Welcome to the New Year, and welcome to a whole new cycle of big stories, little stories, Internet kerfluffles, and wonderful surprises. As we go forward, as is our tradition, we take a look back and ask industry professionals, pundits, and random oddballs to take a spin as prognosticators to see what 2009 will bring. We’ve also added a bonus question to see how our panel will deal with the inevitable decline of civilization into an exciting CGI action movie. Let’s get right to it. An aside to everyone who has been dawdling on getting their answers back: Yes, I will still run them if I get them. Part II appears tomorrow.

Scott Pilgrim-1Bryan Lee O’Malley, cartoonist

2009 Projects: I am just finishing up SCOTT PILGRIM VS THE UNIVERSE which is scheduled to hit stores on February 4, 2009.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2008? The sad mishandling and dismantling of DC’s Minx imprint after just eighteen months.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2009? We’ll learn that comics are 100% recession-proof. Ha ha, I’m trying to be positive.

When the world turns into a Mad Max movie, my role will be: Instantly killed with a headshot while awkwardly loping towards a bottle of water.

JimstarlinJim Starlin, cartoonist
2009 Projects:Strange Adventures that begins in March.  Working with artists Manuel Garcia and Rafael Albuquerque.  The eight-issue miniseries will have Adam Strange and Comet in the lead feature and Bizarro in the backup slot.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2008?  Dan Didio surviving everyone predicting he was toast at DC.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2009?  Probably Dan Didio getting fired from DC.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2009? At this moment, savoring warm weather again somewhere wet and sunny.

When the world turns into a Mad Max movie, my role will be:  I’ll be the timekeeper.


Bio PalmiottiJimmy Palmiotti, writer, artist
2009 Projects: For IDW the LAST RESORT series, for DC COMICS, more JONAH HEX, POWERGIRL, a few unannounced books and a whole mess of multi media stuff I cant talk about yet.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2008? That company wide crossovers alienate new readers and that no one really wants a weekly comic book… at least around my house.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2009? The JONAH HEX movie, And unfortunately the rise in comic prices.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2009? JONAH HEX hitting issue 50, POWERGIRL monthly, smaller companies becoming bigger AND MAYBE Jonah finally getting nominated for something…anything. .

When the world turns into a Mad Max movie, my role will be: MAX of course… I have never been one to sit around and wait for the help of others.

L 22298Fd55B0Efdc1366F10Ad238982F0Ben “Witchity” Templesmith, cartoonist
2009 Projects: PRESIDENTS OF THE USA  art/portrait book due in January! DOCTOR WHO: THE WHISPERING GALLERY one-shot in February with Leah Moore & John Reppion!
A miniseries entirely about anal probes and mutating crotches with Chris Ryall called GROOM LAKE.
Hopefully the first inklings of a book that will break the internet into sixteenths & make you feel dirtier than a pair of Britney Spears’ knickers ( when she actually decides to wear them ) called CHOKER.

More WORMWOOD when I can fit some in! 

What was the biggest story in comics in 2008? Apart from the fact I’m still allowed to get my stuff printed? ( Yes people are that insane! ) I’d personally say it’s the ongoing saga of how Hollywood are dealing with taking what they can from comics and what the actual benefit to the health of the industry there is in that, (especially when it comes to things like SDCC ) as well as the inevitable “how will comics fare in these economic times” type stuff. 

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2009? It’ll be how either the sky is falling with the economic crisis or how amazingly the comics business is weathering the storm I guess.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2009? A new issue of Shaolin Cowboy? I can live in hope. My other *real* guilty pleasure is figuring out what I’ll do once my exclusive with IDW is up towards the end of 2009. Promised to work with some many people that if half of it comes off, I’ll stil be busy til 2012! ( Notwithstanding economic conditions of course. )

When the world turns into a Mad Max movie, my role will be: So long as I get to wear a leathery loincloth, studded shoulder pads, a decent sized mohawk & eat dog food, while riding in my swine turd powered mean machine with some juice in the tank, I’ll be happy.

200901021110Peggy Burns, Associate publisher, Drawn and Quarterly
What was the biggest story in comics in 2008? LYNDA! BARRY!

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2009? D+Q’s 20th, natch!

