Six Sixteen

Chip Zdarsky on Marvel’s new push to make great comics

Marvel’s recent creative and editorial retreat had a singular focus.

I really enjoyed this recent conversation between Chip Zdarsky and David Harper. The chat was a wide-ranging one, covering a variety of topics, but I got excited when Zdarsky talked about being at a recent Marvel Comics creative retreat. This was Stephen Wacker’s first creative and editorial retreat as Marvel’s new editor-in-chief.

On Wacker’s approach, Zdarksy said:

It was wild. […] I knew going in it was going to be a very different feeling retreat. And positive. Even if we were talking about negative things, it still felt really positive. A big chunk of it was just kind of discussing the comic industry, discussing Marvel, and their place in it, and what can be done better, and… basically, how to make better comics.

I like the sound of that! Zdarksy, then, went on with this high praise for Wacker:

Steve is the best. […] Like, this guy's going to make great comics.

Inside VisionQuest’s mindspace mansion

The series is a cinematic and action-packed conclusion to the WandaVision trilogy.

I’ve been enjoying VisionQuest on Disney+. WandaVision remains my favorite MCU series, and I’ve been enjoying the new series, especially since it will be the end of the WandaVision trilogy. I expected more of a low-budget kitschy series, but it has been cinematic and action packed. VisionQuest has surprised me.

Marvel has posted a great behind the scenes feature on Vision’s trippy mindspace mansion.

Much of Marvel Television’s VisionQuest occurs entirely inside its protagonist’s head. When the series begins, Paul Bettany’s synthezoid has crafted his own Mindspace, which manifests as a strange, gleaming white mansion. There, Vision can wander the (mental) halls, revisit memories, and consult with the other A.I.s who reside there — including the nefarious Ultron (James Spader), who’s contained behind a firewall that keeps him locked away in the attic.

There’s a link to the behind-the-scenes feature on YouTube too. All in all, a really great behind-the-scenes post for VisionQuest fans.

Will Gosling’s MCU Ghost Rider join the Midnight Sons and take on Mephisto?

There’s something brewing in the darker corners of the Marvel Universe.

Brian Walton’s at ComicBook.com has a post on rumors of a Midnight Sons follow-up to Ghost Rider:

Marvel Studios is reportedly developing a Midnight Sons movie as a follow-up to Ryan Gosling’s MCU debut in Ghost Rider. According to insider Daniel Richtman, the supernatural team-up is being planned as part of Marvel’s expanding horror lineup, with Gosling’s Ghost Rider expected to arrive in theaters in 2028. Richtman is also reporting that Sacha Baron Cohen will return as Mephisto in that film.

I’m not normally a chase-the-rumors kind of guy, but I did wonder what sort of tie-ins the new Ghost Rider film might have with the wider MCU. I had already thought about Sacha Baron Cohen’s Mephisto. There’s a natural connection there, and I would love to see more Mephisto.

There’s something brewing here in the darker corners of the Marvel Universe. I just wrote about Benjamin Percy’s hopes for a body horror Ghost Rider in the MCU. While I remain skeptical the MCU goes full horror, Percy’s view carries some weight. He’s one of the writers leading Marvel’s efforts on the new Midnight Universe line of comics. Right now, these are separate efforts featuring separate characters, but anytime I see a recurring theme across comics and film, I sit up and take notice.

So long, Professor Xavier

Patrick Stewart was a Star Trek captain, my Professor X, and so much more.

I was sad to hear yesterday that Patrick Stewart had passed. He was 86, and died Wednesday at his home in Los Angeles, following a brief illness involving Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia. I love this quote from the AP post:

“We lost one of the greats of stage and screen today,” Hugh Jackman, a frequent Stewart co-star in the “X-Men” universe, said on social media. “And, in my book, a tremendous friend and man. I learned so much from him. I will miss you, Patrick Stewart, all of my days.”

He is the embodiment of Professor X in the minds of many. He certainly is for me. It’s hard to believe he’s gone.

I first discovered Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation. I was never a Star Trek guy and still generally am not a fan of that franchise. Don’t come for me, please. I say that just to say how Patrick Stewart changed that for me. There was something about him that made me care, even when the larger universe wasn’t particularly my thing. That’s saying something.

