Death of Wolverine #1 hits shelves tomorrow, and it hits alongside the announcement that I signed a contract with Marvel Comics to work for them for a bit (which was released by USA Today just a few minutes ago, and confirmed by Comic Book Resources.) I expect both to have a very significant effect on my career. DoW is getting tons of press coverage – everyone has known it’s coming for a while. This contract thing will come as a surprise, I think, so I thought I’d type up a few quick thoughts about it to help explain where things are right now.
First and foremost, signing a contract is a business decision – it is, literally, my business. So, if I don’t describe every detail about what happened, how it happened, how long it will last or other specifics, well… as I said, my business. However, I know that some people out there will be curious about how my Marvel contract affects my work for other companies, including some of the titles I’m working on right now, so I thought I could speak a bit to that.
For those who aren’t familiar with the comics business, there are only a few main players, and they occasionally sign individual creators to contracts that prevent them from freelancing for the other main players in the business for a specified period of time. While I’m not technically a Marvel “employee,” I will be doing the majority of my comics work for them for a bit.
This means that I won’t be writing for DC Comics for a while, which was not an easy decision to make. DC gave me my first shot at “Big 2” comics with Swamp Thing, and my profile took a massive leap forward when they trusted me to write Superman / Wonder Woman. Red Lanterns has been a blast as well, not to mention all the other side projects, one-offs I’ve been lucky enough to write – and of course the projects I haven’t written yet! So let me be clear – the decision to work with Marvel for a while isn’t any sort of denigration of DC. I had a fantastic time there, I was treated extremely well, I have strong positive feelings about all of my editors and the DC universe of characters, and I look forward to hopefully working with them at some point down the road. You’ll still see DC work coming out from me for a little while yet over the coming months, and both Marvel and DC were extremely gracious about working with me to make sure that I could complete my runs on DC titles the way I originally intended. So, you’ll see my work on Red Lanterns as part of the big Godhead event, you’ll see me ending my run on Superman / Wonder Woman the way I wanted to, and Swamp Thing will continue under my pen for a little while as well (in fact, a new Swampy issue hits tomorrow!)
Oh, and Letter 44 isn’t going anywhere. I’m on that one until it’s done, which won’t be for a while yet.
So why sign a deal at all, if things were so great? Well, it’s pretty simple. Writing eight titles a month (which I’ve been doing for quite a while now) is no joke. It’s a constant tightrope walk, requiring serious focus and discipline. I’ve proven to myself that I can do it, but now that I have, it’s time for a different challenge – I want to know what I can accomplish with a smaller slate, where I can really dive in. I’ve accomplished breadth, now I want to see about depth. There are creator-owned projects I’m anxious to explore, as well as some different kinds of writing – I have a few novels to polish and hopefully release, for one thing. Also, Marvel is giving me the opportunity to really play in their sandbox in a big way. Inhuman is going to some very interesting places, and the Wolverine stuff I’m working on post-death (not with Logan, but more about the impact of his death on the Marvel Universe) is pretty wonderful as well. And of course there’s She-Hulk… one of my favorite things I’ve ever done. Issue 8 hits shelves tomorrow, featuring the start of a three-part story in which Daredevil and She-Hulk go up against each other in court, with Steve Rogers (aka Captain America) as the defendant. First time that’s ever happened in the comics, and I’m probably as excited about that story as I am about DoW.
But speaking of the death of a certain angry Canadian, let me mention that I’m doing a ton of signings/appearances, etc. this month and next to promote that story. Here’s the list:
September 3 (Wednesday), 6-8 PM – NEW YORK CITY – Midtown Comics Downtown
September 4 (Thursday), 4-7 PM – PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA – Fat Jack’s Comicrypt
September 5-7 (Friday-Sunday) – BALTIMORE COMIC CON
September 17 (Wednesday), 4-7 PM (time to be confirmed) – LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS – Larry’s Comics
September 27 (Saturday), 10 AM – 1 PM – SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA – Yesteryear Comics
September 27 (Saturday), 7-10 PM – LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – The Comic Bug
October 1 (Wednesday) – 4-7 PM – SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – Comix Experience
October 9-12 (Thursday – Sunday) – NEW YORK COMIC CON
It will probably be tough not to get a book signed by me in September.
Let me wrap up by thanking you for reading, and supporting my work over the past few years. I would never have gotten to this point without your help, and I think about that all the time. More great stories to come, I promise.
September 2, 2014 at 11:43 pm
Congratulations on the move, and I’m delighted to hear you’re getting to wrap up your DC work neatly (and even more delighted to hear the two companies are behaving like gentlefolk). With luck, you’ll also have time to sleep …
September 2, 2014 at 11:58 pm
Bummed out that you’re leaving DC, but you deserve this contract.