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2009? LOST!!!!!!

Todd Allen, consultant/professor/etc.

2009 Projects: Next couple immediate aren’t too interesting to comix-at-large (which may come as a relief to DC’s PR department)

What was the biggest story in comics in 2008? Comics-based movies taking over the _worldwide_ box office. #1 Dark Knight, #4 Hancock (comics-inspired), #5 Iron Man, #13:Wanted, #16: Incredible Hulk, #19: Jumper (comics-ish + David Goyer); #30: Hellboy II.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2009? What Marvel does with the $10 million they’ve put aside for digital. Mind you, they’re already doing paid download in Europe with cellphones as the platform. While Marvel’s officially expecting to reap the rewards in 2010, by Q4 we have a chance of seeing 1) expansion of the digital subscription program, 2) shorter waits from print to digital, 3) some form of paid, single-issue downloads. If the downloads are in Europe, you can consider it in field-testing for the U.S.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2009? Len Strazewski returns to comics.

CalvinreidCalvin Reid, Senior News Editor, Publishers Weekly

2009 Projects:
Launching a new blog by me and a landing page and dedicated URL for PW Comics Week

What was the biggest story in comics in 2008? A Federal court apparently righting a terrible wrong by awarding the heirs of Superman co-creator Jerome Siegel, a share of the copyright to one of the most famous comic book characters ever.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2009? Comics publishing and the Economy (but also the Watchmen movie)

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2009? Besides a New York Yankees World Championship? Well either Scott Pilgrim Volume 5 or the publication of David Mazzucchelli’s much anticipated Asterios Polyp (even though I’ve already read it. Hee hee)

Seidman
David Seidman, publicity manager, author

2009 Projects: Publicity for NBM and Papercutz; teaching comics writing via MediaBistro.com

What was the biggest story in comics in 2008? This is more a trend than a piece of news, but here it is: the slow descent of iconic super-heroes (except Batman) from atop the graphic-novel bestseller lists.  Look at the most popular GNs on Amazon.com, Publishers Weekly, and ICv2.com, and you’ll see Joss Whedon’s BUFFY and SERENITY, Jeff Kinney’s DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, a number of titles by Alan Moore and Brian K. Vaughan, and plenty of FULL METAL ALCHEMIST, NARUTO, and other manga — but not much Superman, Wonder Woman, Hulk, or Captain America.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2009? I have no idea.  If I could predict the future, I’d bet on the ponies.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2009? I hope to be dating more — a situation that will undoubtedly involve both pleasure and guilt, if my future relationships are anything like my past ones.

Mike CareyMike Carey 

2009 Projects: The new incarnation of X-Men Legacy, beginning right after the current arc and centring on… someone who’s not Professor X. Also a new monthly book from Vertigo (no title as yet) which will be announced at NYCon.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2008? The return of the scourge of the early nineties – “event” fatigue.  And probably not a moment too soon.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2009? The shock discovery – probably announced by some European quantum physics laboratory – that there’s a parallel universe where Dave Sim’s theory of lights and voids actually makes some kind of sense.  A stubborn few will continue to assert that these findings relate not to Dave but to British character actor Alastair Sim, star of “Blue Murder at St. Trinian’s”.

When the world turns into a Mad Max movie, my role will be: spare tyre.

B. Clay Moore
 
2009 Projects: Black Vault (Top Cow), Creator owned project at WildStorm to be announced soon, 76 & Hawaiian Dick (Image), Billy Smoke (Oni).
 
What was the biggest story in comics in 2008? The creator-owned vs. work-for-hire “debate.” Which should never have been a debate.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2009? The continuing diversion in revenue-generating models between the Big Two and everybody else.
When the world turns into a Mad Max movie, my role will be: Pointing out that none of those gigantic phallic guns is really loaded with anything but blanks.

Pastedgraphic
Jeff Parker, writer, artist
2009 Projects:  An ongoing AGENTS OF ATLAS series, and a creator-owned book called MYSTERIUS THE UNFATHOMABLE with Tom Fowler at Wildstorm. These are the two books that stocking heavily will ensure comics shops weather the Recession well- only these. 

