It was a lighter week for notable news, so in this edition of Comics Disassembled, I’m once again looking at eight things I liked or didn’t like from the week of comics, led by some news that’s so significant it offsets this week’s lower number of items to a significant degree.

Marvel, Getting Caught Up In It

It was a tough week over at Marvel, as the comic publisher was caught up in layoffs by its parent company, The Walt Disney Co. It seems Disney laid off 8% of its workforce this week, or roughly 1,000 people (including the immensely talented concept artist and illustrator Wes Burt, who was laid off in one of the more painful settings imaginable), with marketing and branding getting hit the hardest. The biggest name to go was Marvel’s Senior Vice President of Print, Sales and Marketing David Gabriel, but he was not alone, as Devin Lewis, Darren Shan, and Lauren Bisom from the editorial team were also laid off. It was a stunning sequence of moves, with Gabriel being far and away the biggest surprise.

To be honest, the list of those who were let go feels random. I suggested to someone that the people were laid off were so incongruous that it felt like choices made by AI rather than a human, and, you know, I wouldn’t be surprised. Gabriel’s departure generated the most discussion, of course, as he’s long been the person who drives the sales machine for Marvel, something that’s proven especially essential in recent years as the publisher has struggled creatively. We’ll talk about him more in a second, as he’ll get an entire point to himself.

But the other three were bewildering in their own right, as Lewis is the editor of Moon Knight (one of the most consistent sellers at the publisher in recent years) and Daredevil, which just had a first issue that moved the needle in a way most Marvel titles have struggled to do of late. While Shan’s resume isn’t as starry as Lewis’, with a lineup of books that are mostly lower tier X-Men titles, his departure generated the most consternation from those I talked to, if only because he was so well-liked. And Bisom was close behind Shan, as she was the Senior Editor who, most notably, worked on the Marvel titles aimed at younger readers and was seemingly the only person who was doing so. That means Marvel effectively killed its future-facing efforts in one move, even if it’s clear that’s something they’ve been eager to outsource in recent years.

As someone who was laid off just last year, I readily admit that these things happen with companies, even ones with annual revenue numbers that are close to 12 figures. It shouldn’t be, though, and it’s a reflection of the unquenchable greed at the heart of modern corporations, entities that look at people as numbers and little more, most of the time. It’s also been fascinating to see how quickly this news has been used to push effectively whatever agenda an individual has in mind. “This reflects Marvel’s downfall!” “This means Disney is a disaster!” “This means this or that or something else!” It might mean those things. It might not. What it does mean with 100% certainty, though, is that at least four people — including editors who are amongst the most overworked and underpaid people in comics to begin with — lost their jobs.

And that’s a real shame. I wish those folks, and everyone else laid off during this, the best of luck as they figure out what’s next.

David Gabriel, In Specific

While this is a very sad thing to see play out across the board, we have to talk about David Gabriel in specific, as his departure was undeniably the most seismic part of this news. It’s for good reason, too. He’s been with Marvel for 23 years, and while his purview is sales and marketing from a title standpoint, he’s long been much more than that, as others have alluded to. He was one of the, if not the, most key figures at Marvel during this current period, and despite many people not knowing who he is, a case could easily be made that Gabriel has been one of the most consequential figures of the past two decades in the direct market — for better or worse.

He is, and was, a polarizing figure. His steadfast focus on deploying every trick in the book — variants, blind bags, incentive programs, etc., even bringing the modern concept of the first idea to life with New Avengers (2005) #1 — obviously came with its detractors. But regardless of where you stand on those tactics, he was undeniably good at what he was hired to do, which is “selling comics.” Some have shared that his efforts have effectively propped up the publisher during a…let’s say…challenging time for them creatively, as he knows the pressure points to push to ensure retailers order Marvel titles at great volume regardless of perceived quality. Others have suggested that he might be part of the reason the publisher is lagging to begin with, as some noted he’s had a larger impact on the creative side of late than previously before. Needless to say, the takes were all over the place.

But some of the folks I trust the most in this industry, ones who are very familiar with his work, greatly lamented Gabriel’s departure. That’s because of what I said before. The guy knows how to move units, and without him, what does that means for the publisher’s future that extends beyond plans the executive already had laid out? I’m not sure. Marvel still has his playbook in hand, albeit without the faith many retailers have in Gabriel’s long-proven ability to deliver, so I suspect we’ll see a business as usual approach for the time being. But only time will tell.

That’s the case for most of what’s to come from this story, if only because Gabriel’s exact impact on Marvel’s current environment is so challenging to pin down. It varies depending on whose feedback you’re getting. No matter where people stood when I talked with them, though, there was a concern at the heart of each response: Who replaces Gabriel? If Disney just puts someone with no familiarity with the market in the role, then a lot of opinions will change. That would be not ideal, to say the least. But there aren’t many obvious comic industry-specific fits for the role, even if Gabriel’s coaching tree is strong, as Oni Press’ Publisher and President Hunter Gorinson noted in my recent chat with him. Gorinson, Skybound’s VP of Brand, Editorial at Skybound Entertainment Arune Singh, and Image’s VP of Business Development Jim Viscardi all worked under Gabriel at the same time, and many others have as well. That’s quite the group of marketers, but I suspect none are available and/or interested in the role.

So, TBD, and it’s a big TBD to watch, as Marvel needs all the help it can get. But to close, I’ll just say this. Gabriel’s earned a ton of respect from some of the most impactful folks in the direct market, and it wasn’t by accident, and it wasn’t simply because the position he was in. It’s because his efforts helped put Marvel get to and stay at the top, and they helped retailers sell their comics as well. While I haven’t always loved the approach during his time, especially in recent years where it felt rather rote at times, Gabriel always seemed like someone who cared. And there are worse legacies to be had than that.