellent business for a February movie despite suffering a substantial drop off in its second weekend. In an age where a movie can flop at the box office and still justify its budget on DVD, DAREDEVIL looks set to be a comfortable success.

I don't think comic readers were expecting that. In fact, many were so sure that Marvel's winning streak with X-MEN, SPIDER-MAN and the twin BLADES would end here that they seem quite begrudging of the movie's box office. (Though that may just be because it's phenomenally cheesy and incredibly dumb. Great, though.) The feeling seems to be that as soon as a flop does come along, that's it, pack up the costumes, the whole supermovie thing is over.

Certainly there's a precedent of sorts. Before X-MEN came out, I wrote a piece for a UK film magazine where I charted the history of superhero movies. The first supermovie of any consequence was the hugely successful SUPERMAN. Then BATMAN brought in phenomenal numbers. Unfortunately, the sequels to both proved the law of diminishing returns, and the capper was BATMAN & ROBIN, widely regarded as one of the most terrible movies ever made (for which many of the principles have apologised). BATMAN & ROBIN is usually credited with killing all the superhero movies in development at that time. THE MATRIX is therefore credited with putting them back on the slate.

The theory is, one more BATMAN & ROBIN and the green lights will turn to red. The reality, though, is that BATMAN & ROBIN didn't really kill anything. In fact, rather staggeringly, the movie actually made money.

BATMAN & ROBIN didn't kill a burgeoning superhero market; there was no burgeoning superhero market. SUPERMAN and BATMAN were rare exceptions in a time when special effects weren't generally sophisticated enough to do justice to superheroes, and studios only tended to do maybe one summer blockbuster each at most, as opposed to the four or five across all genres - from musicals to sword and sandal epics - that they all seem to churn out each season these days.

There's a lot of superhero movies coming out this year, to be sure, and plenty planned for next. I put that down to the shock of discovery that these things are now possible and can make money. I don't think it's a bubble that's going to burst. Sure, come 2005 the number of superhero movies will level off. Not all of Marvel's planned films will get made. (Surely at least one of DEATHLOK, SHANG CHI or WEREWOLF BY NIGHT will suffer an ignominious fate?) But the trend won't end. Superhero films will become part of the norm. Not dominant, as they'll be this year, but just another genre next to the enduring heist movies, chop sockies and space operas.

In the meantime, movies based on non-superhero comics seem to be chugging along quite nicely. GHOST WORLD and ROAD TO PERDITION have sealed the fate of the serious comic. In Hollywood, if nowhere else, comics are actually recognised as legitimate.

Right alongside 70s TV shows and video games. Go team comics.

ACES WILD

And finally...

After empowering homosexuals the world over with its powerful portrayal of The Rawhide Kid as a vain, sexless, foppish queen, Marvel is now turning its sights to role models for young girls with 15 LOVE.

The forthcoming series will see the return of fan favourite Millie the Model, that much loved peroxide princess of the fashionista set. In an effort to appeal to a young female audience, Marvel is recasting Millie as a 15-year-old tennis player.

So how can it make Millie as strong a role model as Rawhide, the cowboy who puts the camp into campfire? I'm speculating, but based on past form, maybe the series will take Anna Kournikova as the template. It can send the message that looking good and wearing super outfits is much more important than being able to win a game! Millie can spend lots of time in the mall choosing nail polish, and most important of all, she can chase boys and choose marriage as her ultimate ambition! "Oh, coach Brad, I've fallen and twisted my ankle!"

Then Marvel can follow it up with an empowering book about a black superhero team that fights crack dealers in the ghetto.

Andrew Wheeler is a London-based entertainment journalist.

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