I just hit ‘send’ on the latest draft of the screenplay for Last Flight Out.

Let’s get into it…

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FEEDBACK

Mickey Fischer writes:

RIP FLASHFORWARD! Gone too soon.

Thanks, buddy. That one was a real labor of love — before it wasn’t. I ended up getting fired about halfway through the season. My first time getting canned!

Rick Ellis writes:

I really enjoyed FlashForward. But it was one of those frustrating situations as a viewer when you're left hanging and there are so many questions left unanswered.

Unsurprisingly, I stopped watching the show after I left it, so I don’t know how it ended. I think the producers — at least the one who had pushed me and series co-creator David Goyer out — had to have known that a second season was highly unlikely so they should have ended it in a satisfying way. It’s a shame that they didn’t.

We knew that Lost had — as I like to say — “worn out our welcome” so we had very specific answers for all of the show’s questions. It’s not like the remaining producers didn’t know which cards to turn over.

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SHOOTING MY MOUTH OFF: GREEN LANTERN EDITION

Earlier this week, I spoke with The Ankler about the ill-fated Green Lantern series I did with Greg Berlanti and Seth Grahame-Smith a few years back.

The article is paywalled, but here are my soundbites:

When [Greg] Berlanti first signed on to develop Green Lantern … he and Guggenheim viewed the opportunity as a “redemption story” after the duo’s 2011 feature film starring Reynolds was critically panned and grossed $237 million worldwide on a budget of $200 million.

“We let the movie get taken away from us, and we weren’t going to let this get taken away from us,” Guggenheim says of the series.

…

“One note we kept getting over and over again is could we go to Oa (the fictional planet where the Green Lantern Corps are headquartered) only at the end of the first season,” Guggenheim recalls. “It wasn’t a note that was borne [out of] or driven by budget. No one ever said, ‘Listen, we can’t afford to make the version of the show you’re talking about.’ I never got that note. It was always, ‘Do we have to go to Oa? Do we have to see aliens? Can’t it be a more grounded procedural?’”

“We kept getting these notes saying they want True Detective with power rings,” Guggenheim tells me. “Ultimately, that wasn’t the show that we were interested in giving them.”

To be clear — lest anyone misinterpret — I don’t begrudge HBO for holding out for what they wanted. I’m grateful they had a clear vision for what they wanted to program. That’s incredibly rare. And, at the end of the day, it’s their money and their (parent company’s) characters. We serve at Warner Bros.’ pleasure, and that’s as true for our ill-fated GL series as it was for Arrow and everything else we did for WB.

One moment in the show I was very proud of was something I came up with for the season finale that I co-wrote with Geoff Johns. The series had established the concept of a “Prime Construct” — basically, the first thing a Green Lantern makes with their power ring, typically it’s from the worst moment of their life.

At the end of the season, the big bad corners an elderly Alan Scott, who became Earth’s first wielder of a power ring after finding one in the aftermath of a horrific train crash. Because Alan had never gone through training on Oa, he’d never manifested a Prime Construct. And when he finally does, it’s… A TRAIN.

And the big bad essentially laughs in his face, taunting him: “The worst moment in your life is when you got the powers of a god? You pathetic, fucking idiot…” (That wasn’t the actual dialogue but you get the idea.)

It isn’t until the end of the episode that we flashback to the moment when Alan’s boyfriend leaves Los Angeles and Alan forever.

On a train.

PREVIEW: LEVIATHAN FREEDOM #3

Next Tuesday (8/18) sees the release of Issue 3 of Leviathan Freedom, the Comixology series I’m doing with Tom Morello and Szymon Kurdanski. Monkeys Fighting Robots has a preview:

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Be good to each other.

Best,

Marc

Encino, California

8.14.26

COMING ATTRACTIONS

A regularly-updated list of upcoming releases and events:

STAR WARS: DARK DROIDS OMNIBUS (August 18, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM #3 (August 18, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM #4 (September 22, 2026)

NEW YORK COMICCON (October 8-11, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM #5 (October 20, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM: Digital Collection (December 8, 2026)

Leave a comment

It’s been a development-heavy week this week as I continue to work on my fourth novel, PROJECT DECADE. On Monday, we did a mini-room for PROJECT MAPMAKER, an animated feature I’m writing and I brought in some of my old partners in crime from Trollhunters. That was great fun and it reminded me how much I miss being in a writers room.

I also wrote up a pitch for a new comic book series that will crossover two beloved characters who have never met before and sent a friends some notes on a shared universe we’ve been talking about building. I also dusted off PROJECT SUMMIT to see if I could get some traction on it. Fun stuff.

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ARROW Q&A

An international fan reached out via WhatsApp to ask a few questions about Arrow and I thought I’d answer them here:

When bringing Green Arrow from the comics to television, what were the key parts of Oliver Queen’s character that you felt absolutely had to stay, and where did you feel you had the freedom to take the story in a different direction?

Great question as that’s the first question I ask myself whenever adapting any material. For example, (Absolute Batman aside) I think it’s critical that Bruce Wayne be an orphan. Oliver, on the other hand, doesn’t have to be and that’s why we gave him a mother — and a sister. However, what’s critical to Green Arrow is Oliver’s background as a spoiled rich kid who has to learn to survive by himself on a deserted island. But even that is subject to some interpretation because, as you know, Oliver wasn’t alone on Lian Yu. So, the essence of Green Arrow, really, is Oliver having to go through a crucible in order to become a hero.

Oliver’s journey across the series is one of the biggest character arcs on television, from someone driven by revenge to someone willing to sacrifice everything for others. How early did you have that journey mapped out, and how did you make sure each season pushed him forward naturally?

Thank you. In broad strokes, I would say that this journey was part of the DNA of the show from the very beginning, but we articulated it slightly differently. From the original series document:

“Week to week, we’ll continue to flashback to Oliver’s five years on the island to chronicle his transformation into the vigilante determined to heal his native Starling City — each episode telling another chapter in the ongoing story of how Oliver Queen became a HERO.”

We knew that we’d be exploring the different facets of that journey — the different ways of becoming a hero — over the course of the show but I knew early on that Oliver’s story could only end one way: With him sacrificing himself for the greater good. That not only provided a redemption arc for the killer he’d become but also was, in my estimation, the ultimate manifestation of a hero.

⁠One thing Arrow does really well is balancing a season-long story with Oliver’s overall development. When you’re planning a season, how do you make sure the main story and the character arcs continue to serve one another?

We always started each season and each episode with asking ourselves what Oliver’s emotional journey was. In Season 1, for example, we knew it was going from vigilante to hero. In Season 2, it would be learning not to kill. Etc.

On an episodic basis, however, it could prove to be hard. Coming up with 23 distinct emotional journeys over the course of a season was tricky and, in some cases, could be a bit forced. A short anecdote:

During Season 1, we were getting a lot of notes from the CW that were asking us to have Oliver learn something as a result of the episode’s events. It took about halfway through that first season that I realized that the execs at the network — who I love — were noting Arrow the way they had noted its predecessor, Smallville. Nothing wrong with that. Except that in Smallville’s first season, Clark was a high school student; whereas Oliver was a man in his 30s. If you’re a teenager, you’ve got something to learn each week. But if you’re still learning those lessons in young adulthood, you’re a bit of a schmuck.

I explained this to the CW and they got it and asked if, instead of Oliver learning something each week, he could be changed somehow. Still a tall order to do 23 times but at least Oliver wouldn’t be emotionally immature.

Cut to the penultimate episode of Season 1, which — SPOILER ALERT — ends with Oliver knocked unconscious and at the mercy of Malcolm Merlyn. Michael Roberts called to give notes on the script and basically said, “I love Episode 122. I really don’t have any notes. I just have a question: How is Oliver different at the end of this episode?”

By this point, it had been a very long season — the most challenging of my career before and since — and I was pretty darn tired. So I told Michael that at the beginning of the episode, Oliver is conscious and at the end of the episode, he’s out cold.

Michael paused for a moment — this had been a long season for him as well — and said, “Good enough for me!”

