Gary Vee strategically uses comic books as the primary medium to introduce characters and their origin stories. This creates a 'golden age' of core IP, analogous to early Marvel comics, that serves as the essential narrative foundation before attempting spin-offs, animated shows, or movies.
Gary Vee argues that legendary brands like Marvel thrive because fans love characters like Batman, not their creators like Bob Kane. This principle guides his VeeFriends strategy, focusing on building a universe of characters with rich stories as the foundation for long-term value and brand loyalty.
Gary Vee is deliberately slowing his distribution strategy for VeeFriends comics to first earn the respect of the insular comic community. By appearing at niche events and on community podcasts, he's building credibility before seeking mass-market channels, proving that authenticity must precede scale.
VeeFriends employs a hybrid model to build its audience. They create collectible value and revenue through limited physical comics and 'blind bags.' Simultaneously, they maximize reach and story adoption by making the full comics available for free online after a three-month window, creating a funnel for new fans.
Instead of writing scripts, Vee creates IP by vocalizing core stories and character origins in multi-day offsites, which are videotaped. This 'collaborative with conviction' approach allows artists and writers to execute on a founder's core vision, mirroring the Stan Lee/Jack Kirby dynamic for a modern era.
Gary Vee's creative involvement is driven by a desire to embed specific, purposeful messages into his characters. He uses figures like 'Patient Panda' to teach lessons on accountability and compassion, similar to how the X-Men used mutants to explore social issues, creating a more meaningful and resonant IP.
Despite running a world-class marketing agency, Vee asserts that marketing's only role is to raise awareness. If the core product—the story and art—is poor, marketing will simply speed up the process of everyone realizing it's a 'piece of crap.' This highlights his belief in product-first brand building.