I cannot help but wonder if the big two (Marvel and DC) understand why sales are down in recent years and if they have a plan on how to revive sales. Comic sales were down last year and sales look like they will be down again this year. I imagine there will be an issue or two that will sell well this year and maybe even a surprise title or two. Action Comics #1000 should do well because it is a milestone, the first title from the big two to hit that issue number, but, let's be honest, it is a tainted milestone due to Marvel and DC's practice of restarting titles at #1. But when you look at the upcoming publishing plans from both companies, you cannot help but feel deja vu.
Take the introduction of Red Goblin in the Amazing Spider-Man title as an example. I'm sure initial sales will be strong, but in the end, Marvel has done this countless times and to be honest, the ever increasing list of Goblin characters Spider-Man has faced is beyond silly. When Marvel's sales are down, they give a supporting character the main character's uniform, give a character a new color or outfit, or "kill" a character only to bring them back later. And this tactic works, for a few months. You can understand why Marvel is publishing Infinity Countdown, because they have a big movie, Avengers: Infinity War, coming out this summer. But considering the original series, Infinity Gauntlet, came out way back in 1991 and we've had umpteen Infinity crossovers since then, you do wonder if the House of Ideas is out of ideas. Marvel reverted to their original numbering in late 2017, but several #1 issues have been announced for Marvel's next relaunch in May starting with Avengers #1. Marvel might as well relaunch every title monthly, allowing them to continuously publish new #1s.
When Alex Alonzo was succeeded by C.B. Cebulski in November 2017, it looked like Marvel realized it needed to make some drastic changes to stop the bleeding, but the plans for this year look like the same old Marvel we've been seeing the past decade. I still have hope that many of the titles Marvel is going to publish this year were already set in motion and, by the end of 2018, we'll see what Marvel under C.B. Cebulski really is like. If his plans are more of the same, they should expect the same results, which, unfortunately, is dwindling sales.
As for our beloved Star Wars titles, we are getting a new editor, Mark Paniccia, who is replacing Jordan White. Outside of Darth Vader, the Star Wars titles have been immune to Marvel's constant relaunching and that has been a good thing. We are entering our fourth year for the line and I like that the emphasis has been on stories over events. The few events that Marvel has done have worked because they have been limited in scope. I hope the writers continue to create new characters for our heroes to interact with and I'm happy to see the breakout character, Doctor Aphra, is able to sustain her own title.
Overall, things look pretty good, but there are some tweaks I would like to see Marvel make to the Star Wars line. In the main title, someone needs to stop Salvador Larroca from tracing pictures and coloring the character's heads. The art is awful, which is a shame, because Kieron Gillen has been telling the best stories the main title has had since the Rebel Jail story arc. Gillen has fixed the characters so Princess Leia is likable, Luke Skywalker is a Rebel instead of a Jedi wanna-be, and Han Solo is getting his first taste at leadership. I hope after these Galactic Files covers, Marvel cools it with the variant covers for a while. We get about a comics worth of artwork on covers monthly and, to be honest, I wish Marvel would just publish an additional title versus publishing more covers. I think it is a crime more stories have not been told about the characters from Rogue One. There are so many potential stories there that an ongoing or a series of mini-series is warranted.
I refuse to believe the high point of Marvel's Star Wars line is when they launched in 2015. Dark Horse didn't peak with Dark Empire, but had a series of successes all the way up to the Brian Wood written Star Wars title over 30 years later in 2013. Marvel's line has the potential to be even better than Dark Horse's, but only if they have a solid plan. Here's to hoping the new editor-in-chief C.B. Cebulski has just that for Marvel overall and editor Mark Paniccia unleashes more of the potential inherited within the Star Wars brand.
