Year in Review 2019 Featured Columns 

2019 in Review: Multiversity’s Management Team Weighs In

By , , , and | December 27th, 2019
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In years past, at the bottom of our Year in Review pieces, we would have an ‘editor’s thoughts’ section. Since the site has somewhat restructured this year, with folks taking on less editorial positions and more focused responsibilities, it seemed better to relegate these thoughts to a separate piece. So, senior editor Brian, social media manager Kate, news manager Chris, weekly reviews manager Matt, and manager at large Jake all chimed in with their thoughts on a few categories that we felt needed discussing. Join the conversation in the comments!

BEST WRITER

Brian: So, we feel this needs to be addressed: of the 11 writers to get voted on by our staff, all 11 are Caucasian. Diversity is a tough thing to mandate in a situation like this, and it is a more complex situation than it may appear at first blush. Our staff, mainly, reads mainstream comics, and while representation behind the scenes is definitely better than it was a number of years ago, mainstream comic companies still have a long way to go.

What do y’all think about this situation?

Kate: In terms of what we read, I think we’re starting to scratch the surface of more of the indie comics out there, but more work needs to be done. I don’t want to be in the business of assigning people things to read (because we all went through that in school and probably hated it to a certain degree) but we as managers, and everyone who oversees a regularly published column, have to be better at pushing and encouraging each other and our staff to think outside the mainstream, especially outside the Big 2.

I recall that one of our staffers had volunteered to start up an indie comics side of Multiversity this year. I’m not sure what happened with that, but I really want to get it off the ground in 2020.

I also know that the American Library Association’s Graphic Novels and Comics Roundtable, which is a new initiative within the Association, has been putting creator diversity front and center in their work to build the Best Graphic Novels for Adults Reading list, and in general awareness building of graphic novels and comics in libraries. One of our former reviewers is on the board, and I wonder if we can use them as a resource to, as Paul from Comics Syllabus puts it, “read widely and dig deep.”

In terms of our staffing, this is an area that we really have to work on for 2020, particularly when it comes to gender. According to my last count, we have five women on staff (counting myself) and two on our staff who are (as far as I know) non-binary. That is not the multiverse of comics, not by a longshot. I have no easy solution of how to work on that. Personally, I want to bring in more women’s voices to our site, but we have competition in that respect from Women Write About Comics (who are great folks, by the way – – I contribute there) and I do not want to steal from them.

Women’s History Month is March of each year and I’m committing now (Lord help me) to doing something for the site for that, even if it’s just a “Women of Comics History” snapshot each day to spotlight women creators — and women comics writers — doing great work.

Chris: Absolutely agree, it’s an issue of our staff’s tastes and those publishers not doing enough to have a more diverse line-up of writers on their books: I’m certainly surprised Ta-Nehisi Coates or Saladin Ahmed aren’t on the list despite them respectively writing two of the biggest titles at Marvel, so perhaps the issue is that their books aren’t being promoted as “important” the way Cates or Aaron’s comics are?

Jake: I was gonna mention Ahmed! I’ve written about this elsewhere, but I think transitioning into comics from other media is harder than people let on, and Saladin Ahmed has had one of the easiest transitions into the comics medium that I’ve ever seen. Looking at his work you’d think he had decades of experience writing scripts.

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When I see how very white this writer list came out, I see two potential solutions. One is a technical solution- coming up with a different voting system, one that better reflected our values. The other would be a more personal solution- encouraging our staff and ourselves to be more conscious about the books we choose to keep up with. I don’t think I have much of a head for technical solutions (not ones that work anyway). But I can definitely push myself to be more thoughtful about which comics I read, and I’m sure I could do the same in which books I recommend, and how we focus our coverage.

Matt: There are obviously larger issues of diversity at play within the comics community, issues that are grander than anything we could easily solve within our relatively small sphere, but I’d love to see us playing a larger role in championing diversity when we see it. And it’s not just about ‘diversity for diversity’s sake’ either, because some of the most interesting, innovative and unique comic works today come from diverse voices with unique styles and perspectives that are absolutely pushing this medium forward.

In short: yes, there is a problem with a lack of diversity, both on the page and behind the scenes (and indeed, as Kate said, within our own community on the site), but great, diverse talent is out there, and we should all be doing more to recognize and highlight that.

