Every year, we ask the two big shared universes – DC and Marvel – to listen to our harebrained ideas for how to improve their lines. While sometimes we step backwards into being correct, the point of these is more to express our ideas, frustrations, and hopes for comics that we absolutely love.
That said, we want to know if we were right. Keep reading to see how far our influence traveled this year!
Marvel:
Hire. Less. White. Men.
Marvel didn’t have too many new names on titles in 2021 and my cursory look at the editorial team didn’t show any substantial shake-ups. The talent pool also seems rather thin, not in terms of quality of writing but in terms of who goes on new books. Both “Venom” and “Hulk” wrapped up and relaunched this year and they basically just swapped writers. Every new X book featured a current or former X-scribe on the title, the exception being Vita Ayala, who also took over “New Mutants” earlier in the year, and the artists/colorists/letterers had a similar bent.
Many of the assistant/associate editors, which is where new hires tend to end up, are by far less white men heavy but it’s hard for me to tell how many have been in those positions for a while and how many are new because I don’t have easy access to the Marvel Entertainment LinkedIn and Marvel makes it very difficult to get a list of current editorial staff. While one could count the “Marvel Legacy” comics in this, most of the creators in those were only there for one story and have yet to transition to minis or ongoings. There certainly hasn’t been a substantial increase in Black creators/editors at the company.
And I understand that this was a fraught and overly broad request, partially due to my position as having to guess at manufactured categories based on names and twitter/instagram profiles and partially due to wanting to also include intersectional & less visible/public identities. I think I did a good job clarifying in my original description, and the hope remains the same, but trying to quantify a yes or no for this write-up has been a challenge to say the least.
So, Marvel failed this one, in part by not hiring many new people, and in part by not having a good diversity of creators already. – Elias Rosner
Don’t Hire Scumbags and Fire Current Scumbags
Marvel wasn’t so great at this in 2021. While no one was put on any ongoing series, and a couple had ties cut with Marvel, there are still a few glaring continued relationships which have yet to be terminated or changed. Really, it was early 2021 that had the most high-profile rehire and that was, I presume, quickly downgraded because of the backlash. Not ideal but it’s a step in the right direction. Let’s hope the trend continues into 2022 and if, G-d forbid, anything gets brought to light, Marvel takes swift action rather than hemming and hawing and then doing nothing. – Elias Rosner
Create an Actual Application Process
Sigh. Seems that’s a big nope on this one. – Elias Rosner
Moratorium on the 20,000 books a month publishing choice
Marvel decided in 2021 to ignore this advice and publish around 55 books every month. This is some back of the napkin math so don’t take the number as gospel but it’s still a lot of books to put out. 15 or so a week. Every week. If you look at it in terms of series, the number is wild. Marvel put out around 107 series & mini-series in 2021, discounting one-shots & the MU digital first series but including one-shot “series” like the “Marvel Legacy” one-shots as a single series, “Darkhold,” “Curse of the Man-Thing,” and minis that wrapped up in Jan/Feb like “Deadpool” and “Werewolf By Night” which only had one issue in 2021. Without those, it drops to around 100.
DC, in contrast, put out around 45 books per month, and that’s partially inflated by Future State’s higher than average output during those months. DC had around 70 series and mini-series going throughout the year, not counting the digital first or, again, Future State, which isn’t indicative of the ongoing 2021 publishing schedule. That’s a world of difference between the two companies and it feels it. Marvel was overwhelming in 2021 and that looks unlikely to change anytime soon. – Elias Rosner
Continued belowDRM-free please?