Characters like Diggle, Felicity, Thea and Malcolm Merlyn all grew far beyond where they started. At what point do you realise a supporting character has become integral to the story, and how does that change the way you approach writing them?

That’s a great question. The answer really varies. For example, Diggle and Thea were always designed to be critical to the story. Malcolm Merlyn, on the other hand, was really meant to be a one-season big bad but we became enamored, not just with John Barrowman’s acting, but the idea of making the villain a recurring character. Emily Rickards’ audition and first few day of daillies made it clear to us that we just wanted to write more material for her.

The flashbacks became such an important part of Arrow, often adding as much emotional weight as the present-day story. How challenging was it to make both timelines feel equally important while ensuring they continually shaped Oliver’s development?

Honestly, it was brutally hard; the hardest part of the whole show, to be honest. Even just getting the present day story and the flashbacks to “talk to each other” thematically episode to episode was a real challenge. And that’s just the writing part of the equation. From a production standpoint — cast, sets, locations, costumes — it was like producing an entirely different show.

Looking back now, is there a particular character arc or adaptation from the comics that you’re most proud of because you feel it really captured the heart of Arrow, and why does that one stand out to you?

This is one of those questions where the answer changes depending on when you happen to catch me. To the chagrin of many fans, we didn’t really directly adapt any one particular comic book story. The closest we came, I would say, was with the flashbacks where we were inspired by Andy Diggle and Jock’s Green Arrow: Year One but even then I can’t say we directly adapted it. Same with Oliver’s illegitimate son. Even Crisis On Infinite Earths took a lot of liberties with the source material.

Thanks for the questions!

FEEDBACK

Marcie Campos Mayhorn writes:

I'd love to hear more about your short story process, Marc -- particularly if you self-publish. I know a lot of us out here are interested in that route, but I don't know too many who have actually done it.

Same. And I’ve never tried self-publishing before, so this is new to me as well. I’ll keep you updated on this journey…

Bill Fordes writes:

I love writing prose, MG. So much more fluid and adjustable, if you will, than dialogue. Can’t wait to see your short stories……….

Thanks, buddy. Prose is the thing that’s been keeping me sane amidst all the madness in Hollywood. And after so many years writing TV, movies, and comics, I’m enjoying tackling the learning curve of a new medium. I definitely feel myself improving with each new page, which is very exciting.

Steve Flack writes:

God, I hate these generic "WHAT IF?" cover titles. Give me the full "what if" on the title!

Preaching to the choir, buddy! I miss the full title as well — and the use of the original logos. I also miss the days when, on occasion, the book’s original creative team would tackle the alternate version of their own story.

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SHOOTING MY MOUTH OFF: BLAST-FROM-THE-PAST EDITION

So, way back in 2009, I did an interview — which I honestly didn’t even remember — with the Daily News about FlashForward, a show that I co-ran with David Goyer:

Now, check out the byline. This interview was conducted by phone with a guy named Ethan Sacks. Turns out, this is the same Ethan Sacks who I met through writing Star Wars comics and has become one of my dearest friends.

Life is funny sometimes.

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Be good to each other.

Best,

Marc

Encino, California

8.7.26

COMING ATTRACTIONS

A regularly-updated list of upcoming releases and events:

STAR WARS: DARK DROIDS OMNIBUS (August 18, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM #3 (August 18, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM #4 (September 22, 2026)

NEW YORK COMICCON (October 8-11, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM #5 (October 20, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM: Digital Collection (December 8, 2026)

Leave a comment

Well, I’m back and mostly recovered from San Diego ComicCon. This was an unusual SDCC for me as I didn’t have any new comics to announce, but I did a bunch of signings, a bunch of panels, and spent time with friends and co-workers. Overall, a win.

This week, I finished the first draft of a new prose short story. Call it PROJECT MOTEL. I continue enjoy writing prose and I’m finding that it’s a more gratifying way of getting ideas out into the world rather than going the spec script route.

Because there’s little to no market for short stories these days, I’ll likely preview the story here and self-publish. Stay tuned.

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WHAT IF…?

Next Wednesday (8/5) sees the release of What If Captain America Was Revised In 2099?

For the uninitiated, the “2099” is an alternative future of the Marvel Universe most notable for its introduction of Spider-Man 2099.

It’s a future where corporations control everything. I for one am relieved that such a thing could never happen in real life…

At any rate, you might imagine that Captain America might have a thing or two to say about corporate interests subsuming democracy.

Comic-watch.com has a preview which you can check out here or below:

FEEDBACK

Norman Anderson writes:

Wow! The audio commentary of the Arrow episode was excellent! I love those. If memory serves me correctly you only did one other Arrow episode…S3 E1?

Yes! Excellent memory!

For me bringing Slade Wilson back was brilliant! The chemistry between Oliver and Slade, as well as the actors is really something quite special.

I agree.

There is a lot of depth to their relationship and story arcs. All of the cast and characters that were in this episode are so fantastic. Everything about this series was beyond phenomenal. The story, stunts, fight sequences, visual effects, locations, sets, cinematography, sound design, music, editing, and all that goes into a production such as this was breathtakingly wonderful! I could go on forever about this show that really helped me through a tough period in my life, so thank you to you and everyone involved in bringing this series to life. Forever a fan. 💚🏹📺

Thank you so much!

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A SPEECH

Today, I have to submit my statement in connection with the WGA credit arbitration on Public Interest, the independently-produced pilot that I did a rewrite on. The endeavor had me taking another look at a climactic speech I wrote. Unfortunately, the actress refused to deliver the back half of the speech as written (even though it was revised to reflect all her notes), so I thought I’d reproduce it here:

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MITZVAH OPPORTUNITY

A LegalDispatch subscriber asked me to signal boost a petition in support of FCVK, “an arthouse-style exploration of the challenges of living with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)” written and directed by someone who lives with BPD. The petition asks that the film be shown at the Toronto Film Festival.

If you’re so inclined, you can sign the petition (and read more about the film) here.

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Be good to each other.

Best,

Marc

Encino, California

7.31.26

A regularly-updated list of upcoming releases and events:

THE WHISPER WAR: Digital Collection (August 4, 2026)

WHAT IF…? CAPTAIN AMERICA (August 5, 2026)

STAR WARS: DARK DROIDS OMNIBUS (August 18, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM #3 (August 18, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM #4 (September 22, 2026)

NEW YORK COMICCON (October 8-11, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM #5 (October 20, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM: Digital Collection (December 8, 2026)

Leave a comment

Yesterday, I broke the seal on a new Star War. Call this one PROJECT KITBASH. I have to say, I thought February’s Jar Jar one-shot would be my last for a while. There was something full-circle about finishing with the character I’d started my Star Wars writing with — but Marvel and LucasFilm, god bless ‘em, had other plans. This one’s particularly exciting because I’ll be writing in an era I’ve never touched before. Thing thing’ll probably get announced at New York ComicCon.

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FEEDBACK

KO McSweeney writes:

Hi Marc,

I agree with and understand your sentiment about the SCOTUS decision— how surprising it is that it was a 5-4 decision and not a 9-0.

And I wanted to understand the points you were making about politics, conversations, the constitution, and what we consider implicit rights. Maybe you could elaborate?

Best,

K O McSweeney

Yes, this is something of a drum that I’ve been beating for a little while now. Simply put, when something — a topic, an issue, an act of the government, whatever — is defined as “political,” our American society affords that subject a lot of, for lack of a better word, protections. For example, it’s considered impolitic to talk about politics, so if you don’t want to silence discussion, label the topic “political.” Similarly, voters and the media are conditioned to “see both sides of the issue” when the issue is political, which has brought about this golden age of false equivalence we’re presently living in.

To put this another way, moving something into the category of “politics” is the first step towards moving the Overton window on what is considered acceptable. We’ve seen this happen with the diminishment of voting rights, the Epstein files, and pretty much everything every day in during Trump’s second term in office.

Lance’s Pull List writes:

Not gonna lie, looking at the American flag depresses me these days. So, I'm with you on not quite feeling excited about the 4th. I may skip watching Independence Day, just because I don't even feel patriotic enough to watch Bill Pullman give the best presidential speech of my lifetime.

Fair. Very fair.

