Your 2015 Predictions, Part Two: John, I’m Only Dancing.
AND SO IT CONTINUES: welcome to the next installment after the last one of “Mike Tries Your Patience Whilst Covering Your 2015 Comic Industry Predictions” that should only go on or another week or three, so hang in there, baby. And while you’re just hanging there, feel free to leave me your predictions for 2016 so I can plan my next January accordingly.
Before I get into it, though, let me mention that this week’s Question over at Trouble with Comics is “what’s your favorite introduction to a trade paperback/graphic novel?” and with the help of blogging brother Tim O’Neil (since, alas, I no longer have my copy of this particular book) I contributed an answer. So, please go read and hopefully enjoy.
Okay, NOW to the predictions!
ExistentialMan brings into existence:
“Image will capture 10% of the comics unit or dollar share for at least six months* in 2015. I’m going to keep making this prediction until it comes true.
*None of these will be months in which Marvel releases a new Star Wars title.”
Well, according to Diamond, Image’s market share for 2015 was, on average, just under 10% in retail costs, and just over in units sold. Month by month: Image was over 10% in units sold for ten months out of 2015, and over 10% in dollar share for four months. I didn’t check, but I’m sure some of those months were New Star Wars Title months, since it seems like there was a new Star Wars comic every couple of weeks.
“Mike will discover a couple spooning on the floor of the graphic novel section of Sterling Silver Comics. Even though he tries hard not to run ‘that’ kind of business.”
Referring of course to this incident at the previous place of employment…thankfully, there’s no place for customers to hide in this new shop. Unless they’re in the rafters, of course.
“Arrow and Flash get renewed for new seasons. Constantine gets the axe. Marvel’s Netflix shows are successful. Bendis’ Powers show bombs. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and Agent Carter both get renewed. Guillermo Del Toro and Peter Jackson team-up for a five-picture Swamp-Thing deal.”
Well, yes to all of that, I think, except the Swamp Thing stuff which exists only in my head, and the Powers show, which…well, they’re still makin’ ’em, so I guess it’s not dead yet. This article calls it “PlayStation Network’s most-watched series premiere on the platform” and, well, there you go.
Chris Gumprich cashes in with
“Some long-forgotten independent comic will be turned into a TV series that will debut with huge expectations only to flop and be forgotten. (My vote is for either ‘MAZE Agency’ or ‘Detectives Inc’)”
I’m trying to think if any old indie book popped up on TV lately. I know Dreadstar was announced, but that’s probably a while off, yet. And I keep thinking of this, but that’s a few decades old. Mostly it’s just Marvel and DC stuff, but maybe I missed something.
“DC will reboot 75% of the New 52 line, reverting back to a bizarre mix of pre-Crisis and post-Zero Hour. The other 25% of the line will remain in the New 52 Universe, now strangely depopulated.”
There were certain some soft-rebooting shenanigans, but the New 52 is still holding firm. However, there were some Convergence spin-offs that are kinda/sorta pre-New 52 titles (like Lois and Clark) so there’s that!
“After the massive success of ‘Chip Zdarsky’s HOWARD THE DUCK,’ Marvel Studios will rush a feature film into production. (Whether or not it is released will be for a future new year’s prediction.)”
Had a friend in the biz once tell me, in response to my question if he thought there’d ever be a Howard the Duck movie or TV show or Adult Swim cartoon or anything, that there’s probably no studio executive anywhere who’d want to be known as the guy who said “yes” to doing a new Howard the Duck anything. I mean, yes, Howard popped up in Guardians of the Galaxy as a gag, but it’s going to a long time before he stars in a new media adaptation of any sort.
James jimmies up
“The end of Snyder and Capullo on Batman will be announced. (contract is up on #50…around next April with Convergence and September ‘event’) I hope I’m wrong, but I just have a feeling on this one.”
Well, Capullo is off the book after 51, it looks like, but Snyder is sticking around. Supposedly Capullo’s taking a break, and will be back, but we’ll see!
“Speaking of hope, the revamped Green Lantern family of titles will feature a Blue Lantern book.”
That would have been interesting, but I feel like the Blue Lanterns are better as supporting characters than starring in their own title. However, I felt that about the Red Lanterns and their titles was surprisingly good, so don’t listen to me.
“The Black Beetle Necrologue will finally be released, and it will prove to be well worth the wait.”
I had to Google that up, because I’d completely forgotten what that was. From my searching around, it’s been mentioned that apparently Francesco Francavilla’s commitment to Afterlife with Archie derailed the series for the time being, plus all the cover art demand he’s experienced. Well, all’s been quiet on the Afterlife with Archie front, so maybe the Black Beetle’s seen some progress.
Andrew ventures in with
“The first TV DC Multiverse is established when Justin Hartley’s Green Arrow crosses universes to appear on ‘The Flash.'”
I was really hoping the Smallville version of Superman would turn up on The Flash, for no good reason I could properly articulate. (And no, you’d never directly see him in costume, continuing that weird trend.) The “parallel universe” thing really opens Flash up for this kind of crossover…and with people at CBS suddenly seeming slightly more open to a Supergirl crossover, maybe that’s how they’ll do it.
“Three of the four Star Wars comics will be canceled. Two will be said to have been mini-series from the beginning, no fooling.”
Well, one was a mini (the Princess Leia series), and each mini is replaced by a new mini, in succession, which is a pretty good way to handle it, I think. The other three are still going strong, though I am surprised every time when a new Kanan shows up.
