Marvel Finally Asks If It’s Publishing Too Many Comics. Yo, What Took So Damn Long?

Marvel, we need to talk, because something happened at New York Comic Con that had me wondering whether somebody at the House of Ideas finally opened the damn window and let some fresh air into the building. Stephen Wacker, Marvel’s new editor-in-chief, stood before comic book retailers and raised a question that should’ve been getting serious attention years ago: Does Marvel publish too many comics? Papo, I’ve been reading comics long enough to remember when finding the next issue of your favorite series felt like an event. Now you can walk into a shop and find enough number-one issues, variants, crossovers, and relaunches to make you wonder whether you’re buying stories or trying to complete somebody’s corporate checklist.

Here’s where I’m coming from. I love Marvel, and I refuse to pretend otherwise just because we’re about to put the company on the grill. Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Fantastic Four, these characters have been part of our lives for generations. As a fan, a journalist, and the guy behind Comic Crusaders, I’ve watched this industry celebrate some incredible creative achievements while repeatedly wrestling with the same business problems. I’m tired of watching publishers act like putting more products on shelves automatically creates more excitement. Create good books worth reading. Not volume. Less is more! That’s my position, and I don’t think it should be controversial.

Wacker deserves credit for addressing the problem publicly instead of walking into that retailer meeting with another slideshow about how everything is wonderful. According to the text of his remarks published by The Beat, he acknowledged that retailers have limited ordering budgets and readers have limited money. He questioned whether every Marvel comic receives enough attention to justify its publication. He even suggested that fewer titles might be part of the answer. Those are encouraging words, especially coming from someone who once worked behind a comic shop counter himself. Of course, the industry has heard plenty of encouraging words before. The question now is whether Marvel’s publishing schedule will reflect them.

Let’s stop acting like Marvel created this situation all by itself. Retailers order the books, collectors chase the variants, and publishers respond to what sells. Everybody participates in this ecosystem, even when the results make absolutely no sense for the long-term health of comics. A shop orders extra copies hoping to qualify for a desirable cover. A collector pays a premium because the cover might become valuable. The publisher sees demand for another variation and gives the market more of what it appears to want. Everybody gets their little piece of the action until somebody is left staring at a stack of comics nobody wants.

Yo, let’s talk about the comic shops for a minute, because somebody needs to remember these businesses ain’t printing money in the basement. These are people busting their asses, paying rent, keeping the lights on, and trying to survive in an industry that sometimes treats their wallets like an unlimited ATM. Wacker himself acknowledged how retailers are ordering books months before they hit the shelves, usually without the luxury of returning whatever doesn’t sell. Think about how crazy that sounds! You’re asking somebody to gamble their hard-earned money on books their customers haven’t even had a chance to read yet. Meanwhile, the distributors want their money, the landlord wants his rent, and the next shipment is already knocking at the door. Here comes another batch of number ones, another crossover, another mountain of variants. Papo, at what point do we stop calling this a business strategy and start asking whether we’re putting comic shops in a financial chokehold? Because if the books don’t move, Marvel ain’t the one staring at those unsold copies behind the counter.

Before somebody jumps into the comments screaming that variants are saving the industry, let’s bring some actual numbers to this conversation. ICv2 reported figures in June from a major direct-market retailer showing that variant covers represented more than half and, for some publishers, nearly 80 percent of the different new-comic editions being stocked. Yet those variants accounted for roughly 34 to 43 percent of new-comic revenue. Those numbers come from one retailer, so don’t go running around pretending they represent every shop in America. Still, take a good look at what we’re dealing with here. We’re talking about a business where a ridiculous amount of ordering attention can revolve around selling different covers for the SAME DAMN STORY! Listen, I love beautiful artwork. I’ve interviewed enough incredible artists to know the talent and work that go into creating a killer cover. My issue isn’t with artists getting paid or collectors enjoying their hobby. My issue is with a system that sometimes seems more interested in how many ways it can sell you a comic than whether the comic itself is worth reading. Are we building lifelong readers here, or are we just finding new ways to empty their pockets?

Collectors, don’t think you’re getting a free pass either, because I’m coming for us too! I’ve been a fan long enough to understand that feeling when you spot a gorgeous cover and suddenly your wallet starts making decisions without consulting your brain. We’ve all been there, fam. Ain’t nothing wrong with collecting what you love, chasing a favorite artist, or grabbing a special edition because it genuinely means something to you. The problem starts when we’re so busy hunting the rarest cover that we forget there’s supposed to be a damn STORY inside! You got people buying three, four, sometimes five versions of the same issue while an independent creator two shelves over is fighting just to get somebody to pick up their book. You got readers trying to keep up with their favorite characters while their weekly comic budget gets eaten alive by gimmicks. Retailers respond to that demand, publishers see those orders, and around we go again. Everybody plays a part in keeping this machine running, so everybody needs to be willing to question it. I don’t want comic shops going broke, I don’t want collectors being treated like walking credit cards, and I sure as hell don’t want talented creators getting buried beneath another avalanche of shiny covers. Give me ONE incredible comic that I can’t stop talking about over FIVE versions of a book I’ll forget by next Wednesday.

