10 New Year 2018 Resolutions Marvel Comics Should Make
4. Make Marvel A Place Worth Staying For
By Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America (Brian Michael Bendis) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Brian Bendis' switch from Marvel to DC earlier this year was nothing short of incredible, and a move that pretty much no one saw coming. While we now know the writer packed his bags on account of his love for Superman, his departure was only the latest in a long line of big-name creators swapping the House of Ideas for something different.
Ed Brubaker, Rick Remender, Kelly Sue DeConnick and Matt Fraction are but some of the names that have left Marvel in recent years, and while the publisher still has a boat load of talented individuals in their ranks (and will no doubt have even more in the years to come), it should be a concern.
Of course, the superhero genre isn't for everyone, and it's only natural that these creators - incredibly talented that they are - would look for new challenges and creative outlets at some point. It's a natural part of the business, but this year, more than others, should be the year that Marvel makes everyone jealous. Give creators the license to do what they want, and make the creative process an enjoyable one for all concerned.
That, and stop cancelling everyone's favourite books. That'd be great.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