Mickey Fisher writes:

Hey, imagine my surprise when I spotted my name as I read through this. For a split second I was like, “Is there another Mickey Fisher on here??” I appreciate the shout out and recommendation. Another excellent issue! I always appreciate hearing your thoughts about the country and your work.

Thanks, buddy. I really appreciate you reading — as I appreciated the name check in your newsletter last week.

Norman Anderson writes:

I’m feeling pretty much exactly the same way as you about the state of things. Your trip to Japan looks like it was awesome! It makes me happy to see that you were able to escape the nonsense here. At least for a little while. I hope your “prayer/request” comes true. Although I hope it arrives much much sooner.

Congratulations on all of your projects and the progress that you are making this year. You deserve it.

Thank you!

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LEVIATHAN FREEDOM #2

The second chapter of Leviathan Freedom, my Comixology series with Tom Morello and Szymon Kurdanski, drops on Tuesday (7/21). Scified.com has a preview which I’m, um, appropriating below if you don’t want to check out the actual thing:

FROM THE VAULT

In looking for something else, I stumbled upon a commentary track I recorded for Arrow Episode 523, “Lian Yu.” This might be my single most favorite episode of Arrow just for the final flashback and how all the pieces — story, cast, writing, directing, scope — all came together.

You can listen to it here.

SOCIAL MEDIA DUMP

SAN DIEGO HERE I COME

There likely won’t be a newsletter next week as I’ll be down in San Diego for ComicCon. Here’s where you can find me:

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Be good to each other.

Best,

Marc

Encino, California

7.17.26

COMING ATTRACTIONS

A regularly-updated list of upcoming releases and events:

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM #2 (July 21, 2026)

SAN DIEGO COMICCON (July 23-26, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR: Digital Collection (August 4, 2026)

WHAT IF…? CAPTAIN AMERICA (August 5, 2026)

STAR WARS: DARK DROIDS OMNIBUS (August 18, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM #3 (August 18, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM #4 (September 22, 2026)

NEW YORK COMICCON (October 8-11, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM #5 (October 20, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM: Digital Collection (December 8, 2026)

Leave a comment

Well, here we are on the precipice of America’s 250th birthday. “Semiquincentennial” doesn’t quite roll off the tongue the way “Bicentennial” does, does it? It feels like a metaphor for the apathy (at best) many us are feeling about America celebrating a quarter-millennium.

Once again, I feel the need to point out that this isn’t about politics. We’ve moved far beyond politics at this point. We are facing — make no mistake — the end of the democracy that makes America America. We are facing the end of all the things we’re supposedly celebrating 250 years of.

Don’t believe me? Earlier this week, the Supreme Court upheld the right to citizenship for children born in the United States enshrined in the 14th Amendment. Good news, right? I thought so too at first until I saw that the decision was 5-4, not the kind of 9-0 ruling one would expect from finding the judicial equivalent that water is wet.

The fifth vote to uphold what’s known as birthright citizenship was cast by Justice Brett “no doesn’t really mean no” Kavanaugh, who did so by writing what’s known as a concurring opinion. In it, he started the countdown on a constitutional time bomb. TLDR: Trump’s executive order purporting to do away with birthright citizenship doesn’t violate the 14th Amendment, but rather, violates Congress’ ability to pass legislation. In other words, if Trump wants to change or eliminate birthright citizenship without a constitutional amendment (which is what stare decisis and the Constitution, y’know, require), the “remedy” is to do so via a statute, not an executive order.

And wouldn’t you know it? The Legion of Doom already has a freshly-written bill ready to go.

This is bad enough, but this isn’t the only concurrence handed down by a Supreme Court Justice that contains a poison pill for democracy. Thomas wrote a current opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022). You might remember Dobbs as the case where at least three justices who stated under oath that reproductive rights were — and here I’m using their own words — “settled law” once they got fitted for their robes said, “Not so fast, suckers!” At any rate, in concurring with the Court’s decision to ignore fifty years of precedent and strip women of their reproductive rights (no biggie), Thomas wrote that the opinion also laid the foundation for overturning other longstanding SCOTUS cases. But, like, little ones. Just the ones that provided for the right to contraception, the right to same-sex intimacy, and the right to same-sex marriage. (But don’t worry: He didn’t mention the right to interracial marriage — which, I’m sure, had nothing to do with the fact that he’s (checks notes) in one.)

My point — which you’re relieved I’m finally reaching — is that the fundamental girders of our democracy have been targeted for elimination as America reaches its 250th birthday. And an astonishing and embarrassing number of Americans think this is no big deal, writing it off as “politics.” And politics, as we’ve all been taught, is not something to discuss in polite company. Politics is just a symptom of tribalism, which we all agree is silly. Politics is an area where reasonable people can and should disagree, so maybe pedophilia isn’t really so bad?

Well, if millions of Americans aren’t feeling quite so celebratory this Fourth of July, it’s because they understand that the great “American experiment” is teetering towards failure. Some — like me — feel it’s already collapsed.

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BACK HOME

Last week, I returned from a two-week vacation in Japan (which, at at least 30,000 years old, finds America’s celebration of 250 years just adorable). This was my third time in the country but this time — probably because of what’s happening in America — I was particularly struck by how much Japan makes America look like a third world country. Over two weeks and three cites, I saw exactly zero homeless people and can count on one hand the number of items of trash I saw on the street. Every mayor of an American city should spend a week there. Maybe they’ll learn a thing or two.

SPEAKING OF AMERICA…

July 6 is the FOC (final order cutoff) for my Marvel one-shot: What If Captain America Were Revived in 2099?

2099 is a future version of the Marvel Universe where corporations have grown so rich and powerful they’re basically like nation states. Thank God that would never happen, amiright?

Popverse has a preview of the issue’s art by the legendary Ron Lim which you can either check out here or below:

What If… Captain America drops on Wednesday, August 5. Let your local comic shop you want a copy before July 6!

FEEDBACK

Mickey Fischer writes:

Congratulations!! I'm so excited to follow your journey on PROJECT DEFIANT. Seeing your most recent success and now blazing this trail is inspiring. Break a leg!

Thanks buddy. I really appreciate that. For those unfamiliar with Mickey’s work, he’s the very talented creator of Extant among other things and writes an amazing Substack of his own — the newly-relaunched “Character Is Destiny” — which I strongly urge you to check out here.

Cayden Franzen asks:

Are you a fan of Basketball, if so what did you think of the Knicks?

Y’know, I’m not really a fan of basketball, but I am a fan of New York and couldn’t help but get swept up in the playoff frenzy. I was thrilled when they won.

The Insecure Screenwriter writes:

Very recently read In Any Lifetime [and] really enjoyed it. I try to tell people when I’ve genuinely enjoyed their work. I know how much those unexpected notes can mean. Looking forward to whatever you write next.

Thank you so much and you’re 100% right about how helpful it is to receive the occasional bit of unexpected praise. It’s very menschy of you.

SPEAKING OF IN ANY LIFETIME…

Earlier this week, I came across an interview I did to promote In Any Lifetime on Long Island News12’s “Book Club.” You can check it out below:

If you’re interested in reading In Any Lifetime, it can be purchased here.

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM

SFX magazine published a nice little piece about Leviathan Freedom, the five-part Comixology series I’m doing with Tom Morello and Szymon Kudranski. You can check it out below:

SOCIAL MEDIA DUMP

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Be good to each other.

Best,

Marc

Encino, CA

7.2.26

COMING ATTRACTIONS

A regularly-updated list of upcoming releases and events:

THE WHISPER WAR #5 (June 9, 2026)

SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE Vol. 2: Life & Death Choices (June 9, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM #1 (June 16, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM #2 (July 14, 2026)

SAN DIEGO COMICCON (July 23-26, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR: Digital Collection (August 4, 2026)

WHAT IF…? CAPTAIN AMERICA (August 5, 2026)

STAR WARS: DARK DROIDS OMNIBUS (August 18, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM #3 (August 18, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM #4 (September 22, 2026)

NEW YORK COMICCON (October 8-11, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM #5 (October 20, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM: Digital Collection (December 8, 2026)

Leave a comment

FEEDBACK

There was a lot of great feedback on the last newsletter where I posed the question of whether Trump is making us all a bit like him in subtle ways:

Don’t Bother Reading makes a fair point:

If your readers were like Trump, then we wouldn't be so happy for you!