Brian: The other part of this is that there were a fair amount of writers of color that got votes, and got many votes, just didn’t fall into our Top Ten. That’s not an excuse, but if we published our top 30 [92 writers got votes], Ram V, Mariko Tamaki, Christoper Priest, Bryan Edward Hill, Vita Ayala, Saladin Ahmed, and Gene Luen Yang would have all made the list.

I like to believe that our lists are a meritocracy, but I know that’s bullshit. I think having this conversation is a good first step in addressing the issue, but rest assured, it isn’t the last step.

THE DAVE STEWART AWARD

Brian: This is the third year running that the same three colorists have been our finalists for this category. It’s hard to tell if that means that we need to eliminate them for next year, or if we are living in a time when there are clearly tiers of talent, and by eliminating them, we are eliminating the best there is.

Chris: I feel as with the case regarding writers, are our reading choices causing us to overlook some potentially great colorists? Or are publishers limiting them by relying on the same pool of talent?

Jake I mean, I stan for all three of these colorists. There’s a reason we keep coming back to them. But it’s also true that the industry keeps hiring the same set of colorists for most of the top books, which limits exposure of folks doing fabulous work in the indies.

I’d be interested in giving special consideration to artists who do their own colors. It’s impossible for me to separate Stephanie Hans’ linework from her colors in “Die.” But she’s not the first person I think of when I think colorist. It just goes to show how interconnected the different elements of comic book storytelling are.

Matt: This is tied into the same issue as above: people – myself included – need to branch out and read more. There’s no denying that the three people chosen are super talented and each deserving of their place on this list, but there are so many talented colorists out there, so maybe this is an issue with people’s reading habits?

BEST OGN

Brian: I feel like this was, perhaps, our strongest category of the year. Did 2019 feel especially momentous to you guys as well?

Kate: Yes. It’s been a banner year for graphic novels overall. Just look at the New York Times bestseller list for proof – – Raina Telgemeier’s Guts was tops on that list for several weeks. And more and more European graphic novels are getting English translations. There’s more out there than ever before that isn’t a collected trade paperback.

Continued below

The big 2 publishers are getting their hands around this for sure, but still finding their own identities. DC’s all ages line (what is it called these days??) has some good graphic novels, and Marvel has dipped its toes into YA prose. I would love to see them do more, as thanks to the rise of the popularity of manga worldwide, the attention span and buying power is more on the longer form than weekly or bi-weekly floppies.

Jake: Every year I tell myself I’m gonna read more OGNs and every year it gets away from me. I saw all of these winners come out this year, and didn’t commit to reading to any of them. That’s totally my bad- I have a lot of people in my life who like comics like this and they are always looking for recommendations. Maybe y’all can keep me honest in 2020 and remind me that I want to commit to reading more graphic novels.

Kate: Well Jake, we could always use another review on our OGN team . . . *wink*

Matt: Just look at that list of OGNs! This was a banner year for amazing books, and while I’m the same as Jake (I’m always ashamed at how little I’ve actually read when these ‘Best of’ lists are released), there were a good few books so big that they were impossible to miss.

BEST TV ADAPTATION

Kate: Our top picks have finally caught up to what the rest of the TV awards season has been for at least two or three years now: dominance by streaming services over traditional television. And the one “traditional” TV show on there (Watchmen) came from a pay TV network.

What it also says is the relationship between network television and comic book shows: there really isn’t one if you’re not the CW. Agents of SHIELD limped to its finish (in my house, we still haven’t finished watching season 6), and while that will be back next year for one more season, I’m not holding my breath. The decision to fold the TV division of Marvel into the rest of Marvel pushes those shows to streaming platforms. Even some of the CW shows are weakening; Supergirl seems to be limping along and I would not be surprised if we just get one more season of Kara Danvers. (This season hits the magic number of 100 episodes that sets it on the syndication train.)

All that said, the CW’s newer crop of shows, Black Lightning and Batwoman in particular, have been excellent, and Crisis was one of the best crossovers yet. With the end of Arrow nigh in early January as well, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a CW show in our top three next year, even if giving Oliver Queen and company the honor is based somewhat in sentimentality, much like the Emmys are wont to do for TV shows in their final season.