I expected nothing and I got nothing. Maybe next year? (lol) – Elias Rosner
More Jeff
WE GOT MORE JEFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF. – Elias Rosner
We still want imprints
Well… This went nowhere, in fact I’d argue that Marvel has a less varied publishing line now than it did this time last year. Sure, there’s a bit of a depth in terms of ‘Life Story’ and ‘What If?’ becoming wider brands for different kinds of stories like “Fantastic Four: Life Story” and “Spider-Man: Spider’s Shadow,” but Marvel is simply being outpaced by every other publisher. Their only real exploration of different stories and demographics comes through forays into licensed comics and their digital-only infinite comics, while DC has had Hill House, DC Horror, and a huge Black Label resurgence. Image is diversifying Skybound, BOOM! Has BOOM! Box, Marvel has nothing. Still, their formula gets sales, so I think the company line will stick for a good long while to come. – James Dowling
Get smart, get implicative
I think this wish, for Marvel to use its continuity more constructively for longer term stories, has absolutely been a success! This year we’ve had a huge emphasis shift towards this embracing of the long term strength continuity can bring to characters and it’s made each series far more rewarding. Al Ewing has helped align and redefine Marvel cosmology while leaning into the great history-driven narrative Hickman has built across “X-Men” and “Inferno” this year. Mark Russell has used the historical groundwork of the ‘Life Story’ format in his “Fantastic Four: Life Story,” Kieron Gillen has built a tapestry of personalized history for the Eternals, Chip Zdarsky has grabbed characters from across all eras of “Daredevil” as he builds towards “Devil’s Reign,” and even the “Spider-Man” creative team have dug back into the 90s to reinterpret some of those characters from the often maligned ‘Clone Saga’ to make something more relevant in the modern day. It really feels like there’s been a greater holistic shift towards consolidating some of the more disparate parts of the Marvel Universe and making more understandable and compelling infrastructure from it.
However, it would be unfair to say all that implicative storytelling came from the writers of these books, without artists like Pepe Larraz, Esad Ribic, Marco Checchetto, Elena Casangrade and many more, we wouldn’t have had the incredible mountains of new design that help define these sleeker, more evocative character scenarios. Plus through format changes and design like data pages Marvel has had more tools to tell these bigger stories. Without all that collaboration Mr Sinister would have never discovered the Chimaera, Thanos wouldn’t rule the Eternals, the X-Men wouldn’t have terraformed Planet Arakko, and Elektra could have never become the Woman Without Fear. – James Dowling
Please for the love of god, give ongoing titles to someone other than a straight white guy
Surprising no one, not a lot of traction here. There were very few additions or relaunches to the ongoing series at Marvel this year, and a pretty big majority of those slots were filled by the same small circle of Marvel regulars anyway. The two most high profile horror series at Marvel currently, “Hulk” and “Venom” just swapped writers (albeit with the welcome injection of Ram V into the mix). Sure a new generation of creators are popping up more regularly on these books, but it’s not like many of them (Ryan Cady, Jed McKay, Christopher Cantwell) are just a new wave of the white-washed standard, despite individual merits. Even the huge push given to “Marvel Voices” doesn’t feel particularly uplifting, since it often just relegates creators into a specific niche of yearly annuals in which POC and LGBTQIA+ creators are expected to tell stories concerned with their identity above all else. It’s a good branch of stories to be teling, but it doesn’t give its creators much of a chance to spread their wings. You have to hope 2022 will be different, but teeing yourself up for disappointment every year can start to be a slog. – James Dowling
We don’t need the end of the world every day
It looks like the House of Ideas did actually make a big leap in this regard! Other than the painfully familiar “King in Black,” Marvel’s major events this year like ‘Hellfire Gala,’ ‘Infinite Destinies,’ ‘Death of Doctor Strange,’ ‘Heroes Reborn’ and (seemingly) ‘Devil’s Reign’ have all taken more novel approaches to telling high-stakes stories that don’t rely on our fear of everything in the world/universe blowing up/being enslaved/getting covered in goo.
Continued belowProbably the most marked shift in this attitude this year came from the end of Nick Spencer’s ‘Kindred Saga’ of “Spider-Man” and its morose, dragging predictions of doom and guilt, compared to the leap into ‘Beyond’ and its dangers brought in by a new Spider-Man, rather than some lurking adversary popping up on a hundred last-page teasers. It’s that new emphasis on providing big shifts in focus to a hero’s circumstances, rather than a shift in antagonists (not that that’s an innately worse approach, it’s just been played out in the last few years) which has been so successful.
