The saga of woke comics is the saga of woke America. Much like video games, comics and superhero movies were ignored by conservative movements as "meaningless kids stuff" until recently, which is part of the reason why those industries were so easily invaded by leftists and used to indoctrinate millions of children and teens a decade ago.
Culture is more important than politics. This is obvious. It's a fact that leftists have understood for generations and one that conservatives have foolishly dismissed. Only in the past few years has there been a shift; at least, the progressive rampage through America's various media institutions has been stalled and slightly reversed.
But, the most captured platforms are not going to change anytime soon, even in the face of financial decline and mass layoffs.
Disney and Marvel have recently announced a shake-up of the comics division, with over a thousand layoffs this year (after moderate layoffs over the past few years), and new executive leadership. Far-left DEI advocate Dan Buckley is on the way out. This change is being presented as a retirement, though some skeptics argue he is being forced out as part of the company's restructuring.
Buckley replacement is not much better, however. TV Chief Brad Winderbaum is taking over as Marvel President and his track record on Marvel TV series includes some of the biggest woke failures in streaming history - Ms. Marvel (Muslim Pakistani representation), She-Hulk: Attorney at Law (feminist/meta take, which he defends as a strong performer despite critical failure), Ironheart (feminism and BLM propaganda), Echo, Agatha All Along, Wonder Man (prominent LGBT elements).
In other words, superhero fans hoping that the company changes will result in a renewed respect for the source materials are probably going to be disappointed. Marvel's direction is unlikely to improve.
Marvel Comics, a subsidiary of Disney, has been at the forefront of far-left propaganda in content for many years, and their woke concepts are usually ported directly into Disney's movies and streaming series. Everything from gay and trans X-Men to black Spider-Man, to female gender swaps of popular male characters have become the norm. And, books sales have flatlined in response.
Marvel's market share has plunged from highs of 40%-45% to around 29% today. Direct market US comics make up around 15% of total sales in the medium, while Japanese Manga dominates with 50% of the market. US comics continue to lose ground exactly because no one likes woke superheros.
Only ten years ago the business of superheroes was big. Theater goers could not get enough of the comic book genre. Comic studios from industry titans to indies were scrambling to turn every property they had into a movie deal. Nerd culture went fully mainstream and every kid and suburban wine-mom was geeking out in a way that used to get people beat up in middle school.
The problem is that nerd culture became a platform that the woke movement lusted after. And, as they do with everything they touch, their efforts to hijack comic book media and exploit it as a vehicle for DEI ended up destroying popular sentiment.
Top companies like Marvel and DC no longer publish exact sales data and unit numbers are proprietary. The reason was because sales collapsed according to evidence accumulating across bookstores and newsstands. There are estimates of around 2500 comic stores closed since 2016, many of them were stores that had been open for decades. Neighborhood favorites that used to do decent business folded.
The stores that survived were those that diversified into video games, board games and other products. Store owners reported that comic fans were buying older back issues and often avoided new woke books.
In 2026, the superhero trend is dead. The audience has dried up and no one cares. It's sad to see, but completely predictable. Marvel's pretentious obstinance led them to believe that the audience exists to serve their products, rather than their products existing to serve the audience. The thing is, they can force woke cultism into any IP they like, but they can't force people to pay for it.
For now they a protected by Disney's vast corporate umbrella. But, this might not be the case for long if they continue to lose money.