Comics Over Time

Episode 99 - Murdock and Marvel: 2025 In a year so recent that we don’t even have Eisners for it yet, comics continued to thrive and movie ticket sales continued to dive.  It was a great time to be a comic retailer, but a very bad year if you happen to be a political cartoonist.  Lets talk about the year that was 2025. Preshow New era of Daredevil comic begins in March:  https://www.marvel.com/art...

Episode 98 - Murdock and Marvel: 2024 Can comics survive without big-screen movies to prop them up?  Yes, it appears they can.  It was another great year for comics in stores, even as the pop-culture phenomenon of the MCU seems to have largely died.  The Year in Comics  Comics in Other Media Comic Sales Notable Comics Top Comic News Notable Passings Marvel Eisner Awards Dan's Favorite The Year in...

Episode 97 - Murdock and Marvel: 2023 The pandemic book that brought comics to their highest sales figures ever finally ended, and sales dropped about 7% from 2022’s all-time high. Even so, both sales and quality made this another fantastic year for American comics.  The movies…well that is something else… Preshow Talk Alec Seguera’s Enemy of My Enemy:  https://www.publishersweekly.com/97813680953...

Episode 96 - Murdock and Marvel: 2022 It was a good year for comics, with things being stable, but still pointing up.  In the movie world, though, there were some dangerous signs of problems to come… The Year in Comics  Comics in Other Media Comic Sales Notable Comics Top Comic News Notable Passings Marvel Eisner Awards Dan's Favorite The Year in Daredevil  Appearances: Daredevil v6 #36, Daredevil...

Episode 95 - Murdock and Marvel: 2021 As the Covid-19 pandemic entered its second year comics continued to charge forward, with the unchallenged biggest year in the history of the medium (so far!) in 2021.  Great books and a public desperate to be entertained combined to make this a great year to be a comic retailer…or a comic fan!  The Year in Comics  Comics in Other Media Comic Sales Notable Com...

Episode 94 - Murdock and Marvel: 2020 In case you don’t remember, 2020 pretty much sucked.  Comics did not escape the vortex of Covid-19 and its associated disruptions and dangers, but the industry actually weathered the first year of the pandemic better than one might expect. The Year in Comics  Comics in Other Media Comic Sales Notable Comics Top Comic News Notable Passings Marvel Eisner Awards...

Episode 93 - Murdock and Marvel: 2019 In 2019 Marvel Studios completed the most ambitious movie cycle in history with its 2 billion dollar Avengers: Endgame masterpiece, even as comic stores wondered about the future and politics made deeper and deeper inroads into comics and comics fandom. The Year in Comics  Comics in Other Media Comic Sales Notable Comics Top Comic News Notable Passings Marvel...

Episode 92 - Murdock and Marvel: 2018 It was a great year for comics, everywhere except the shops, and movies, graphic novels and TV continued to do well.  The Year in Comics  Comics in Other Media Comic Sales Notable Comics Top Comic News Notable Passings Marvel Eisner Awards Dan's Favorite The Year in Daredevil  Appearances: Daredevil v5 #595-610, Daredevil Annual #1, She-Hulk #159, Falcon #6, A...

Episode 91 - Murdock and Marvel: 2017 It was a big year for comics in theaters, but local comic shops did not do nearly as well, with sales diving substantially from 2016. The Year in Comics  Comics in Other Media Comic Sales Notable Comics Top Comic News Notable Passings Marvel Eisner Awards Dan's Favorite The Year in Daredevil  Appearances: Daredevil v5 #13-28, Power Man and Iron Fist #10, Aveng...

Episode 90 - Murdock and Marvel: 2016 TBD The Year in Comics  Comics in Other Media Comic Sales Top Comics News Notable Passings Marvel Eisner Awards The Year in Daredevil  Appearances: Daredevil v5 #1-12, Daredevil/Punisher: Seventh Circle #1-3, True Believers: Daredevil – Practice to Deceive #1, Daredevil Annual #1, Secret Wars Too #1, Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. #5, Mockingbird #5, Accused #1, Capta...

Episode 89 - Murdock and Marvel: 2015 Part 2 2015 was a turning point for the American comic industry in a number of ways, and seems to be a satisfying place to wrap up our look at over 50 years of American comic books.  This year is in many ways a fulcrum that links the insular comics world that I grew up in with the fast-moving media-entwined and politically-charged environment of recent times....

Episode 88 - Murdock and Marvel: 2015 Part 1 2015 was a turning point for the American comic industry in a number of ways, and seems to be a satisfying place to wrap up our look at over 50 years of American comic books.  This year is in many ways a fulcrum that links the insular comics world that I grew up in with the fast-moving media-entwined and politically-charged environment of recent times. ...

