New York Comic-Con kicks off on Thursday, and Marvel will have a sizable presence at this year’s event. That includes activations, booth, and panels, which brings Marvel and its loyal fanbase closer together on its home turf.
As New York Comic-Con begins, we spoke to C.B. Cebulski, Marvel Comics’ Editor-in-Chief, to find out more about the brand’s connection to NYC, how Marvel Comics works alongside Marvel Studios, and what’s next for a brand that turned 85 earlier this year.
With Marvel having a presence at New York Comic-Con, what does New York City mean to Marvel Comics? How has it impacted the storytelling of Marvel for the last 85 years?
New York City is of the utmost importance to Marvel Comics, not only as it’s where we’re based as a company, obviously, but where the majority of our heroes live and most of the stories across our 85-year history have taken place. We always say that New York City is a Marvel character itself, it lives and breathes in the pages of our comics just like Spider-Man or the Fantastic Four.
For 85 years, Marvel Comics has entertained billions of people around the world. After more than eight decades and hundreds of characters, how does Marvel keep its storytelling fresh?
The Marvel universe is the “world outside your window” and a lot of our success lies in the relatability that our fans feel with the characters. It’s about getting them to connect with the human side of our heroes first and foremost. While the titles of the movies and comics may be Iron Man, Captain Marvel, and Black Panther, at their core, our stories are about Tony Stark, Carol Danvers and T’Challa, and that has always been key to Marvel’s continued success.
How do you and the publishing side work with the team at Marvel Studios?
I take great pride in how closely Marvel’s publishing team works with Studios and all the other Marvel divisions, offering advice on anything our colleagues need, from character personalities to costume designs to power sets, just to name a few. And one of the things we love most is taking ideas that the other creatives around Marvel come up with and incorporating them back into our comics, like Agent Coulson, Alligator Loki or Kahhori: The Shaper of Worlds from Marvel Animation’s What If…? on Disney+, who we’re excited will be making her comics debut this November.
What does the next 85 years of Marvel Comics look like?
Without an Immortus Engine (check out Ultimate Invasion No. 2 to find out what that is) or a TemPad (check out Loki on Disney+) it’s hard to know where Marvel is going next: we’re constantly surprised and inspired by the incredible creativity of our editors, artists, and writers. They’re always finding new twists, stories, and characters in the Marvel Universe. Coming next year in our comics, I can say I am very excited for One World Under Doom crossover event, and an upcoming new Daredevil arc we’re excited for.