UPDATE: The Marvel Comics overhaul just escalated dramatically, as the entire Comics division is relocating to Burbank, ending nearly 90 years in New York and folding publishing into Feige’s Hollywood operation.
The overhaul of Marvel Comics isn’t slowing down.
Marvel announced today that Stephen Wacker has been named the new Editor-in-Chief of Marvel Comics, with C.B. Cebulski stepping down after nearly nine years in the chair to relocate to Japan as Editor, Asia Originals.
It’s the latest domino in a publishing shakeup that has been rolling since the spring, when Brad Winderbaum took control of Marvel Comics as longtime publishing boss Dan Buckley exited and Disney Music Group’s David Abdo came over as general manager of comics and franchise.
That followed Disney layoffs that took out longtime sales boss David Gabriel and three Marvel editors, including Daredevil‘s Devin Lewis, with the cuts also hitting the Studios side as Marvel’s in-house visual development team was eliminated, including legendary artist Andy Park.
Wacker reports directly to Winderbaum, the Head of Marvel Television, Animation, Comics & Franchise, meaning the publishing line now officially answers to the TV and franchise side of the company.
“Few editors have had as long and accomplished a career as C.B. I’m grateful for his partnership over the past decade and thrilled that he’ll be on the ground in Japan, connecting with local artists and overseeing Marvel’s original graphic fiction and manga in the region,” said Winderbaum. “At the same time, I’m excited to welcome Stephen Wacker back to Marvel. He is a tremendous editor, a passionate advocate for creators, and someone who deeply understands that Marvel Comics is the source code of our entire enterprise, with a publishing resume that includes some of our most beloved modern runs.”
Stephen Wacker Returns To Marvel
Wacker is a name Marvel and longtime Cosmic Book News readers know well.
He previously spent more than 15 years at the company, seven of them as a senior editor, where he ran the highly controversial “Brand New Day,” and “Superior Spider-Man” eras of Amazing Spider-Man (fitting timing, with the Spider-Man: Brand New Day movie hitting theaters at the end of the month).
His editing run also included the Eisner Award-winning Daredevil and Hawkeye, and he was involved in the woke Marvel NOW relaunch of Captain Marvel, which introduced Kamala Khan.
Kevin Feige actually adapted that woke Marvel Comics era post-Endgame, which proved to be a complete failure. Now the guy partly responsible for it on the comics side gets to be in charge?
Wacker was also the editor behind the woke Nova 2011 reboot and the goofy ass Brian Bendis 2012 Guardians of the Galaxy reboot, which synced the comics with James Gunn’s movies. Marvel Comics actually fired the entire creative team responsible for inspiring the multi-billion-dollar MCU franchise.
At the time, Wacker also regularly visited message boards, who, along with Spider-Man writer Dan Slott, would troll fans. Again, now this guy is in charge of Marvel Comics?
On the media side, Wacker co-produced the Emmy-nominated Rocket & Groot animated series, served as a co-executive producer on Avengers Assemble, Ultimate Spider-Man, and Guardians of the Galaxy, and executive produced the Wastelanders audio series.
Before Marvel, he edited at DC Comics, including the weekly 52, and following his first Marvel stint, he served as editor-in-chief of Jonathan Hickman’s 3W3M and co-founded the studio Stone Kite.
What Wacker’s placement aligns with is Tom Brevoort’s previous comments that comics are now basically just a testing ground for the MCU films and animation. That fits with what Rob Liefeld has said and our insiders. More on that below.
“Picking up Marvel Two-in-One #50 as a kid is what made me a comics fan, so returning to Marvel as Editor-in-Chief is a full-circle moment that I’m still wrapping my head around,” said Wacker. “I’m proud to join Kevin, Brad, David, and this incredible staff and amazing array of talent to build on the work started by Stan, Jack, Steve, Flo, John, and so many more. I truly believe the best Marvel comics have yet to be written and drawn, and I can’t wait to get to work adding some new floors to the House of Ideas.”
C.B. Cebulski Heads To Japan
Cebulski exits the top job as the third-longest tenured Editor-in-Chief in Marvel’s nearly 90-year history, having held the position since 2017.
His run included the Ultimate Universe relaunch, the Krakoan Age of X-Men, and Marvel’s Shonen Jump manga partnership that produced Deadpool Samurai and Spider-Man: Octo-Girl.
Cebulski — who once infamously wrote for Marvel under the fake Japanese pen name “Akira Yoshida” that also caused lots of controvery — now officially makes the move to Japan, where he’ll oversee Marvel’s original graphic fiction and manga in the region as part of Wacker’s global leadership team.
Meaning the outgoing Editor-in-Chief now reports up through the new one.
“I’m incredibly proud of everything we’ve accomplished at Marvel Comics during my time as EIC, and I’m excited for this new role the leadership team has created for me,” said Cebulski. “I’m looking forward to pursuing new opportunities across Asia while staying close to Steve and Marvel’s brilliant publishing team, who are all like family to me.”
Another Sign Of Where Marvel Comics Is Headed
The creation of an Asia Originals role — and the framing of the comics as franchise “source code” — fits everything I’ve been reporting about where Disney wants to take Marvel publishing.
Insiders recently told me Disney is “less interested in publishing” and is eyeing licensing Marvel Comics out, as it already has with John Byrne’s X-Men: Elsewhen at Abrams.
That was followed by a report that Marvel will phase out its publishing to Webtoon by 2030, which Rob Liefeld answered with a flat “Believe it” — with Liefeld adding that big entertainment is going all-in on tech for the savings.
Now it is playing out in public. At San Diego Comic-Con came word that Marvel Masterworks is returning in 2027 through Clover Press and Kickstarter, not Marvel, and Marvel is launching a manga line in Japan through Kadokawa, right in the territory Cebulski was just dispatched to.
So now Marvel has a new EIC whose résumé leans heavily on digital, animation, and transmedia, an outgoing EIC dispatched to build manga in Asia, and a boss who calls the comics the “source code” for everything else.
Put it together and the direction is obvious: Marvel Comics is being retooled as an IP engine, and the traditional print business looks more and more like the past.
The announcement also lands less than a week before San Diego Comic-Con kicks off, where Marvel’s comics panels will now belong to the Wacker era.
