Tim Hanley's Blog, page 6

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We’re all still snug at home, so let’s keep digging into female and non-binary creator stats at the Big Two! But first, a reminder: Support your local comics shop if you can. They’re facing a tough time right now, and while we’re self-isolating and avoiding the shops, if you’re able you should consider shooting some money their way. Buy a gift certificate for when you can make it to the shop again, or just pay them via credit card for what’s currently in your account and pick it up down the road. Keep them afloat through this difficult period, if you can! And now let’s take a look at who’s doing what at Marvel this April:

Alyssa Wong: Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #1 (writer), Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #2 (writer)
Amy Chu: Aero #10 (co-writer), Sword Master #10 (co-writer)
Ashley Witter: Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #1 (variant cover)
Becky Cloonan: Dark Agnes #3 (writer)
Carmen Carnero: Miles Morales: Spider-Man #17 (interior art), Star #4 (cover)
Claire Roe: Nebula #3 (interior art)
Dana Schwartz: 2020 Rescue #2 (writer)
Devin Grayson: Widowmakers: Red Guardian and Yelena Belova #1 (writer)
Elena Casagrande: Black Widow #1 (interior art)
Emanuela Lupacchino: Black Widow: Widow’s Sting #1 (cover), X-Factor #1 (variant cover)
Eve L. Ewing: Champions #1 (writer)
Jen Bartel: Lords of Empyre: Emperor Hulkling #1 (variant cover), Star #4 (variant cover), Nebula #3 (cover)
Jenny Frison: Spider-Woman #2 (variant cover)
Karla Pacheco: Spider-Woman #2 (writer)
Kelly Thompson: Black Widow #1 (writer), Captain Marvel #17 (writer), Deadpool #6 (writer), Star #4 (writer)
Leah Williams: Amazing Mary Jane #7 (writer), X-Factor #1 (writer)
Margaret Stohl: Spider-Man Noir #2 (writer)
Marika Cresta: Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #1 (interior art), Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #2 (interior art)
Meghan Hetrick: X-Men/Fantastic Four #4 (variant cover)
Mirka Andolfo: 2020 Rescue #2 (variant cover)
Natacha Bustos: Runaways #32 (interior art)
Peach Momoko: Marvel Zombies: Resurrection #1 (variant cover)
Rainbow Rowell: Runaways #32 (writer)
Sana Takeda: Marvel’s Spider-Man: The Black Cat Stikes #4 (cover)
Sara Pichelli: Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #2 (variant cover)
Seanan McGuire: Ghost-Spider #9 (writer)
Stephanie Hans: Dark Agnes #3 (cover), Marvel Zombies: Resurrection #1 (variant cover)
Tini Howard: Excalibur #10 (writer), Strikeforce #8 (writer)
Torunn Grønbekk: Valkyrie: Jane Foster #10 (co-writer)
Valentina Remenar: Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #1 (cover), Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #2 (cover)
Vita Ayala: 2020 Ironheart #1 (co-writer), Children of the Atom #1 (writer), Morbius #6 (writer), Nebula #3 (writer)

All together, there are 31 different female and non-binary creators set to work on 31 different books at Marvel in April, three more creators and four more books than in March. It’s a small step upward that brings Marvel back into the 30s across the board, though the publisher remains noticeably below its recent highs.

Marvel also has a very busy month ahead of them, with 97 new books on the docket. With female creators on 31 of those books, that equals representation across 32% of the line, a minor gain from March’s 31%. The low 30s has become pretty much standard for both DC and Marvel as of late.

It’s a quiet month for new creators, with the entire roster above consisting of names we’ve seen at Marvel before. However, there are a lot of new-ish names that are back again, which is good to see. Creators like Alyssa Wong, Marika Cresta, and Valentina Remenar have worked for Marvel previously, but not extensively, and I’m glad to see them return on new, exciting gigs for the publisher. Sometimes new names are never seen again, so retention should be celebrated.

We’ve got a few books with female characters coming this April, starting with Marvel’s big Empyre event. I have no idea what it’s about, but it seems to be universe-spanning so expect some of your favourite female character to show up there. There’s a new Champions book as well, with Ms. Marvel at the forefront. The relaunch of the Star Wars line is also continuing, and it brings us a new Doctor Aphra series with an all-female creative team. And finally, with the Black Widow book on the horizon we’ve got a slew of new Black Widow titles. Kelly Thompson and Elena Casagrande are launching a new solo series for Natasha, which should be great. That’s a fantastic team. There are also a couple of Black Widow one-shots and minis in the mix this month.

Overall, April looks to be a relatively average month for representation of creators of marginalized genders at Marvel. The raw numbers look better, but it’s also a very busy month. Should the overall number of books drop, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a commensurate drop in female and non-binary creators. The numbers seem to be relatively steady currently, rather than growing in any consistent way.

