“It is always wise to look ahead, but difficult to look further than you can see.” – Winston Churchill.

§ December 27th, 2017 § Filed under predictions § 47 Comments

It’s That Time of year again, where I ask you, the four or five remaining Progressive Ruin readers, for your comic book industry predictions for 2018 A.D., which you can place right here in the comments section of this very post.

The rules are, as always:

1. Don’t read the other predictions before entering your own.

2. Don’t criticize other people’s predictions.

3. Don’t predict any real person’s death.

4. Limit of three predictions per person, please! THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE, PLEASE DO NOT IGNORE IT. This rule also means “no multi-part list of somewhat-related predictions under one bullet point pretending to be a single prediction.” C’mon, take it easy on your pal Mike.

In a few days, I’ll start looking back at your predictions for 2017, going over the hits and the misses and the “I’m not sures,” so pack a lunch or three for that particular journey. But please, in the meantime, fill up the comment section here with your visions of the near future. Your participation remains a big part of what I enjoy about doing this website, and is always appreciated.
 
 

The Witching Hour #72 (July 1977) – art by Luis Dominguez

47 Responses to ““It is always wise to look ahead, but difficult to look further than you can see.” – Winston Churchill.”

  • Adam Farrar says:

    1. The still unnamed DC streaming service will not only include their tv shows/movies but also old comics as DC’s answer to Marvel Unlimited.

    2. Neil Gaiman & Mark Buckingham’s Miracleman comics start coming out again. (I’ll keep predicting this and some year it’s bound to come true… right?)

    3. Legion season 2 will reveal that the character that captured David at the end of the first season is Nanny (the egg-shaped one, not Magneto’s robot). Six months later the character will return to comics in an attempt to capitalize on the show.

  • Rich Handley says:

    1) A fourth Watchmen miniseries will be announced, this time involving the actual Charlton characters on which they were based.

    2) A Swamp Thing movie will be announced, and John Constantine will be in it.

    3) Scarlett Johansson will finally admit her love for me, and my wife will be fully in favor of the pairing.

  • Signal Watch says:

    1. Marvel (Comics) will try a lot of things, but not quite get their act together in 2018. Maybe solicits for early 2019 will show promise.

    2. Someone, somewhere, in writing about comics will write legitimate criticism about the actual content in a comic in a reasoned, rational manner, and not at all about the industry and their personal grinding axe. Ha ha ha. Just kidding.

    3. Red shorts at 1000

  • Jeff R. says:

    1. A character from the Watchmen universe gets an ongoing title spinning out of Doomsday Clock.

    2. Agents of SHIELD cancelled, replaced with a network TV Miles Morales:Spider-Man show.

    3. Something will go horribly wrong with the Vertigo 25th Anniversary hardcover, requiring pulped books and digital version airbrushing if not outright cancellation.

  • Jerry Smith says:

    1. Marvel will veer slightly away from political controversy in their comics under the new EIC, but sales will not drastically improve. They will not return to legacy characters.

    2. DC will become more political and offer more controversial storylines. Neither company will appeal to long-term fans.

    3. The Black Panther movie will be awesome.

  • Gordon says:

    1) Citing the popularity of its CW-themed shows, DC Entertainment will spin off at least one (ARROW) into its own theatrical release

    2) Marvel may “pull back” with its movie efforts after INFINITY WAR, citing potential fatigue as well as internal turmoil

    3) Speaking of the CW, we will see another SWAMP THING series in our lifetime. However, Swamp Thing will have a team of associates who help him fight the Parliament of Trees on a weekly basis.

  • Gareth Wilson says:

    1. The X-Men comics will explicitly abandon the idea that mutants represent real-world opressed minorities. They’l become just superheroes with a common origin.

    2. To control the cast size, the 2018 crossover between the CW DC superhero shows will involve only female characters.

    3. In Avengers: Infinity War, Thanos will cure Bruce Banner, rendering him incapable of transforming into the Hulk.

  • Mike Nielsen says:

    1) Still no new Showcase Presents volumes, and most importantly, no Showcase Presents Sugar and Spike.

  • Hassan Alamdari says:

    1-A Shazam ongoing late in the year
    2-half of the books spinning out of metal won’t last pass issues 10
    3-over 5 books that I love will be cancelled too soon.

