Announcing the 2025 Comics Industry Person of the Year: Marie Javins

2025 is in the books and it’s time (a few days into the new year, I know) to announce the 2025 Comics Industry Person of the Year as chosen by the participants in our annual Creator survey. As we put it in our instructions, “This can be the most important person, someone who had the biggest impact, an innovator, someone who set the pace, or had a banner year creatively.” In a year of tumult and triumph, there were a lot of candidates, but I think the right person won. The Person of the Year is:

Marie Javins, Editor in Chief, DC Comics

Marie Javins has quietly been one of the best editors in comics for decades, but in 2025 DC had banger after banger after banger, leading to a whole new generation of readers finding books they could call their own. That it came under Marie’s watch is not a coincidence, and gave voters lots of reasons reason to name her Person of the Year. 

Reached for comment on her win, she gave us the following statement:

What an unexpected honor! An editor’s role is to facilitate the creativity of others from the background, so it’s a rare privilege to be recognized by peers and the Beat. DC had a phenomenal year for publishing in 2025, thanks to a combination of ambition and creativity from our writers and artists, hard work by our staff with the support of DC’s executives, and the strength and innovation of our amazing comics retailers. The changes in distribution had everyone starting 2025 with anxiety and concern…but the periodical market once again showed resiliency in the face of adversity. I like to say as Editor-in-Chief, I live at the intersection of Commerce and Creativity, but this time, following Scott Snyder’s bold North Star, we went All In on the latter. Comics should be fun…but also accessible, unusual, unexpected, and from the heart. Executive Editor Chris Conroy tells people not to joke about ridiculous ideas around me, because I always spend the next half-hour trying to figure out how to make those ideas real—and the best part is no one says “Nah.” They all say “Yes, and…” What an honor to helm the ship at this moment in time. Thank you all for your support of DC’s comics in 2025—and I can’t wait for everyone to see what we do with Next Level,  Vertigo, and beyond.   

And comments from our voters:

• Heidi here: Marie Javins has always been a difference maker. From her early days at Marvel as an assistant editor on things like Akira (!) and interning with the great Archie Goodwin, or overseeing some of Marvel’s quirkiest books in the 90s, her projects have always been standouts. That doesn’t happen by accident, it happens by winning the trust of creators and understanding what they are capable of. As EIC at DC, she oversaw some of the company’s darkest times from a corporate standpoint, but was able to rally the company (with the help of Jim Lee, Anne DePies and many others) to have a completely smashing 2025. Whether it was Absolute, All In, D.C. KO, a new Batman #1, or the latest DC/Marvel crossover, Marie had the leadership to let creators and editors do what they were passionate about and the results speak for themselves. On a personal note, I’ve been friends with Marie for decades, but when I saw her with CB Cebulski as they announced the Marvel/DC crossover at ComicsPRO last year, her banter and great comic timing brought home to me that the whole industry is lucky to have her. Because I know she’d probably rather be traveling around the world for a third time. 
• Marie Javins. DC has just been on fire, specifically with the absolute universe and its compact comics editions. But the main DCU is also going strong with DC K.O. and its odd crossovers generating buzz. Plus, the Vertigo return announcement at NYCC this year was handled incredibly well and buzz remains strong for that.
• Marie was my excellent editor for a Typhoid series in the early 1990s, and I continue to be wildly impressed by her work in the industry, during DC’s transition west, and her own “wanderlust” tales on social media. Marie Javins is a comics rockstar.
• Marie Javins of course!
• Marie Javins, whose leadership at DC has produced an impressive line, commercially and creatively.

ABSOLUTE MAN OF THE YEAR

Scott Snyder pulled off something incredible with the Absolute line, overseeing the reinvention of beloved characters with a style that felt fresh and contemporary. As he explained it himself in his year-end newsletter:

But I would just say that for a long time in economic anxiety moments like it is now, the inclination of corporate bosses was to go backwards or to try and recapture what we did before and try and recapture fans that we had lost by trying to do the types of stories they had already read and liked. And I always had trouble with that. And my feeling is that to recapture those fans, you do something exciting and new. But I don’t think there’s a problem with doing something exciting and new in the format of classic, epic in-continuity storytelling. 