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Self-isolation means it’s a good time to catch up on female and non-binary creator representation at the Big Two! Before we do, though, we should all remember that our local comics retailers are facing difficulties during this period. If you’re looking to buy the great titles listed below but are avoiding public spaces, check in with your local shop. Some offer mailing options or even curbside pickup, which is a great alternative to conventional shopping. The comic shop business is a tough one, so support your retailers however you can! And now let’s dig into who’s doing what at DC Comics this April:

Amanda Conner: Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey #2 (co-writer, interior art, cover)
Amy Reeder: Amethyst #3 (writer, interior art, cover)
Aneke: Catwoman #22 (interior art)
Ann Nocenti: Catwoman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1 (co-writer)
Bilquis Evely: The Dreaming #20 (interior art)
Carmen Maria Machado: The Low, Low Woods #5 (writer)
Cecil Castelluci: Batgirl #46 (writer)
Dani: The Low, Low Woods #5 (interior art)
Emanuela Lupacchino: Catwoman #22 (cover), Catwoman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1 (interior art)
Jessica Dalva: The Dollhouse Family #6 (cover)
Jody Houser: Supergirl #41 (writer)
Joelle Jones: Catwoman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1 (cover)
Kami Garcia: Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity #4 (writer)
Kelly Sue DeConnick: Aquaman #59 (writer)
Laura Marks: Daphne Byrne #4 (writer)
Marguerite Bennett: RWBY #7 (writer)
Michelle Delecki: Metal Men #7 (interior art)
Mindy Newell: Catwoman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1 (co-writer)
Mirka Andolfo: RWBY #7 (interior art)
N.K. Jemisin: Far Sector #6 (writer)
Nalo Hopkinson: House of Whispers #20 (co-writer)
Paula Sevenbergen: Catwoman #22 (writer)
Rachael Stott: Supergirl #41 (interior art)
Reiko Murakami: Basketful of Heads #7 (cover)
Sarah Stone: RWBY #7 (cover)
Tasia M S: DCeased: Unkillables #3 (variant cover)
Tiffany Turrill: Lucifer #19 (cover)
Tula Lotay: Catwoman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1 (interior art), Lois Lane #10 (variant cover)
Yasmine Putri: Batman #92 (variant cover)

All together, there are 29 different female creators set to work on 21 different comics books this April, three more creators on two more books than in March. As best I can tell, there are no non-binary creators listed in this round of solicits. Small gains in both categories look good at first glance, but we need to take into account how many books DC is putting out. The publisher’s output jumped from 56 books in March to 65 books in April, which changes the equation somewhat. Female creators on 21 of 65 books equals representation across 32% of the line, a slight drop from March’s 34%.

In terms of new names, Paula Sevenbergen is going to write Catwoman this month. It looks like Joelle Jones is moving on from the title, and I’m curious to see what she’ll be doing next. We’ve also got Tasia M S doing a variant cover for DCeased: Unkillables. There are a bunch of returning favourites we haven’t seen in a while on the Catwoman 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular as well, including Ann Nocenti, Mindy Newell, and more.

The Catwoman special is the only new title to feature a female character in a prominent role, and the book has an array of great female creators in the mix. The Joker is getting a similar special in April, too, with nary a female or non-binary creator to be found within its one hundred pages thus far. You’d think there’d be a bit of representation in such a big book, but not so much.

Overall, April looks to be a pretty average month for creators of marginalized genders at DC. The percentage is down slightly, but the numbers are in the publisher’s typical range. Things have been better, and things have been worse. It’ll be interesting to see what happens in the months to come now that Dan DiDio has left DC. He was a champion of several different female creators but he also fostered an environment where many female and non-binary creators felt unwelcome. It’ll be a few months until we start to see these changes, and you can be sure we’ll be all over tracking them should they come.

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February was a bit of a bounce back month for Marvel after a very subpar January, and the publisher’s female and non-binary representation looks to be carrying on at a similar level in March. Marvel remains well below their 2019 highs, but it’s good to see some stability. There’s a solid core of female and non-binary creators at Marvel right now, which is a good foundation to build on. Let’s take a look at who’s doing what at Marvel in March:

Amy Chu: Aero #9 (co-writer), Sword Master #9 (co-writer)
Anna Rud: Outlawed #1 (variant cover)
Audrey Mok: Valkyrie: Jane Foster #9 (variant cover)
Becky Cloonan: Dark Agnes #2 (writer)
Belen Ortega: Guardians of the Galaxy #3 (interior art)
Carmen Carnero: Star #3 (cover)
Claire Roe: Nebula #2 (interior art)
Dana Schwartz: 2020 Rescue #1 (writer)
Emanuela Lupacchino: Fantastic Four #20 (variant cover)
Eve L. Ewing: Outlawed #1 (writer)
Fonda Lee: 2020 Iron Age #1 (co-writer)
Jen Bartel: 2020 Rescue #1 (variant cover), Nebula #2 (cover)
Karla Pacheco: Spider-Woman #1 (writer)
Kelly Thompson: Captain Marvel #16 (writer), Deadpool #5 (writer), Jessica Jones: Blind Spot #5 (writer), Jessica Jones: Blind Spot #6 (writer), Star #3 (writer)
Leah Williams: Amazing Mary Jane #6 (writer)
Margaret Stohl: Spider-Man Noir #1 (writer)
Meghan Hetrick: X-Men/Fantastic Four #3 (variant cover)
Mirka Andolfo: Deadpool #5 (variant cover)
Nina Vakueva: Guardians of the Galaxy #3 (interior art)
Peach Momoko: Spider-Woman #1 (variant cover)
Rainbow Rowell: Runaways #31 (writer)
Sana Takeda: Marvel’s Spider-Man: The Black Cat Strikes #3 (cover)
Sarah Dyer: Fantastic Four: Marvels Snapshot #1 (co-writer)
Seanan McGuire: Ghost-Spider #8 (writer)
Stephanie Hans: Dark Agnes #2 (cover)
Tini Howard: Excalibur #8 (writer), Excalibur #9 (writer), Strikeforce #7 (writer)
Torunn Grønbekk: Valkyrie: Jane Foster #9 (co-writer)
Vita Ayala: Morbius #5 (writer), Nebula #2 (writer)