What was the biggest story in comics in 2008? That one of the big companies (Marvel) started getting serious about providing online content. When we’re all one day buying serials cheap in digital form to read on some flexible interface and later getting the collections as real books, this is where it started. Looking at last year’s prediction, I see that I started to talk about this and then switched to the more exciting “tragedy at Comicon” prognostication. I was almost right for once! Well, by my own measure. 
What will be the biggest story in comics in 2009? DC will do something drastic. Yes, more important things will happen elsewhere, but fans online will talk about that drastic thing DC did, whatever it was. 

When the world turns into a Mad Max movie, my role will be: The long-faced gyrocopter pilot who will pull you out of hell just in time! 

Richard ThompsonRichard Thompson, cartoonist

2009 Projects:A daily comic strip, Cul de Sac, a weekly cartoon, Richard’s Poor Almanack, and some freelance stuff.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2008? For me, the gradual evaporation of newspapers.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2009? The same, alas.

When the world turns into a Mad Max movie, my role will be: The guy in the back of the theater with popcorn and Twizzlers.

Elks RunJoshua Hale Fialkov, writer
2009 Projects: This year should see the release of the next book by Elk’s Run artist Noel Tuazon and myself.  I’ve been working my butt off to make sure it was worth the wait.   I’ve also got more work from Top Cow, including more issues of Cyblade, and something top secret and creator owned.  I’m also REALLY excited about the Dark-Hunter manga I adapted for St. Martin’s Press and the Dabel Bros.   Plus my first Marvel work should hit stands.  Big year all around.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2008? Crossover burn out?  You look at the success of some pretty unique and weird books (Umbrella Academy comes to mind), and realize that maybe people don’t need all of their comics intermingled into some sort of doctoral theses in alternate universes.  I’m hoping that we may finally get to see some fun, stand alone stuff in 2009.   The other thing that comes to mind is the faltering of many mid-level stalwart publishers.  For the most part, they’re the ones breaking new talent and pushing the boundaries of comics, so, here’s hoping they can all make it through the recession.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2009? I know what I’m worried it’ll be… economic downturn crushes comic industry.  Luckily, we’re a bunch of persistent bastards over here, so, I think we’ll triumph over it in the long run.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2009? Hanging out at home in my underwear watching Gilmore Girls with the wife is pretty high up on my To Do list.

VitodelsanteVito Delsante, writer
2009 Projects: Before They Were Famous: Babe Ruth (Simon & Schuster/Feb ’09) and FCHS (AdHouse Books/Aug ’09)

What was the biggest story in comics in 2008? The movies (Iron Man and Dark Knight at the top) and how good they actually were.  This is the first time I can remember sitting on the literal edge of my seat for a comic book movie.  The recession and how little it affected publishers, and how much it affected retailers.  The presidential race, while not directly a comic-related event, can also be considered a big story since it was the first time in all the years that I can remember that the comics industry actually mobilized and put their weight behind a candidate.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2009? It won’t be a comic story, but how the country rebounds in the face of the recession.  It’s not going to be easy or quick, but once it happens, I’m sure it will affect comics in some way.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2009? Heroes Con ’09.  My favorite con of the year and the most fun event of the convention season.

When the world turns into a Mad Max movie, my role will be: I’m sure everyone is going to say “Master Blaster” so as much as I’d like to echo that, I’ll just opt for the role of a gyro pilot

shaenongarrityShaenon K. Garrity, cartoonist, editor

2009 Projects: This year my collaborator Jeffrey Wells and I started a new daily webcomic, Skin Horse, at (logically enough) skin-horse.com. It’s about government bureaucracy as it applies to killer robots and beast-men, and for some reason there is also cross-dressing. My weekly comic Li’l Mell, over at girlamatic.com, updates each Wednesday, currently with art by the wonderful Neil Babra. The rest of the time I continue to serve as a freelance manga editor and rewriter for Viz Media. My book CLAMP in America, about the manga superteam CLAMP, will be out from Del Rey in the summer of 2009.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2008? Webcomics seemed to come into their own as a legitimate business model, although I’m not sure if they actually became a legitimate business model, or if the rest of the comics industry is so confused and floundering that flinging crap at the Internet and hoping something sticks makes as much sense as anything else.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2009? How the economic crisis affects our little industry, natch. In particular, if one or both of the big bookstore chains goes under or closes a significant number of stores, expect some serious bad mojo to go around. On the plus side, if “The Spirit” and “Watchmen” aren’t too embarrassing, maybe we can all keep sucking on Hollywood’s teat just long enough to weather the storm. (I hope you’ll be kind enough to interpret that last clause not as a clumsy mixed metaphor, but as a timely reference to Isaac Singer’s holiday story “Zlateh the Goat.” Happy Hanukkah!)

