Muxuxing’s plan is actually very simple.
Just as Qiu Fengmao said, Huaying Comics was founded too late, at least ten years later than other well-established comic magazines. When the comic market had been basically divided up, it was undoubtedly very difficult to compete for the market with old-fashioned comic weeklies such as Baiyun Comics.
Although Mu Suxing knew little about comic magazines, he was not so arrogant as to think that he could easily beat other old-fashioned comic magazines or even enter the Western market by just taking out a random work.
The charm of the Sherlock Holmes series is unquestionable, but its inherent limitations mean that it is impossible to bring stable sales to "Huaying Comics" in a short period of time. Most importantly, the audience group corresponding to suspense and reasoning is completely opposite to the youth-oriented animation that Huaying Animation has always focused on.
Under such circumstances, the comic book that was truly responsible for boosting sales and opening up the market in the early days of Huaying Comics had to do two things:
First, the audience must have a large degree of overlap with the fan base of Huaying Animation.
Secondly, the subject matter is not limited, but it must have certain similarities with the Sherlock Holmes series in some aspects, and this commonality is the core theme of "Huaying Comics".
There aren't many novels or comics that can do both of these things at the same time. Even if there are, they aren't the type that can make a big splash in a short period of time. For this reason, Mu Suxing roughly scanned the system mall for related and unrelated works, and actually found one that fits the current situation.
As Mu Suxing finished speaking, several editors present immediately flipped through the materials in their hands. Less than two seconds later, another comic-related story outline appeared in front of them.
Compared with the rather substantial Sherlock Holmes series, this comic book, which was highly anticipated by Muxiuxing and was intended to boost sales, looked much thinner. It simply wrote out the story outline and features of the work, without any specific script or character design.
Qiu Fengmao was slightly stunned, but soon realized the reason: his boss was, after all, an animation director. It was impossible for him to have too much time to engage in comic serialization, let alone to open two comics at the same time. Obviously, Mu Suxing planned to hand over the second comic to other comic authors to complete.
The thought only flashed through his mind and was quickly forgotten.
Compared to the question of "who and which comic book author should be responsible for it", the key at present is to first determine whether this idea has the ability to increase sales.
When his eyes fell on the story outline of the second comic, Qiu Fengmao subconsciously raised his head and looked at the familiar senior editor beside him with an expression of inexplicable surprise.
"…Capture…Las Vegas?"
No one is unfamiliar with the world's famous entertainment capital. It is no exaggeration to say that this resort centered on gambling is world-famous. Combined with the characteristics of the city itself, the meaning of this comic name is obvious.
"The subject is... gambling?" One of the editors frowned and asked uncertainly.
Mu Xiuxing lowered his head slightly, and his eyes turned to the story outline on the table. The corners of his mouth raised an obvious arc, and he corrected it out loud: "If possible, I would rather you understand it as a game showdown between top talents."
Qiu Fengmao didn't say anything. He chose to continue reading in silence.
In a sense, the second comic chosen by Mu Suxing is not from any novel or movie in another world, but a real event that happened in a parallel world called Earth.
The protagonist of the story is a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is a mathematical genius who is extremely good at quantitative analysis. He was invited by his classmates to join a card counting system group - the "MIT Blackjack Group."
With the accurate card counting ability of "Intel chip", the protagonist and his friends traveled to various casinos in Las Vegas and were invincible. In order to prevent identity leakage and ensure sustainable development, the MIT21 team will disguise their appearance to avoid being recognized by the casino group.
One, two, three...
As more and more different casinos suffered heavy losses, the groups behind the casinos gradually realized that something was wrong. They began to realize that the customers who caused their heavy losses might actually be the same group of people.
In order to find out the identities of these "store smashers", various groups have hired well-known private detectives to conduct investigations and analyses. The story outline written by Mu Suxing is the confrontation between the MIT 21 team and the private detectives hired by the group in different casinos.
At the end of the story, with the help of advanced facial recognition software, all casinos blacklisted all members of the mit21 team and banned the three from ever entering the casinos they operated again. The mit21 team then walked away with the $10 million they had easily made.
"Interesting," Qiu Fengmao stared at the table without blinking, with a thoughtful look on his face: "What is the focus of this comic?"
Muxuxing smiled slightly and did not answer the question. In fact, Qiu Fengmao did not need to answer it either - after he asked the question to himself, he soon found the answer in the characteristics of the following works.