All together, there are 28 different female and non-binary creators set to work on 27 books at Marvel this March, the same amount of creators and two more books than in February. Consistency is not exactly exciting to write about, really. Gains and losses are far more interesting! But steady representation is a good thing, and while Marvel’s not at a great level relative to their past performances, they’ve certainly been far, far lower.

Looking at the number of books scheduled for March, Marvel’s got female and non-binary creators on 27 of their 88 books, giving us 31% representation across the line. That’s where they were last month, considering the consistency by every metric this go-round.

We’ve got at least two new names in the mix this month, with Sarah Dyer co-writing the Fantastic Four: Marvels Snapshot special and Nina Vakueva doing some artwork in Guardians of the Galaxy. Dana Schwartz and Fonda Lee are also making their second appearances after small gigs back in 2019. A new name is always good to see, and it’s also nice to see creators coming back after past gigs went well for them.

It’s a big month for new books, too. Spider-Woman is headlining her own title again, with a new costume I don’t much care for, but oh well. She’s a great character that deserves a spotlight. We’ve also got some team books with female representation. The cool looking Strange Academy features Magik and Scarlet Witch, along with several female students at the magic institution whose names we don’t know yet. Psylocke is part of the new Hellions book, while Ms. Marvel looks to be a big player in Outlawed and all of the fallout the new “no teen superheroes” law will lead to.

Overall, things are going to stay pretty steady at Marvel in March. There are some new names in the mix as well, which is a positive sign. At the same time, though, DC’s got higher representation right now. Holding steady in second position isn’t anything to write home about. Hopefully this consistency is laying the groundwork for future growth in the months to come.

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DC’s been on a bit of a roll with female and non-binary creator representation lately, posting over 30 different creators each month since November. They’re not going to hit that mark in March, where we’re looking at some big dips in both creators and books. To be fair, March marks the fewest books overall we’ve seen from DC in a while. They’ve been busy as of late, and March has a less robust slate. But still, it’s not great. Let’s take a look at who’s doing what at DC this March:

Amy Reeder: Amethyst #2 (writer, interior art, cover)
Amy Wolfram: Robin 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1 (co-writer)
Bilquis Evely: Lois Lane #9 (variant cover), The Dreaming #19 (interior art)
Carmen Maria Machado: The Low, Low Woods #4 (writer)
Cecil Castellucci: Batgirl #45 (writer)
Dani: The Low, Low Woods #4 (interior art)
Devin Grayson: Robin 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1 (co-writer)
Jenny Frison: The Low, Low Woods #4 (variant cover)
Jessica Dalva: The Dollhouse Family #5 (cover)
Jody Houser: Supergirl #40 (writer)
Joelle Jones: Catwoman #21 (writer, cover)
Kat Howard: Books of Magic #18 (writer)
Kelly Sue DeConnick: Aquaman #58 (writer)
Laura Marks: Daphne Byrne #3 (writer)
Marguerite Bennett: RWBY #6 (writer)
Michelle Delecki: Metal Men #6 (cover)
Mirka Andolfo: RWBY #6 (interior art)
N.K. Jemison: Far Sector #5 (writer)
Nalo Hopkinson: House of Whispers #19 (co-writer)
Nicola Scott: Robin 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1 (interior art), The Green Lantern Season Two #2 (variant cover)
Rachael Stott: Supergirl #40 (interior art)
Rachel Dodson: Batgirl #45 (variant cover)
Reiko Murakami: Basketful of Heads #6 (cover)
Sarah Stone: RWBY #6 (cover)
Tiffany Turrill: Lucifer #18 (cover)
Yasmine Putri: Robin 80th Anniversary 100-Page Super Spectacular #1 (variant cover)

All together, there are 26 different female creators set to work on 19 different books at DC in March, seven fewer creators than in February on ten fewer books. As best as I can tell, there are no non-binary creators in this round of solicits. So, these are some sizable drops. Even with fewer books overall, this is not a great situation. And there’s a special one-shot in the mix bumping up the numbers, too! Dropping seven creators is a lot.

Let’s take a closer look at the books, though. DC’s only got 56 new comics coming out in March, far fewer than February’s 72. But with female creators on only 19 of them, that gives us representation across 34% of the line. That’s noticeably down from last month’s 40%. So, even with the drop in books, we’re still much lower.

In terms of new names, it’s a very quiet month. Silent, in fact. We’ve got a returning favourite with Devin Grayson on the special Robin one-shot, but she’s not exactly new. Everyone else is someone we’ve seen in the past few months, which may partly explain the drop. It’s hard to grow without new creators.

