I just wanted to say I've been visiting this site/message board since it was MK5.org. I was here when that Scorpion trailer came out for MKDA. I have a lot of sentimental attachment to it. The news writing is superlative great, the best on the internet about MK, no doubt. But since that time a growing sect of elitists have emerged. Now, most of those people are very talented and knowledgeable, valuable assets to the community. I want them to be here, because even if I'm not familiar to them, they're familiar to me.

That said, I can't help but notice people routinely shitting on "noobs" because they're either not smart enough, not old enough, not whatever enough, whilst they suck each others dicks. People are routinely being treated like their opinions are invalid, or that the opposite opinion is more valid, and it's really fucking uncool.

We all love MK, we all want to be excited about the new game, that's why i imagine most of us are here. It sounds ridiculous, but we're all on the same team. We all have a huge common ground with 20 years of history we all have experienced. We should be friendly. If you don't have something nice to say, keep it to yourself. If you disagree, be tactful. I miss this place. What I have come back to is not it.

On a similar track to what Grime has been saying about sales and the audience, Injustice is a cape book. It has Batman and Superman in it. Comic readers traditionally buy more of things with familiar characters. And by "familiar", I mean A-list capes. Even licensed properties with familiar characters like Transformers, Godzilla, Star Trek/Wars, Buffy, what have you, do poorly in comparison because they're not Batman, Superman, Spider-Man, Wolverine, etc.

That's why new characters always do poorly (and as a result, publishers think they have to awkwardly change the races of long-established main characters to add diversity to their lineup, because nobody will buy books about Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle or Jason Rusch Firestorm or what have you). That's why non-cape genres like western and horror and romance comics have never made a true resurgence since the 60's.

I fear MK might suffer from the same problem.

I mean...IDW just announced the impending cancellation of the Ghostbusters comic. Think about that. One of THE single greatest and most famous properties of the 80's, one of THE best written and best drawn books on the ENTIRE MARKET today...and it's ending after a run of about 40 issues (not counting the several miniseries that preceded the ongoing) due to low sales. In a market where HIGH sales means "ten or twenty thousand people bought it...in the entire world."
It's an industry that's in a bad, baaaad state. Egon called it, man. "Print is dead."

I would prefer physical comic books found on news stands, I hate digital comic books, I don't see the appeal there, if physical MK comic books were released then I'd buy at least 2 of every one released, I feel that there will be new MK comic books but I fear they will be digital ones in which case I may not bother with them.

Like people are pointing out though the market for physical books is shrinking. So while you personally don't like digital, it'd make sense from a macro perspective.

While we're talking about print vs. digital, I've always said it'd be more successful if they were on iTunes for 99 cents instead of some proprietary comics downloading program for the same over-inflated price as what's on the shelves.

I mean, who the hell has heard of "Comixology" other than people who ALREADY read comics? You're not reaching the MASS market with that shit.

I don't know what possible reason you have to be sceptical. it is what it is.

Even if you don't have the inside track, you can save yourself some time with very basic, observable details. Injustice is far and away the highest selling digital comic. It was part of the games' promotional cycle. It is part of a series of DC game tie-in strategies. They are all digital first. Their promotion is almost exclusively digitally focused, to the extent of DC referring to digital numbering (rather than secondary paper order). No traditional DC comic rivals the sales of Injustice. Digital platforms benefit from impulse purchase and already integrated demographics.

The issue is not whether or not gamers exclusively bought the digital version of Injustice. Nor is it "about selling [paper] comics". It is/was an exercise in market and platform growth. It's no secret that publishers are trying to grow their audiences. It's no secret that digital readership goes beyond the traditional reader base. It's no secret that traditional readers were significantly less interested. It's no secret that gamers are digitally integrated, impulse buyers. It's no secret niche brands with motivated readerships are used to fund new media development.


That's fine. My point was to highlight the simple, observable similarities (to build better understanding): Mortal Kombat is already a niche brand being used to build growth in digital/new media markets.

I think it's a safe bet to assume MK comics aren't going to have the same numbers as injustice. Again - it's not about whether or not gamers were an exclusive (or majority) share of the readership. The point is merely that these are digitally focused growth projects. A Mortal Kombat comic doesn't have to fuel bricks n mortar sales and it doesn't have to top digital charts. It just has to participate in growth. The pitch for trying is Injustice. That's internal publisher's logic.


OptimusGrime -- connect these dots.


The mainline DCU is beside the point. It's an issue of game developers and comics writers working in conjunction with each other - which typically isn't the case. In the case of Injustice (or an MK comic) the authority is the games. What ever the games desire is what the canon establishes. Comics writers aren't (typically) going to be in a position to anticipate that, so they are rarely able to be canon.

