The Next Marvel? Indie Publishers Race to Mine Comics for Film, TV
New competitors including Artists, Writers & Artisans; AfterShock; and Valiant Comics focus on a leaner publishing output and an eye toward adaptations.
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To Axel Alonso, there's something that comic books are capable of that no other media can match. "Comics are the ideal medium for producing truly ground-breaking work that creates IP that can come alive for generations," he tells The Hollywood Reporter. "Comic fans are in the vanguard of pop culture — they are incredibly discerning, so when a character, story or series resonates with them, you know you have a hit on your hands."
Alonso knows what he's talking about. As editor, and later editor-in-chief, of Marvel Comics from 2000 through 2017, he was a key figure in guiding the company from bankruptcy to the cultural behemoth it became, returning key franchises such as Spider-Man and the X-Men to fan-favorite status. Since 2018, he's been chief creative officer and editor-in-chief of start-up publisher Artists, Writers & Artisans, one of a new generation of comic publishers positioning themselves as the next Marvel to not only fans, but potential investors and business partners.
Valiant publishes a Marvelesque shared universe of superhero properties, while AfterShock focuses on unrelated sci-fi and fantasy series envisioned as mini-franchises. (Two such successes: Animosity, optioned for a movie at Legendary, and Undone by Blood, being developed for TV via Norman Reedus' Bigbaldhead productions.) AWA features a shared universe guided by Sense8 writer J. Michael Straczynski that's published alongside properties created by the likes The Boys co-creator Garth Ennis.
JMS means whatever it is won't be done before the heat death of the universe. JMS Makes RR. Martin look like a speed demon