Scott has shown up in our year-end polls many times in the past, but this time he stepped up to the plate with not only creatively, but with the leadership that these chaotic, uncertain times needed. As our voters put it: 

• Scott Snyder, because he made such a big comeback as an industry leader. He never really went away, of course, but he stepped aside to pursue passion projects and other *types* of books for a while. And now he’s back on top of the whole friggin’ medium with AbBat, delivering a monthly masterclass on embracing what makes the medium unique. He’s a cheerleader for comics, he engages with readers and retailers in the least toxic ways possible for someone of his stature, and, despite telling more Bat-stories than most living creators, he’s finding a genuinely novel way to do it all over again. That’s how you lead the way.
• Scott Snyder, without a doubt. Beyond his stratospheric sales numbers this year, he’s been showing an incredible amount of leadership both in terms of spearheading the Absolute line and DC KO, but also shepherding the upcoming DC All-In line. He’s been really tireless in using his platform to promote other upcoming DC titles, and he’s been walking the walk by delivering some of his career-best work since his original Batman run.
• Scott Snyder. I know this is a reuse of my joke on the biggest story of the year, but the Absolute line has dominated 2025 like nothing else. And Scott is the writer of the title and the architect of the universe that has been the driver of sales and conversation in shops.
• Scott Snyder. Not just because he’s writing the biggest single issue series in comics, though, but because he’s the most effective hype man in an industry and medium that desperately needs those. His energy and enthusiasm has been crucial to the success of DC in 2025.

MARKETER OF THE YEAR

Speaking of leadership, as the Diamond monopoly crashed into the iceberg of reality, people wanted a source of information about the retail side of things, and Atom Freeman and his Prana Direct Market Solutions firm stepped into the role with statistics and an essential newsletter that delivered calming words and optimistic charts. 

• Atom Freeman and Prana are actually documenting the shifting ground that is the comic industry right now. His podcast is recording what will likely be considered a historical time for this business. The information being dispensed on “Comics Industry Insiders” will be how this era is remembered.
• Atom Freeman, I’m very excited to see what he does with Prana and Comics: The Magazine.
• Atom! Freeman has had a heck of a year, from starting up Prana Publishing to help some smaller publishers get visibility, to his can’t miss Comic Industry Insiders, to the announcement of COMICS! The magazine (and that first issue cover gives me McFarlane Spider-Man Wizard #1 cover vibes).

HONORARY MENTION:

DC couldn’t have done it without Jim Lee, and he also reaffirmed his leadership role as President, Publisher and Chief Creative Officer at DC with a fiery speech against AI at NYCC. 

• Jim Lee. It was fantastic when he railed against the use of AI. And hopefully it was a loud warning for all.
• Jim Lee. Not only has he overseen the massive resurgence of DC Comics as a whole across comics, film, TV, etc, his keynote speech at NYCC where he denounced AI and said DC will never accept it makes him a mensch and more!

WRITER OF THE YEAR

It’s a feel-good story we’ve seen before: a writer finds that sweet spot and hits it out of the park to become a new superstar. In 2025, that writer was Deniz Camp. 

• Deniz Camp  – While Juan Frigeri, Javier Rodriguez, and Eric Zawadzki all deserve a ton of praise for their work this year, the person that ties them together—and my pick for Person of the Year—is Deniz Camp.
• Deniz Camp, who put out some goddamn masterpieces this year. Seriously, read Assorted Crisis Events and Absolute Martian Manhunter. Runner-up: The K-Pop Demon Hunters
• Deniz Camp is having a METEORIC rise. I think he’s still finding his voice, and it’s terrifying to be on such a big platform to do so. But he’s making a huge impact in the two most important imprints of the moment *and* publishing a buzzy Image Comics series, which is a hat trick few can pull off at any stage. He had the unenviable task of succeeding Hickman on the Ultimate books and actually managed the fan expectations of that pressure, and I think he’s set up for 2026 and beyond to be bigger and bigger years for him.