Injustice and some of DC's other recent game tie-ins are an example of trying to design a better cross-promotional machine. The Injustice comic works to play in neutral territory and avoid clashing with any of the games' core material.


All you have to do is offer your own positive input. It's really that simple. You achieve absolutely nothing by taking a defeatist attitude. That's the root of the problem you're complaining about. You've got to be willing to ignore what you're perceiving as a lesser opinion and work on expanding your positive perspective. That's what you want. That's what I want. Make it happen. [And, yes. People are going to be critical of some things and have divergent opinions. Don't forget to accept that, in the same way people should be accepting you.]

I was speaking more "ideal situation" but since creative collaboration isn't plausible...



What's wrong with approaching a MKX comic with a neutral storyline (similar to what you described) bridging gaps of time not overtly explored in the game or involving characters that aren't in MKX? My point is that a cross-media canonical story set in the MKverse could be very successful if handled well.

How many professional writers do you figure have ever heard of Jarek and Drahmin, man?
I mean that's what happened to Shaolin Monks, remember? They hired a comic book guy to write the script, thinking that because he was used to working in a rich universe that required research and continuity, he'd be perfect to give them a story they intended to be "retell Mortal Kombat II, but deeper"...and instead he screwed it all up and they had to declare the game noncanon after it came out because he didn't know anything about the franchise and didn't do the homework. He wasn't familiar with how MK2 was supposed to lead into 3 and stuff like that.
And MK2 is the popular part of the series! Imagine how "here's all the characters from MK4 thru Armageddon that we didn't think were good enough to put in the game. Do something with them." would go.
Aaand I'm being negative again. Dammit, I was trying not to do that. I WANT an MK comic, I really do. I just...want it to not suck, y'know? Being a realist is a bummer.

Probably like -6 but, I'm not saying to focus on obscure characters necessarily just a plotline that doesn't conflict with the story beats of the game. I don't know where exactly the story is picking up after MK9 in the transition to MKX but surely something interesting is possible. I mean I get that with the majority of the "A listers" being dead you can't use them but, this might be an opportunity to develop some of the new characters.
EDIT (after reading your edit): @Razor: I was thinking more detail / backstory on some of the new characters, not delving into the Mk4 - MK:A backlog. Again assuming that wouldn't conflict with the new game plot.

I could not agree with this more. My father passed away two months ago, and so my family wanted to put his obituary in the newspaper.

They wanted 300 dollars.

Three. Hundred. Fucking. Dollars.

So yeah, I'm kinda leaning more towards Pro-Print Apocalypse right now.

But I would still like to see a new MK comic regardless

What you're saying is also directly comparable to Injustice. Their tie-in was designed to take place within the 5 or so year gap. We know Mortal Kombat X' storyline will be leaving approximate five year gaps as it leaps back and forth between the end of MK2011 and 25 years later.

This is why I'm skeptical. I've seen nothing to back this claim. Not even saying it isn't true, but give me real numbers to work with.



Again, the comparison to Injustice is a baffling one to me. Injustice had the benefit of two potential audiences, particularly one that's conditioned to spit out cash like a busted ATM every week, to prop it up. MK really doesn't. A Mortal Kombat ongoing is going to sell to people like us, sure, but as an evergreen? To a casual audience? Maybe, ideally even, but hardly likely. The idea that all this theoretical comic would have to do is participate in growth would, unquestionably, be wonderful. But growth potential or not, if the series wasn't financially viable along the way, the plug's gonna be pulled sooner than later. Because the thing is, Warner doesn't need MK comics. Like, even a little. The real money is in licensing and merchandising.



There... aren't any dots to connect. Razor's dead-on (which hurt to type, by the by). That was my whole point earlier about promotion. To make a 2014 MK comic anything other than an amusing lower-mid list novelty, Warner would have to aggressively market the title in a way they've never done before.

I would love a MOrtal Kombat comic, but ONLY if they fuck up the story.

I know the original story, I want some cool non-canon stuff to happen to my heroes in a comic book.

Why would I want a canon-story in a comic book? I can watch that horrible story of MK9 online if I want.

With the comics, cool stuff can be done! If they have to follow the canon for 100% the comic wouldnt' be fun for me personally at all.

BUT if they did a non-canon story, the fans go berserk like always, that's probably the reason they won't do a comic... But for all the extreme-fans that would go berserk because something was changed in the comic, just don't buy the comics then!

Also I would like a NEUTRAL comic book, not a good guys save the world and beat the bad guys blablablabla bullcrap!