Once he became Professor X, it was a perfect marriage of a great actor with a character I loved. Xavier needs a certain presence, and Patrick Stewart had that in spades.

His life in acting was already well established before either of those signature roles. Stewart trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and spent decades onstage before becoming Picard at 47. He was knighted in 2010 and developed a friendship with Ian McKellen that extended beyond their roles together.

That’s so much to have done and be proud of, and then you add in his signature roles. And yet, he wanted to keep going. Molly Edwards at GamesRadar+, reporting in July on Stewart’s response to retirement rumors, quoted him as saying:

I can't imagine ever officially 'retiring.' I'll always and forever be an actor.

His passing will make his return as Xavier opposite McKellen’s Magneto in Avengers: Doomsday especially beautiful and bittersweet. I’m glad we’ll get to see him as Xavier again. For me, Stewart is my Professor Xavier, and he always will be.

Benjamin Percy wants a horror MCU Ghost Rider

Percy is seeing horror where Marvel sees Ryan Gosling’s face.

Kofi Outlaw at ComicBook.com on Benjamin Percy’s hopes for an R-rated Ghost Rider:

“Like, give us the body horror. Give us a really hellish iteration of Ghost Rider on the screen.”

When asked if he thinks Marvel Studios is long overdue for launching a horror corner of the MCU, Percy added, “We live in a golden age of horror. It’s time.”

I feel like Percy has been spending too much time in the Midnight Universe. He's seeing horror everywhere. I’m skeptical. There's no way the MCU does a horror version of Ghost Rider with Ryan Gosling starring. A few creepy moments, some monsters, a flaming skull that looks great in the trailer? Sure. An R-rated horror film built around watching his skin melt off? Nope.

Marvel wants more out of that Ryan Gosling face.

New Marvel Comics app to replace Marvel Unlimited

Ultimate subscription tier sees new comics added to the app 30 days after publication

There’s a new Marvel Comics app launching next month. It’s being built by WEBTOON in partnership with Marvel. The Marvel Unlimited app will soon sunset to make way for this new app. Here are more details from Marvel’s announcement of the new Marvel Comics app.

Fans can explore what catches their eye through a dynamic cover-scroll interface that makes thousands of comics browsable at a glance or turn to personalized recommendations tailored to their reading history and interests. Character and creator pages let fans follow journeys across arcs and storylines, and Pull List surfaces new issues from followed series, characters, and creators the moment they're available. Fans can also browse Upcoming Releases to see what's coming soon and add titles to their Pull List ahead of release, and enjoy updated smart panels for a better reading experience.

The features mentioned here sound nice, but I’m most excited about the new app embracing a DC Universe Infinite-style subscription tier that allows for reading new comics 30 days after being published. The Ultimate tier will cost $12.49 per month or $99.99 a year.

I’m normally a day-and-date comic shop guy for the series I collect. X-Men and Fantastic Four are on my pull list. I’ve added the new Midnight Universe line for now. But there are so many more comics that come out each week, comics I would love to read but can’t afford. This subscription option allows me to catch up on those other series in an affordable way, while not getting so far from the publish date that I can’t keep in sync with the normal publishing schedule.

There’s even a Founders Offer right now that takes the Ultimate tier to $59.99 for the first year. Sign me up. Literally.

A big fall season for Marvel with the Midnight Universe, DNX, and more

There’s a lot going on in the world of Marvel lately, even if this blog has been quiet.

I can’t believe I let it go so quiet here for the last month. It wasn’t intentional. Sometimes life sneaks up on you. So what have I been up to lately? There’s always a few things Marvel-related going, but this fall looks especially promising.

I’m about 80% complete on Marvel’s Wolverine game now. I have mixed feelings about it, but overall, I’m enjoying it. I hope to finish the game in the next couple weeks and write up my review here. I know most people have already made their call about playing it—or not!—but I think it’s still worth looking at how the game. There are some promising ideas there, even if not all of them are well executed.

I’m also really liking recent comics from Marvel. I have thoughts on the Midnight Universe line. DNX also has captured my attention. I wonder how others are going to receive this mini event, given the Age of Revelation event wasn’t that popular.

I’m also wanting to get back to playing some Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game, both locally here in Atlanta and virtually with my friends not here. I’ve got some other fun things brewing with that game that I hope to share updates about soon.