As always, there were many other people who made an impact on comics. So here’s who else was on people’s minds:

THE FIGHTERS

• Chloé (Élise Bouché-Tran).
• Maggie Tokuda-Hall was the comics industry person of the year for me. Author of comics “The Worst Ronin” and “Squad” (which has a forthcoming sequel), Maggie didn’t have a big book come out this year because she has donated the past year plus of her life to helping found and run Authors Against Book Bans, an organization which has grown to over 5000 members and helped fight book ban bills and pass author protection bills in multiple states. AABB won an ALAN award this fall from The National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) and Maggie gave an acceptance speech on behalf of AABB in which she said, “I think one of the worst psychic wounds of this era is the revelation that those with their hands most comfortably seated on the levers of power seem the least willing to fight. We have watched high powered law firms, university presidents, and CEOs betray us with stunning speed. We have realized that they are not guarding our best interests. And that, somehow, it is up to us—normal, fallible, gullible, well-intentioned and overwhelmed people—to protect ourselves.”
• Matthew Noe has been an undeniable force for good in the comics industry. He is a former President for the American Library Association’s Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table and the Treasurer for the Graphic Medicine International Collective, all while serving as the Lead Collection & Knowledge Management Librarian at Harvard Medical School. This is an individual whose passion and excitement for the sequential art medium are rivaled only by the sheer number of volunteer opportunities and organizations to which he lends his experience and time. He has become a leading voice in the battle against AI in the library/comics spaces, and he advocates on behalf of the librarians who are facing overwhelming hardship in their career paths. To quote Matthew, we should all be trying to “be kind, do good, and read comics.” – Barbra Dillon
• My “People of the Year” are the members of Kickstarter United, the labor union that represents Kickstarter Employees. After 7 months of bargaining and 42 days of striking, they won historic protections for their workers, including protections from AI.

CREATORS

• Caitlin McGurk— museum curator, comics scholar, a very community-minded part of multiple comics scenes, Eisner winner for her debut book which restored a long-forgotten early cartoonist to her proper historical context, and was interviewed on ‘CBS Sunday Morning’ *two times* to discuss comics. It was definitely Caitlin’s year!
• Carol Tyler, for her magnificent epic about grief, The Ephemerata.
• Dav Pilkey – his Dogman graphic novels have hit the New York Times bestseller lists (for children’s books) every year for nearly a decade. Millions of kids (including my younger grandson) love reading these books, and for many of them, the books are the means of getting them hooked on reading. And many of those kids go on to read more graphic novels.

• Dav Pilkey — I saw a video recently of Dav Pilkey drawing Dog Man while children screamed in ecstasy like he’s the second coming of Christ. Look at how many books that guy sells. Look at how well the Dog Man movie did. I wonder how the bean counters at Scholastic look at him? Do they see his success and their resulting profit as an opportunity to publish more comics by different people, or do they point at him as a way to show other creators that they’re not selling enough books? No shade toward Dav, but his success will inform other people’s futures…
• Dav Pilkey. I’ve heard from many indie comic book shops that his books have been keeping the lights on, and if you haven’t read a Dog Man you are missing out. Truly hysterical, original, and doesn’t get nearly enough industry wide credit for their genius.
• Dean Haspiel remains a pioneer in self-publisher comics. He was a forefather in webcomics with his Act-i-vate co-op, and his crowdfunded projects demonstrate his momentum and commitment to direct-to-reader content (in PRINT). Dean is constantly mentoring new and established cartoonists, and his podcast Vito x Dino offers invaluable insight to the processes and lifestyle of the working comics-maker. As long as he’s working, Dean will be a force in comics.
• John Porcellino could be the comics industry person any year. He is completely devoted to making King Cat and running Spit and a Half and now he’s teaching. He co-ran a workshop with Lynda Barry. He hasn’t gotten enough recognition, considering the dedication and longevity of his practice.
• James Tynion IV
• Joshua Williamson. If you look at his career, he was a working writer for many years and now he’s headlining flagship titles at Marvel, DC, and Skybound. That’s an impressive feat. Not only that, but he’s grown to help architect the DC line as a whole. It’s inspiring to see someone work and earn their way to that level. Gives people like me hope that maybe that could be us someday.

