Roaming the World
Western restaurant.
After Caroline, Captain America, made her dream declaration, the atmosphere at the dinner party got better and better, and everyone gathered around Caroline to talk about the American Dream.
Adam smiled bitterly to himself, but could only carefully minimize his presence, as if he had returned to the era of being a drama queen.
Unbeknownst to everyone, there was another person, Meng Zhilan, lurking among them.
Compared to Phoebe's various "it's so good" attitudes, Adam could tell that Caroline truly had the aura of a ' Captain America' —a figure of great virtue and righteousness.
It seems that her father's death had a significant impact on Caroline.
Adam respected this, but he did not actively agree or take it seriously.
He's long past the age of youthful idealism and now sees everything in a two-sided way.
Zhou Renshu once said: Don't look at what others say, but look at what they do.
Adam wholeheartedly agreed.
Like a spectator, he was momentarily lost in thought, his mind wandering from Caroline's ' Captain America ' aura to the Avengers, his imagination running wild. "Captain America couldn't beat Loki and almost knelt down. Loki said: 'I said, kneel down...'"
After the dinner, there will be a period of time.
Adam finally got to experience what it's like to be famous.
The reprint of 100,000 copies was rolled out nationwide, and the Lord of the Mysteries began to appear in the newspapers. Whenever Joey saw related reports while wrapping ham in the newspaper, he would excitedly show them to Adam.
Of course, the newspapers were just tabloids, not high-end newspapers like The New York Times, and the "bustling scene" was actually just a lively affair within a small circle.
But compared to the days when nobody cared, it's much better now.
What truly moved Adam were the comic book and production companies that Jack kept bringing him, though they were all small production and comic book companies.
These small production companies have a plan: to acquire promising but not yet blockbuster works, and then, once they become hits, sell them to large companies that want to acquire them at high prices, acting as middlemen and making a profit from the difference.
Adam naturally refused.
No matter how sincere the other party's words are, he won't agree if they're not a middleman.
Because that would be even worse.
For example, the copyright of a hard science fiction master's work was sold cheaply to a small company. This small company was not a middleman making a profit; it was determined to create a science fiction blockbuster, but its capabilities were simply not up to par, and in the end, the project failed.
That's not so bad.
Imagine if it hadn't turned out to be a sci-fi romance film instead, that would have been truly disgusting.
The comic book company we found was slightly better.
However, Adam still rejected those small comic book companies because their resources, such as distribution channels, were too poor, and they couldn't even guarantee the quality of their adaptation of Lord of the Mysteries.
Until someone from Dark Horse Comics arrived.
The three major companies in the United States comic book industry are DC, Marvel, and Dark Horse.
DC and Marvel need no introduction; they both continuously continue their own superhero series. If they can't continue, they reboot them, and comic book fans love this approach, so there's no need to consider anything else.
Dark Horse Comics, on the other hand, mainly adapts well-known non-comic works into comics, leveraging the fame of the original to reap the benefits of related merchandise.
As Lord of the Mysteries gained fame, it naturally attracted the attention of Dark Horse Comics.
After negotiations, with the support of Random House, Dark Horse Comics offered a high royalty rate of 30%.
Comics are usually published in single volumes, a thin booklet that typically sells for $4. However, Lord of the Mysteries Volume 1, The Joker, is divided into more than thirty single volumes, with a total price of over $120, which is more than double that of a novel.
If the average sales volume reaches 50,000 copies, after deducting the 30% contact fee paid to Random House, Adam can get 5 * 120 * 0.3 * 0.7 = $1.26 million.
This is just for comics; the real money goes to film, games, and commercial licensing.
The entire copyright industry chain of fantasy universes such as Harry Potter, Star Wars, Marvel, and DC is easily worth tens or hundreds of billions of dollars.
So don't blame East Country for talking about IP in everything later on; it's just that developing full copyrights is too lucrative and profitable.
Adapting a novel is much simpler than creating an original work. Dark Horse Comics is a large company, and they quickly organized comic artists to complete the first volume. Taking advantage of the novel's release, they simultaneously launched a comic book of the same name.
Compared to the lengthy text-heavy novels like Lord of the Mysteries, comics, with their combination of images and text, are more like a movie storyboard. Plus, their small size and low price (less than a tenth of the price per page) make them more suitable for widespread promotion and dissemination.
$4, you won't lose out.
New Jersey.
Leonard left class in a good mood and walked out of the campus.
Ever since Adam scared Jimmy away with his "I Can Play All Day" threat, the news spread that Leonard had a tough friend, and no one dared to bully him anymore.
After all, Jimmy's tall and strong physique is among the best even in a football team. Otherwise, Sheldon's father, who has the same face and physical condition, wouldn't have been able to play football first and then become a football coach... Seriously.
Not only that, Paige, whom he had always thought was his girlfriend but had to hide underground for various reasons, no longer said the same old thing when he was helping her with her homework while she kept drinking Belarusian cocktails, "Leonard, you're so great. I wish all men were like you."
I occasionally wonder where Leonard's tough-guy friends come from.
At this point, Leonard's quick wit came through. He summarized the tropes in the comics and made up all sorts of nonsense.
But Paige always vomited profusely when drunk, actually believed it. While vomiting, she mumbled to Leonard, who was supporting her, about the legendary stories of Adam Captain America, Spider-Man, Batman, and Duncan.
In the future, Paige, with the thesis written by Leonard, will attend Cornell University, one of the Ivy League.
Of course, the real reason wasn't Leonard's help in writing the papers or the high GPA from years of homework in high school, but rather Paige's family's good financial situation.
Not everyone can drink Belarusian cocktails every day at such a young age.
Aside from his ever-present, cold and demanding mother Beverly, and the fact that he never celebrated a normal birthday or holiday, sunshine truly entered his life.
In my memory, the only time that came closest to a birthday celebration was when his maternal grandfather passed away. All the relatives gathered together, and yes, there was a cake. Although I knew it wasn't a good thing, I was still quite happy that time.
He's always exchanged papers instead of gifts during holidays since he was a child, something he actually quite enjoys because of his love for science.
As Leonard walked, he thought to himself, "If only I could ignore the trivial family matters like my cold and demanding mother causing me to wet my pants in public at this age, I'd be bursting with happiness!"
"There's a new comic!"
As Leonard passed by the Comic Book Store, his eyes lit up, and he pushed open the door and went in with a big smile.
"Huh, the Lord of the Mysteries, Adam Duncan?!"
Because of the advertising, the Comic Book Store placed Lord of the Mysteries in a prominent position, and Leonard saw it at a glance. The art style, which was very different from that of superheroes, immediately attracted him. When he casually flipped through it, his eyes were immediately fixed on the author's name.
PS: Thanks to ReiChan, ko90, and Single Wang 111111 for the rewards!