It’s a quiet month for new books, too. The Robin special has a few female creators in the mix, and I hope that Stephanie Brown gets some attention for her time in the costume. Elsewhere, Tom King, Mitch Gerads, and Clay Mann are launching Strange Adventures. These high-profile mini-series tend to go to both male creators and male characters.

Overall, it’s a pretty underwhelming month at DC. We’ve got fewer female and non-binary creators across fewer books, by wide margins. With the drop in books overall, these declines aren’t catastrophic or anything, so hopefully April will bring better numbers across the board.

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The New Year started off poorly for Marvel, with sizeable losses in their overall total of female and non-binary creators, but the publisher is set to bounce back in February with some higher numbers. After such a steady 2019, it’s a tad worrisome that Marvel is returning to its old back and forth ways thus far in 2020. That consistency was nice, and I was hoping the publisher had reached a new standard. Perhaps not yet. Let’s take a look at who’s doing what at Marvel this February:

Alitha E. Martinez: Marvel’s Voices #1 (interior art)
Amy Chu: Aero #8 (co-writer)
Annie Wu: Guardians of the Galaxy #2 (variant cover)
Becky Cloonan: Dark Agnes #1 (writer, variant cover)
Belén Ortega: Doctor Doom #5 (variant cover)
Carmen Carnero: Star #2 (cover)
Claire Roe: Nebula #1 (interior art)
Elizabeth Torque: Amazing Spider-Man #40 (variant cover)
Emanuela Lupacchino: Captain Marvel #15 (variant cover), Star Wars #3 (variant cover)
Gurihiru: Spider-Man/Venom: Double Trouble #4 (interior art, cover)
Jen Bartel: Nebula #1 (cover)
Kelly Thompson: Captain Marvel #15 (writer), Deadpool #4 (writer), Jessica Jones #3 (writer), Jessica Jones #4 (writer), Star #2 (writer)
Kirbi Fagan: Star #2 (variant cover)
Leah Williams: Amazing Mary Jane #5 (writer)
Mariko Tamaki: Spider-Man/Venom: Double Trouble #4 (writer)
Meghan Hetrick: X-Men/Fantastic Four #1 (variant cover), X-Men/Fantastic Four #2 (variant cover)
Mirka Andolfo: Nebula #1 (variant cover)
Natacha Bustos: Marvel’s Voices #1 (interior art)
Peach Momoko: Valkyrie: Jane Foster #8 (variant cover)
Rainbow Rowell: Runaways #30 (writer)
Roxane Gay: Marvel’s Voices #1 (co-writer)
Sana Takeda: Marvel’s Spider-Man: The Black Cat Strikes #2 (cover)
Seanan McGuire: Ghost-Spider #7 (writer)
Stephanie Hans: Dark Agnes #1 (cover), Spirits of Ghost Rider: Mother of Demons #1 (variant cover)
Tini Howard: Excalibur #7 (writer), Strikeforce #6 (writer)
Torunn Grønbekk: Valkyrie: Jane Foster #8 (co-writer)
Vita Ayala: Marvel’s Voices #1 (co-writer), Morbius #4 (writer), Nebula #1 (writer)

All together, there are 28 female and non-binary creators set to work on 25 different books at Marvel this February, an impressive seven more creators than in January across three fewer books. The publisher has gained back most of its January losses, and while the drop in the number of books doesn’t look great at first glance, Marvel’s only putting out 81 books in February. With female and non-binary creators working on 25 of them, that gives the publisher representation across 31% of the line, where it’s been for the past few months.

Most of the creators listed are the usual gang, with a few returning favourites for Marvel Voices, a one-shot of stories from “Marvel’s acclaimed podcast series focusing on telling the stories of diverse creators and their unique perspectives.” There’s only one brand new name and it’s maybe the coolest name ever: Torunn Grønbekk. She’ll be co-writing Valkyrie: Jane Foster, and given her Norwegian background she seems like a perfect fit for the book.

This round of solicits also lists several Asian creators who don’t appear to have an English language online presence. I did my best to track them down and was able to confirm a few, but some remain questions marks. So there may be more representation than we thought.

For new female-led books, we’ve got a few team outing with X-Men/Fantastic Four starring Kitty Pryde, Sue Storm, and Storm while Giant Size X-Men: Jean Grey and Emma Frost focuses on those two X-ladies. We’ve also got a brand new Nebula series, which should be fun, along with Dark Agnes, an old creation of Robert E. Howard who’s getting her own solo mini-series. Howard also created Conan the Barbarian, which Marvel now has the license to, but Dark Agnes seems unconnected to that universe. The book’s got a great creative team, and I’m curious to check it out.

Overall, February is a solid rebound month after an underwhelming January. The numbers for female and non-binary remain below Marvel’s 2019 highs, but at least things are better than January’s disappointing lows. Time will tell if the publisher can even things out, or if we’re in for a rollercoaster of a year.