• Kayla E., for coming out of nowhere with game-changing work.
• Matt Fraction’s return to comics writing. It’s not everyday you get to reboot Batman to number one. Marvel does it constantly but not DC.
• Michel Fiffe debuted COPRA in Fall of 2012. A Suicide Squad-inspired revenge comic book series with an Al B. Sure soundtrack that became a cult hit through sheer will, passion and grit. After taking a swing at webcomics with PANORAMA, Fiffe chose to veer away from pixels to keep it real with pulp and, in the spirit of Dave Sim’s CEREBUS THE AARDVARK, and Erik Larsen’s SAVAGE DRAGON, he carved his own path. When he wasn’t killing it monthly with COPRA, and rocking other creator-owned concepts like ZEGAS and NEGATIVELAND, he was tackling sacred cows the likes of GI JOE, BLOODSTRIKE, SUPERMAN and more. Big Ups to Fiffe for sticking to his guns and for sticking the landing.
• Mimi Pond. Her new graphic novel “Do Admit: The Mitford Sisters and Me” is a work of art—and a perfect example as to why AI will never make a meaningful impact with the medium.
• Mimi Pond. Over Easy and The Customer Were Always wrong are great books, and Do Admit: The Mitford Sisters and Me is incredible “book of the year” stuff. Glad people are really taking notice of her comics.
• Nick Dragotta, for putting a distinctive visual stamp on the biggest book of the year
• R. Crumb, like he hasn’t been lionized enough already, it’s simply undeniable that it’s R. Crumb. For/from Crumb in 2025 we saw a big, award winning biography from Dan Nadel, the first new comic in over 20 years, his art in the Whitney Museum’s Sixties Surreal exhibit, the solo Paranoia show at David Zwiner L.A., and he continues to see a robust market for his original art.
• Sean Von Gorman (of comics) – I’ve known Sean for over a decade and watched him finally hit a home run that can’t be ignored with “The Pedestrian.” And, I look forward to the rest of the industry catching on to see just how great of an artist, friend, and father that he is.
• Tessa Hulls, who won the Pulitzer for Comics. How is this not being talked about more?!?

SHOWRUNNERS

Comic arts festivals remain vital to the industry for showcasing indie creators and making new stars, and several showrunners were mentioned:

• Amie Wright for ushering in a new era for TCAF
• Aynsley Leonardis, the driving force behind BICS, the Brooklyn Independent Comics Showcase (with, of course, a hat tip to her boss Mitch Cutler). Aynsley has been running BICS since 2022, always with amazing enthusiasm and generosity. She and Mitch have grown the show from a tiny one-day affair held in the open air to a two-day indoor EVENT, giving local indy creators another venue to complement MoCCAFest. I have a general idea of what it would take to run such a show, from dealing with venues to guests to creator egos to media coverage, and I can’t comprehend how she does it every year with such grace, good humor, and bubbly bonhomie. I’ve known Aynsley since they were a student at SVA and a St. Mark’s Comics store clerk — it’s been awesome to see them come into their own!
• Kelly Froh, co-founder and executive director of the Short Run Comix Festival in Seattle. It’s a wonderful show that I think deserves more attention. I’m thankful for the hard work of show organizers like Kelly who put a lot of thought into making a curated event that’s joyful as well as a serious opportunity for artists to reach their audience.