September 3, 2014 at 12:03 am
“I’ve accomplished breadth, now I want to see about depth.”
THIS! Congrats, sir. I cannot wait!
September 3, 2014 at 12:21 am
Cant wait for your wolverine stuff..Would Love to see you write a darken/x23 ongoing
September 3, 2014 at 5:15 am
[…] announcement that I signed a contract with Marvel Comics to work for them for a bit,” Soule writes on his blog now that the news has been confirmed. He currently writes for 8 (yes, eight) titles each month and […]
September 3, 2014 at 5:20 am
[…] mettre au clair cette situation, l’auteur s’est d’ailleurs exprimé sur son blog et voilà ce qu’il a à dire […]
September 3, 2014 at 1:15 pm
[…] Charles Soule of The Death Of Wolverine, Swamp Thing, Superman/Wonderwoman, Letter 44, Strange Attractors & Thunderbolts has signed an exclusive deal with Marvel comics. He will complete his stories with DC Comics while continuing to publish Letter 44 at Oni Press. More details via his website. […]
September 3, 2014 at 2:00 pm
I still can’t comprehend -8- titles and full time work. Madness.
I’ve picked up Red Lanterns for your writing, and though I think Wolvie is terribly over-rated, I’ll pick up his death for your writing.
Also, glad you get to wrap up your stories and they were snagged away from you. Huzzah for storylines that end properly!
Looking forward to more. Kudos on all your work!
September 3, 2014 at 2:47 pm
[…] go exclusive when the Big Two are both willing to let you play with their toys? On his blog, Soule sounded like he was simply ready to cut his workload back a […]
September 3, 2014 at 4:04 pm
[…] di Red Lanterns e Swamp Thing. Timori che però si sono rivelati infondati: sul proprio blog personale, Soule ha pubblicato un post, in cui spiega ai propri lettori il motivo che l’ha spinto a […]
September 3, 2014 at 4:47 pm
[…] 2015. This means that as of next year, his only ‘for-hire’ books will be with Marvel. In a post on his blog explaining the contract, he notes that Letter 44, his creator-owned book at Oni Press, will continue onwards, unaffected by […]
September 3, 2014 at 4:50 pm
I’m so happy to see you doing so well. Congrats! May you continue to write terrific books
September 3, 2014 at 6:34 pm
[…] Strange Attractors writer took to his personal blog to explain the reasons behind his choice. He said: “So why sign a deal at all, if things […]
September 3, 2014 at 6:36 pm
Looking forward to your work in Marvel and your imaginative vision for the MU!
September 3, 2014 at 7:47 pm
[…] Strange Attractors writer took to his personal blog to explain the reasons behind his choice. He said: “So why sign a deal at all, if things […]
September 4, 2014 at 5:17 am
When i’ve heard this, i was a little sad. Ha, i really enjoy all your run on Swamp Thing, and Superman/Wonder Woman too. Two Great comic books with great writing and beautiful art(Jesus Saíz on Swampy is amazing, and the second TPB of your run has just been released on my country). Anyway, I’ve Started reading your She-Hulk. It surprised me. A Comic book that has the “heroic” parts, without emphasizing it too much. The focus is on Jennifer. As a Woman, as a part-time lawyer, part-time superhero. A very funny, and well drawn comic. Well, good luck man. Hope to see u working with DC in some time, and i would really like to see u working with Guardians of The Galaxy, or Fantastic Four. Going With Swampy through the End 🙂
Best Wishes from Brazil.
September 4, 2014 at 4:56 pm
So, so, going to miss you on Swamp Thing. Still in a daze from reading your SW Futures End. Sigh…
September 5, 2014 at 2:13 am
I wish that you could still stick with Swamp Thing as you drop the other DC titles. Would the contract not let you continue at least one DC title? 😦
September 6, 2014 at 1:19 am
Sorry, where are my manners. I was so focused on what we were losing.
Ahem … congrats Mr. Soule.
September 6, 2014 at 4:25 pm
Well, it was quite a bummer seeing you leave Superman/Wonder Woman but just glad you’re still on Swamp Thing….for a while anyway. Good luck with you at Marvel. Hey maybe you can work your way into writing an X-Book….that’s not about the Death of Wolverine.
September 8, 2014 at 7:01 am
[…] Also, here’s Soule’s personal blog. […]
September 22, 2014 at 5:07 pm
[…] I learned that Soule is currently embarking on a new journey and starting to wind down his DC work. Soule writes “Writing eight titles a month (which I’ve been doing for quite a while now) is no joke. […]
February 6, 2015 at 2:23 pm
[…] to his heart. That speaks to the class act we know Soule to be, and is very much in line with his own language regarding his exclusivity contract with Marvel, where he has nothing but praise for DC and their editors. He refers to his deal with Marvel as […]