Weekly Reports

More Data Is Better Data

We're on a bit of a roller coaster at the moment where things are jumping up and down in terms of book diversity, but stay pretty grim overall. A second full week of data means that we're getting closer to seeing charts that accurately represent the jobs people are doing in the industry, but don't expect representation in letterers to go up significantly. 

I picked up some back issues as well and added those to the database - I don't think I'm ever going to get the rest of my (thousands of) comics into the database, but since what I'm cataloging is not representative of the industry (it's just things I buy), it doesn't matter that much. But here's your reminder: if these numbers seem bad, please be aware that they're a lot better than the overall direct market.

Highlights of the week:

• Crowded and Deep Roots launched this week with diverse teams, and both look really good! 
• There are 6 different women coloring 8 different books this week. Way to represent, colorists!

And that's about it. Let's talk about what stinks:

• Batwoman #18 is the end of the current run, which is sad. I really liked what Marguerite Bennett was doing with the character, giving her some rogues of her own and expanding the back-story. I'm worried that with the new CW show coming up, everything on this run will be reset back to zero. 
• Marvel Rising (I think) ends its first story arc and hopefully its war on sensible titles and numbering. I know that every comic can be somebody's first comic, but not every book should be a #1, especially if you're trying to bring in new readers.
• Every book out this week has a cis-man working on it. Two-thirds of books have only cis-men working on them. In case you were worried about how things are turning out for men.
• Marvel, as part of their new policy that Everything is an Event™, has Edge of Spider-Geddon #1 and Extermination #1 out this week, along with Infinity Wars #2. All of the creators on those books are cis-men. If the point of events is to boost sales, it sure stinks that the event books are a boy's club.
• This is the last week for the last of DC's Young Animals books that I was reading, and while I didn't love the second arc of Cave Carson as much as the first, it reminds me that Shade and Eternity Girl are gone and that's a bummer.

I'm still on the lookout for books I should be reading, creators I should be following, and anything else you have to say about comics! If you've got tips, corrections, or suggestions, hit me up on Twitter or Mastodon!

This Week's Books

• Archie Meets Batman '66 #2 - (1+4) 👍
• Batman #53 - (1+3) 👍
• Batwoman #18 - (1+3) 👍
• By Night #3 - (2+2) 👍
• Cave Carson Has an Interstellar Eye #6 - (0+4)
• Crowded #1 - (3+2) 👍
• Crude #5 - (0+4)
• Deep Roots #1 - (2+2) 👍
• Doctor Strange #4 - (0+3)
• Edge of Spider-Geddon #1 - (0+4)
• Ether: The Copper Golems #4 - (0+2)
• Extermination #1 - (0+4)
• Flavor #4 - (2+2) 👍
• Gideon Falls #6 - (0+4)
• Hunt for Wolverine: The Claws of a Killer #1 - (1+5) 👍
• Infinity Wars #2 - (0+4)
• Jughead: The Hunger #7 - (0+8)
• Mage: The Hero Denied #11 - (0+3)
• The Magic Order #3 - (0+4)
• Multiple Man #3 - (1+3) 👍
• Pearl #1 - (0+4)
• Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #308 - (0+7)
• Rumble #6 - (0+4)
• Star Wars: Beckett #1 - (0+6)
• Star Wars: Poe Dameron #30 - (0+4)
• Thor #4 - (0+4)
• Tony Stark: Iron Man #3 - (1+4) 👍
• The Weather Man #3 - (0+4)
• The Wicked + The Divine #38 - (0+4)
• The Wild Storm #16 - (0+4)
• Witchfinder: The Gates of Heaven #4 - (1+4) 👍

Titles in bold are new #1s and a 👍 indicates a book with a least one non-cis-male creator. Numbers in parentheses are the total non-cis-male and total cis-male creators.

This Week's Stats

All Posts