That’s true. And thank you.

And just to flesh out the point I was making in the last newsletter, I believe that Americans — of either political leaning — subconsciously take on the qualities of the current president. I probably developed this theory back when I was an attorney. I practiced in the wake of the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal. Bill Clinton was infamous for parsing language to a nigh-ridiculous degree, saying things like, “It depends on what you definition of ‘is’ is.” And I’ve gotta tell you, but taking a witnesses deposition during that time was infuriating in the extreme. Consciously or not, intensionally or not, it seemed like every witness thought they could evade questions like Bill Clinton.

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Norman Anderson writes:

Congratulations on all of the positive things that have and are happening to you in the industry.

Thank you! Everyone’s support really does mean a lot!

I’d like to say that I don’t think those of us who are good people have changed that much, other than maybe we are hyper aware of the greedy and corrupt that have always surrounded us.

I think that’s true, too.

William N. Fordes writes:

We are not Trump. Most people are kind and decent and caring (Studio and Network Execs, not being human, are not subject to that analysis). Most people loathe Trump, as they should. We will get through this, and put Trump, his foul spawns Diaper Donnie Jr and Eric the Dim and Ivanka the Whore in jail. Hang in there, everybody, and remember, we are not Trump.

Dear God, Bill, how I wish I shared your optimism. Unfortunately, there’s nothing in the past ten years that suggests to me that justice or karma or anything resembling either will come for Trump or his crime family. Nothing would make me happier to be wrong, however.

Marcie Campos Mayhorn writes:

Marc, I have literally been having the same feeling re: that selfishness you’re speaking of. I felt it a lot on my recent trip as I reconnected with a friend in Vienna. She spoke so highly of her city, and often referenced how the mindset there is very “community first” focused. I know so many people here in the U.S. have a similar mindset, but it for some reason never seems to come through within our societal and economic structure. So your post REALLY has me side-eyeing this feeling in a way I hadn’t before. 🤔

Well, thank you for reading!

Jeane Phan Wong writes:

Scary way of putting it re: individualistic thinking. I worry more about this with new generations who are seeing foul examples of leadership now.

Yeah, the scary part is that there are teenagers all over the country, who have only known America under Trumpism.

J. Lincoln Fenn writes:

There’s a wave of people now who think empathy is a ‘mind virus’ but I don’t think they realize the degree to which they depend on it.

If the “it” you’re referring to is empathy, I agree. But that’s the bully/narcisist mindset: They expect and demand the very empathy they deny giving others. They hypocrisy and cognitive dissonance doesn’t bother them.

KentL writes:

“What if ten years of Donald Trump in our lives have made us just a little bit like him?”

Sadly I think you’re right, but not necessarily because of a desire to be like him. For his first term, I found myself reacting to everything his administration was doing with anger and frustration. It was exhausting, and while I didn’t always agree with the decisions made by the Biden administration, the relative normality of that time was a welcome respite. This new term is on a whole other level. Every day seems to bring something new that is designed to hurt people they don’t like. As much as I want to fight everything they’re doing, I just don’t have the strength. Which leads me to the same reaction every time I hear about some new evil they’ve unleashed on the world: How does this directly affect me and my family? I hate that feeling. I hate myself for that feeling. Mostly I hate them for putting us all in a position where that feeling is now my first reaction.

If it makes you feel any better, I think that feeling is very much by design and so you absolutely shouldn’t hate yourself for it. Trump has made it so that the only sensible way of dealing with his particular brand of evil is to focus on yourself and those closest to you. Put your oxygen mask on first.

Zoraida Córdova writes:

Leading by example is no joke. He’s out for himself and reaping the benefits. I think we have to strive harder to push back against his influence. And congrats, Marc!

Thank you!

Nandini Bapat writes:

Yes and no, I think to answer your question. Yes, I think American society is becoming more and more individual-focused which leads us to shun community and focus on our isolated worlds. There’s certainly a more idaf vibe happening in American society. But also, I don’t think this is caused by Trump. I think Trump is a symptom of a larger social problem in America.

To give context, my parents are Indian and immigrated to the USA before my birth. We would often visit India and they both moved back a decade ago, so I have the fortune to live in two worlds as a result. In India, people live in communities surrounded by family. Most children live with their parents until they get married, and then after marriage you live with your parents or your in-laws. It’s rare for a couple to just buy a place on their own or live independently of any family. (Even if they don’t share an apartment, the parents or in-laws are often in the same building or apartment complex.) It is even rarer and shocking to live alone in your own apartment or home, by yourself. College kids who go to school away from home will often be a “paying guest” and rent a room in another family’s home.

In America, that is unheard of if you have the money to leave. I know so many people who left home at 18 and never looked back. Living with your parents as an adult is “shameful” and a sign of social deviance or that someone in your family needs a caregiver. Personally, I wonder if capitalism is the cause of this (spend more money on your own household!) or if it a societal thing because the USA is a ‘country of immigrants’ (leave home and start your own, like your parents did. Pick up those bootstraps!). But I think the result of this social paradigm has left us as tiny islands in the middle of an ocean. If you don’t live with your family or near them, your kids are raised by strangers while you work. You work longer hours and need two incomes to afford the cost of housing and living, especially if you are not living in a home that your parents bought or your grandparents bought. Capitalism pushed us to create driving cities, so half the country needs a car to get everywhere. Without a public transit culture, we sit isolated in our cars. You don’t see your neighbors walking down the street or chat casually with them while waiting at the bus stops/train depots. We don’t work where we live, so we don’t spend our days with our neighbors, we spend them with people from all over. Remote work killed casual socialization and phones are making this even worse, so we don’t even talk to people we are right next to.

Is it any wonder that Americans are selfish when our lives are designed to isolate us and keep us from engaging with our family, friends and the communities we live in? If you do not know your neighbor, how can you feel empathy for them when ICE comes to their door to take them away? If you don’t care about the people beneath you because they aren’t just an employee, they are your neighbor or a cousin’s friend or someone you saw at your second cousin’s wedding with their whole family, why would you care if their job disappears tomorrow?

Trump was chosen by Americans who voted for him or did not vote at all because they didn’t care enough about how his reign would affect their neighbor. Empathy has been removed from the fabric of American society, so isn’t it any wonder that it chose a leader that lacks it entirely?

You raise many, many good points. And I 1000% agree with you that America has an empathy — really, a lack thereof — problem. If it were up to me, schools would pick a number from one to twelve and that’s the grade that would all get calculators. Long division can suck it for a year while the kids are taught about basic empathy which, not for nothing, they’ll have a lot more real world use for.

Chinyere writes:

BOOM! Congratulations on the Persona sale! Very, VERY NICE!

Thank you!

Re: the Trump in all of us, I think good and decent people are exhausted by the vociferous idiocy and casual cruelty that permeates our current hellscape. There’s a buzzing dis-ease that circles us, and we contract our world to stop the “Game over, man! Game over!” zipping around in our heads like Sha’Carri Richardson. On a loop. Ad infinitum. It makes us sad to realize that the ‘unaffected’ CHOOSE to stay unaffected, and that personally makes me mean, such that I wish massive, unavoidable, and stark consequences on these glib, ‘I got mine,’ jackholes. I actively check, distrust, and judge them... and I have no idea if I can or will change back to my sunny self in the future.

It sucks. For us, and hopefully for them. And for all, because it’s now US and THEM.

Well said.

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PROJECT DEFIANT

In a previous newsletter, I mentioned I was working on an independently produced and financed pilot. Because I see this endeavor as pushing back against the fact that the legacy studios seem uninterested in making television these days, I gave it the codename PROJECT DEFIANT.