  • Max T. says:

    1) The Fantastic Four will come back to Marvel, but not before the very end of the year.

    2) Valiant will still put out the best superhero comics not based on characters created to entertain children, but no new people will take notice.

    3) Lion Forge’s new superhero universe will quietly fade away

    4) The new Mighty Crusaders book will not see more than 5 issues come out, and then it will go on permanent standard Archie hiatus.

    5) One of the long-running CW superhero shows will call it quits. I’m thinking “Arrow.”

  • Thom H. says:

    1. DC or Marvel will attempt a new floppy format that is more pages for a relatively inexpensive price point (with cheaper paper stock or something). It will fail almost immediately, even though I love it.

    2. Brian K. Vaughan will start writing a new series at Image that everyone will go crazy for. It’s been a while since the last one, right?

    3. DC will put Tom King on a Superman book. I will definitely buy it and feel happy.

  • joecab says:

    My predictions re lame, but then so am I …

    1. There will be the faintest wisp of a reference to the Fantastic Four made in the new Avengers movie.

    2. Doctor Aphra will actually be announced as a character in the next “off year” Star Wars movie.

    3. We’ll finally see the first of those new Neil Gaiman Miracleman stories we were supposed to get (then didn’t) so long ago.

  • William Burns says:

    1. Disney loses patience with Marvel Comics’s underperformance and kicks out the guys who came up in Marvel to replace them with Disney people.

    2. Brian Bendis’s first DC comic is a Batman comic and sells very well, but six months later the sales are about where they were pre-Bendis.

    3. JH Williams returns to comics with either a Vertigo or Young Animal miniseries.

  • ScienceGiant says:

    1. Still no new issues of Miracleman.

    2. “The Winds of Winter” will finally be published. GRRM remains a critical darling, but the overall GoT cultural impact continues to collapse.

    3. Progressive Ruin continues to be THE stalwart site of funny books blogging! 3 cheers for Mike in 2018.

  • Hooray for Gooba says:

    1. The Disney-Fox deal will result in the return of the original Fantastic Four to the comic as they gear up for a new movie.

    2. Squirrel Girl continues to be the most delightful book on the shelves.

    3. Marvel will announce either a Great Lakes Avengers or Damage Control movie or tv show.

  • demoncat_4 says:

    after the disney fox deal is complete marvels first chance of using the ff and x-men characers will have the silver surfer pop up to help the guardians of the galaxy against galactus. with rocket trying to shove a bomb up the big purple guys butt . 2 tired of the delays with jl dark getting made warners will decide to just do a new swamp thing film that will lead to a new tv series and animated cartoon. 3 ragman will return to arrow and get his own tv spin off and comic at last with a guest apperance by swamp thing.

  • Brian says:

    1. Marvel streamlines its books after the late-2017 wave of cancellations, returning to a model of sublines of a few titles anchored by a single core title (Avengers, Uncanny X-Men, Amazing Spider-Man. Sales go up as readers are able to buy entire lines (even at $3.99) instead of books cannibalizing each other.

    2. AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR’s postcredit teaser will suggest the entry of the Fantastic Four into the fight in AVENGERS/4 (turns out that the discussions over regaining that license was what launched the Disney-Fox discussions). As plans for the Disney-Fox merger coalesce, it becomes clear that the Avengers etc. will remain in a separate universe from the X-Men etc., but the FF will showcase their exploratory nature by traveling between the characters’ different Earths in their new films.

    3. With the Arrowverse now so we’ll established and ARROW reaching the end of Stephen Amell’s seven year contract, the nature of the shows involved are going to start changing, beginning to crossover more, have multiple shorter-run shows sharing slots within the year, and having characters move between programs with greater frequency, as the ever-changing slate of programs becomes more and more like a live action version of a comic book universe.

  • 1. DC will launch a “BAT-MAN and the OUTSIDERS” series featuring Firestorm, Gotham Girl, and a New Gods character.

    2. Marvel will announce a SPIDER-WOMAN OGN or Mini-Series written by Dennis Hopeless and pencilled by Steve Rude.

    3. HBO will acquire the rights to Jim Starlin’s dormant “DREADSTAR” film project. The resulting series will replace and eclipse “GAME of THRONES” as a critical and pop culture phenomenon.

  • 1/After Dan DiDio writes a Batcow series that flops, Brian Michael Bendis will take over at whatever the hell DiDio’s title was in the first place. DiDio starts a MySpace page.

