Disney announced a $4 Billion offer for Marvel Enterprises. Will we be watching Spider-Mouse soon?

What does this mean for comic book collectors and investors?

Only time will tell, but hopefully this won’t hurt old comic book sales.

Disney, without a doubt, has the cash, know-how and marketing muscle to make the Marvel superhero stable even more of a household name. If you read the “Will Comic Book Values Crash” post from way back in February 2008, you know I think that character recognition and appreciation will continue to drive back issue sales. Who knows, with the right marketing and stories you could even see a pickup in new comic book sales.

The fears I have include Disney’s cutthroat business practices, their willingness to clamp down on creators, and their uncanny ability to try and squeeze every last penny of revenue out of a character or idea until everyone is sick of it and it dies. Let’s hope the last option isn’t in the cards for old Marvel. Also worrisome is the history of a giant media company purchasing a comic book house and decimating their movies. Can anyone say Time/Warner and DC? At least they finally came around with Batman Begins.

We’ll be watching this story and hoping for the best.

I received a number of requests for a San Diego Comic Con 2009 report, but unfortunately I wasn’t able to make it. Some other commitments got in the way, so sorry, no pictures of myself and Sean Jr. on the Con floor this year! Hopefully next year will work out. To be honest, the lighter emphasis on comic books also didn’t help when I had to prioritize activities at the end of July.

But…

Here are some eyewitness reports I’ve dug up for you to enjoy!