Today, we made the official announcement of Public Interest. Here’s how Variety describes it:

“Public Interest” is set at a nonprofit public interest law firm in Washington, D.C., and follows Patricia Heaton as Ingrid Erickson, “an attorney unexpectedly thrust into the firm’s top leadership role after its longtime president suffers a sudden heart attack, and her unconventional team as they fight for everyday people facing impossible odds. As the attorneys navigate high-stakes legal battles, they must also contend with office tensions, personal relationships and the emotional toll of trying to do the right thing in an increasingly complicated world.”

So, yeah, another law show. The pilot was written by David H. Steinberg & Keetgi Kogan and I’ve done a rewrite on it. If you know me, you know law shows are near and dear to my heart. Moreover, back in law school, I was Managing Editor of the Public Interest Law Journal, so this particular area of the law holds special appeal for me.

The pilot starts shooting tomorrow.

You can check out the whole article here.

AN INNOCENT GIRL

They say that as one door closes, another opens. That’s particularly true this week because as Public Interest is entering production, filming on An Innocent Girl has wrapped.

THE WHISPER WAR

Next Tuesday (6/9) sees the release of the fifth and final issue of The Whisper War. Freak Sugar has the preview which I’ll shamelessly reproduce here:

You can pre-order The Whisper War #5 by clicking here.

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM

As I said, as one door closes, another opens. As The Whisper War ends, a week later, my new series with Tom Morello and Szymon Kurdanski premieres.

Here’s the description:

In Leviathan Freedom, the galaxy is divided by civil war. And the profound human cost of conflict is felt not in the war rooms but by the Doldrums, the laborer caste essential for the war machine – until one man decides to stand against it.

IGN has the preview:

You can pre-order the first issue by clicking here.

EMPIRE

My friend Mark Waid is republishing his masterwork Empire with Barry Kitson through the Zoop crowdfunding platform.

In a career of brilliant work, this series is a high water mark, which is really saying something. The high concept is viscerally simple: What happens to the world once a super-villain takes it over?

I highly recommend checking out the book by clicking here.

PROJECT STRING THEORY

In the last newsletter, I talked about the sale of Persona to 20th Century Studios. But buried in the article was a mention about The Measure (aka PROJECT STRING THEORY), the pilot I’ve been writing for NBC and Higher Ground productions.

The Measure is based on the bestselling novel by Nikki Erlick of the same name about a worldwide phenomenon where every adult on Earth receives a string that predicts how long they have left to live.

I’m still at the outline stage on this one.

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Be good to each other.

Best,

Marc

Air Canada Flight 0795

COMING ATTRACTIONS

A regularly-updated list of upcoming releases and events:

THE WHISPER WAR #5 (June 9, 2026)

SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE Vol. 2: Life & Death Choices (June 9, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM #1 (June 16, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM #2 (July 14, 2026)

SAN DIEGO COMICCON (July 23-26, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR: Digital Collection (August 4, 2026)

WHAT IF…? CAPTAIN AMERICA (August 5, 2026)

STAR WARS: DARK DROIDS OMNIBUS (August 18, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM #3 (August 18, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM #4 (September 22, 2026)

NEW YORK COMICCON (October 8-11, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM #5 (October 20, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM: Digital Collection (December 8, 2026)

Leave a comment

Twenty-four hours later, I’m still thinking about that lack of consideration for the impact on other people and I’ve had to realize that this exec is hardly unique when it comes to a lack of empathy or willing to consider the impact our actions have on other people. And as I spiraled, a new thought occurred to me: Are we all becoming — just a little bit — like Donald Trump?

To be clear, I’m not talking about the corrupt, dishonest, incompetent, anti-intellectual, pedophilloic aspects of Trump. No, I’m talking about the selfishness and lack of empathy, the “I got mine so fuck you” part of his ethos.

I’ve written before how, sometimes, the only way to deal with our present moment is to shut out everyone else and “make our world small,” to focus only on ourselves and our families. But what if what started out as a reasonable coping mechanism has — if only a little bit — metastasized to something less benign and more selfish?

What if ten years of Donald Trump in our lives have made us just a little bit like him?

FEEDBACK

Neil Cohen writes:

Hey, Marc, sorry I missed you at NYCC last year, maybe this year.

I’ll be there! Hope to see you!

I'm curious, have you seen HBO's The Comeback this season? It's all about a sitcom written by AI.

Oy vey. No, I haven’t seen The Comeback. I have a confession to make: I tend not to watch comedies. I’m not sure why I don’t. Maybe I just don’t like to laugh.

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Kelly J. Crawford asks:

Do you get to handpick your own artists, colourists, letterers and cover artists [for your comic book projects]? Or are they assigned to you by the same people/company that pays all of you for your contribution?

It typically depends on the nature of the project. Generally speaking, if it’s work for hire (say, for Marvel or DC), the editor picks the rest of the creative team. Sometimes they’ll allow me input, sometimes not. But where it’s a creator-owned project, I’ve recruited everyone involved — including, ironically, the editor.

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PERSONA

In the last newsletter of 2025, I mentioned finishing work on a prose short story called Persona. I’m excited to share the news that we’ve sold it as a feature film to 20th Century Studios with the amazing (and lovely) Paul Fieg attached to produce and direct. Deadline had the announcement:

20th Century Studios has won a heated auction for Persona, a novella by Marc Guggenheim, co-creator and EP of Arrow and one of the architects of the Arrow-verse franchise. Paul Feig, the Bridesmaids helmer who is coming off the hit The Housemaid, will direct. Deal is for seven figures.

Studio is keeping the concept under wraps, but Deadline hears this is a Fatal Attraction-style thriller with a modern twist. For Guggenheim, it’s his second seven-figure deal in the past half-year; he co-wrote and is executive producer on An Innocent Girl, a movie filming now and starring Kerry Washington, James Marsden, Chloe East and Colman Domingo.

IF DESTRUCTION BE OUR LOT

Writer Matthew Rosenberg shared with me an advance copy of his new series If Destruction Be Our Lot which came out two weeks ago. It’s a brilliant and brilliantly funny look into the inevitable future where humankind has been replaced by robots... or has it?

Starring a robotic Abraham Lincoln because, well, of course.

Well worth your attention.

SOCIAL MEDIA DUMP

Some posts from the past two weeks:

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Be good to each other.

Best,

Marc

Encino, California

5.22.26

COMING ATTRACTIONS

A regularly-updated list of upcoming releases and events:

BRING ON THE BAD GUYS TPB (May 27, 2026)

SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY TPB (June 2, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR #5 (June 9, 2026)

SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE Vol. 2: Life & Death Choices (June 9, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM #1 (June 16, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM #2 (July 14, 2026)

SAN DIEGO COMICCON (July 23-26, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR: Digital Collection (August 4, 2026)

WHAT IF…? CAPTAIN AMERICA (August 5, 2026)

STAR WARS: DARK DROIDS OMNIBUS (August 18, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM #3 (August 18, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM #4 (September 22, 2026)

NEW YORK COMICCON (October 8-11, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM #5 (October 20, 2026)

LEVIATHAN FREEDOM: Digital Collection (December 8, 2026)

Leave a comment

Short one this week because I’m juggling a few work chainsaws…

THE WHISPER WAR #4

The penultimate issue of The Whisper War drops on Tuesday (5/12). Cinema Sentries has a preview which I’ve, um, stolen below:

You can order (or pre-order) by clicking here.

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FEEDBACK

Norman Anderson writes:

It feels like, in my opinion, that you are spot on about the television industry. Independent producers and production companies could revive the industry. How that would actually all come together I don’t exactly know, but I definitely believe that it could be possible. It makes me happy that you are able to continue working through all this nonsense, both industry and state of the country as well. Thank you for keeping up with the newsletter. 🙏🏻

Thank you for encouraging me to do so.

Cayden Ferzon writes:

If you saw the Michael movie what were your thoughts on it?

I haven’t seen it, but I hear it’s very moving. A lot of children were touched by it.

Too soon?

SOCIAL MEDIA DUMP

So, here’s an experiment with a new feature to this newsletter: Select posts to social media from the previous week:

Is this kinda stuff a good addition to the newsletter? Please sound off in the comments.

Leave a comment

Be good to each other.