So there’s a lot going on for me and Marvel, even if my work here hasn’t been prolific recently. That should all be changing now. More updates to come soon!

Don’t blame mythology for Zack Snyder’s bad DC movies

All comic stories are essentially myth stories

Garth Franklin writes at Dark Horizons on Zack Snyder’s reflections on his take on the DC universe. Specifically, Snyder has thoughts on what made his comics universe work out differently than the success seen for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“[Marvel is] like an amusement park ride, right? The ups, the drops, the kind of cruising part, and then another drop. At the end, you’re like, ‘Wow, that was crazy, that was awesome.’ I had no interest in that. And you know, maybe that was a mistake. But I don’t think that way. I can’t do that. I’d rather just kind of talk about the mythology of them. And maybe that’s not as fun.”

This is a crazy take. Comic stories are inherently myth stories, even at Marvel. The Snyder-verse version of DC was dark and brutal. If that’s what Snyder means by “mythology,” then sure. Or you know, maybe Marvel just makes better movies.

Those Middling Reviews for Marvel’s Wolverine Game

Too much and too little all at once.

Game reviews for Marvel’s Wolverine game are starting to come in. I watched a few of them last night and read some more this morning. Here are a few for your consideration. Consensus is this is a just-ok, good-but-not-great game.

Let’s start with the most critical of the reviews I’ve seen. The Kinda Funny Games team is tough but fair, focused mostly on the expectations for Wolverine being high given Insomniac’s streak with their Spider-Man games. No one at Kinda Funny thought the game held up to that standard, especially around combat. As the Kinda Funny guys note, Insomniac takes a lot of chances with the way they tell comic-inspired stories, and if the combat doesn’t work, you’re left with strange story choices to carry a game.

The IGN review was likewise critical of the game’s combat and its simple and repetitive nature.

Then, there’s Giovanni Colantonio’s Polygon review, Marvel’s Wolverine is the biggest disappointment of the PS5 era:

The disjointed story suffers from balancing so many elements; a second-act war with The Hand, Marvel’s ever-present ninja gang, comes off feeling like a five-hour DLC digression in the middle of Logan’s personal reckoning.

One man’s failing is another’s success. This same Hand diversion was praised as a nice respite from the otherwise lackluster gameplay in the Kinda Funny review above. It sounds like that’s part of the problem with this game, though. Insomniac took a something-for-everyone approach with this game, and again as Kinda Funny notes, when you make a game for everyone, you make a game for no one.

I will definitely still play this game when it comes out on Tuesday. My plans are to play every night after work and post my own review as soon as I complete the game. I imagine I will have similar reactions, but also, I’m such a sucker for any comics-based game, especially Marvel ones. I can’t wait to spend a few hours wandering around the Marvel Universe, even if this isn't the best from Insomniac.

Marvel Comics needs a hit, but stats don’t tell the whole story

On the ways statistics can lie.

I’ve written previously about Marvel being absent from recent top 10 charts for comic sales. There’s a real problem here for Marvel. Rich Johnston at Bleeding Cool sees the pattern continuing with last week’s chart data.

[…] these are the top ten sellers for last week, from 1st of September to the 7th of September, 2026, including comparative sales ratios, with Batman #13 dominating, and the DC Next Level launch titles doing well, DC taking the top five, with seven in the top ten, against Marvel's three […]

These stats are surely directionally true. DC, especially the Absolute line, is the biggest thing in comics currently. Go to any comic shop and you’ll see rows and rows of Absolute comics, as well as other big hits like Batman. Marvel Comics are still stocked, but DC gets the premium shelf space.

I do wonder how much these week over week stats are skewed by Absolute Batman and other Absolute comic series reorders. A runaway hit will skew statistical trends. Again, this isn’t to say that Marvel isn’t getting it handed to it by DC right now. They are. But what would these stats look like if you removed reorders and additional print runs from the numbers? I suspect the gulf is not as wide as these individual stats make it seem.

Regardless, Marvel needs to correct this. They need hits. I’ve heard good things from those working for Marvel, about the Midnight Universe line and other things in the works with the new editorial leadership. Here’s hoping this new direction does its job. Marvel needs to correct this trend before it becomes a permanent pattern.

Like what you're reading?