Just a cool story that revolves around the bad-guys just as much as the goodguys.

I've seen some WONDERFUL fan-comics on Deviantart about Reiko, Smoke and Skarlet, those kind of comics would be so much more needed than another Lui Kang is the ultimate hero bullshit.

You don't see the dots because you're coming at it from the wrong direction.
The dots are gamers to market growth. It's really straight forward if you stop to look at it from the publisher's perspective. You don't have to like it, or agree with it. It is what it is. Grow awareness for the platform by trying to motivate a crossover market. Try to tap interest through cross-promotion.


Injustice is proof of concept. Traditional comics readers didn't care. For example: It didn't make the Top 100 March 2013. It was #98 April 2013. [More: #98 7/13, NA 9/13, NA 3/14] These are print sales. It was well within cancellation threshold. Why does it continue? Digital sales. Market growth. Cross promotion. (You've already expressed an awareness that digital sales are a lower threshold).

They don't need a Mortal Kombat comic. They don't need an Injustice comic. They need motivated market growth and to build the platform. Gamers are a motivated crossover audience. It's not about the bottom line of issues sold. We're still at the beginning of the conversation and this reality is not going to change.

Eventually you're going to understand it. Just skip ahead to that part.

Long term cancellation = irrelevant.

I'm not sure that "I'd love to see MK comics as a fan, but acknowledge why they haven't happened despite years of opportunity" is the wrong direction.



What is it that I don't like?



Which is all well and good. Admirable even. But unless it translates to units sold, it's not going to matter.



No can do, jack. I can't get on board with this notion of "this thing I want will be successful because empty buzzwords".

I get the impression you have so little understanding - you don't know that you don't understand. I think eventually something might flip the switch, but you're clearly going to need something other than me (who has some inside track on this) to avoid triggering resistance. If/when an MK comic materializes, maybe that will be an interesting time to revisit this logic.

Of course Injustice is bolstered by its digital sales. I've never argued that it wasn't. My point is that those sales alone are not enough to negate the DM. My skepticism is that Injustice's digital sales eclipse series like Scott Snyder's Batman or Geoff Johns' Justice League sales in print.



Thing is, it is about the bottom line of issues sold. If an MK comic couldn't sustain itself, Warner can just as easily transition to toys or shirts or whatever else people buy today. The key thing is the money coming in, not where it's coming from.

Let me beat this dead horse one more time: I'd love to have an MK comic series that performed well as an ongoing. I have doubts, but certainly no opposition to this concept. Until there's an actual product though, I can only offer opinion without the assistance of an inside track. On that note, if you've got beans to spill then have at it.

Well, it happened. Injustice chapters went on to occupy the entire Top 10 on Amazon and Comixology. Your scepticism is completely baseless. These sales alone are enough to negate the direct market - that's why Injustice, despite regularly being outside the Top 100 print sales and smack dab in cancellation town was not cancelled. It's why it was launched. It is as it is.


This is just plain ignorance. Platforms (eg; Comixology), market growth (new readerships), awareness -- these aren't meaningless "buzzwords". These are the dots you haven't connected. If Comixology as a platform isn't out there in the common knowledge, then products are created to increase awareness. That is their objective. As noted above - print sales do not matter when that is concerned. They don't transition between comics and merchandise, either.

This is why Legacy is a useful example. It too was part of a cross promotion that was used to develop new media.

This is all a fundamental lack of understanding. Not scepticism. Ignorance.

It also only speaks to the likelihood of a pitch coming to fruition. The internal logic that would facilitate it happening. Which shouldn't be the only subject discussed. This should be a thread for expressing enthusiasm about Mortal Kombat comics. The concept - regardless of the business (which very much speaks for itself).

Sure why not? I think one of the reasons MK9 failed was that it FAILED to address the numerous plot points such as Shao Kahn being victorious in the Battle of Armageddon or Quan Chi being in the first tournament. Now if there was a comic to address them, then the plot would have been more bearable. Maybe a MKX comic book can do a good job in this role.

from an advertising perspective surely physical comic books in stores would be the best option, yes I know everything is connected with the internet these days but only MK fans will be looking up for digital MK comics, I believe physical comic books in stores would lure in a new generation of MK fans, you just don't have the true experience of reading a comic book via online, it sucks :/

at least have a one off physical MK comic book to go with the collectors edition.

Didnt someone at NRS hint that there is a MKX comic on the way or am I imagining things?

It would be if comics were still sold on ordinary newsstands and supermarkets and places that normal people shop, but that's rare now.

People who don't already read comics don't go into comic book stores.

And people who do go into comic book stores are too small a number, that's why the industry's dying.