Remember when a major comic book crossover was actually a BIG DEAL? I’m talking about when you knew something special was coming, when you were counting the days until Wednesday, making sure you had enough bread in your pocket, and getting your ass to the comic shop because you did NOT want to miss what happened next. That excitement was REAL, papo! Nobody had to beat you over the head with fifteen different covers and a press release screaming that the universe would never be the same. The STORY had you hooked! Nowadays? Madre mía, every other damn book is promising some earth-shattering revelation, another new era, another relaunch, another number one. How many times are we gonna restart the same engine before somebody admits the car ain’t going nowhere? I’ve been running Comic Crusaders since 2011. I’ve seen the announcements, interviewed the creators, promoted the books, and watched publishers throw every marketing trick in the book at us. I understand the hustle. I respect the hustle. What I don’t respect is when the hustle becomes more important than the comic we’re supposed to be excited about. You can scream BREAKING NEWS all damn day, but if the story doesn’t deliver, what exactly are we celebrating?

Here’s an idea, Marvel. How about we let these talented creators CREATE? Crazy concept, right? Give your writers some breathing room to build something meaningful. Let the artists cook without feeling like every issue needs to be part of the next corporate event. Give us characters who actually grow, stories that have consequences, and ongoing series we can follow without needing a damn GPS, three reading guides, and somebody on YouTube explaining which seventeen books we gotta buy first! I’m not saying every crossover sucks or every relaunch is a cash grab. Some of those stories have been incredible, and I’ll give credit where it’s earned. I’m saying stop resetting everything every five minutes and expecting us to react like it’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. Make issue number one mean something again! Give me a reason to care about issue two, three, ten, twenty! Build something that lasts. When a comic is genuinely GOOD, you know what happens? We talk about it! We recommend it! We tell our boys, our cousins, the people at the shop, everybody! That’s how you build excitement that means something. You don’t need to manufacture a revolution every Wednesday when you’ve already got creators capable of telling stories worth remembering.

I gotta give Wacker some credit here, because he didn’t just show up talking about problems without offering anything practical. He pointed to Marvel’s Midnight launch, where three connected books got their own space on the release schedule instead of being buried beneath another pile of Marvel titles fighting for everybody’s attention. Retailers also got a chance to read the first issue before locking in their orders, and the ordering deadline for issue two came after issue one was already on sale. Hold up, you mean we’re actually giving comic shops a chance to see what they’re selling before asking them to gamble more money? ¡Mira qué concepto! Common sense finally walked into the building! Seriously, though, this is the kind of move I can respect. You’re giving retailers a little breathing room and letting readers discover something without a hundred other books screaming for attention. Does one launch suddenly fix decades of publishing headaches? Hell no! Let’s not start throwing a parade down Fifth Avenue just yet. Show me this works consistently. Show me retailers are benefiting. Show me readers are coming back because they LOVE the books, not because somebody convinced them they need six covers to complete a set. Then we’ll have something worth celebrating.

Let’s talk about the people actually MAKING these comics, because this part gets under my skin. Wacker also talked about paying creators on time, standing behind them when controversy hits, and listening to their ideas. GOOD! You’re supposed to do that! Since when did treating people with basic respect become some groundbreaking business philosophy? These writers, artists, colorists, letterers, and editors are the people bringing your characters to life! Without them, what the hell are we selling? Blank pages with a fancy logo? Come on, son! I’ve spent years talking to creators through Comic Crusaders, especially independent creators who are out here grinding, sacrificing sleep, working other jobs, and putting everything they’ve got into their stories. I respect that hustle because I know what it takes to build something you believe in. These people aren’t machines you plug into a production schedule and expect masterpieces to come flying out every thirty days. They’re human beings with talent, bills, families, ideas, and ambitions. Give them the respect their work deserves instead of treating creativity like another item on somebody’s quarterly checklist.

Before anybody gets cute and starts twisting my words, let me make something crystal clear. Wacker saying Marvel needs to pay creators on time does NOT automatically mean we’ve established that Marvel has some widespread problem paying people late. I’m a journalist, fam. We deal in receipts, not assumptions. If we’re going to make that accusation, we better have contracts, payment records, and creators willing to speak on the record. What we DO know is that Marvel’s editor-in-chief publicly put timely payments and better relationships with creators on the table. Beautiful. Now back it up! Give creators clear deadlines, communicate with them like professionals, and listen when they’ve got something to say. Nobody should have to fight to be treated like a professional while they’re helping build one of the most recognizable entertainment brands on the planet.

