A strange thing has been happening recently.

At a time when seemingly everyone is down on the comic side of Marvel, the tide may be turning behind the scenes, as I’ve heard a stunning number of compliments about the way they’re doing business. 7 After years of frustration, some retailers have even started to wonder, “Do they actually care about us again?” thanks to an array of small but meaningful changes the publisher has been making. That’s an encouraging sign in the midst of a prolonged Marvel malaise, even if it still comes with a fair bit of skepticism.

While everyone is eager to see what its new editor in chief, Stephen Wacker, has in store on the creative side of Marvel, most of the changes that have been mentioned are to the way Marvel handles its business in the direct market. The publisher has been tweaking its approach to the sales and marketing side in this post-David Gabriel era. 8 That might not be as splashy as a line-wide relaunch or an explosive event, but it can make a huge difference.

Many of these changes relate to Marvel’s upcoming Midnight line, a trio of titles that offer readers horror-infused reimaginings of the X-Men, Spider-Man, and Fantastic Four while inviting comparisons to DC’s vaunted Absolute books. It debuts in comic shops on October 7^th, and it almost seems to be a test kitchen for a new approach to retailer engagement, one that shops have been encouraged by. While it’s not enough to say everything will be better from here on out, it’s enough to make one wonder whether Midnight will bring a new day for Marvel.

“Marvel’s approach to promo for the Midnight launch is different from their norm, and it’s great to see!” Aaron Trites of San Diego’s Now or Never Comics said. “Any marketing assistance makes things better for us, so this is a huge step in the right direction.”

Most retailers I talked to for this piece are pleased by how the publisher is handling this upcoming launch as well as some of the other changes they’ve made of late. After a long period of seemingly throwing things against the wall to see what sticks, Marvel’s Midnight rollout resembles…a genuine plan? That might sound like a dig. It isn’t. It’s a huge change of pace that retailers are welcoming with open arms.