VALIANT PURCHASED BY DMG ENTERTAINMENT

Entertainment company DMG purchases the publisher with big plans in mind.

Breaking news courtesy of THR is that DMG Entertainment, formerly a majority shareholder of Valiant, has purchased the comic publisher with hopes of broadening the company with film and television projects.

“This is about taking it to the next level,” says DMG founder/CEO Dan Mintz.  “I am not looking on expanding from a publishing standpoint but from a motion picture standpoint.”

Valiant was created in 1989 by former Marvel editor-in-chief Jim Shooter. The publisher won over fans with quality storytelling and a rich universe of characters that included Bloodshot, X-O Manawar, and Shadowman. Valiant’s star faded at the turn of the millennium, but the acquisition of the publisher by Dinesh Shamdasani and Jason Kothari led to a resurgence in 2012.

With the third largest universe of characters, topped only by Marvel and DC, Dan Mintz feels poised to capitalize on audiences that have an insatiable appetite for superhero film properties. He sees Valiant’s line of comics as a creative bridge for future projects.

“You can expect more strong storytelling with a defined road to other platforms,” he says. “I’m also looking forward to bringing the writers close to the filmmaking process, which is something that is also important, and not keeping them siloed into the comic book area.”

This is a bold business move that could push Valiant to the very forefront of the industry. While directly challenging a juggernaut like Marvel/Disney would be highly unlikely, Valiant could position itself as a form of alternative media that can pursue projects not weighed down by the entanglements of a cinematic universe, something DC/Warner Bros. has struggled with mightily.

Valiant already has a number of film and TV projects in development. Bloodshot and Harbinger films are in active development with Sony while Dr. Mirage is in the works for The CW Network.

The valuation of the deal has not been disclosed at this time and will not affect Valiant’s ongoing line of comics. Stay glued to heroindex.net for future developments.

Source: http://hollywoodreporter.com