A question about Disney comics in the US

[deanmary]

    I have been following the discussion about Disney comics returning to North
America again with great interest.  I keep coming back to one question though.  From
what I am reading on the list, the basic reason given that Disney comics may not
come back is that Disney doesn't feel like they could make enough money from giving
a new license out.  So basically Disney is a big and greedy company.  Unfortunately,
I totally agree with that.  Just for the sake of argument, lets imagine that Disney
grants Diamond a license and they make not even one *penny* out of it; they just
come out even.  Even if Disney doesn't make a single cent from it, wouldn't they
still come out "ahead" in the sense that the new Disney comics in stores would be a
form of free advertisement for Disney and the Disney characters?  One thing Disney
seems *very* concerned about is having its characters out in the public and on just
about every type of merchandise possible.  I realize that to Disney having its
characters on comic books would be a drop in the bucket compared to all its other
publicity.  However, isn't a drop in the bucket better than nothing?  Disney is a
very greedy company I will grant you, but they do not appear to be a stupid
company.  Why would they turn away from the opportunity to have a tiny bit more of
Disney publicity by just granting a license?  Perhaps someone on the list who better
understands Disney's viewpoint on things could enlighten me about this.  I look
forward to hearing someone's answer to this.

Sincerely,
Dean Rekich