Chris: A little sad to see no love for Netflix’s short-lived Daybreak, what a surprisingly charming and quirky show – R.I.P.

Jake: I know it wasn’t perfect (the animation budget seemed to run out in places) but Young Justice got me in ways I find it hard to articulate. It was difficult to slip back into the swing of things (at first), but those are my favorite versions of a lot of DC characters. I even came around on Beast Boy (a character I never much cared about). Something about this cartoon gets me, and hits me right in the heart.

Brian: I am glad that Watchmen was such a hit, as maybe it’ll encourage networks to take on shows that require more than just a quick adaptation. The show was thorny and tough in ways that, say, The Flash never could be.

BEST ONGOING SERIES

Jake: What I strong year! I want to call attention to “Daredevil,” which is a book I thought I was alone in loving. Turns out everyone has quietly been enjoying Zdarsky’s take on the character which is nothing new, but executed to perfection.

I’m also surprised to see “Immortal Hulk” finish in first place for the second year in a row. Seems that the novelty hasn’t worn off or anything. The books I remember talking about with Multiversity staff this year were “Giant Days” (at #2) and various “X-Men” books. The latter split the vote by not being a proper ongoing, but I was surprised that so many people were keeping up with “Daredevil” and “Immortal Hulk.” I’m also surprised that Marvel is able to quietly keep putting out a good thing. Usually when they have a hit, they try to turn it into seventeen miniseries, and then you forget how good the first thing was. But in the case of these two series, they trusted their creators and look what happened!

Continued below

Kate: I really gotta get on the “Immortal Hulk” train. What I saw at NYCC that’s coming in 2020 had me very, very intrigued.

BEST ARTIST

Jake: Can I confess something to you? I never got into the “Luther Strode” comics so I kind of missed the boat on Justin Jordan and Trad Moore, but the two of them were responsible for two of my favorite comics this year (“Reaver,” written by Jordan and “Silver Surfer Black” illustrated by Moore). There’s probably a lesson in there somewhere about open mindedness, but right now I just really want a piece of original artwork by Trad Moore to hang on my wall. I’m shallow that way.

Also, I know that Sana Takeda’s incredible talent isn’t a secret at this point, but she’s unbelievable. Her work in “Monstress” looks simultaneously like she tore the images directly from my dreams (and also nightmares), but then I look again and it’s like nothing I’ve ever imagined. She just occupies this liminal space where I lose track of all sense and certainty. Lots of artists are great, but no one is great quite like her.

Kate: I would have loved to see a few more European artists in this category, particularly Italian artists. I read a lot of Titan Comics titles for a column I do at Women Write About Comics, and Titan has found some excellent talent in Italy: Claudia Leonardi, Roberta Ingranata, Claudia Ianniciello, just to name a few. I was surprised not to see any of these make our top 10.

Brian: I think part of that is that Titan’s books are often licensed properties, and I know that I, personally, rarely check out licensed books for which I’m not a fan of the source material.

And we did have an Italian on the list! Don’t be forgetting Andrea Sorrentino!

BEST LIMITED SERIES

Jake: Man I had difficulty with this category this year. A lot of that is the fault of Mr. Jonathan Hickman, who loves to challenge accepted publishing conventions. You saw this in a big way in his last creator owned series “Black Monday Murders” where he played with page length, publishing schedules, and even how the comics are bound. Then this year he did a 12 issue “X-Men” story… and published it as two discrete 6 issue miniseries. “Two series that are one!” each issue declared.

And we’re a team that likes rules and structure, so “House of X” and “Powers of X” were counted separately, and took the first and second place spots respectively. Which is actually kind of insane. You’d figure that with any other double miniseries, it would split the vote and only one would end up on our list.

But I think it’s worth considering the questions Hickman is trying to get us to ask. Especially with the comics publishing business changing like it does. I initially put together my personal top 10 series of the year and included a lot of books that ended up being counted as miniseries (such as “Assassin Nation” and “Murder Falcon”). What about a book launched as an ongoing but cancelled after a few issues? Or “Once and Future” which was conceived of as a miniseries and extended into an ongoing? What about when Marvel launches a book that they call an ongoing, but we all know it is a lie, and that it is a miniseries? Or Image’s new seasonal model, like what they’re doing with “The Weatherman,” which renumbers every arc, but is undoubtedly an ongoing series?