    2/Most people will have thought Doomsday Clock to have been well-written while at the same time hating The Oz Effect.

    3/Brainiac will continue to be ignored, both in comics and in film, and Mike Sterling will discover he is going to be the father of quadruplets.

  • DavidG says:

    1. DC will relaunch Legion of Superheroes, trying the “Lets make them all teenagers” ploy again. It will be awful.

    2. The new Avengers movie will outgross the Han Solo movie, despite it being incomprehensible unless you have seen all 18 previous Marvel movies. This will make Marvel the most favoured child at Disney, who will therefore start meddling more.

    3. No matter how good Jodie Whittaker is as the new Doctor, there will be a bunch of dicks complaining about her incessantly on the internet all year.

  • Michael Grabowski says:

    The Thing will join the Avengers and Wolverine will take his place in the FF.

    DC will attempt the “villain secretly takes over the hero’s body/role for several months” storyline with Dick Grayson.

    Either Brian Michael Bendis or Tom King will write a new Jimmy Olsen series.

  • Yestin says:

    1. The new movie helps Marvel realize the star power of Black Panther, causing him to guest star in a Wolverine/Deadpool degree.

    2. A new Legion of Superheroes reboot is announced, possibly featuring a Supergirl TV inspired version of Mon-El.

    3. Frank Miller’s the Spirit is reappraised, taking its rightful place in the pantheon of movies. Egg will be on the face of its critics.

  • googum says:

    1. Some “alt-right” book is going to come out, and be utter crap, yet everyone who points that out will be a “SJW.” (I’d say that Althero or whatever, but I’m betting that goes straight to vaporware.)

    2. Marvel’s gonna…keep being Marvel. Launch a bunch of books, cancel ’em, repeat. The returns have more than diminished, but they don’t have another trick.

    3. I don’t think Disney’s going to take Alien or Predator away from Dark Horse yet, but I suspect DH is going to back out of the licensed comics entirely. (Wait, did Disney get Buffy and Angel too? Well, whatever.)

    Gloomy, gloomy predictions this year; but that’s good, since my track record is really bad.

  • Damien says:

    I know we’re meant to wait till the end of 2018 before we respond to the predictions but I think we can guarantee new Miracleman in 2018. I chatted to Mark Buckingham at London Super Comicon back in August and he said he was already drawing it. Apparently Neil Gaiman had scripted the whole of the Silver Age but Mark took 6 months off as he and his wife have a new baby and he made enough money off Fables to take an extended paternity leave.

    Insider info there!

  • King of the Moon says:

    Brian Michael Bendis takes over a Justice League book. There will be alot of talking and all he action happens off panel.

    Chris Evan’s beard sparks movie theater riots ala Beatlemania

    Marvel will get Power Pack book out and it will be a hit. I will no longer have to explain my Friday tattoo.

  • Ryan hawkins says:

    Under new leadership Marvel will boost comic book sales by 17%

    WB will announce plans for a David Mazouz Batman movie based on Batman Year One.

    Marvel will be cheeky and mention characters acquired in the Fox acquisition in movies releasing 2018, even though they wrapped up filming prior to the acquisition…hmmm?

  • Andrew says:

    1. There will be NO official announcements regarding the future of the X-Men or Fantastic Four movie franchises. Endless speculation, however.

    2. Someone will try to revamp a long-defunct comic line, to mixed critical success and market failure.

    3. Part of Ben and Johnny finding Reed, Sue, and the kids involves helping Peter remember and undo his deal with Mephisto.

  • Hooper Triplett says:

    Towards the end of 2018, there will be valid rumors of a Marvel/DC publishing merger.

    This is also the year Marvel, DC, Image, or Dark Horse will shift from monthly releases to European-like albums for original content. I’m guessing Squirrel Girl, Batgirl, Lazarus, and Hellboy respectively.

  • Tim B. says:

    1) Gorillas will be big again.
    2) At one of the major cons (San Diego or New York) DC will officially launch their digital platform, most of the TBA DCEU films will be quietly converted to exclusive content for it, with a Netflix style limited cinematic release schedule for award qualification.
    3) Stiltman is the surprise villain of Daredevil Season 3

  • Rob Staeger says:

    Happy new year!

