Marvel's comic book boss is calling for a "reset" of his company, and the entire comics system

These past few years have been rough, for all of us - and also for the comics industry. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated and accelerated key issues that get the comics you love from the heads and hands of your favorite comic creators and into the hands and heads of you (and those like you). Recently at a closed-door B2B conference for comic publishers and comic stores, Marvel Comics president Dan Buckley spoke bluntly about the recent past and their comics business, and optimistically about their place in the comics business.

“Most recently, we have all been challenged by the pandemic, supply chain madness, inflation, and significant shift in distribution landscape, Buckley said at the 2024 ComicsPRO meeting’s keynote speech. “I’ll admit that this list of events is by no means complete, but this list most certainly shows that it's been quite a ride. I also want to make it clear that while the current challenges and changes are significant, I have faith in our ability to move forward.”

He continued, “It would be unwise and presumptuous for me to say that we at Marvel can address every challenge in this industry, but we do recognize that we have a leadership role, and that our decisions can have an outsized impact on everybody in this room.” 2024, he went on, “is a good time to reset, for both Marvel Comics and the direct market.”

The head of Marvel comics saying the company and the entire ecosystem of comic publishers and stores that make up the 'direct 'market' needs a "reset" is siesmic - and a judgement of the past, but also a forecast for a hopeful future.

The "reset" Marvel sees for itself and comics

What kind of reset is Buckley, who has been Marvel’s publisher for 19 years and started with the company all the way back in 1990, imagining?

His core argument is that the pandemic led the comic industry into a short-sighted survival mindset - something we can all relate to - but now the comic industry needs to refocus and plot a formidable way forward.

“We as a group need to step back and accept that the world we are operating in is very different than the one before February 2020,” he explained in his ComicsPRO presentation. “We have been moving so fast figuring out how to survive that we have not slowed down enough to review the survival process - just what has been created. We're in a new environment that is a mix of the familiar and the unknown. This led us to say that we need to get back to the basics.”

Among the basics are some key areas, including pricing – "we know that pricing is an area where we need to adjust to fit your needs,” Buckley told retailers, promising a core pricepoint of $3.99 for the majority of Marvel’s single issue comics moving forward (">we touched on that promise here) – and restoring the excitement in Marvel’s comic book output.

“We need to convey the fun that Stan and so many other creators and editors in this industry since have projected, because it is infectious,” Buckley promised, mentioning that Marvel will refocus its efforts on stories that matter to the larger Marvel Universe and readers alike. As part of that new focus, the publisher has re-established its editorial summits to ensure that creators and editors can help get on the same page and strengthen upcoming storylines. You can read more about those efforts here.

How to "reset" how comics are sold, and comics fans are made

That’s not enough for Buckley, however. He’s also looking to make improvements in how the comics are sold - to retailers and to readers, alike.

"Our promotions are focused where the bulk of our comics are placed - the direct market,” Buckley told the comic store retailer audience that makes up the bulk of the direct market. “The marketing and sales teams have reestablished closer ties to the editorial and creative teams to ensure we’re pulling proper PR and digital marketing levers that were, quite frankly, not coordinated as well as they could have been over the past couple of years. We're also working much more closely with Marvel Studios to drum up excitement for comics relating to major studio events."

And, as we’ve previously written about, Buckley and Marvel are working with other comic publishers and ComicsPRO itself to find out more about the overall health of the comic market, as well.

“A little over a year ago we realized that we were unsure of where we “actually were” from an industry and company perspective. Yes, we know our sales numbers, but we need context to actually set a meaningful course forward,” he explained. “Working with a team here at ComicsPro and others, we've been committed to finding better ways for all of us to continue improving and standardizing the access to data again. These are ongoing conversations that will take some time, but I'm confident that, as a group, we will be able to pull together data we need from the short and long term to help make the right impact for everyone in this room.”

What is Marvel Comics' "reset"?

It’s too early to be able to guess what end results will come from these efforts – beyond a more stable price point and a Marvel comic book Universe that will be more cohesive as a whole to readers – but the primary takeaway should perhaps be one that those who work in comics and just like to read them alike can take some comfort in: under Dan Buckley’s lead, Marvel is committing to not only be part of the wider comic community, but take a leadership role in it once again. As a result of the pandemic, the comic book industry became fragmented in ways that hadn’t been seen in decades; if the biggest single publisher in the business is committed to bringing everyone back together, that can only be a good thing. Especially if it means more $3.99 comics as a result.

Keep up to date on Popverse's Marvel coverage, with these highlights: Disney CEO Bob Iger is promising Deadpool & Wolverine will be MCU's biggest movie "in a long time", how Marvel Studios is now working "much more closely" to sell Marvel comics, where Marvel sees its future audience (and it's not at Marvel, yet!), Overgrown children of the atom: Marvel's X-Men can't evolve past their '90s commercial peak, and the biggest outstanding questions of the Marvel Studios' movies & TV shows.