Wacker said something else that caught my attention. He wants Marvel Comics leading the Marvel Cinematic Universe instead of following whatever Hollywood happens to be cooking. FINALLY! Listen, I enjoy the movies. I’ve been sitting in those theaters cheering right alongside everybody else. But hold up, papo, where the hell do you think those characters came from? Spider-Man wasn’t dreamed up in some Hollywood boardroom. Neither were the X-Men or the Fantastic Four. Generations of writers and artists built those worlds, took creative chances, and gave Hollywood enough material to keep the cameras rolling for decades. Comics shouldn’t have to chase their own adaptations like they’re trying to catch the last train out of Brooklyn.

Give me the weird stories. Give me the unexpected creative teams. Give me somebody pitching an idea so wild that an executive has to put down their overpriced coffee and ask whether the writer has lost their damn mind. THAT’S where some of the best comics come from! Every experiment isn’t gonna work, and I’m cool with that. I’ve read enough comics to know that even the greatest creators can miss. I’d rather see somebody take a chance than watch another perfectly safe series come and go without leaving a damn impression. Marvel built its reputation on imagination. There’s no reason to start treating imagination like a liability.

I can already hear some folks asking whether cutting back on titles would hurt the smaller characters and the creators working on them. That’s a fair question, and I’m not gonna pretend otherwise. Not everybody walks into a comic shop looking for Spider-Man or Wolverine. Some of us love the obscure characters, the forgotten teams, and those strange little books that barely get promoted but somehow become our favorites. Those comics deserve an opportunity to find their audience, and so do the writers and artists trying to make a name for themselves.

Variant covers deserve a fair shake in this conversation too. They create paid opportunities for artists, give collectors something special to chase, and can generate real revenue for comic shops. I’m not about to sit here and tell somebody how to enjoy their hobby or tell a retailer to stop selling something customers genuinely want. The problem comes when the business starts depending so heavily on those purchases that the actual comic becomes an afterthought. There’s a difference between offering fans something special and building an entire sales strategy around convincing them they need multiple copies of the same issue.

Marvel has to be smart about whatever comes next. You can’t solve one problem by creating three more, then congratulate yourself because the publishing calendar looks cleaner. If a smaller title has a loyal readership, give it some support! Promote the damn thing. Put it in front of people who might actually enjoy it. Stop expecting every character to sell like Spider-Man before deciding whether the book deserves a chance. At the same time, somebody in that editorial office should be able to explain why a new series is launching and what makes it worth a reader’s time. That’s not some impossible standard, fam. That’s the kind of thinking I’d expect from the House of Ideas.

Somebody’s probably gonna read this and say, “Oh, Mega’s coming after Marvel now!” Come on, son. Since when did loving something mean you gotta applaud every decision made by the people running it? I’ve spent years celebrating the work of Marvel creators, interviewing talent, and talking comics with fans who care just as much as I do. Comic Crusaders wasn’t built so we could smile for the camera and pretend everything in this industry is wonderful. We celebrate the good, question the nonsense, and give creators a platform to tell their stories. If a publisher makes a decision that deserves scrutiny, we’re gonna talk about it. Doesn’t matter how famous the logo is.

So, Stephen Wacker, I respect you for bringing these concerns into the open. You stood in front of retailers and acknowledged that Marvel might need to rethink some things. That’s a start. Now comes the part where everybody finds out whether those words mean something. Because talking about change at New York Comic Con is one thing. Making those changes when the sales projections come in and somebody upstairs wants another bump in orders? Papo, that’s a whole different conversation.

Six months from now, I wanna hear what retailers are saying. Are they making better ordering decisions, or are they still playing financial roulette every month? I wanna hear from creators about whether they’re getting the communication and support Wacker discussed. I wanna hear from fans who actually buy these books. Are they discovering something new? Are they excited to follow a series? Are they recommending comics to their friends because the stories are delivering? Those are the conversations worth having, and those are the people Marvel should be listening to.

You know what I miss? That feeling when you finish an issue, close the book, and just sit there for a second because you gotta process what the hell you just read. Maybe you flip back a couple of pages to admire the artwork again. Maybe you immediately call your boy because you KNOW he’s gonna lose his mind when he sees what happened. I’ve had those moments with comics, and I’m betting a whole lot of you reading this have too. That’s the connection no marketing department can manufacture, no matter how much money it spends.

Marvel has an opportunity here. The talent is there. The characters are there. The fans are still showing up, even when they’re frustrated. Now the people making the decisions have to show us they’re listening. Because when a comic genuinely knocks us on our asses, nobody needs to tell us it’s the next big thing. We’re already at the shop, on the phone, or online telling everybody who’ll listen why they need to read it.

Give us that feeling again, Marvel. We’ll take care of spreading the word.

WEPAAAAAAAA! THE CRUSADE NEVER ENDS!

Receipts/Sources

The Beat: Stephen Wacker’s NYCC retailer speech in full

ICv2: Marvel Editor-in-Chief Stephen Wacker Talks to Retailers

ICv2: How Big Are Variants?

Comicon: At the Counter, Course Correcting America’s Biggest Publisher

AIPT: Stephen Wacker’s NYCC Retailer Day Remarks