“The Fantastic Four movie bombs so hard that Fox ends up throwing the rights back to Disney. Spiteful ‘Let’s see you do anything better’ optional. Hulk vs. Thing movie goes on to earn all the money.”
The FF movie did tank like a large tanky thing filled with tanks, but I’m surprised Fox didn’t at least partner up with the Marvel Studios to retool the characters for a new film (like what’s happened with Spider-Man). However, I’m just going to have to hope beyond hope that, someday, these aged eyes will be Aunt Petunia’s favorite nephew go thingo a hulko with ol’ Jade Jaws on the digitally-projected silver screen.
googum googummed
“Marvel/Disney will continue pulling support from X-Men and Fantastic Four, unless they can extort come to better terms with Fox. They may even leave Wolverine dead for the time being; in the meantime it’ll be Avengers, Avengers, Avengers.”
Marvel seems to be downplaying their deemphasizing the character lines whose movie rights are held by other studios…at the very least, the X-books are carrying on, and I’m betting this is a prelude to Wolverine’s return. The last of a Fantastic Four book has been addressed by Marvel as letting the property rest for a while before trying again to market it. And, based on how it’s sold over the last few years, that’s not a bad idea.
“Both Squirrel Girl and that pre-52 DC thing will give fans exactly what they say they want, yet not sell as well as the crossovers fans say they hate.”
Squirrel Girl sells not too badly, but it’s not a HUGE hit. It’s an okay hit! Some of the the throwback Convergence minis did so-so, but it was mostly “this is interrupting my regular series” more than “at last! The types of comics I’ve wanted all this time!”
“The second issue drop on Star Wars is going to be brutal. Can’t think of a way to put a positive spin on that one.”
Star Wars is still going strong, only seeing some slight diminishing in sales over the last couple of months now that an actual movie is out there.
Adam ribs me with
“Fantagraphics will announce a collection of some other property that I will have to buy and which will continue the annihilation of my wallet that started with their Peanuts collection. Since Fantagraphics has already done Krazy Kat and Pogo, my money is on pre-Popeye Thimble Theater.”
I don’t think they announced another classic strip reprint series this year, did they? I’d love to have old Thimble Theater strips collected, but I’m not holding my breath.
“Backdoor pilot for another DC show, this time on Flash. Given the show’s focus on time travel, I’ll say Booster Gold.”
Legends of Tomorrow, debuting this Thursday on the CW!
“Fans will insist the DC will reboot the New 52 back to pre-Flashpoint status. DC will not do so.”
Well, as mentioned several times in this overview, there was some of that in Convergence, and a little bit even stuck around in a couple spin-off titles. But line-wide? Nope, not yet.
Bobber cycles in with
“Tom Welling and Erica Durance will star in a new CW series, Metropolis. All DC movie projects cancelled.”
This didn’t happen, but sadly, I’d probably watch that.
“Having run out of ‘metal’ names, the new 52 era will be renamed the ‘Sewage Age.'”
Can’t help but think you don’t care for the New 52, my friend. Anyway, I think we’re still in the Modern Age of Comics, though I’m still pulling for the ’90s to be called the “Chromium Age.”
“Dogs and cats, living in sin.”
Jerry Smith forges
“Avengers II will turn out to be the biggest movie of all time.”
$1.4 billion – not the biggest of all time, but still, not a bad haul.
“Ant Man will not”
Correct, but as noted last time, it made half a billion dollars, which is nothing to sneeze at.
“Marvel will push their Spider-Man and X-titles up to $4.99 per book and increase the page count. DC will do the same with the Batman books. This will work in the short term, but fail miserably when both companies try to do this with the rest of their line in 2016.”
Marvel has had an awful lot of $4.99 monthlies of late…mostly debut issues and special issues, sure, but Howard the Duck has been $4.99 for three issues which is kind of a pisser. Suppose it’s only a matter or time before it’s across the board.
“More comic book shows will appear on television, including Supergirl, Teen Titans, Starman and the Creeper. None of these heroes will have a costume or fly.”
Hey, we got Supergirl, and she’s definitely flying. I think we’re probably past the point of being coy with costumes and powers on superhero TV shows, now that we’ve broken the “telepathic super-genius gorilla” barrier.
“Marvel will give up on relaunches (kind of) and declare all titles as ‘seasons,’ running from January to December. They may or may not number the books, but everything will be relaunched every year from now on. Aw, who am I kidding? Could Marvel resist putting a new #1 on every book every January? The ‘season’ books will be numbered 1-12 (or more) every year.”
The “season” idea isn’t a bad one, I guess, since that’s in effect what Marvel is doing anyway. I think it was Bully, the Little Twittering Bull, who in a Twitter discussion on this very topic mentioned the…European(?) method of year followed by issue number: 2016-1, 2016-2, etc. I kind of like that, and it sort of allows you to put something on a brief hiatus without just outright canceling it and creating some kind of artificial “break” between series. “That old series is dead and forgotten…here’s our new first issue!” versus “we left off at 2014-7, and we’re picking it up again at 2016-1.” Anyway, I like it, and maybe it would help sell back issues.
That’s it for today…come back soon as I forge ahead by looking back at your looking ahead!
Forward into the past back to the future!
*ten hours of Inception Horn video*
“Squirrel Girl sells not too badly, but it’s not a HUGE hit. It’s an okay hit”
Call it a Minor Hit!