Episode 87 - Murdock and Marvel: 2014 Part 2 2014 saw some sales figures that had not been achieved in decades, and pop culture was filled with comic book related movies and merchandise.  Marvel was dominant again, and along with DC again climbed back to nearly 70% of the total market share in comic shops.  This is part 2 of the podcast. that will feature the year in Daredevil, the Spotlight story...

Episode 86 - Murdock and Marvel: 2014 Part 1 2014 saw some sales figures that had not been achieved in decades, and pop culture was filled with comic book related movies and merchandise.  Marvel was dominant again, and along with DC again climbed back to nearly 70% of the total market share in comic shops.  The Year in Comics  Comics in Other Media DC Comics Other Publishers Sales & Industry I...

Episode 85 - Murdock and Marvel: 2013 Part 2 It was a pretty monumental year in comics, in the opinion of your humble co-host.  2013 is probably the best year for new comics of the 21st century to date, with a ton of variety and quality.  And people noticed!  This is part 2 of the podcast. that will feature the year in Daredevil, the Spotlight story and the Takeaway for 2013.   The Year in Daredev...

Episode 84 - Murdock and Marvel: 2013 Part 1 It was a pretty monumental year in comics, in the opinion of your humble co-host.  2013 is probably the best year for new comics of the 21st century to date, with a ton of variety and quality.  And people noticed!  The Year in Comics  Comics in Other Media DC Comics Other Publishers Sales & Industry Information Beginnings & Endings Eisner Awards...

Episode 83 - Murdock and Marvel: 2012 Part 2 2012 was a year when the big news in comics all happened outside of shops, with movie theaters and social media dominating the industry. This is part 2 of the podcast. that will feature the year in Daredevil, the Spotlight story and the Takeaway for 2012.   The Year in Daredevil  Appearances: Daredevil v3 #6-19, Daredevil: End of Days #1 Fantastic Four...

Episode 82 - Murdock and Marvel: 2012 Part 1 2012 was a year when the big news in comics all happened outside of shops, with movie theaters and social media dominating the industry. The Year in Comics  Comics in Other Media The Punisher: Dirty Laundry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NAoBsIZ-M3A DC Comics Other Publishers Sales & Industry Information Beginnings & Endings Eisner Awards Dan'...

Episode 81 - Murdock and Marvel: 2011 Part 2 It was a quiet year in the comics world, but there were a lot of developments going on behind the scenes, and up on the screen.  Oh, and we did get ONE new character worth talking about…  This is part 2 of the podcast. that will feature the year in Daredevil, the Spotlight story and the Takeaway for 2011.   The Year in Daredevil  Appearances: Daredevil...

Episode 80 - Murdock and Marvel: 2011 Part 1 It was a quiet year in the comics world, but there were a lot of developments going on behind the scenes, and up on the screen.  Oh, and we did get ONE new character worth talking about… The Year in Comics  Comics in Other Media DC Comics Other Publishers Sales & Industry Information Beginnings & Endings Eisner Awards Dan's Favorite The Year in...

Episode 79 - Murdock and Marvel: 2010 Part 2 2010 is an odd year in a lot of ways.  It was quiet, but not in a “before the storm” way.  More in a “putt your head down and get to work” sense.  Great comics were made, and big things were happening mostly under the surface. This is part 2 of the podcast. that will feature the year in Daredevil, the Spotlight story and the Takeaway for 2010.   The Yea...

Episode 78 - Murdock and Marvel: 2010 Part 1 2010 is an odd year in a lot of ways.  It was quiet, but not in a “before the storm” way.  More in a “putt your head down and get to work” sense.  Great comics were made, and big things were happening mostly under the surface   The Year in Comics  Comics in Other Media DC Comics Other Publishers Sales & Industry Information Beginnings & Endings...

Episode 77 - Murdock and Marvel: 2009 Part 2 2009 was a tough year for comics, in that sales declined and a number of stores (nearly 50% in some areas) closed their doors.  Closings of Waldenbooks and other book outlets also made getting product into customers’ hands difficult.  We also saw cover prices rise, even as the recession continued to impact fans ability to spend. This is part 2 of the po...

Episode 76 - Murdock and Marvel: 2009 Part 1 2009 was a tough year for comics, in that sales declined and a number of stores (nearly 50% in some areas) closed their doors.  Closings of Waldenbooks and other book outlets also made getting product into customers’ hands difficult.  We also saw cover prices rise, even as the recession continued to impact fans ability to spend. The Year in Comics  Comi...

Episode 75 - Murdock and Marvel: 2008 Part 2 2008 in the United States was a year of war and recession, leading to a bleak short-term outlook for Americans.  Comics and comic book movies reflected that, but also gave fans a lot to enjoy, hopefully taking people’s minds off social and economic issues they were facing.  This is part 2 of the podcast. that will feature the year in Daredevil, the Spot...