It’s weird that probably the most straightforward event this year was ‘The Last Annihilation’ an Al Ewing and Juan Frigeri story, between this and ‘Empyre’ he’s settling into a rhythm of lackluster events between stellar contained stories.
Here’s hoping that this change in values (and the promise of yearly Hellfire Galas) can have some staying power and we can go into a more nuanced future for Marvel stories (and that Reckoning War doesn’t suck). – James Dowling
Hire. Less. White. Men.
While there’s always more progress to be made, DC did a pretty good job of expanding their roster of creators in 2021 both in terms of new names and in terms of a diversity of creators on their books. I didn’t do a big look at editorial, nor did I crunch numbers on percentages of creators on books (which the 100-page specials often juice,) so this is purely observational. For one, the return of Milestone, and the make-up of the YA graphic novel line, was a big portion of this but even within main line DC there are a number of new creators, many of whom clear the bar of not being cis, white men.
That’s a good step. Let’s just hope it’s a permanent one. – Elias Rosner
Bring Back John Constantine: Hellblazer
Sadly, this did not happen. Even more sadly, the only book to feature the character is running as a backup that’s going to end in 2021 unless someone picks up after Ram V on “Justice League Dark.” With his departure from Legends, I think we may be entering a fallow period for old Constantine. That saddens me. Maybe Season Two of “The Swamp Thing” will bring him back. – Elias Rosner
Don’t Let Your Imprints Die
While it’s safe to say DC’s imprints are still around, they’re not nearly as big as they were a couple years ago. Jinxworld is no more, having moved to Dark Horse for reasons that elude me, Young Animal saw its final title wrap up and its title character move over into main DC continuity, Hill House was dormant for much of the year until returning with a single title, “Refrigerator Full of Heads,” and I’m not counting the Young Adult graphic novels because that’s not an imprint in the same way, though it is by far the most interesting publishing thing happening at DC right now.
Sandman Universe lasted throughout the year thanks to the “Locke & Key” crossover, the release of “Lucifer’s” final pandemic delayed volume and G. Willow Wilson et al.’s excellent, excellent, excellent “The Dreaming: Waking Hours,” but it seems to be going back to dormancy. Black Label is still doing its own weird “we’re the home for out-of-continuity titles but also just the edgy label” thing so I don’t know whether or not to give it props. Great stuff but still really odd.
Oh and there’s DC Horror, which is different from Hill House and Black Label but overlaps? Maybe?
Milestone is really the only imprint that’s solidly around at this point and if it only had one book out at a time like DC Horror, that would be a major misstep.
So…yes there are imprints but with no announced plans for more books in 90% of them, and lots of confusion around what falls under what, it seems DC wants to focus primarily on their core line. It’s a solid and nicely paired down line, don’t get me wrong. I just wish there was room for a couple more strange and fun imprints. -Elias Rosner
Deliver on The Question mystery, Bendis
Continued belowI mean…The Question was around. Renee wasn’t really a presence and Victor was kinda there in “Checkmate” but disappointingly, much of what made me love Bendis’ “Action Comics” early on never made a comeback in any of his books. I know it ended in 2020 but what a fizzle out it was (and I’m still not over the way Melody went out.) Anyway, here’s hoping we get SOMETHING with Renee or Victor in 2022. -Elias Rosner
Bring the Bat Family Back to Prominence
I am relieved to say that Bruce Wayne’s extended Bat Family has slowly returned to prominence, thanks to the watchful eyes of James Tynion IV and the “Batman” editors group. As I said in the 2020 wish list, there were hints of those extended family pieces returning to the chess board, but this year a lot of those characters got prominent roles in earnest. “Robin” saw Damian Wayne pull the al Ghul family back into the fold, while Dick Grayson finally shook off the stench of the ‘Ric’ status quo. Jason Todd starred in a “Future State” series that inexplicably extended well beyond the event itself, as well has had a flagship role in the launch of the “Batman: Urban Legends” anthology. Tim Drake came out as bisexual across a number of anthology stories, and the Batgirls Cassandra Cain and Stephanie Brown kicked off a colorful miniseries together. There’s still a few prominent figures that have been keeping to the shadows: Batwoman is really nowhere important to be found, outside of an anthology story here and there, and Huntress had a short stint as a “Detective Comics” side character. For the most part, the bat books have really been embracing the full cast with clearly defined roles. At least for now, everyone has their memories of who they are and no one is clearly off the table. That’s a relief, since DC is intent on publishing as many Bat titles as they can. – Vince Ostrowski
