The Business of Comics for August 7, 2026
Dark Times at Dark Horse: Dark Horse appears to be dealing with more internal turmoil. Over the past several months, the publisher has parted ways with the founder and CEO, survived a corporate reshuffle within their parent company, closed their mobile app and retail store, absorbed staff unionization, and initiated layoffs. Now, the union is accusing the company of undermining the layoff negotiations by promoting senior editors to management positions. This move could put the in competition with union members instead of working in solidarity with them. Dark Horse appears to have reversed course after this accusation came to light, but it is a reminder that lawfare is often the first choice when trying to resolve a situation. As we discussed in an earlier video, lawfare is the strategic use of legal systems, lawsuits, and procedural maneuvers to intimidate an opponent, damage their reputation, or drain their resources, rather than to genuinely seek a resolution. Creators who might be interested in working with Dark Horse and publishers who have or may have union employees in the future need to monitor the Dark Horse situation to see how all this impacts the comics that they’re trying to publish.
Seduction of the Superhero Fatigue: Hollywood and the entertainment press have struggled through several days of mental gymnastics trying to explain the success of Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The film has generated more than a billion dollars in a week, making it one of the fastest films to reach that point. The reason for all this consternation is that Brand New Day doesn’t fit the narrative of “superhero fatigue” that pundits started predicting in 2009 with the first Iron Man movie (which is hilarious when you consider how successful the genre has been over the past 20 years). But you see, there is a reason mainstream outlets constantly reject popularity metrics, sales figures, and other evidence of the pop culture impact of comics. There is a reason why you rarely hear anyone talk about rom com fatigue, sci fi fatigue, YA fatigue, or reality TV fatigue. The reason is that comics have had a social stigma for more than 70 years, and if you want to sell comics, especially to new readers, you’re going to have to find a way to overcome that stigma.
In the 1950’s, a man named Henry Wortham published a book called Seduction of the Innocent, which claimed, without actual proof, that comics were harmful to children, and society as a whole. Wortham gained a platform during the McCarthy era, and because of testimony like his, Congress threatened to ban comics throughout the United States. This led to dozens of publishers closing, the creation of the Comics Code, and the negative perception of comics in America that has persisted ever since. This is why comics were far more diverse in Europe and Asia prior to the 21 century. This is one of the reasons why you’ll see post after post about “superhero fatigue”. It is simply a modern euphemism for the idea that comics in general and superheroes in particular don’t deserve attention. If you are going to attract new readers to your comic, it is not enough to entice them with your story. You have to manage, consciously or subconsciously, their trained perception that the format of your art isn’t worth their time.
Growth at the Kubert School: The County College of Morris has acquired The Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art, Inc. Beginning in Fall 2026, students will have even more opportunities to prepare for a career in comics. The Kubert School has been an institution in comic book education for more than 50 years, and the merger with a larger school could mean more resources and opportunities for students. Attending a comic book school like Kubert can provide an aspiring comic book creator a streamlined education and industry connections that can evolve over an entire career, but keep in mind that a degree in comics studies has never been required to be a professional in the industry, and the tuition you have to repay, could make it harder to have a career in comics when you get out.
Copyright Control: Here’s a Creator Question: Does having a copyright for a comic mean you control the comic? Owning the copyright to your comic is an important component of control, but it is only the first step out of four. As soon as you create, or pay for someone else to create, an element of the comic, whether it is the script, the character designs, or the final pages, you have a copyright in that comic. But the best way to prove you have a copyright is to register it with the copyright office. Please do not mail the comic to yourself, that is not a thing. After that, you then have to enforce your copyright against anyone who might infringe on it. As we said last week, if you don’t enforce your rights, they aren’t worth much. Finally, you have to ensure that you don’t inadvertently give away your control to a publisher, studio, or other creator in a contract without being compensated for those rights. Creation, registration, enforcement, and negotiation are the four pillars that will help you maintain control of your comics. The more of them that you don’t have, the weaker your control will be.
How Much Marvel Was Enough: Sony Pictures may be taking a victory lap with the success of Spider-Man: Brand New Day, but one financial outlet thinks they should regret a decision they made about the character thirty years ago. In 1998, Marvel was trying to emerge from bankruptcy. One of the things they were trying to sell was the film rights to their IP. Sony grabbed the film rights for Spider-Man and all his related characters for ten million dollars, but Marvel allegedly also offered them all the Marvel characters (except for the X-Men and Fantastic Four) for twenty-five million dollars. Sony decided the rest of the Marvel IP wasn’t worth it, and the rest is history. The Spider-Man live-action and animated films have made over 11 billion dollars over 11 films, but the MCU has gone on to make 33 billion dollars over 38 films. This isn’t to say that Sony would have made the exact same movies or had an equal level of success. In an alternate timeline, they could have made 38 movies of the same quality and success as Kraven the Hunter, and nobody wants that. But this story does highlight the difficulty entertainment businesses have in predicting the future. In 1997, I had a boss who told me that no one would ever watch video on their computer or their phone. That was wrong. You’re doing it now. In 2022, when I was working at Marvel, I had an executive tell me that we couldn’t have three successful movies in a row. Also wrong. The point is not that Sony should have bought Marvel, or that the success of the Spider-Man films should be downplayed. The point is that you can’t predict the future as a creator, so don’t waste time worrying about every opportunity or succumbing to decision paralysis. Just make the best story you can and get it out to as many people as possible. The timeline will take care of everything else.
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Have fun.
Gamal
PLEASE NOTE: THIS BLOG POST IS NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR LEGAL ADVICE. IF YOU HAVE A CONTENT, LICENSING OR INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ISSUE, DISCUSS IT WITH YOUR LEGAL ADVISOR OR CONTACT C3 FOR A FREE CONSULTATION.