PUBLISHERS

Of course, many people behind the scenes as publishers or editors also had an impact:

• It’s a 3 way tie for me, I could not pick one. I think Todd McFarlane, Mark London, and Nick Barrucci have made a difference taking their companies to new levels and delivering steady consistent books to bigger audiences. The big two always have the numbers and characters, but when you see others outside the obvious easy sell making waves like they have in 2025, it’s always much more impressive to me.
• Bobbie Chase
• Austin English, who is single-handedly doing more than any one person to nurture a small-press and arts-first comics scene. Publisher and distributor of Domino Books, co-editor of the print Comics Journal, co-curator of the New York Comics & Picture-Symposium, teacher, and himself an important contemporary artist who has inspired countless others to make comics their way.
• Charles Kochman is in his 20th year with Abrams Books, where he is now editorial director of Abrams ComicArts. Throughout that time he has had a clear creative vision and mission that led Abrams to publish terrific books that others wouldn’t have, or wouldn’t have even thought to. While he has guided Jeff Kinney’s DIARY OF A WIMPY KID series to sales of several hundred million copies, he still champions smaller projects by new voices or veteran voices that may not have been heard from in a while. Nobody publishes books like Abrams, and that’s all due to Charlie.
• Christina Merkler. Lunar has been a rock throughout all the distribution turmoil and I don’t know that the industry as we know it would have survived without them. They’ve had a meaningful presence at every major industry event and are doing all the right things to keep us all moving forward.
• Eli Schwab, publisher at Cosmic Lion Productions, for fighting the good fight with strength of character, a strong work ethic and just being a solid, good human being.
• David Saylor, publisher Scholastic
• Joseph Illidge is genuinely setting the bar right now. With Illuminous, he’s building an approach to IP that isn’t just about creating something strong, but about elevating it, protecting it, and positioning it for longevity across multiple avenues. Joseph understands the full ecosystem of this industry. He knows success requires more than talent alone. It demands strategy, time, financial investment, relationship-building, and the willingness to shepherd a project through every stage of its life. Illuminous is doing exactly that. It’s a multi-pronged model built for the realities of modern publishing, and Joseph’s commitment to nurturing IP from concept to execution is the kind of leadership this industry should be paying attention to.
• Michael Vassallo, whose Atlas Library books through Fantagraphics have been astounding and much-needed pieces of comics history restoration.
• Tess Banta. The launch of 23rd Street has been a game changer in terms of potential markets for comics for adults, and in my opinion, Tess has gone above and beyond behind the scenes to take advantage of this opportunity and build a list that’s unlike anything we’ve seen from mainstream imprints. I’m very very excited to see what that imprint is putting out over the next few years. 
• James Gunn

AND THE HALL OF FAMER

Jackie Estrada – For her lifelong work as both a fan and an industry professional in advancing respect and love for comics and cartoonists, particularly in her role in helping to make the San Diego Comic Con what it is today, and as an administrator for the Eisner Awards. I’m especially grateful for her work as a champion of the small press.

Negative Impact Person of the Year

Honestly, I didn’t know what to cal this category, but you can supply your own word for the person who was mentioned several times.

• Steve Geppi – He may yet bring down the entire direct market
• Steve Geppi, but for all the wrong reasons.
• Steve Geppi, for getting cute in getting out of his business and making the whole thing into a trainwreck. Systems are broken, employees are scattered, history is scattered, publishers are financially hit, and stores now have to scramble to survive.

And that’s a wrap for our Survey and Person of the Year voting for 2025! What on earth will happen in ’26? Fates willing, The Beat will be here to report all the details as they unfold. 

PREVIOUS WINNERS: 

2024: Daniel Warren Johnson
2023: Sloane Leong
2022: Maia Kobabe and Kate Beaton
2021: Judy Hansen
2020: Gene Luen Yang
2019: Dav Pilkey and Tom Spurgeon
2018: Stan Lee and Olivia Jaimes
2017: Emil Ferris
2016: Gene Luen Yang and the March Trilogy Team
2015: Noelle Stevenson
2014: Raina Telgemeier
2013: Kim Thompson
2012: Eric Stephenson
2011: Kate Beaton/Jim Lee & Dan DiDio
2010: Robert Kirkman