Off Panel #213: Superhero State of the Union 4.0 with Oliver Sava

In this week’s episode of Off Panel, The AV Club’s Oliver Sava returns for our annual chat about the state of superheroes. Sava discusses where superhero comics are right now, DC’s big changes, Marvel and DC’s current architects, Bendis killing it on DC, Immortal Hulk, the coming Hickman era on the X-Men, Tom Taylor’s greatness, recent moves by creators, house styles in art, The Joker and Harley Quinn’s immense presence, Ink and Zoom’s launch books, Squirrel Girl’s coming end, what we’re excited for on the horizon, and more.

You can find Sava on Twitter and his work on The AV Club.

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Thanks to this episode’s sponsor, TKO Studios. TKO is a new comic publisher with current or upcoming comics coming from people like Roxane Gay, Jeff Lemire, Garth Ennis, Gabriel Walta, and many more. They also are taking a different approach to comics, as they binge-release their comics, with each title coming in the format you prefer. Whether that’s single issues in a collector’s box, trade paperback or digital download, TKO has you covered. And even better? You can read each of TKO’s first issues on their site, right now. If you’re a store that’s interested in learning more about stocking TKO’s titles, you can email them at retailers@tkopresents.com.

Thanks to my patrons, including – but not limited to – Nathan House, Lytwyn Studios, Alex Dimitropolous, Terry Dodson, Troy-Jeffrey Allen, Liana Kangas, Keigen Rea, Milton Lawson, Wesley Gift, Shawn Kirkham, Harry Small, Alister Ross, Julio Anta, Brett A. Schmidt, Jason Goodmanson, Paul Reinwand, Connor Farner, Vita Ayala, Jay D’Ici and Matt G. Gagnon, Aditya Bidikar, Tara Ferguson, Dave Slusher, Ciaran Marcantonio, WMQ Comics, Akylle, Kokaachi, Phil White, Ben Becker, Shaun Pinello, Kent Heidelman, Phillip Sevy, Al Ewing, Ryan Alcock, Nick Michelin, David Kelley, Robert Wilson IV, Nick Poleto, Eoin McCready, Brenden Fletcher, Gary Moloney, Jonathan Nilsson, Matthew Groom, Jason Nassi, Adam Bogert, Xavier Files, Maria Schweitzer, Matthew Taylor, Tyler Turner, Nick Pitarra, Jacob Sareli, Ford Gilmore, David Baroldy, Ira James Udaskin, Modern Magic Stories, Nick Hall, Bobby Angus, Bjorn Basen, John Hendrick, Steve Anderson, Phil Knall, Ian Maxfield, Cliff Chiang, Benjamin Schipper, Colin McMahon, Chris Palmer, Scott McGovern, Nathan Fairbairn, Cat McKenzie, Greg Rucka, Adam Highfill, Nicholas Gardner, Andrew Corrigan, Fiona Staples, Chris O’Hollaran, Mark Abnett, Mike Murphy, Michael Shirley, Tom Barnett, Jim Demonakos, Norbert, Nick Lowe, James Kaplan, and Mission: Comics and Art in San Francisco. You’re all the best.

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Header art is from the cover of Event Leviathan #1, art by Alex Maleev. Off Panel’s theme music is an original track by custom music agency Upright T-Rex Music, written and performed specifically for the podcast. A huge thanks to Ross and Cody from Upright T-Rex Music for putting the track together!