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It’s February, and that means no more festive shenanigans! Thank goodness. Christmas being on a Wednesday really complicated the last couple rounds of solicits. We’ve got a normal month here, and a strong showing from DC. I was a little worried about widespread representation after January was dominated by female and non-binary creators working on Wonder Woman #750, a one-time special, over-sized issue, but we’ve got impressive representation across the board this month. Let’s take a look at who’s doing what at DC this February:

Amanda Conner: Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey #1 (co-writer, interior art, cover)
Amy Reeder: Amethyst #1 (writer, interior art, cover)
Carmen Maria Machado: The Low, Low Woods #3 (writer)
Cecil Castellucci: Batgirl #44 (writer)
Dani: The Low, Low Woods #3 (writer)
Gurihiru: Superman Smashes the Klan #3 (interior art, cover)
Jan Duursema: Wonder Woman #85 (interior art)
Jenny Frison: The Low, Low Woods #3 (variant cover), Wonder Woman #85 (variant cover), Wonder Woman #86 (variant cover)
Jessica Dalva: The Dollhouse Family #4 (cover)
Jody Houser: Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy #6 (writer), Supergirl #39 (writer), Superman: Villains #1 (co-writer)
Joelle Jones: Catwoman #20 (writer, cover)
Kami Garcia: Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity #3 (writer)
Kamome Shirahama: Lois Lane #8 (variant cover)
Kat Howard: Books of Magic #17 (writer)
Kelly Sue DeConnick: Aquaman #57 (writer)
Laura Marks: Daphne Byrne #2 (writer)
Marguerite Bennett: RWBY #3 (writer)
Marguerite Sauvage: The Dreaming #18 (interior art)
Meghan Hetrick: RWBY #5 (interior art)
Michelle Delecki: Inferior Five #6 (interior art), Metal Men #5 (interior art), Shazam! #11 (variant cover)
Mirka Andolfo: RWBY #5 (interior art)
N.K. Jemison: Far Sector #4 (writer)
Nalo Hopkinson: House of Whispers #18 (co-writer)
Nicola Scott: The Flash #750 (variant cover)
Rachael Stott: Supergirl #39 (interior art)
Rachel Dodson: Batgirl #44 (variant cover)
Reiko Murakami: Basketful of Heads #5 (cover)
Sarah Stone: RWBY #5 (cover)
Stephanie Hans: Amethyst #1 (variant cover)
Stephanie Phillips: DC Crimes of Passion #1 (co-writer)
Tiffany Turrill: Lucifer #17 (cover)
Yasmine Putri: DC Crimes of Passion #1 (variant cover), DCeased: Unkillables #1 (variant cover)

All together, there are 33 different female creators scheduled to work on 29 different comic books at DC this February, two more creators than in January across eight more books. As best I can tell, there are no non-binary creators listed in this round of solicits. The increase overall is minor, though a plus nonetheless, but it’s especially good to see these creators spread across so many books. While the new Hill House Comics horror line is a big help in that regard, we’re also seeing a decent amount of appearances across the main line.

By the numbers, with women working on 29 of DC’s 72 books in February, that gives us representation of 40%, one of the best totals we’ve seen from either publisher since we started tracking this metric and a big 12% jump from January’s 28%. Women and non-binary creators should be working everywhere at the publisher, as a matter of course, and it’s good to see the publisher moving in that direction. For this month, at least.

In terms of new names, I think Stephanie Phillips might be the only brand new creator listed above. We’ve got a couple of rad returning favourites, though, with Marguerite Sauvage stepping in for an issue of The Dreaming and Amy Reeder writing and drawing a brand new Amethyst series.

The new Amethyst is one of DC’s two major female-led launches in February, the other being Harley Quinn and the Birds of Prey from famed Harley Quinn team Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti. The former is a regular, ongoing book, while the latter is a prestige, bi-monthly Black Label situation. There are a few other dude-centric books coming out too, as well as the special The Flash #750, which appears to feature no female creators apart from one variant cover. Not great there.

Overall, February’s looking relatively decent for female creator representation at DC. The numbers are up, the work is widespread, and a couple of major launches are putting female characters in the spotlight as well. The publisher is lacking in non-binary creators, though, and hopefully the coming months will see some growth in that regard.

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Marvel’s numbers for female and non-binary creators bounced back in December after a sub-par autumn, but the publisher is set to start the New Year by erasing all of those gains. While there’s decent representation across the line, the total number of different creators is the lowest we’ve seen from Marvel in some time. It’s not a strong start to 2020, to say the least. Let’s take a look at who’s doing what at Marvel this January:

Ashley Witter: Fallen Angels #6 (cover), Fallen Angels #5 (cover)
Belén Ortega: Guardians of the Galaxy #1 (variant cover)
Carmen Carnero: Captain Marvel: The End #1 (interior art, variant cover), Star #1 (cover)
Elizabeth Torque: Hawkeye: Freefall #1 (variant cover)
Emanuela Lupacchino: Avengers #29 (variant cover)
Gurihiru: Spider-Man/Venom: Double Trouble #3 (interior art, cover)
Jen Bartel: Star Wars #1 (variant cover), Thor #1 (variant cover)
Jodie Muir: Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren #2 (variant cover)
Jody Houser: The Web of Black Widow #5 (writer)
Kelly Thompson: Captain Marvel #14 (writer), Captain Marvel: The End #1 (writer), Deadpool #3 (writer), Jessica Jones #1 (writer), Jessica Jones #2 (writer), Star #1 (writer)
Leah Williams: Amazing Mary Jane #4 (writer), Doctor Strange: The End #1 (writer)
Mariko Tamaki: Spider-Man/Venom: Double Trouble #3 (writer)
Rainbow Rowell: Runaways #29 (writer)
Sana Takeda: Marvel’s Spider-Man: The Black Cat Strikes #1 (cover)
Sara Pichelli: Spider-Man #5 (interior art, variant cover), The Web of Black Widow #5 (variant cover)
Seanan McGuire: Ghost-Spider #6 (writer)
Tini Howard: Excalibur #5 (writer), Excalibur #6 (writer), Strikeforce #5 (writer)
Valentina Remenar: Star #1 (variant cover)
Vanesa Del Rey: Conan: Serpent War #3 (interior art), Conan: Serpent War #4 (interior art)
Vita Ayala: Morbius #3 (writer)

All together, there are 21 different female and non-binary creators set to work on 28 books at Marvel this January, giving us seven fewer creators than in December across two more books. The book total is okay, at least, and with Marvel putting out 89 books total, we’ve got representation across 31% of the line. That’s the same as December, though certainly below the publisher’s recent highs.

Losing a full quarter of your female and non-binary workforce in one month is disconcerting, though. We’re seeing a handful of creators getting a lot of work here, which accounts for the high book total. Kelly Thompson, for example, is writing six books in January. Which is awesome, because Kelly Thompson is a spectacular writer and her high profile at Marvel right now is well deserved. But Marvel’s not employing as many other female and non-binary creators right now, when they could be doing so easily. There’s lots of them out there. They were getting hired in much larger numbers just a few short months ago.

Despite the low numbers, however, we’ve got a couple of new creators making their Marvel debut here. Jodie Muir is doing a variant cover for Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren #2, while Valentina Remenar is doing a variant for Star #1. Hopefully these gigs lead to future work for both artists.

In terms of new books, Star’s getting a mini-series after her recent appearance in Captain Marvel. I’m very curious to read this book, given the fiendish shenanigans she’s been up to thus far. The digital Jessica Jones series is getting reprinted in single issue form as well, which is exciting because those issues looked great. We’ve also got a Guardians of the Galaxy relaunch with what appears to be one female character in the mix (of six, ugh), and there’s a run of The End one-shots with one focusing on Captain Marvel (the other five are dudes, natch).

Overall, it’s a very underwhelming start to the year for Marvel. While it’s fantastic to see a few creators getting steady work, the publisher should be hiring lots of other female and non-binary creators as well. Having only 21 different creators is just unacceptable in this day and age, especially with the ludicrous number of books Marvel puts out each month.

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With the December solicits, DC listed a bunch of their titles for the first week of January, and I decided to keep those books out of the official tally. Most of the comics were DC’s usual first week of the month fare, just scheduled early, so they fit better with the January solicits. So with that in mind, let’s take a look at who’s doing what at DC in the New Year, starting with the newly listed books:

Adriana Melo: Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy #5 (interior art)
Becky Cloonan: Basketful of Heads #4 (variant cover)
Carmen Maria Machado: The Low, Low Woods #2 (writer)
Cecil Castellucci: Batgirl #43 (writer)
Colleen Doran: Wonder Woman #750 (interior art)
Dani: The Low, Low Woods #2 (interior art)
Elena Casagrande: Wonder Woman #750 (interior art)
Emanuela Lupacchino: Birds of Prey #1 (interior art, cover)
Gail Simone: Wonder Woman #750 (co-writer)
Jenny Frison: The Low, Low Woods #2 (variant cover), Wonder Woman #750 (variant cover)
Jessica Dalva: The Dollhouse Family #3 (cover)
Jody Houser: Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy #5 (writer), Supergirl #38 (writer), Superman: Heroes #1 (co-writer)
Joelle Jones: Catwoman #19 (writer, interior art, cover), Wonder Woman #750 (cover)
Kami Garcia: Wonder Woman #750 (co-writer)
Kat Howard: Books of Magic #16 (writer)
Laura Marks: Daphne Byrne #1 (writer)
Marguerite Bennett: RWBY #4 (writer), Wonder Woman #750 (co-writer)
Mariko Tamaki: Wonder Woman #750 (co-writer)
Meghan Hetrick: RWBY #4 (interior art)
Michelle Delecki: Metal Men #4 (interior art, cover)
N.K. Jemison: Far Sector #3 (writer)
Nalo Hopkinson: House of Whispers #17 (co-writer)
Rachael Stott: Supergirl #38 (interior art)
Rachel Dodson: Batgirl #43 (variant cover)
Reiko Murakami: Basketful of Heads #4 (cover)
Sarah Stone: RWBY #4 (cover)
Shannon Hale: Wonder Woman #750 (co-writer)
Tiffany Turrill: Lucifer #16 (cover)
Vita Ayala: Wonder Woman #750 (co-writer)
Yasmine Putri: Daphne Byrne #1 (variant cover)

And the holdovers from the December solicits:

Bilquis Evely: The Dreaming #17 (interior art)
Cecil Castellucci: Batgirl #42 (writer)
Michelle Delecki: Inferior Five #5 (interior art)
Rachel Dodson: Batgirl #42 (variant cover)
Yasmine Putri: Lois Lane #7 (variant cover)

All together, it adds up to 31 different female and non-binary creators scheduled to work on 21 different books at DC in January, the same number of creators as in December but across three fewer books. That’s some fairly consistent representation, though when we look at the total number of books from this round and the carryover from December we’ve got female and non-binary creators on 21 of DC’s 74 different issues, good for a rate of 28%. This is a big drop from December’s 36%.