Our approach so far has been to talk each possible exception out, and I love that kind of talk, but I also think we should consider that the divide between ongoing and limited series is getting so blurry as to not exist. Maybe next year we should revise our categories. “Best Series” and “Best Arc?” I’m not sure.

Matt: That’s definitely an interesting idea, and while it’s a logistical nightmare in situations (like this) that rely so heavily on categorisation, personally I love that there are creators willing to stretch and break the norms of periodical releases, especially within the big three. As more and more of the best books of the year (these lists notwithstanding) are coming from smaller publishers and even self-publishing – along with the ever-varying ways in which people are consuming their media these days – I can’t imagine it will be long before the whole Direct Market model of periodical distribution is questioned by the mainstream.

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That all sounds rather pompous doesn’t it? There were some great Limited Series out this year, and I love that many of them are about the creators coming together to produce a finite story, told really well.

Brian: Personally, I love the Limited Series category, because I think it is one of the purest ways to enjoy comics. While I am far more of a ‘I love the fact that my dad read “Action Comics” in the 40s and I read it in the 90s and my son will read it in the 20s’ kind of reader, I think for folks that are more used to traditional book publishing, a limited series is a nice invitation into comics.

As for the sliding classifications, you’ll find that even if we separated by arc. “Wait, these two arcs were collected as one, so is it one arc or two?” “This is technically the prelude to ‘Event Leviathan,’ does it count as part of the arc?” Publishers don’t make this easy on us, but that’s why were’ [not] paid the big [any] bucks.

BEST FILM ADAPTATION

Chris: I personally think Captain Marvel is a better film than Spider-Man: Far From Home, its structure is a fresh take on an origin story, and its story of misunderstood refugees is more topical than FMH’s tale of fake news. Still, I’m pretty pleased with this top 3, and to see Joker nowhere near it.

Brian: I could not disagree more. Captain Marvel felt very paint by numbers for me, as most Marvel origin films do. Far From Home was far more full of life and zest than Captain Marvel. While I enjoyed both, only one of them really stands out for me as something other than the typical Marvel Studios churn.


//TAGS | 2019 Year in Review

Brian Salvatore

Brian Salvatore is an editor, podcaster, reviewer, writer at large, and general task master at Multiversity. When not writing, he can be found playing music, hanging out with his kids, or playing music with his kids. He also has a dog named Lola, a rowboat, and once met Jimmy Carter. Feel free to email him about good beer, the New York Mets, or the best way to make Chicken Parmagiana (add a thin slice of prosciutto under the cheese).

EMAIL | ARTICLES

Christopher Chiu-Tabet

Chris is the news manager of Multiversity Comics. A writer from London on the autistic spectrum, he enjoys tweeting and blogging on Medium about his favourite films, TV shows, books, music, and games, plus history and religion. He is Lebanese/Chinese, although he can't speak Cantonese or Arabic.

EMAIL | ARTICLES

Kate Kosturski

Kate Kosturski is your Multiversity social media manager, a librarian by day and a comics geek...well, by day too (and by night). Kate's writing has also been featured at PanelxPanel, Women Write About Comics, and Geeks OUT. She spends her free time spending too much money on Funko POP figures and LEGO, playing with yarn, and rooting for the hapless New York Mets. Follow her on Twitter at @librarian_kate.

EMAIL | ARTICLES

Jaina Hill

Jaina is from New York. She currently lives in Ohio. Ask her, and she'll swear she's one of those people who loves both Star Wars and Star Trek equally. Say hi to her on twitter @Rambling_Moose!

EMAIL | ARTICLES

Matt Lune

Born and raised in Birmingham, England, when Matt's not reading comics he's writing about them and hosting podcasts about them. From reading The Beano and The Dandy as a child, he first discovered American comics with Marvel's Heroes Reborn and, despite that questionable start, still fell in love and has never looked back. You can find him on Twitter @MattLune

EMAIL | ARTICLES


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