Duke pushed open the boardroom door and sat directly at the head of the table.
Dossiers lay across the table, their covers covereed with the logos of three distinct divisions.
The Washington Star, DC Comics, and PULSE Magazine.
Barry Diller paced the room. He had been pulled away from a conference call with cable operators in Ohio.
"You know I could be negotiating fees right now," Diller said, leaning over the desk.
"Local operators in Cleveland are dragging their feet on Showtime. Instead, I'm here to talk about comic book panels."
Duke offered a smile. "You think I dragged you here for comics?"
"I think you dragged me here for something that could have been solved by someone who is not me."
"Those comic book panels are your future programming," Duke said, tapping a dossier.
"PULSE and DC are our creative R&D department. We test characters on paper before we decide to truly spend on the property."
"You want to fill Nickelodeon's schedule? Then you need to know what kids are already buying."
Diller stopped pacing and took his seat, accepting his fate.
He normally trusted Duke to signal the way foward, but in terms of handling the day to day ocurrences, Duke was not as capable.
Although Diller did had to admit, Duke had an eye for the overall situation a little too strong, same way that he felt that Robert Evans had an eye for movies.
But he, Diller, had nothing except handling the day to day things and make sure no large financial risk happened out of nowhere.
The doors swung open.
Archie Goodwin entered, carrying a bunch of portfolios of artwork and balacing it in his scarce hands.
Behind him came two representatives from the Washington Star, their faces serious.
A DC's corporate executives followed, clutching retail distribution charts and marketing strategies.
Duke looked around the room, editors, journalists, executives, this was the print part of his company.
The Washington Star representatives spoke first.
Their editorial report detailed the paper's investigation into the Lockheed bribery scandals that had come out in a Congress investigation.
"The Lockheed story is gaining traction both nationally and internationally," One of the journalist said, tapping a folder. "We've got sources inside the Senate subcommittee."
Duke nodded.
The post-Watergate era had created a golden age for investigative journalism.
The public trusted newspapers that exposed hidden truths. The Washington Star was also trying to build that trust, one story at a time.
"Keep digging," Duke said. "This is the kind of reporting that defines a paper."
After all, they were competing with The Washington Post, a paper that was recognized even in the future.
Meanwhile, the original Washington Star was destined to be folded in 1981.
Of course, things had changed since Duke was in charge.
Luckily, The Post suffered a pressmen's strike late 1975 that bled into early 1976, which helped bring an opening for the Star to capture readership.
He turned the conversation to the future.
The Star's representatives had prepared a feasibility report on a 24/7 cable news channel that Duke had asked for.
The concept was radical in 1976, since at this time, traditional networks dedicated 30 minutes each evening to national events.
Anything beyond that was local news or reruns.
The lead journalist unrolled a chart. "We'd need facilities. Reporters capable of broadcasting live from anywhere in the country, or small HQ in states that they can then travel to where news are."
Diller crossed his arms. He had been quiet, but his skepticism surfaced.
"The cable industry is still in its infancy. Convincing local operators to carry a dedicated news cannel over entertainment... that's a tough sell."
"The first-mover advantage is worth the risk," Duke said.
The Washington Star ended their part.
A DC corporate executives stepped forward with their data.
The comic book industry operated on a newsstand model.
Print thousands, ship them to drugstores, absorb losses on unsold copies that were eventually destroyed and returned for credit.
In a way, the financial risk fell entirely on the publisher. The reason why DC and Marvel become so big was cause of this model but also cause of their own greed.
During this if your Comic/Magazine had a bigger margin rate for the newstand operator, then you were more likely to get a lot of space for your product.
DC had a cost on the average comic of 25 cents, same with Marvel.
But both of them were backed by big companies, they could afford the loss.
In this era, a 25 cent comic book's revenue was split between several people.
The retailer with 5 cents, regional wholesaler 4 cents, national distributor 2 cents, and the publisher, which received 14 cents to cover production and overhead.
Luckily, Duke had bought the Charlston Comics operation to be able to just mass produce his comics.
Despite the challenges, DC was growing.
The DC executive slid a single sheet of paper across the table.
The top of the page read "Top Ten Sales Figures: 1975-1976."
Duke picked it up, scanning the columns.
Blue Beetle, number 2 with 410,884 copies.
He raised an eyebrow.
The teenage superhero was outperforming icons who had been around for decades.
The power of good animation should never be understimated.
The executive passed the sheet down the table.
Diller grabbed it first, his eyes scanning the numbers.
"Mad Magazine," he muttered, reading aloud. "1,787,928."
He looked up. "That's not a comic. Holy fuck. What a crazy number."
"The comedy sector is a beast of its own," the executive replied. "We can't compete with them in their field. But we can dominate other things."
Diller continued down the list. "Spider-Man. 282,159."
He paused. "Marvel's encroaching."
"Peter Parker sells because he struggles," the executive said.
"He's broke. His girlfriend leaves him, his aunt is always sick. Some adults relate to that but a lot of kids are starting to find him annoying."