    Here’s what I see coming up for 2018:

    1) I’m going to keep predicting a Legion comic until DC gives me one. Like last year, I’m still going to predict it being kicked off in high style with Tom King at the helm…probably around the same time as the second Mister Miracle trade hits the stores.

    2) Afterlife with Archie and Chilling Adventures of Sabrina each get a co-writer, in the interest of putting out more than one issue apiece in 2018.

    3) Cheeks the Toy Wonder makes an appearance in the background of a panel in Doomsday Clock.

  • DK says:

    1) The trend for 2018 will be legacy characters becming parents.

    2) At least one Watchmen character will migrate to the DCU full-time as a villain. Probably Ozymandias, but could also be Rorschach.

    3) A big Marvel-Star Wars crossover property will be announced. It won’t be a comic.

  • MrJM says:

    1) Some things will get worse, and
    2) Some things will get better, and
    3) People will disagree about which things got worse and which things got better.

    — MrJM

  • Gary Guthrie says:

    1.) When Disney finally buys DC, we all get the Jimmy Olsen / Wolverine / BB-8 miniseries everyone has been clamoring for. Goofy is the surprise guest star.

    Second.) We can’t say Batman marries Catwoman, because when Bruce Wayne and Selina Kyle wed, they retire from costumed adventuring and the Bat-family of books become domestic comedies. Peter Parker and Mary Jane are the surprise guest stars.

    C.) Dr. Manhattan turns out to have been the source of The Spectre’s power all along. Mephisto and Son of Satan are the surprise guest stars.

  • Bret Sector says:

    1) DC’s success with its Hanna-Barbera crossovers will ‘inspire’ Marvel to go all in with Disney character crossovers…Spidey/Mickey; Deadpool/Goofy; and of couse Moon Knight/Dark-wing Duck.

    2) This year’s return of Marvel Value Stamps and FOOM will lead to the return of the MMMS and a re-issue of the 45rpm marching anthem.

    3) DC’s comedian comics from days gone by (e.g., Jerry Lewis, Bob Hope,…) will ‘inspire’ Marvel to start a comedian team comic made up of modern day comedians who also happen to be comic book authors as well – Brian Poehn, Patton Oswalt, Rashida Jones, Zeb Wells, and Del Close are the Comedy Avengers!

  • A.J. says:

    1) A Herbie: The Fat Fury movie will be announced.

  • David Alexander McDonald says:

    …okay, okay, I’ll try to keep it down this year. You’re an old man now, Mike, can’t lift the way you used to.

    1) we’ll see more movement amongst the bigger publishers towards European style albums, with Snyder’s ALL-STAR BATMAN gradually going that way. Marvel will revive their 1980s/1990s graphic novel line, but pooch it badly, while DC will gave trouble being consistent. The *big* winners for a while will be Boom, Dynamite and IDW (who will have Byrne adjust his design for New Visions to start the trend.)

    2) Movies/TV…DC will work up and promote a riff on Multiversity to tie films and TV shows together. New plans will be laid out to rescue the DC IP. Marvel Studios will promote the idea of a multiverse post-Infinity War as a way of pushing off continuity questions and the hassles of the TV and film arms working coherently together. It’ll still all be MCU. Sony will be embarrassed, Fox’s last X-slate will play out, and there’ll be no more X-Men until 2025.

    3) Mike will form a jug band and perform in store concerts if nothing but songs about swamp creatures. The band will be called Mike Sterling’s Louisiana Swamp Stompers and their first (and likely last) album will be titled REBORN ON THE BAYOU.

  • Richard Martines says:

    !) With the addition of Bendis to the already strong line up of King and Snyder, DC will have a boost in quality product that should result with increased sales. Add that to the Art Direction with Jim Lee as the lead guru, and I see a great 2018 for DC.

    2) I look for Marvel to cut back on titles and focus on increasing quality and sales with less product. This is what Brian Hibbs is asking and it makes sense to me. Not only for Marvel but for all comic publishers.

    3) Even with Geoff Johns as a voice of comic book fan reason at WB, I see WB continuing with disappointing movies. The Zack Snyder effect of 60 seconds of gorgeous scenes throughout the film, but having too much darkness in the plot, continues to haunt DC movies. Hopefully the Patty Jenkins effect will rise to the top. That said, my son says comic book movies seem to all be getting a bit stale.