Best,

Marc

New York, New York

5.8.26

COMING ATTRACTIONS

A regularly-updated list of upcoming releases and events:

THE WHISPER WAR #4 (May 12, 2026)

BRING ON THE BAD GUYS TPB (May 27, 2026)

SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY TPB (June 2, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR #5 (June 9, 2026)

SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE Vol. 2: Life & Death Choices (June 9, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR: Digital Collection (August 4, 2026)

WHAT IF…? CAPTAIN AMERICA (August 5, 2026)

STAR WARS: DARK DROIDS OMNIBUS (August 18, 2026)

Leave a comment

Even if PROJECT VISTA hadn’t been “reset” (to use Netflix’s term), returning to a set after four years (LA Law rip) was surreal and, if I’m being honest (which I always try to be in these virtual pages) bittersweet. It’s never not thrilling to be on a set and even more thrilling to see one’s words performed by genuine movie stars. But it also served as a reminder of how much the entertainment industry has changed in the past six (or so) years, and of how much we’ve lost.

My wife — a writer/showrunner herself — pointed out something that seems obvious but remains mostly unconsidered: The entertainment business has always been changing. She cited how my three television idols — Stephen Cannell, Steven Bochco, and David Kelley — each dealt with seismic changes in the business they’d dedicated their lives to. Cannell transitioned into prose fiction. Bochco got out of the business entirely. While Kelley, after a few years’ break, reinvented himself by adapting bestsellers into series and limited series.

I have a reset of my own in mind, which I’ll talk about a little more below…

FEEDBACK

Bonnie Garvin writes:

I’m a writer and teach screenwriting at USC. I was just bemoaning with a producer friend, the state of the industry.

I think if you get more one industry person in a conversation together, that conversation will inevitably shift to the state of the industry.

There was far more opportunity and work — and better pay when there was only three networks. Corporate conglomerates have destroyed the film and television like they destroy everything they touch.

Well said. Growing up in the 80s and 90s, much of science fiction was about mega-corporations that controlled more aspects of life than the government. Today, that fiction is fact.

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Rick Ellis writes:

I met Harlan Ellison once back in the late 70s, when I was going to UCLA and doing stand-up at the old Comedy Store in Westwood. There was a bookstore in Westwood and while I can't remember why, Ellison was sitting in the window of the bookstore typing. I was able to talk to him for a few minutes after he was done and while he is one of biggest writing influences (along with rock critic Lester Bangs), I can understand why he would have been a lot to deal with if you were around him on a regular basis.

From all accounts, he was a large and cantankerous personality. But his talent remains hard to deny.

Todd Ulman writes:

I mean to say loss of love for television, that proves you still have it, because that is super dramatic ;p You ever not love your wife for a few minutes when in a fight? And then realize those feelings were just because of... and then a bit later when the dust settles you laugh at even thinking that (subcon or not) even for a second? Well, maybe not you --- but you can IMAGINE a character going through that... and coming out of it just fine. You, and television, will be just fine.

I appreciate where you’re coming from, Todd. But in this case, my “wife” and I didn’t just have a fight or a spat. She became an abusive drug addict and a Trumper. With bad B.O.

Will there be a part of me that always loves her? Of course. But at the very least a trial separation is necessary for my mental health. In the meantime, I hope she gets the help she needs — though I’m not optimistic.

Now post production, we're F'd.

Sadly, I agree. Post is also more likely to be impacted by AI than writing, at least in the near term.

Leave a comment

PROJECT DEFIANT

A couple of months ago, I helped a director friend out with a rewrite on the pilot for a law show which is being independently produced. And now, believe it or not, it’s in pre-production, fully cast, and going to camera in June.

Readers of this newsletter know that I believe that if television is to survive, it’s going to be through independent producers who respond to what the audience is asking for: Longer seasons released no more than a year apart. So I’m dipping a toe into what I believe the future to be. (It helps that I’m working with a friend and writing in a genre I love.)

Call this one PROJECT DEFIANT (for… reasons).

SPIDER-NOIR

I recently wrote a comic book prelude for the upcoming Spider-Noir series from Sony Television and Amazon Studios. Like the show, the issue is being released in both color and black-and-white editions.

I got the chance to collaborate once again with Stefano Raffaele, who drew Bring On The Bad Guys: Doom last year.

The issue’s release is unconventional: The book will be available for free, but only at various Spider-Noir-related activations and events in the coming weeks.

IGN has a preview of the book, which you can check out by clicking here.

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Be good to each other.

Best,

Marc

New York, New York

5.1.26

COMING ATTRACTIONS

A regularly-updated list of upcoming releases and events:

THE WHISPER WAR #4 (May 12, 2026)

BRING ON THE BAD GUYS TPB (May 27, 2026)

SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY TPB (June 2, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR #5 (June 9, 2026)

SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE Vol. 2: Life & Death Choices (June 9, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR: Digital Collection (August 4, 2026)

WHAT IF…? CAPTAIN AMERICA (August 5, 2026)

STAR WARS: DARK DROIDS OMNIBUS (August 18, 2026)

Leave a comment

But as of this Tuesday… not so much anymore.

Suffice it to say, I had no idea this was coming. Netflix was extremely happy with the work we’d been doing — or did an Oscar-caliber job indicating otherwise. With the benefit of hindsight, however, this development was not only predictable, it also had an air of inevitability to it. After all, Netflix has already replaced the Head Writer on four other shows. Heck, they’d replaced PROJECT VISTA’s Head Writer with me. This practice of Head Writers lasting less time than your average air freshener is so commonplace — and not just at Netflix — that another Netflix animation exec told me, “Oh yeah. That’s what [the executive who had me fired*] does.” It was just arrogance on my part to think that it couldn’t happen to me.

*Said exec wasn’t in the room for my execution. She was “sick” that day.

But don’t cry for me, Argentina. I’ve still got plenty on my plate. Next week, I’ll be turning in the first draft of the screenplay for Last Flight Out. And my editor on PROJECT SPECTRE (prose novel) needs revisions to the manuscript by the middle of next month. And next week will probably see the announcement of a new — and very cool — feature project. (It’s a shame that news didn’t break this week; it would’ve made for a fun illustration of how the Hollywood Gods giveth and taketh away.)

Consequently, I find myself not mourning lost employment However, I am grieving what’s become of television, a medium I was basically raised by, a medium I left a successful legal practice to work in. I’ve watched how the number of new shows hasn’t just diminished, but the quality of those shows as well. And because I stubbornly refuse to believe that television writers suffered a collective loss of talent, I’m compelled to conclude that what’s happened to television is the result of how television is made. After all, how can any writer do good work when they know they could be replaced like a roll of toilet paper on a whim — or, worse, a matter of routine? Members of Trump’s cabinet and military officers have more job security.

So, I’m sad. Not for losing a job, but for losing something dearer to me: My love of television.

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LEVIATHAN FREEDOM

Yesterday saw the announcement of Leviathan Freedom, a new comic series I’m doing with Comixology, literal rockstar Tom Morello, and artist Szymon Kudranski. People.com had the exclusive announcement which you can read here.

This project — a sci-fi epic — was previously teased as PROJECT SMALLS, as it’s inspired by the true life story of Robert Smalls, an enslaved person who led a mutiny aboard a Confederate ship and sailed it to freedom during the American Civil War.

Here’s a sneak peek at Simon’s art from the first three pages of Issue One:

FEEDBACK

William N. Fordes writes:

A Harlan Ellison story:

I was working on Law & Order. Dunno if Guggenheim was on the show at the time — hell, he might have been in high school when I started on the show….

I was a regular visitor to Dutton’s Bookstore in North Hollywood, not far from the Universal Studio lot where [Law & Order production company] Wolf Films was situated….

I was browsing and the owner came over and we were chatting — he knew my literary tastes and would often hold a book for me without my having ordered it. Anyway, I was going on about some sci fi work when I mentioned Harlan Ellison and, naturally, Dangerous Visions, still the most important compilation in sci fi history.

I expressed my adoration for Ellison and the owner said, “Would you like to meet him?” I said, of course, should the chance ever arise. And the owner says, “He’s in the back office drinking coffee.”