Judging from the story outline, this comic still has considerable advantages:
For example, the protagonist of the story is a college student, which is consistent with the original market of the animation. From the name, this theme can also be said to be quite rare, but it is much more attractive than simple suspense and reasoning. Most importantly, its essence is still what teenagers like -
There are mysterious card counting formulas here, such as the Ten Method and the High-Low Method. The protagonists sit at the gambling table, their brains working rapidly, and they push the beautiful metal weights forward casually. Lowering their eyes, yawning, and even the careless movement of supporting their chins with their right hands are all hints that only their companions can understand.
Although he was in his early twenties, he calmly roamed around the world's casinos. Today he was dressed as a tennis enthusiast, and tomorrow he was a businessman in a suit and tie. While chatting and laughing, he fooled the group and the private detectives sent by the other side. Finally, when his goal was achieved, he turned around calmly and walked away.
In the final analysis, it’s just one sentence.
Being handsome is enough.
Muxuxing didn't say this explicitly, but it was already very obvious in the story outline, so Qiu Fengmao would naturally see it. His expression became more focused and serious, and the corners of his mouth slightly raised - combined with the previous Sherlock Holmes series, he probably understood Muxuxing's intention.
Huaying comics has just started, so it is not convenient to have too many styles. If we really want to have one of each style and subject matter, it will not be suitable for the development of weekly comics. For the stable development of the magazine itself, Huaying comics is the best, and a fixed comic theme must be set.
For example, the theme of "Baiyun Comics" is ancient fantasy, the core of "Qianyue Comics" is romantic love, and the center of "Yanling Comics" is the passion of youth, etc.
The core of the comics is—
"There is no need for a survey to show this. As far as I know, the vast majority of readers and viewers have a certain degree of preference for characters with superior IQs," Mu Xiuxing said. "They want to see these characters win. To readers and viewers who like these people, they are omnipotent and everything is under their control."
For example, Sherlock Holmes can quickly infer a series of clues in a complete logical chain through basic deductive reasoning just by taking a look at the person who comes.
For another example, the three main characters who sat leisurely at the gambling table and easily conquered the entire Las Vegas.
"Okay," Qiu Fengmao said quickly while thinking, "So this is the theme of Huaying Comics? We can use slogans like 'Comics for all smart people'..."
This somewhat cliché statement drew a faint chuckle from the meeting room. Qiu Fengmao was not happy: "Okay, I just said it casually. You just need to know that I meant it roughly. We can discuss a more specific and high-sounding slogan later." He turned his gaze to Mu Suxing again and asked directly: "What do you think of these two comics specifically?"
"I will be the main writer of the Sherlock Holmes series, and you will be the one to arrange the assistants. As for the capture of Las Vegas..." Mu Suxing hesitated for a while, and then said, "I will only be responsible for the script of the second comic, and you will be the one to arrange the specific comic author."
This arrangement was within Qiu Fengmao's expectations. He nodded and said, "What about the length?"
Mu Suxing pondered and said, "The second comic book shouldn't be too long. This subject is also difficult to write for a long time. If nothing goes wrong, it should be a novella. When this comic book is finished, the Sherlock Holmes series should be able to perfectly inherit... or even surpass its popularity."
In fact, considering that some fans of the comics are not really interested in mystery-themed works, Mu Suxing has actually thought of a follow-up comic after the completion of "Taking Las Vegas".
It must have a high-IQ confrontation, be popular with young readers, and have the potential to help the comics expand their market. If we talk about themes that meet all three of these points at the same time, it is undoubtedly the infinite flow that has been popular in later generations, which combines horror, excitement and wonderful layout.
Until now, Mu Suxing still clearly remembers the shock he felt when he first came into contact with this type of subject matter - there is no doubt that as long as the character design and layout can be guaranteed to be exciting, the first infinite horror comic will definitely be a hit, and a huge hit.
Of course, according to current plans, this will probably happen next year at the earliest.
Retracting his wandering thoughts, Muxuxing smiled and said, "Also, I want to correct one more thing. Huaying comics are not really without any foundation."
“To celebrate the birth of “Gao Ying Manga”, the first four issues of “Gao Ying Manga” will come with official limited peripherals of “My Hero Academia”, “Cardcaptor Sakura”, “Puella Magi Madoka Magica” and “Expedition Girls”, such as key chains, bookmarks, etc.”
At this point, Mu Suxing paused, calculated in his mind, and then said, "In this case, for the first issue, I require sales of at least one million copies. This should not be too much, right?"