Duke closed his eyes for a moment as he wondered if Paul would still take a visit into Peter Parkers life.
"Superman?"
A pause. "273,000, an slight dip. He's reliable, but he's not growing. Superboy at 218,000. The Kryptonian is appealing, but he's stuck in terms of sales."
The executive leaned forward.
"The problem is the competition. Fantastic Four is at 199k. Justice League is trailing them at 193k."
"Hulk is at 182k."
"Archie? Weren't they the biggest competitors?"
"181k. Teenage demographics dont like them anymore."
The Executive contrinued, "Batman is at 178k. He's climbing. The detective focus is working. A darker tone is the direction we're leaning."
Diller set the sheet down. "That's all fine. But what's the problem?"
The executive paused. He pulled another sheet from his folder. "Howard the Duck."
Duke leaned forward. "What about him?"
"300k copies," the executive said, "His debut issue sold out before the crates hit the newsstands. We didn't even see it coming."
Diller let out a short laugh. "A duck? A duck is outselling Superman?"
"It's satirical," the executive replied, spreading his hands. "Counterculture. It caught a wave we didn't anticipate and it's eating into our market share for this year."
Duke tapped his finger against the table. "So the duck is a problem."
Duke looked at the DC team. "The Superman film is in pre-production. Richard Donner is building something special, you guys have early access."
The executives straightened in their chairs.
"Krypton," Duke continued. "Costume designs, set layouts. You'll see everything before the cameras roll."
"Create a unified brand identity. We need to push Superman back to the top, and we push the duck back to the pond."
The DC team exchanged glances. One executive began scribbling notes, his pencil moving rapidly across the page.
"Understood," the lead executive said. "We'll coordinate with production. Have the artists start sketching mockups next week."
Archie Goodwin stood up at last.
He carried a portfolio to the center of the table.
His current responsibility was being focused on PULSE Magazine.
Archie outlined the four series anchoring the magazine.
Slam Dunk was the biggest success.
The basketball manga had captured a urban demographic, drawing in readers who didn't typically buy superhero comics.
The protagonist had already matured into a high school senior and the narrative plan followed him into college, eventually the ending would be at the NBA draft.
"Plenty of steam left," Archie said. "Years of reader engagement."
Transformers had a loyal following.
The series detailed an ancient war between rival factions of sentient, transforming robots.
The synergy between the comic and the toy line was amazingf.
Each issue served as an advertisement for the metal figures in department store shelves.
'Spathion' offered something different.
This was a Historical Fiction series that followed a Byzantine assassin who used a deliberately dull blade to protect his loved ones without taking lives.
The nuanced approach to violence had resulted in slow audience growth, but the readers it attracted were dedicated.
Adults loved it, with a lot of veterans joing the PULSE magazine reading ranks.
To replace older stories, PULSE had launched Starship Troopers, a loose, action-packed adaptation of the Robert Heinlein novel.
It had the power suits that would later inspire Gundams.
But there was a problem still, the original Ben 10 comic serial had ended.
Despite the ending, the associated trading cards remained the number-one playground exchange item in the country.
"The brand still has power," Archie said. "But we've received dozens of pitches to continue the narrative."
"Aging him up, darker themes, more complex alien threats. But I rejected all of them."
He paused, letting the weight of his next statement settle.
"The original readers are aging out of the demographic," Archie continued.
"They're growing up and the magazine needs a fresh anchor."
"A property capable of drawing in a new generation."
Archie stared at Duke. After all, he came up with the first 4 properties for PULSE.
Duke nodded, he had been thinking on some animes to bring to Pulse but hasnt decided yet.
He opened his portfolio and slid a presentation boards onto the table.
Archie continued. "Ben 10 already has a huge built-in audience, and a recognizable brand."
Duke examined a colorful rendering of Heatblast. "Target audience?"
"6-14" Archie answered. "With secondary appeal to older teenagers who appreciate the story. The tone balances comedy with action."
"Merchandising?"
"Alien transformations will have each an action figures. Mattel is ready."
Diller crossed his arms. "Quality animation requires a financial commitment."
He leaned forward, "Produce an animated special first. Test the waters. If it performs, we commit to a season."
Duke considered the warning, but decided to ignore it. He was the type of guy to go all in in certain things.
Diller was paid to protect the bottom line.
But even if all the money from Ben 10 were to disposed off in the ocean and never recovered, it wouldnt affect Duke in the slightest.
Yet if it succeded, a new proven Kid IP was good news, for Nickelodeon, and for the theme park.
Duke understood that the future was cross-platform synergy.
A successful animated series would sell millions of toys, driving revenue far beyond the broadcast advertising rates.
A good story, was the engine in which all the rest of his industries moved around of.
"Greenlit," Duke said. "Go with a full production. This will be a flagship property for Nickelodeon."
The boardroom murmured, Archie gathered his boards, and a smile across his face.
'He who owns the IP rules the studio system.'
____
Dornish Son or Ironborn Daughter?
I wrote a Game of Thrones fanfic for fun, anyone interested in reading it?