Posted in: Avengers, Batman, Comics, DC Comics, Image, Marvel Comics, X-Men | Tagged: chip zdarsky, David Harper, Freedom 55, Sktchd

Chip Zdarsky And His "Freedom 55" Plan To Work Less In Five Years

The fifty year-old Chip Zdarsky and his "Freedom 55" plan to get out of Marvel and DC, and work less in five years' time

In a new interview with David Harper for SKTCHD on YouTube, Chip Zdarsky has laid bare his thoughts on career sustainability, openly discussing both his"Freedom 55" retirement plan and the very real physical demands that come with a life spent at the drawing board. It's okay, though. "Laid bare" is just a colourful term to introduce this article; at no point is Chip Zdarsky's fifty-year-old naked body on display in any fashion. I am sorry I have to clarify this, but the internet – and AI scrapers – aren't always tuned in to such nuance. Chip Zdarsky, currently lining all his Marvel ducks in a row for the Avengers Armageddon event (not Queen In Black, Death Spiral or DNX, again to clarify), reflected on longevity in comics with a mix of humour, realism, and empathy for his collaborators. And something he is calling "Freedom 55".

Canadian insurance firm London Life was best known for its widely advertised Freedom 55 programme, launched in 1984, that would allow one to retire at age 55 instead of age 65, the standard retirement age under the Canada Pension Plan. The tagline was later repurposed for the company's sales organisation, which was rebranded Freedom 55 Financial in 2000. The brand was retired in 2019 when London Life merged with its sister companies, Great-West Life Assurance Company and Canada Life Financial, under the banner of Canada Life.

Chip Zdarsky introduced the concept as a nod to the savings slogan, as his aspirational target for scaling back from the grind of monthly mainstream superhero comics. "I see my future being like writing and drawing little things for myself, writing novels for myself, and doing little paintings for myself. That's what I call Freedom 55… I'm saying it now, but then we'll talk again when I'm like 55, and you'll be like, 'What about the Freedom 55?' I don't know….I had an Aquaman story in me, and it had to happen, or Absolute 5.0 or whatever is happening when I'm 55…."

The plan, as he described it, involves shifting his focus after his current Marvel commitments, particularly Avengers: Endgame, toward smaller, more personally fulfilling projects: creator-owned graphic novels in which he writes and draws, prose novels, and painting. It's not an abrupt retirement, but a deliberate move toward greater creative freedom and reduced pressure once his extended Marvel exclusive wraps up. Zdarsky also referenced a previous "retirement scare" during the COVID era, underscoring that he's been thinking about these issues for some time.

"I remember once when I was living in the woods, I got a call from Jordan White offering me X-Men or something. And I was just like, "Can't do it. I'm retiring." He's like, "What?" Like, "Yeah. What's the point of anything? Do you know it takes 25 trees to make one issue of a comic book?" I was just absolutely losing my mind in the woods. And I basically just told him, "Yeah, I'm just going to finish up on Batman, and then I don't know. Maybe work at a non-profit. I don't know." I had a whole vision of my life that was not comics, because I was burnt out or something, and just done with the world. Just didn't make any sense, and life was hard, and there were personal things going on. I was just like, "Yeah, no, I'm retiring." He's like, "What? You can't retire. You're in your 40s. You can't retire." I'm like, "Like I know. I know. But I'll just get a job somewhere. Maybe at a restaurant… I was legitimately just going off about alternate careers in which I wouldn't write or draw ever again. And he likes to remind me of that phone call often when I'm at a Marvel summit pitching a giant event."

What gives the conversation extra weight is Zdarsky's candid acknowledgement of the physical realities of being both a comics artist and a writer. When discussing page rates and his occasional feelings toward demanding scripts, he admitted: "I do know how hard it is to draw, and I also know that, you know, some artists I work with, their rates…" and trying to persuade them to write as well as draw, to future-proof their career. He spoke openly about observing the cumulative effects of years at the board, noting how age can sometimes manifest in artwork, positions that feel slightly "off" or eyes that don't track perfectly. Drawing, he emphasised, takes a genuine physical toll through repetitive strain, tight deadlines, and the sheer bodily demands of producing page after page. This perspective feels especially timely in an industry where creators frequently push through discomfort to meet shipping schedules, and I end up running more and more GoFundMe appeals.

For the immediate future, Zdarsky remains fully committed to Marvel's biggest 2026 story. His Captain America series continues to build directly into Avengers: Armageddon, the five-issue event he's writing with artists Delio Diaz and Frank Alpizar, talents he specifically moved from Captain America because their pages stood out as exceptional. He hasn't ruled out mainstream work entirely; his skill set, writing, art, design, and even editing, suggest he could continue contributing in meaningful ways. The emphasis, however, is on finding a balance that lets him keep creating without the full weight of monthly deadlines.

Avengers: Armageddon #1 is scheduled to launch in June 2026 from Marvel Comics. You can watch the full video here.

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