Don’t Give Up on the Spirit of Future State
I think I have another winner on my hands here. In 2020, I surmised that “Future State” was really repurposed 5G material in the wake of the firing of Dan Didio, a publishing initiative that my podcast co-hosts (insert plug for the DC3cast and possibly even our Patreon here) and I were actually quite looking forward to, before it crashed and burned. Jim Lee claims 5G and the replacement of the old guard heroes was never going to be a thing. Joshua Williamson told us that very little of “5G” had anything to do with “Future State.” If I take them at their word, but still kind of read between the lines a bit, I have to think the DNA of 5G is still running through DC Comics today. It’s a bit like the quarterback of your favorite football team telling us he’s immunized and then finding out later he’s unvaccinated, but I digress. If you look around the line, it’s brimming with a youthful spirit that is allowing the legacy characters to move up in the world, pushing the older heroes back just a bit, but not eliminating them or taking them off the table, by any means. Superman went off-world, leaving the mantle in his son’s hands. Wonder Woman left Earth-Prime for a surreal and existential spirit quest. Aquaman is still very much around, but Jackson Hyde has taken the main role in those books. Batman left Gotham, leaving the– well, you get the idea. A wise man (it was me) once said there is no reason why DC can’t have their cake and eat it too when it comes to making roles for legacy heroes. The spirit of youth that is apparent across the line right now, while still maintaining the old guard, is pretty good evidence of that being true. – Vince Ostrowski
Downsizing
Last year I hoped that DC would keep a relatively small line of comics while still fostering new and old talent to tell high quality stories. They have arguably fulfilled that wish, with a few caveats.
The main “DC Universe” line has stayed fairly trim. It’s the not twenty-odd book line o had hoped for, but it’s also not fifty-two. At least, I don’t think it is, I haven’t counted. The publishing line does feel rather bloated in it’s out of continuity and Black Label books that tend to fall under the banner of “uninspired Batman book.” Black Label has been on the up and up, however, with books like “Batman: Imposter” and “Wonder Woman Historia.”
Continued belowDC has also done a pretty good job of bringing in new and exciting talent. Future State was an excitinh exercise in new talent, especially on the artistic front. Writers like Brandon Thomas and Jeremy Adams have left a huge impression on me this year. The combo of Dan Watters and Dani on “Arkham City” has been a revelation. DC has also managed to put seasoned vets in exciting positions, such as David Lapham’s work on “Detective Comics” and Michael Avon Oeming’s work on “Midnighter.”
All in all, I’d say DC made good on my holiday wishlist. – Zach Wilkerson
Get the JSA right
They appeared in a double page spread in the backup of the “Stargirl Spring Break Special,” and that panel seemed fine. Maybe next year? – Brian Salvatore
Digital First Showcase ’21
I’m calling this a half-win, as while they certainly didn’t put forth a book with this title, through some digital first titles, the increased Bat-anthologies, and the re-emergence of backups, we’ve gotten stories focused around Vixen, Bibbo, Midnighter, and more. I’d still like to see this codified into something a little more concrete and focused on new talent/new stories, but I’m glad that DC isn’t totally excising their lower tiered characters. – Brian Salvatore
Tap into the spirit of the 90s
This is another half win. We have Wally West, Jace Fox, Yara Flor, and Jon Kent all with their own starring vehicles, which is absolutely tapping into the legacy of the 1990s, but there are less chances being taken monthly in terms of new characters and new titles. But hey, this is honestly far more than I expected. – Brian Salvatore
Just give us a good Shazam book that comes out monthly
We got one really good miniseries this year, and there’s a second really sharp looking one coming next year. But still, just please give us a fucking Shazam book. Go the “Aquamen” route and make it a Billy, Mary, Black Adam book. Whatever. Just give it to us! – Brian Salvatore