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2009? I don’t believe in guilty pleasures. I plan to spend the next six months painstakingly assembling every Muppet Christmas special and movie ever produced in order to host a summer film festival entitled “Muppet Christmas in July,” and I feel no shame about that.

When the world turns into a Mad Max movie, my role will be: Like everyone else who worked in the comics industry before the collapse of civilization, I will feel perfectly at home in the sunless underground shit farms.

471Px-Bryan TalbotBryan Talbot, cartoonist

2009 Projects: My next graphic novel, Grandville. It¹s a steampunk detective thriller with anthropomorphic characters. It¹s been real fun working on it, after spending about 5 years working on Alice in Sunderland, which was like doing a bloody Phd. It¹s out October Œ09.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2008? For me it¹s the continuing growing acceptance of graphic novels by the mainstream literary world. If only someone would come up with a better name for them.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2009? Alan Moore coming out of comic retirement…again.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2009? Watching the new series of Shameless. I don¹t know if it¹s shown in the US but ­ like Borat – it¹s so wrong, it¹s funny.

Ala-ObamaNat Gertler, writer, publisher

2009 Projects: As the publisher of About Comics, I’m getting ready to publish The Blank Comic Book, to be unleashed on innocent eyes this February. And we’re gearing up on the About Infinity SF/fantasy comics line — http://www.AboutInfinity.com/

As a writer, I’m hunting for a real-world humor artist for my completed graphic novel script The Proxy. So if anyone reading this is the bastard love child of Dan DeCarlo and Adam Hughes with a burning desire to be hideously underpaid, they should get in touch with me.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2008? Soooo much stuff! Long gone are the days where you could read everything that came out. Gone are the days when you could read everything that was of good repute. Now you can’t even read (or afford) all the stuff that’s of good repute and seems like your kind of stuff. You haven’t finished the Joss Whedon Runaways and there’s a new Faith Erin Hicks GN out and your a volume-and-a-half behind reading Complete Peanuts and still haven’t broken open issue 1 of GalaxyQuest to see if they’ve done it justice. And all the time, that big thick honkin’ book of Jaime Hernandez sits in the corner, glowering at you and making you feel guilty for not having broken it open yet. 2008 means never looking around and thinking “there’s nothing to read!”

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2009? Sharp pains for comics publishers that depend primarily on the bookstore market.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2009? Enjoying how well the Watchmen movie captures Dave Gibbons’s work, without worrying about how well it captures Alan Moore’s.

When the world turns into a Mad Max movie, my role will be: King of the Peanuts book library, and all who want access must pay my price! Projects you are working on you want to mention:

Joe Hovorka, retailer, Tales of Wonder
2009 Projects:  We’re launching ToWDistribution, a distribution company for graphic novels remainders. It’s gonna be ‘uge.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2008? The reliance on big events to move units at the expense of non-tie-in books became even more accute. I also thought DC’s inability to get much traction on anything not affiliated with Geoff Johns or Grant Morrison was significant and troubling.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2009? Well, the Watchmen film. Heck, it be argued that hype for this thing made it the biggest story of 2008 as well.

When the world turns into a Mad Max movie, my role will be:  I’ll sell peanuts at the Thunderdome.

200901050152Richard Starkings, publisher, lettering guru

2009 Projects: We are currently putting together the second ELEPHANTMEN hardcover, FATAL DISEASES, for publication in early 2009!

What was the biggest story in comics in 2008? We lost three greats this year — Rory Root, creator of the awesome COMIC RELIEF store, Mike Wieringo, FF artist and co-creator of TELLOS and Mike Turner, TOP COW protegé and creator of FATHOM. There were other stories that impacted our industry this year, but the loss of these three warm and loving human beings, barely in their middle ages, really struck me and made me stop to think.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2009? The WATCHMEN movie — yeah, I was the one that said that last year, but y’know, it was still a big deal THIS year anyway!

