It’s a new year, and with a new year comes the potential for so many things. We might all start eating better. Perhaps we’ll exercise more — and stick to it. And maybe, just maybe, the comic industry as a whole will behave in a rational, productive, and collaborative way throughout the entirety of 2025.

Alright, let’s be honest. All of that is unlikely. It turns out that cheeseburgers are good, exercising is hard, and comics are weird. But positive moves in the right direction are key, and the first step to that is recognizing what truly needs your attention. It’s easy on the former two. Just dial back those cheeseburgers and try to hit the gym a few times a week. It can be a bit more challenging with the world of comics.

That’s because the comic industry is less like an island and more of an archipelago. It’s comprised of disparate realms like the direct market (meaning comic shops), the book market (bookstores and online retailers), manga (which is part of the former two but also more than that), digital (whether that’s for purchase or subscription), webtoons (as in vertical scroll comics for mobile phones, not the company), and so much more. Recognizing what is worth looking out for in comics in the upcoming year is difficult because each of those spaces operates completely differently than the others. There’s no one size fits all answer, or at least not typically.

That’s why today’s feature — which is a look at what’s drawing my eye in comics as we move into 2025 — isn’t about the broader comic industry as much as it is on the direct market in specific. Sure, there are items that will touch on other spaces, as they often bleed into one another. But keeping the focus narrow is important because of how massive this industry is. So, let’s get to it, as I share five things I’ll be watching for in the direct market (and beyond) throughout this upcoming year, with a lean towards the business side of things, because that’s what I do.

Even with that in mind, though, this is just one person’s semi-educated read on the room. If you have your own things you’re looking out for, let me know in the comments. I’m interested in your thoughts, because there are undoubtedly plenty I’ve missed in this short — but maybe not as short as you might expect! — list.

Will Marvel do anything to give its line focus?

If there’s been a consistent complaint I’ve heard from retailers in the past year or so, it’s been the generally troubling state of Marvel’s line. While there have been some ups in the mix — most notably its Ultimate relaunch, its line wide event Blood Hunt, and the From the Ashes relaunch for the X-Men 12 — those have been few and far between in a line bursting at the seams with both titles and variant covers. The publisher tends to get more rope than most because its customers are unusually brand loyal. That means the impact of reader and retailer frustration has been muted to some degree, at least so far. But the sense I’ve gotten in my conversations with shops is that patience is wearing thin.

Maybe that’s why some retailers have reported barely ordering any copies of downlist and even mid-list Marvel titles for the shelf — meaning those put out for sale for anyone who happens to walk into the store, rather than ones explicitly ordered for someone who pre-ordered a copy and/or added the series to their pull list — if they’re ordering beyond pull customers at all. The direct market is in a risk averse place right now. No one is safe from that. Not even Marvel. And with an oversized slate to contend with and a malaise hanging over its line, there’s a sense from shops that something needs to change.

More specifically, most seem to believe that Marvel’s line needs some focus.

Everything 13 feels disconnected, very little is generating energy, and enthusiasm is waning. If this sentiment sounds familiar, you’re right to feel that way. It’s been growing since 2023 when I wrote about this subject last. It’s really cooking now, though. Even top retail accounts are uneasy about what’s happening at the House of Ideas. So the question becomes, what could remedy this problem?

Some shops have whispered a desire to see the arrival of the dreaded “r” word, although no one can decide which “re” phrase is preferred between “reboot” and “relaunch.” No matter which flavor you desire, I suspect it’s less about specifics and more about seeing Marvel plant its flag in 2025. They want an effort that tells readers, “This is what you’re looking for.” Whether it’s through a unified wave of #1s or something even more grandiose is up to Marvel. It’s the end result shops want more than anything.

That could be coming. The whole One World Under Doom storyline Ryan North and R.B. Silva are launching with The Rise of Emperor Doom feels like it could be a pathway to new #1s. The mysterious “Imperial” teaser with Jonathan Hickman’s name attached to it could lead to something larger as well, although I suspect that’s not a route to a relaunch but either a) a summer event for the Ultimate line or b) an Imperial Guard series that he’s long promised/threatened us with. My money’s on the former. Marvel typically deploys the writer for big swings, not comics about Sunspot and Cannonball hanging out. 14 Maybe the publisher will double down on Ultimate, choosing to dial back its main line in favor of its secondary one. I’m skeptical that will be the choice, but there’s no way to know.

At least not yet.

The point is this, though: I suspect they will do something. The powers that be at Marvel have to see that retailers and readers alike are bored, frustrated, or a combination of both. Of course, the publisher cannot always act on the wants and needs of either of those customer types. But in this case, it may be warranted. We’ll see. They could just ask themselves, “What if we released even more titles and variants?” and try that instead. That would be pretty like them. But that would be a Band-Aid rather than an actual cure. And with the next (and maybe most important since the beginning) salvo for the Marvel Cinematic Universe on the horizon, there’s no better time than now for an energetic push towards reawakening slumbering readers.