  • Rob London says:

    1) A Fantastic Four reference sneaks its way into one of this year’s three Marvel movies – maybe something as simple as RICHARDS WINS NOBEL in a news-crawl.

    2) Someone tries to bring back the Atlas/Seaboard characters. Nobody is particularly interested.

    3) That Y: The Last Man TV show that has seemed like it was on the brink of happening for like a decade finally starts filming.

  • Greg Butterfield says:

    Marvel-Disney will pull the plug on floppies and go all digital on its periodical comics, limiting hard copies to trades and “event” comics. DC and Image will hold out a little longer but inevitably follow suit. What’s left of the traditional comics shop market will collapse; the survivors will be the big “pop culture” shops that focus on toys, games and trade paperbacks.

  • Dave Carter says:

    1) The Aquaman movie will perform above expectations and be generally liked by movie-goers.

    2) The Black Lightning television show will not be renewed for a second season.

    3) DC’s “New Age of Heroes” comics line will be plagued by delays.

  • Bruce Baugh says:

    1. Marvel will not die and crash the direct market in 2018. However, it will do something mind-boggingly stupid that nobody predicted except as a joke, and at the end of 2018, “Marvel, WTF?” will be a dominant theme in reviews of the year.

    2. There will be a Legion of Super-Heroes revival. It will be grimdark, campy, or (most likely) both. It will not do well, but it will be brandished by Gamergate types accusing SJWs of destroying comics, even though it will have nothing to do with diversity, social justice, or anything of the sort.

    3. One particular event will dominate everyone’s year-end efforts to say “oh, right, well, of course, I saw that coming, I just didn’t add it to my prediction list”. I have no idea what this event will be.

  • Chris Gumprich says:

    (Am I too late? Gosh I hope I’m not too late!)

    1. MAGE III will ship more often than not, but will gradually become later and later so that by the end of the year we’ll only be up to #10.
    2. After years of teasing and hinting, Ma Hunkel will join the LEGENDS OF TOMORROW.
    3. I will spend more money at the comic store in 2018 than in 2017. Shouldn’t be too hard, as I spent a whole $20 (Canadian!) in 2017. And that was $20 more than I did in 2016. Or 2015.

  • Anthony says:

    1. Vampirella, unfortunately, will get another “ongoing” that turns into a mini series.
    2. Avengers Infinity War will be the highest grossing Marvel movie to date.
    3. CW’s Black Lightning will be received well and join the Arrowverse taking place on Supergirl’s earth 38.

  • I am Groot says:

    I am groot.

    I am groot.

    I am groot.

  • Adan says:

    Long time reader. First time predicting events.

    1. Towards the back half of Metal, Planetary will some how be introduced into the main DC universe in a more prominent fasion…aside from that one time Elijah, Jakita and the Drummer met all these different Batmen.

    2. Warren Ellis was notified by DC that they would be using the characters and he gave them his blessing.

    3. Prices of Planetary back issues will go up in value. At which point I make a nice chunk of change.

  • Jay V says:

    I hope I’m not too late, but I’m pretty sure these are gonna come true…

    1. That Wilkin Boy becomes a breakout character on Riverdale.

    2. Someone finds another Kirby character drawn on a napkin or something and puts out an homage/cash grab.

    3. An indie film company gets the rights to put out a movie based on one of the thousands of TMNT ripoffs from ye olden 80’s B&W days. Adolescent Black Belt Hamsters? Geriatric Gangrene Jujitsu Gerbils? There were so many…

  • 1. The Avengers Infinity War movie brings in lots of customers to all comic shops looking for the ”Infinity War” comics. No retailers is able to convince excited fans to read the classic series ”Infinity Gauntlet” and people buy the sequel ”Infinity War” en masse and are utterly confused.

    2. The excitement over the appearance of Swamp Thing in the 2017 video game ”Injustice 2” and the critical failure of the Justice League movie makes Warner Bros. scramble to reboot their existing movie properties. They reboot Swamp Thing is a big live-action movie. A new DC Comic series is launched, but is quickly cancelled due to overwhelming demand for a series about Swamp Thing’s sidekick that was introduced in the movie, Baby-Swampy.

    3. Image Comics accidentally publish comics without art. Instead, their comics are replaced for one month with simple white sheet with an elevator pitch for a high-concept movie.