Posted in: Comics, Marvel Comics | Tagged: layoffs, react

Comic Book Industry Reaction To This Week's Marvel Comics Firings

The Comic Book Industry's reaction to this week's Marvel Comics firings, from writers, artists and reporters...

Published Thu, 16 Apr 2026 16:57:10 -0500

Article Summary

Marvel Comics saw major layoffs, including SVP David Gabriel and key editors, as part of Disney-wide cuts.
Industry voices express shock and disappointment, highlighting the talent and dedication of those let go.
Concerns raised over Marvel's lack of focus on YA comics and its ongoing financial and leadership challenges.
Many creators share stories of positive experiences with laid-off staff, calling the cuts a significant loss.

Over the last couple of days, Bleeding Cool has repeatedly broken the news of specific layoffs at Marvel Comics, SVP David Gabriel, executive communications director Timothy Cheng and longstanding editors Lauren Bisom, Devin Lewis and Darren Shan, as a part of wider Disney layoffs. I took briefings from a number of industry figures, with widely different takes from "business as usual" to "look to see more of the kind out outsourcinbg deals like Abrams, Fantagraphics and Dark Horse". All these were private, but a number of comics industry figures, writers, artists and more, who have worked with those hit with layoffs, have been posting their experiences online. Here are a few…

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C.F. Villa: Worked with Devin during our red band Blade Miniseries. He was always an amazing editor, graceful and hard working. A Great person to work with. I hope all three are well during this thought time.
‪Zac Thompson‬: Darren Shan was largely responsible for giving me my start at Marvel and really championed my work there. Shame to hear he was let go in the recent layoffs. He's one of the best to ever do it. Any other publisher would be very lucky to have him.
Will Robson: So sorry to hear about the editorial cuts at Marvel. Some good folks gone. I worked on some awesome books with Devin Lewis! Hope everyone's okay.
Devmalya Pramanik "Anyone who is chirping about how this cut had anything to do with the quality of the editors in question has no idea what they're talking about. Personally, Devin has to be one of the best editors in the business. His eye for quality and ability to manage talent is top notch. The thing you have to understand about Devin is, no matter how excited and passionate you are about a character and the work, he somehow matches it. Everytime I would talk to him, his love for the character, the story, just working for Marvel in general was insanely infectious.
Bob Quinn: "I worked with Darren. He's been there over a decade. This is a big loss IMO. Enjoyed working with him and he's a really good dude. like, if your company needs an editor, he's such a good get."
Rosi Kämpe‬: "Oh shit, Devin Lewis was my editor on Spider-Gwen years back D: He was wonderful"
Alejandro Arbona: Every year the data shows middle grade/YA comics are bigger than ever. Virtually every comics publisher that turns a profit does it with their MG/YA line. But Marvel, they can't be bothered. It's negligence and I'd even call it a failure of leadership. Every laid-off editor could still have a job. This is not specific to yesterday's layoffs, which came from Disney, but Marvel's razor-thin margins shrink constantly, they can't hire new editors, they slash rates, they let people go…but a little long-term strategy could build a profitable YA division. They laid off their one YA editor yesterday… Lauren Bisom"
‪Liam McGuire‬: "Sad to hear the news out of Marvel. Timothy Cheng was always a pleasure to deal with. I hope everyone lands on their feet."
Heidi MacDonald: "David Gabriel was behind a lot of the editorial decisions coming out of Marvel. He was truly the architect and his departure is going to have major repercussions for the publisher."
Francesco Mortarino: "Devin Lewis was the first editor I worked with when I started at Marvel; he helped me so much and literally taught me the "language" of Marvel! I'm so sorry to hear this news, and I wish him all the best for the future!!!"
Barry Lyga‬: Wow, David Gabriel and I came up together in the comics biz, he at Marvel, I at Diamond. This is wild to see.
‪Jeremy Whitley‬: David Gabriel being gone from Marvel is…well, it's something. I don't think anybody who hasn't spent time at Marvel can understand just how much of things he had his fingers on. For better and worse, I feel like nothing happened without his sign off. What it means depends what happens next.
D.G. Chichester: Terribly sorry to hear about all these lives affected cruelly. This hits harder as I had a chance to work with Devin and found him to be a very effective editor and all around good soul. Crossing fingers and billy clubs he lands in a good place where his talents are respected.
David Harper‬: This is true, and it's honestly a stunning turn. When I heard David Gabriel was out at Marvel yesterday, I had to confirm with four different people until I finally believed it. I'll be writing about this later, but I definitely did not see this coming.
Jimmy Palmiotti: "now David for many- many years, always kind and always helpful. Sad to see this happen to him and any other people in the business."