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2009? The DOCTOR WHO specials and the agonizing wait to find out who Steven Moffatt has cast as the new Doctor.

When the world turns into a Mad Max movie, my role will be: Treating people with road rash.

Halloween922Kiel Phegley, writer

2009 Projects: I’ll continue my freelance journalism gigs for CBR, Marvel.com, Wizard, MTV’s Splash Page and a few other places, but personally, the thing I’m most excited about is launching my own comics interview blog sometime in the next two months.

What was the biggest story in comics in 2008? I don’t know if most folks would count this as one story, but it seems to me that 2008 was the year that the industry’s post-crash/post-Millennium growth period finally peaked. Well, maybe peaked is the wrong word. Let’s say the industry plateaued. 2008 saw the release of several new works by legendary talents, more than a half dozen comic movies whose varied successes had some impact on comics sales (to say nothing of the thousands of Watchmen copies sold damn near a year before that movie’s release), a handful of other good to great graphic novels, two more mega events from Marvel and DC, continued expansion by traditional publishers into digital media and vice versa and something like 12 zillion more copies of Naruto sold. But, you know, nothing stood out as the “it” moment or book of the year. With the economic crisis hitting late in the year and killing the last of any possible new publishing ventures for the foreseeable future, I think 2008 is going to be best remembered as a year that kinda felt like the last few years and showed people what comics in general will be like for quite a while.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2009? God, can it be anything else except the wait to see who gets crushed by the recession first and then worst? For all the talk that’s already been done on this subject, most of what people in comics have experienced so far is stress and speculation, but post-Christmas shopping, the economic picture for the supposedly recession-proof comics game should become much more real. Judging from nothing but guesswork, I’d say that if things get as bad as we’re all worrying they will, the first signs of hard times will hit in the retail sector. I just learned over Christmas that my hometown comics shop is closing in January after nearly 25 years in business, and the Borders situation doesn’t look too hot either. I really hope I’m wrong on all accounts though.

What guilty pleasure (of any kind) are you looking forward to in 2009? I kind of want to see that “Fanboys” movie not only come out but make a lot of money just to give the finger to the Harvey Weinstein (I don’t know exactly how making him a ton of money will qualify as giving him the finger, but you get the idea). So I’ll go see it opening weekend and hope that its release means “5-25-77” will get released somewhere I can see it some day.
Selfportrait BaggePeter Bagge, cartoonist

2009 Projects:“Second Lives” — a graphic novel for Vertigo. Also started doing monthly comics for DISCOVER Magazine. About scientists! Whoo hoo!

What was the biggest story in comics in 2008? Dunno.

What will be the biggest story in comics in 2009? Dunno! I suck at predicting things.

When the world turns into a Mad Max movie, my role will be: A rotting corpse on the side of the road. With maggots. Gotta have maggots!

1 COMMENT

  1. I’m sure that’s Ellis: newuniversal, Desolation Jones, Planetary (I’ll wait forever for #27). Freak Angels is great; amazing that it has been relatively on time.

  2. When the world turns into a Mad Max movie, I’ll be right there on the ground next to Bryan Lee O’Malley with a bullet in my head and the same look Mike Carey has in his picture. Meanwhile, my wife, having watched “Survivorman” and other shows like that, will lead our kids and the neighborhood kids into a life of self-sufficiency she’s always dreamed of. Beware her strain of trained killer bees, you mutant bikers you!

  3. When the world turns into a Mad Max movie, I’ll be… waitaminute!!!!… trick question – the world IS a Mad Max movie!

  4. “and a creator-owned book called MYSTERIUS THE UNFATHOMABLE with Tom Fowler at Wildstorm. These are the two books that stocking heavily will ensure comics shops weather the Recession well- only these. ”

    jeff forgot to mention that each issue will be printed with a fresh ten dollar bill in it.

    …and it will get you laid.

  5. Return to comics? Well, sure since I have some new characters and actually some story and art finished. Now if I had a publisher…that would help.