The annual ComicsPRO conference is currently ongoing in California, and Image Comics and Skybound’s Robert Kirkman took the stage today for the Keynote speech, giving a rousing, somewhat off-the-cuff speech about where he sees the industry going.
“I don’t really prepare things usually,” Kirkman began. “I usually wing it. For better or worse.”
Kirkman explained he had notes, and the previous night was chatting with Eric Stephenson, and couldn’t read his notes… So he wrote a speech. The contents of that speech? How he started in superhero comics, but doesn’t see that as the future of the comic book industry.
“I am a bit of an anomaly when it comes to comic book creators,” Kirkman said. While he wrote Spider-Man, and other characters, “For the last 20 years, I have lived the most fulfilling, creative years.”
He created Walking Dead, Invincible and more, but even those books hit their “peak.” Kirkman noted that Batman, Spider-Man, more have been around for decades, and have had peaks and valleys but may be past their prime. Walking Dead, even, hit a peak at one point… And compared that to Invincible, more on that in a second.
“What else in comics is working these days?” continued Kirkman, calling out Absolute Universe, Ultimate Universe, and his own Energon Universe. “Established brands, with an established fanbase… With a new coating. They are familiar, but new.”
Yet somewhat contradicting himself, Kirkman added, “I sometimes think the original sin of this industry, the thing that holds it back the most, is that we refuse to move on… The industry is not kind to new ideas. New ideas can struggle… I think we could better nurturing the new books that will become the mainstay of the future… The Spider-Mans, the Ninja Turtles are out there.”
And to that point, Kirkman shouted out that we all know the manga to anime pipeline drives sales back to the books, but that’s just starting with the comic book industry: Invincible may have hit its peak, but the animated adaptation is keeping those sales going.
Wrapping up, Kirkman made two announcements: MASK, an ongoing Energon Universe title from Dan Watters and Pye Parr that comes out on June 3 (and yes, will have Blind Bags). And then a new series, Terminal, by Kirkman and Joe Casey, with art by Andy Kubert, David Finch and Art Adams coming on July 22. It’s Kirkman’s first ongoing superhero series since Invincible, and they already have 18 issues in the can.
So, something old, something new. Will the Energon Universe hit its peak? Or will MASK — and an upcoming animated adaptation of the universe — keep things going?
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