Another big year in the comics business saw traditional book publishers continue to increase their investment in the medium as publishers of all shapes and sizes doubled down on manga and webcomics in print. We rounded up 10 of the most important and most read stories on the comics and graphic novel space we published this year, from big news to deep dives into how the sausage is made.
15. EC Comics Returns from the Crypt at Oni Press
The pioneering genre comics publisher returned this summer, relaunching with two new series as part of a new publishing partnership between Oni and the family of the late William M. Gaines.
14. Comic Shops Consider the Direct Market’s Future
Direct market distribution has, for decades, been a keystone of comics culture, but its future is up for debate. Whatever it holds, local comic shops thrive when they deliver what few bookstores can: a “third place” for fans.
13. How Does a Graphic Novel Become an Audiobook?
Translating image to sound is a difficult task, but a necessary one for some readers. The team behind the audiobook adaptation of Darrin Bell's acclaimed 2023 graphic novel The Talk explains how it's done.
12. IDW Downsizes Again, Dismisses Copublisher, Others
IDW Entertainment copublisher Mark Doyle and Top Shelf marketing manager Holly Atchison were among four employees let got at the comics publisher this year, the latest high-profile exits amid two years of turnover and turmoil.
11. HarperAlley Expands Into Adult Graphic Novels, Manga, and Manhwa
The graphic novel imprint at HarperCollins, which launched in 2020 with a focus on the children's market, will expand its purview into the adult graphic novel, manga, and manhwa spaces.
10. The Archie Comics of the Future
Riding a rising tide of successful streaming adaptations that have updated the iconic comics brand—including last year’s Hindi-language musical comedy film, The Archies—the future of Archie Comics has never been brighter.
Graphic novel publishers capitalized on nostalgia this year, with titles that tie into decades-old media properties both rebooted and rediscovered.
8. 2023 Was Tough on Comics Shops
Sales fell at 69% of retailers in 2023 compared with 2022, a ComicsPRO survey found this year, with sales of new comics periodicals down at 73% of responding comic shops and graphic novel sales down at 65%.
7. New Sci-Fi/Fantasy Publisher, Gungnir, Hopes to Hit Its Target
Helmed by comics veterans Jim Krueger and Steve Orlando and named after the staff of the Norse god Odin, which always hit its target, Gungnir will publish a mix of graphic novels, prose novels, and art books in the sci-fi/fantasy categories.
6. Webtoon Entertainment Goes Public
The webcomics pioneer went public this June at a $21.00 per share price, the high end of its projected range, although its share price dropped significantly in the following months.
Manga is so popular in North America that publishers are expanding to comics from across Asia, as Japanese publishers also invest in marketing directly to the West.
4. Abrams to Launch Manga Imprint, Kana
Abrams ComicArts is launching a new imprint, Kana, focusing on manga series translated into the English language for the U.S. market, primarily catering to adult audiences. Its first titles, including 'Leviathan' by Shiro Kuroi and 'Manhole' by Tetsuya Tsutsui, are due this fall.
3. 23rd Street Books, Sister Imprint to First Second, Launches at Macmillan
The grown-up sister imprint of Macmillan’s eclectic graphic novel powerhouse, First Second Books, will launch next year with graphic novels from Gene Luen Yang, Damon Wayans Jr., Saul Williams, Ben Hatke, and more.
2. New Dog Man Book and Film Announced
Scholastic published Dog Man: Big Jim Begins, the 13th book in Dav Pilkey's blockbuster graphic novel series, on December 3, and an animated feature from DreamWorks Animation and Universal Pictures is scheduled for global theatrical release in January 2025.
1. Random House Has Bought Boom! Studios
The Random House Publishing Group acquired comic book and graphic novel publisher Boom! Studios earlier this year, moving it under its Random House Worlds imprint.
This article has been updated with further information.