So we go in and I am introduced as a Law & Order writer/producer — and this is at the height of the show’s fame; not that that would impress Ellison. So, eventually, I say to him, “You are the reason I wanted to be a writer,” and he slams back: “Don’t fucking blame me, pal!”

Perfect Ellison.

Pitch-perfect. That’s an awesome story.

Alex Dueben writes:

I thought Ellison wrote [the Batman ‘66 episode] Two-Face and Len Wein adapted it for the comic. But I could be wrong.

No, I think you’re right. Here’s how I made my mistake:

When I went to find the April Fool’s script of Arrow based on Ellison’s Batman ‘66 episode, I couldn’t find either the gag script or the Ellison script it was based on. I eventually found the gag script on — where else? — the Internet (guess I must’ve posted it at some point) but still couldn’t find the Ellison draft.

And, as you saw from the gag script, Ellison’s name isn’t on it. Now, I figured I’d changed Ellison’s name to protect his memory from being dragooned into my April Fool’s prank — but the name that I chose, Peter Rabe, doesn’t sound like a name I would make up. To my ear, it still doesn’t.

Anyways, sorry, Harlan.

And apologies to you folks as well. That was more information than anyone needed..

I’m also picturing Ellison in the [Arrow] writers room, talking about how plotting out year long and multi-year story arcs with events taking place in multiple time periods and connecting directly and obliquely, was so much more complex than what they were doing for decades. How this is so much what he hoped TV would become, could become. And you were using it to tell the story of some second-rate Batman knockoff?!...But he could have you a script before Thursday.

And it would have been awesome. I regret that I never got the chance to meet him.

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SHOOTING MY MOUTH OFF

During C2E2, I did an interview with my friend Matt Sernaker of Comics Online. We talked about Arrow, Star Wars, and Firefly Still Flyin’. Check it out below:

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Be good to each other.

Best,

Marc

Encino, California

4.24.26

COMING ATTRACTIONS

A regularly-updated list of upcoming releases and events:

THE WHISPER WAR #4 (May 12, 2026)

BRING ON THE BAD GUYS TPB (May 27, 2026)

SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY TPB (June 2, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR #5 (June 9, 2026)

SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE Vol. 2: Life & Death Choices (June 9, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR: Digital Collection (August 4, 2026)

WHAT IF…? CAPTAIN AMERICA (August 5, 2026)

STAR WARS: DARK DROIDS OMNIBUS (August 18, 2026)

Leave a comment

Even if there is a blue TSUNAMI in November, make no mistake: America is a right-leaning country full of voters with short-term memories who are conservative, apathetic, and/or stupid. Look how much damage Trump has done to the country in order to get them to even CONSIDER voting Dem.

The inconvenient (read: shitty) truth is that America is like a car whose passenger-side tires are both flat: No matter how hard you try to steer, the thing’s going to veer to the right. And that’s just the voters who, y’know, vote. The majority of Americans don’t even bother. And this combination of conservative-leaning and apathetic — combined with the fact that Americans of all stripes to have the memory of a housefly, means that the best we can hope for is the occasional Clinton/Obama/Biden-like reprieve — i.e., once a Republican president has sufficiently fucked up the economy, Americans will hold their noses to vote for a Democrat to fix it (which, of course, we do). It’s a never-ending, vicious cycle.

FEEDBACK

Jaymie writes:

Didn’t Harlan Ellison write the Batman Two-Face script? I think DC adapted it for their Batman ‘66.

I thought this as well, but I couldn’t find my original copy of the script to confirm.

And now I’m thinking of Harlan writing for the Arrowverse. He could likely sink his teeth in that and you could have had the mixed experience of working with him for television.

That would have been amazing. I’m still bummed I never got the chance to meet him.

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Rick Ellis writes:

You make a great point about the WGA and the press. I did a lot of reporting during the strike and was able to get a number of members to speak with me, but almost never on the record. And I tend to find the WGA itself pretty difficult to deal with overall. Which is weird, because as a journalist, I am very much on the side of writers - even when I don't agree with a point or two.

Yeah. For some pennywise/pound-foolish reason, the Guild has historically disdained the press to the point that they basically tell their members, “Don’t believe anything you don’t hear directly from us.” Which, you have to admit, is a pretty effective way of controlling one’s membership. It also helps explain why so few writers are unwilling to speak with the media: They’ve been told that they can’t be trusted.

Don’t Bother Reading writes:

New pitch for that old script.: Batman 67!

Hah! That would be epic.

Also, Happy Passover!

Happy Passover!

HenryBookEvans writes:

As a committed Browncoat with more classically liberal instincts, I imagined how Shepherd Book might gently respond to the Firefly showrunner who wrote “Everything is Awful.”

How would you answer?

“Son, I’ve walked a few dusty roads myself, and I’ve learned that a good story, like a good sermon, doesn’t pick sides in the mud; it shows folks the mud they’re standing in and asks if there’s a better path. Firefly always had room for Browncoats and Alliance folk alike, not because everyone was right, but because the black don’t care about our flags.

If you’re aiming to tell tales of independents scrapping for freedom without turning the Alliance into cartoon devils or saints, well, that shines.

But if fences need mending, start by sitting down without the gun in your lap. Most folks ain’t looking to kill their neighbors. They’re just weary, and convinced the other side started it. Grace ain’t weakness. It’s the only thing that keeps the crew from turning on each other when the Reavers come. What say we write some of that?”

I love this. And you really have Book’s “voice” down. Bravo.

We started our pitches this week. Going well. Fingers crossed.

Key Daniels writes:

I will forever be grateful for Arrow and its creation of the CW comic universe. The storytelling. Safe to say it set the standard for live-action comic book storytelling. I think it's disappointing that Oliver Queen doesn’t get the love he deserves in terms of his cinematic respect in the modern capacity. So thank you for bringing him to life and giving us comic fans such an amazing and stoic representation of one of my favorite characters. Still hoping we can get a movie one day!!! Also whoever’s idea it was for the scene where Oliver escaped being kidnapped by Merlyn by climbing up the chains holding him and dropping. Pure genius!!

I believe it was our brilliant stunt department who came up with that move. And thank you very much for the kind words — and for watching.

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AN INNOCENT GIRL

We’ve got another casting update, this time courtesy of Variety:

You can read the entire article here.

THE WHISPER WAR

Whisper War #3 comes out on Tuesday (4/14) through Comixology. Once again, Graphic Policy had a preview:

This issue features the reveal of the series’ high concept. Not to be missed. You can pre-order by clicking here.

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Be good to each other.

Best,

Marc

Encino, California

4.10.26

COMING ATTRACTIONS

STAR WARS: JEDI KNIGHTS Vol. 2: A Higher Path (April 14, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR #3 (April 14, 2026)

STAR WARS: DARK DROIDS OMNIBUS (April 18, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR #4 (May 12, 2026)

BRING ON THE BAD GUYS TPB (May 27, 2026)

SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY TPB (June 2, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR #5 (June 9, 2026)

SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE Vol. 2: Life & Death Choices (June 9, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR: Digital Collection (August 4, 2026)

WHAT IF…? CAPTAIN AMERICA (August 5, 2026)

Leave a comment

Greetings from Encino, where I am chopping away at the screenplay for Last Flight Out, which I’m hoping to deliver to the producers by month’s end. I also completed a rewrite of a law show pilot that a friend of mine is developing to direct. It’s always nice to return to the legal arena and I wish there was more of a market for law shows these days.

Today, I received notes on the story area for PROJECT STRING THEORY (NBC pilot) and PROJECT SPECTRE (prose novel).

PROJECT VISTA is moving along swimmingly. This week, I finished revisions on Episodes 107 and 108 and we screened the animatic of Ep. 102 for the studio. Animated or live action, second episodes are notoriously challenging but I’m very pleased with how this one’s coming along.

And in between all this, I continue work on the next next novel (PROJECT DECADE) despite actual deadlines because I’m just having too much fun with it. It’s a sci-fi book but it speaks to our present moment and writing it is a lot like therapy.

FEEBACK

William N. Fordes writes:

There is an old Sicilian saying, “two people can keep a secret, if one of them is dead….”

