Posted in: Comics, DC Comics, Image, Marvel Comics | Tagged: 2026, absolute, energon, ultimate

The Future Of Comic Books In 2026: Part One

The Future Of Comic Books In 2026: Part One... what will the industry look like in a year?

It's been a hell of a year in comics. On one side, the Diamond Comic Distributors bankruptcy stripped money out of the industry three, first from publishers owed money from distributed comics, then from publishers who continued to work with Diamond's new owners and remain unpaid, and then from the consigned comics stock, held in limbo, losing value by the day. But on the other hand, comic book stores did better, as the Absolute, Ultimate and Energon projects continued to bring in the cash, the Marvel/DC crossovers soared to the top of the charts and the blind bags became the sales promotional tool of the year, even if it took Marvel the whole year to get around to it themselves. But what of 2026? Here are a few sage words from industry figures. Part one, of course.

Christina Merkler of Lunar Distribution on the Off Panel Podcast says, "I felt really good about coming into this year. I've seen what Image some of what Image has planned. I've seen some of what DC has planned, and I think people are going to be very happy with what we're going to see in '26. And I think some people have learned some lessons over the year. Every single publisher was affected by Diamond's bankruptcy, but I think it's kind of like what the pandemic did to us, right? You start to evaluate things, and you realise the things, maybe some of the mistakes you made and some of the things you overlooked, and it gives people a new perspective on how they should run their business. And I think we're all going to be stronger for it in 26."

Joanna Prior, CEO of Pan Macmillan, told The Bookseller, "2026 is set to be a landmark year… Readers will continue to flock to graphic novels, with the market expanding to include YA readers as core fans age up." While Sarah Benton and Jonathan Perdoni, Co-CEOs of Bonnier Books UK, told them "We are living in a whirlwind attention economy, and those attention spans are becoming ever more stretched – we are expecting more immediate pitches to meet this demand, with short stories, escapist genres such as dark romance, horror fiction and particularly graphic novels likely to benefit."

Henry Barajas told Beat that the biggest comics industry story in 2026 woud be "I say this year after year: UNION. The first ever union protecting the people that make comics is desperately needed. If not a union, a guild." While Dave Elliott sees it as "Who ends up with DC after the sale of WB". And Jimmy Aquino observed that "PRH Distribution will raise prices to make up for the $9 million (!) that Diamond won't be paying. It's unclear yet whether they will soak vendors, stores, or both." And Steve Morris of 2000AD says "Potentially we'll see internationally-minded companies working out how they can escape the current American monopoly mindset."

Rich Johnston of Bleeding Cool (hang on, that's me) sees 2026 as "the comic book industry reaping the whirlwind of the launch of Dog Man by Dav Pilkey in 2017, whose first readers are now 16 or 17, and buying Absolute Batman. Or at least some of them. And we will see the impact across the comics industry of those readers "graduating" to the comic book shop over the next few years in increasing waves. While the upcoming threat of the loss of trademark ownership for Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Robin, The Joker, Captain America, Namor and The Human Torch, will see Marvel and DC allow crazier and more creative takes on their "crown jewels" before they lose them. Absolute was just the start. The blind bag was the Loot Crate of 2025. What way will the industry find to add a zero to print runs this year? Will DC be able to launch an Even-More-Compact line to squeeze more money out of Watchmen? Will Marvel work out what to do with the X-Men ahead of their return in the movies next Christmas? Will DC Comics finally publish the Alan Grant/Frank Quitely Lobo story in their Black Label line ahead of the Supergirl movie? Will Vertigo soar or slip? Will the divided Free Comic Book Day/Comics Giveaway Day be its death knell? Will there be more comic book stores at the end of 2026 than at the beginning? And what will happen to the consigned comic book stock at Diamond???"

While Chris Sims tells BlueSky: "I think for 2026 I'm going to stop reading comics and only read BERSERK again."

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