While January’s got a lot of creators, they’re not very well spread out. A considerable number of the writers and listed above are working on one title, the super-sized Wonder Woman #750. All of these names are a good boost for the creator numbers, but it does concentrate the representation much more than usual. It also doesn’t bode terribly well for February, since this is a special one-time issue and most of the creators involved aren’t guaranteed a gig next month.

In terms of new names, the aforementioned Wonder Woman #750 boasts several returning favourites and what I think is the single issue debut for Shannon Hale at DC, which should be very cool. She’s done some great work on longer form superhero books. The Hill House Comics line continues to expand as well with Daphne Byrne from new-to-DC writer Laura Marks.

It’s a quiet month for new books with female characters, though. There’s Daphne Byrne, of course, and a re-solicited Birds of Prey that’s now part of DC’s Black Label line for some reason. Apart from that, Lois Lane and Supergirl are involved in the Superman: Heroes special, and that’s about it for new titles and specials.

Overall, while the total of female and non-binary creators remains relatively solid, the numbers may not be sustainable and we’re seeing noticeably less representation across the board. DC will need some new books or some creative changes in February to keep up with the standard they’ve set over the past few months.

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Unlike their Distinguished Competition, Marvel doesn’t fret December this far out. I’m sure there will be some sort of scheduling situation when the month actually comes. Releasing comics on Christmas Day seems like a bad idea. But nothing looks amiss in this round of solicits. Marvel doesn’t provide specific release dates with theirs, so it’s all a little simpler. Let’s take a look at who’s doing what at Marvel this December:

Alti Firmansyah: Future Foundation #5 (interior art)
Alyssa Wong: Aero #6 (co-writer)
Aneke: Age of Conan: Valeria #5 (interior art)
Anna Rud: Valkyrie: Jane Foster #6 (variant cover)
Annie Wu: Amazing Mary Jane #2 (variant cover)
Ashley Witter: Fallen Angels #3 (cover), Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #40 (cover)
Audrey Mok: The Web of Black Widow #4 (variant cover)
Belen Ortega: X-Men #4 (variant cover)
Carmen Carnero: Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren #1 (variant cover)
Emanuela Lupacchino: Avengers #28 (variant cover)
Eve L. Ewing: Incoming #1 (co-writer)
Fonda Lee: Sword Master #6 (co-writer)
Gurihiru: Spider-Man/Venom: Double Trouble #2 (interior art, cover)
Jody Houser: The Web of Black Widow #4 (writer), Venom 2099 #1 (writer)
Kathryn Immonen: Thor: The Worthy #1 (co-writer)
Kelly Thompson: Captain Marvel #13 (writer), Deadpool #2 (writer), Incoming #1 (co-writer)
Leah Williams: Amazing Mary Jane #3 (writer), Gwenpool Strikes Back #5 (writer)
Mariko Tamaki: Spider-Man/Venom: Double Trouble #2 (writer)
Meghan Hetrick: Black Panther #19 (cover)
Meredith Finch: Age of Conan: Valeria #5 (writer)
Mirka Andolfo: Deadpool #2 (variant cover)
Peach Momoko: Spider-Man/Venom: Double Trouble #2 (variant cover)
Rainbow Rowell: Runaways #28 (writer)
Sara Pichelli: Spider-Man #4 (interior art, variant cover)
Seanan McGuire: Ghost-Spider #5 (writer)
Tini Howard: Excalibur #3 (writer), Excalibur #4 (writer), Incoming #1 (co-writer), Strikeforce #4 (writer)
Vita Ayala: Morbius #2 (writer)

All together, there are 28 female and non-binary creators scheduled to work on 26 different comics at Marvel this December, six more creators than in November on three more different books. It’s good to see Marvel on the rise again after a couple of sub-par months, though the numbers do remain noticeably below the publisher’s recent highs. I should also point out that there are a lot of onetime gigs in here, with one-shots and variant covers, which we know is not necessarily a sustainable model for consistent representation.

In terms of representation across the line, Marvel has female and non-binary creators working on 26 of their 84 books this December, giving us a percentage of 31%. This is up three points from November, which is good news, but again, it’s still below where they’ve been previously. And their percentage is lower than DC again this month.

For new books, Marvel’s big thing for December is Incoming, the start of some sort of murder mystery that’s going to reverberate throughout their line. It seems to involve darn near every character they’ve got, so chances are your favourite female character is in the mix. Elsewhere, it’s all tie-ins and mini-events, most of the dude-centric. Annihilation: Scourge is a whole big thing, and Marvel is really trying to make this 2099 stuff happen.

It’s a quiet month for new names as well. The only brand new creator seems to be Fonda Lee, who is co-writing Sword Master this month. Everyone else is someone we’ve seen in the past few months, continuing the publishers recent trend of sticking with an established group of female and non-binary creators.

Overall, Marvel looks to close out the year with an uptick after a bit of a slide in the fall. It’s unclear if this is a sign of growth to come or just a random blip, but the January solicits should give us a better clue. Hopefully Marvel can climb back up their previous level in 2020.

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DC likes to get tricky with its solicits in December, and this year is no exception. Christmas is a Wednesday so comic shops won’t be open, and DC’s not putting out any books that week. Also, the next Wednesday is New Year’s Day, and while shops likely won’t be open then either, DC seems to have combined their last week of December books with their first week of January books and listed them in this round of solicits for January 1st. Which is confusing, I know. So we’re going to do two counts, first with just the books coming out in December, then adding in all the ones listed for the first week of January. On top of a busy month for female and non-binary creators already, prepare to enjoy the confusion as we look at who’s doing what at DC this December(ish):

Adriana Melo: Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy #4 (interior art)
Amanda Conner: Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy #4 (variant cover), Harley Quinn: Villain of the Year #1 (cover), Wonder Woman: Come Back To Me #6 (co-writer, cover)
Carmen Maria Machado: The Low, Low Woods #1 (writer)
Corinna Bechko: New Year’s Evil #1 (co-writer)
Dani: The Low, Low Woods #1 (interior art)
Elena Casagrande: Lois Lane #6 (variant cover), New Year’s Evil #1 (interior art)
Gurihiru: Superman Smashes the Klan #2 (interior art, cover)
J.A.W. Cooper: The Low, Low Woods #1 (cover)
Jenny Frison: The Low, Low Woods #1 (variant cover)
Jessica Dalva: The Dollhouse Family #2 (cover)
Jody Houser: Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy #4 (writer), Supergirl #37 (writer)
Joelle Jones: Catwoman #18 (writer, interior art, cover), The Dark Knight Returns: The Golden Child #1 (variant cover)
Kami Garcia: Joker/Harley: Criminal Sanity #3 (writer)
Kat Howard: Books of Magic #15 (writer)
Kelly Sue DeConnick: Aquaman #55 (writer)
Marguerite Bennett: RWBY #3 (writer)
Marguerite Sauvage: The Dreaming #16 (interior art)
Meghan Hetrick: RWBY #3 (interior art)
Michelle Delecki: Inferior Five #4 (interior art), Metal Men #3 (interior art)
Mirka Andolfo: RWBY #3 (interior art)
N.K Jemison: Far Sector #2 (writer)
Nalo Hopkinson: House of Whispers #16 (co-writer)
Rachael Stott: Supergirl #37 (interior art)
Reiko Murakami: Basketful of Heads #3 (cover)
Sandra Hope: Superman: Up In The Sky #6 (interior art)
Sarah Stone: RWBY #3 (interior art)
Tiffany Turrill: Lucifer #15 (cover)
Tula Lotay: Basketful of Heads #3 (variant cover)
Vita Ayala: New Year’s Evil #1 (co-writer)
Zoe Quinn: The Infected: Deathbringer #1 (writer)

All together, there are 31 different female and non-binary creators set to work on 24 different books at DC on titles actually coming out in December. Then for the first week of January we’ve got:

Bilquis Evely: The Dreaming #17 (interior art)
Cecil Castellucci: Batgirl #42 (writer)
Michelle Delecki: Inferior Five #5 (interior art)
Rachel Dodson: Batgirl #42 (variant cover)
Yasmine Putri: Lois Lane #7 (variant cover)

Which brings us to 35 creators on 28 books overall. So here is my executive decision: I’m going to save the January 1st books for next month and add it to that list. There’s an argument to be made that Batgirl should be counted with the December books, but we’re going to keep a clear line of demarcation.

So, 31 female and non-binary creators on 24 different books gives us six more creators than in November on one fewer book. It’s a nice showing for DC, whose numbers continue to climb after a long, underwhelming 2019. They’re closing the year relatively strong, which could bode well for the New Year.

Adjusting the numbers based on the titles being released, DC’s putting out 66 books in December (14 more will be added to the January 2020 report), so with female and non-binary creators on 24 of them, we have representation across 36% of the line. That’s three points up from December, and I think it’s the best percentage we’ve seen from DC since we started this adjusted total to balance things out with Marvel earlier this year.

It’s a bit of a quiet month for new books with female leads. Harley Quinn’s got yet another special, which makes sense with Birds of Prey on the way, and Donna Troy is starring in The Infected: Deathbringer one-shot that ties into Batman/Superman’s the Batman Who Laughs shenanigans. We’ve also got a new Wonder Woman mini called Wonder Woman: Dead Earth that looks weird and dark, and I’m curious to see what folks think of it.

There are some returning favourites on the creator side of things, but more notably we’ve got a slew of new names on the Hill House series The Low, Low Woods. Carmen Maria Machado is writing it, Dani is the artist, and J.A.W. Cooper is doing the cover. It’s great to see an all-female creative team in this new imprint.

Overall, DC is set to close out the year well, even with only three weeks of solicits. Hopefully this is a sign of change inside the publisher, which has been languishing in terms of representation for a while now, and the numbers will continue to grow in 2020.