Ah yes! THAT’s where it comes from!

[The Epstein Files] will out, eventually, because a DEM House and maybe Senate and maybe POTUS is coming, and then there will be FBI agents and clerks, and DOJ Asst’s and clerks, and Trump Admin Asst’s and clerks who will prefer not to go to jail for obstruction or other crimes, and they will talk. And eventually, the second part of the Jack Smith report will come out, no matter what [Judge] Aileen “Loose” Cannon does. And eventually, Trump will resign or die or be 25’d out. But my point is this: “…murder will out….” IF a vibrant, vigorous, aggressive group of DEMS take action now and post-midterms. And by “vibrant, vigorous and aggressive,’ I do NOT mean Chuck “Miffed Max” Schumer or Hakeem “Give ‘em agita, ‘Keem” Jeffries or any of the other passive-not-aggressive DEM leaders. Somebody with backbone and chutzpah and balls, maybe a little Brooklyn or Chicago in the blood, needs to be at the helm and appoint special counsel who will not stop — Jack Smith, redux, anybody; if Rip van Garland had not snoozed through the first two years of his tenure, and maybe appointed Smith earlier, we would not be in Iran……….

Simply put, from your post to God’s ears. And I heartily agree with your assessments of Schumer, Jeffries, and Garland. I vacillate over whether they’re incompetent, self-interested, or beholden to an outdated form of governance. Probably some combination of all three. Regardless of the rationale or explanation, the Dems are no opposition party.

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Don’t Bother Reading writes:

Can’t wait for Firefly!-- GENIUS!

Thank you. We start pitching next week.

Re: Epstein Conspiracy. But was his behavior hidden? No. This is, it seems to me, more a case of powerful men thinking, hey no big deal.

Not to sound Clintonian, but it really depends on your definition of “hidden.” I’m speaking mostly with regard to Trump and some form of smoking gun evidence.

Cameron writes:

Strong take, not only because it feels true, but because it's not being expressed anywhere else I look.

Thank you! (And I hadn’t made the connection that you were this Cameron until our dinner earlier this week.

AN INNOCENT GIRL

Production on An Innocent Girl began earlier this week and I’m very thrilled and excited. This is the first thing I’ve been involved in that’s gone into production since the ill-fated LA Law pilot in 2022. After two decades of working in network television, going four years between shoots is something that would have seemed unthinkable to younger me.

APRIL FOOLS’ DAY

Believe it or not, there’s an un-produced episode of the Batman (1966) TV series where the villain of the week was Two Face. I don’t know why the episode was never filmed, but in my travels I got myself a copy of the script.

During, I think, Season 2 of Arrow I got an idea for an April Fools’ prank to play on production: I would take that original Batman script, have my assistant change all the character names, and “publish” it as the next to-be-shot episode of Arrow.

That year, April 1st fell right in the middle of shooting an episode, so production’s first reaction was panic: How were they supposed to start shooting a new episode while one was being shot? To this day, I think they missed the point…

At any rate, if you’d care to read that fake script, you can do so by clicking here.

SHOOTING MY MOUTH OFF: WGA EDITION

April 1st also saw publication of an article on Deadline about the WGA’s staff recent strike against the WGA is “expos[ing] writers’ growing frustrations with the Guild.” Readers of this newsletter know that my own frustrations are both numerous and long-held. I was quoted a couple of times in the article which you can read here.

I’ve since gotten a lot of positive feedback from people who appreciated what I had to say. At the same time, many expressed surprise that I’d be willing to go on the record. As it stands, I’m only one of two Guild members who did so for this article. There’s also a perception that I’m one of the only people Hollywood reporters talk to about such matters.

The truth of the matter is that I’m — obviously — not the only writer reporters are talking to. I do, however, seem to be one of the few who’s willing to speak on the record (i.e., with my name attributed to the quote). Some people have described this as “brave” but I don’t look at it that way. Rather, when I express an opinion publicly, my default is to do so using my name. That’s not bravery; it’s being upfront and forthright. It’s being willing to stand behind my statements/opinions.

To be clear: This is no slight on those who choose to speak on background. In the case of the WGA, I have firsthand experience with what the Guild leadership — and membership — is capable of when you speak out against leadership. I also know that there are many writers who believe that leadership controls the hiring and firing of writers, so they don’t want to bite the hand that feeds them. (BTW, while I sympathize with this fear, I don’t agree with its premise.) In fact, I know many writers who won’t even speak to reporters at all.

The reason I mention all this is that I have a tendency — right or wrong — to view what goes on within the WGA as a microcosm of what’s happening in America. As such, I have to wonder if our present circumstances might be at least slightly improved if there were more people willing to speak out and do so from outside a shield of confidentiality. Whether we’re talking about the Writers Guild of America or just America, more voices need to be heard.

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Be good to each other.

Best,

Marc

Encino, California

4.3.26

COMING ATTRACTIONS

A regularly-updated list of upcoming releases and events:

STAR WARS: JEDI KNIGHTS Vol. 2: A Higher Path (April 14, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR #3 (April 14, 2026)

STAR WARS: DARK DROIDS OMNIBUS (April 18, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR #4 (May 12, 2026)

BRING ON THE BAD GUYS TPB (May 27, 2026)

SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY TPB (June 2, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR #5 (June 9, 2026)

SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE Vol. 2: Life & Death Choices (June 9, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR: Digital Collection (August 4, 2026)

WHAT IF…? CAPTAIN AMERICA (August 5, 2026)

Leave a comment

I recently re-watched Oliver Stone’s brilliant JFK. The movie is a masterpiece, but viewing it through the lens of 2026 really made me reconsider the material. I’d never been much of a conspiracy theorist and I’ve never been fascinated by Kennedy’s assassination. At the end of the day, I guess, I subscribed to the belief that such wide-ranging conspiracies could never happen because too many people are involved. It’s basically impossible to keep anything a secret for long, much less for decades.

But then I considered the Epstein case.

Epstein’s evil remained a secret for decades and the evil perpetuated by many of the men in his orbit remains, to this day, secret. At the very least, specific, incriminating evidence of many — looking at you, Agent Orange — remains undisclosed.

My point is that if you remove the axiom that “a conspiracy is impossible because the truth always outs,” then you have to start believing in a few conspiracy theories. There are a lot of unanswered questions, for example, surrounding the alleged attempt on Trump’s life in Butler, Pennsylvania. And I don’t think any rational person truly believes that Jeffrey Epstein committed suicide and that all the gaps in security and evidence are just “coincidence.” There are even questions surrounding Charlie Kirk’s death. (Speaking of Mr. Kirk, isn’t it interesting that his alleged murderer has been memory holed?)

I’d always believed that if you have a big enough circle of people, someone will whistleblow eventually. But the FBI’s handling of the Epstein Files belies this. Over a thousand agents — more than were deployed in the wake of 9/11 — reviewed the files and not a single one has come forward to say what they saw. Clearly, it’s not true that only two people can keep a secret if one of them is dead.

Looking back, I think the Watergate and Clinton/Lewinsky scandals gave us a false sense of security as regards the idea that the truth always outs. Clearly, it doesn’t. Clearly, the truth outs far, far less often than it doesn’t.

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FEEDBACK

Chinyere writes:

I’m glad things are going well. I’ve always said: diversification is the key to longevity in any business.

It’s funny, but — and I think I’ve said this before — I’d always advised people starting out in the industry to establish a beachhead in terms of a speciality. But now the advice I give is 180 degrees in the opposite direction: Let a thousand flowers bloom. Buy a million lottery tickets. Create as much surface area as possible for luck to stick to.

Can’t wait to see An Innocent Giorl! (Love me some Coleman Domingo! And Kerry’s no slouch, either!)

I am absolutely THRILLED with the cast they’ve assembled for An Innocent Girl. We start production soon.

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PROJECT SERENITY

Well, you only have yourselves to blame if you didn’t crack the code on this one…

For those who missed it, this past Sunday, Nathan Fillion and much of the cast of Firefly announced that we are developing an animated continuation of the beloved show called Firefly: Still Flyin’. This is the project — PROJECT SERENITY, named after the hero ship of the show — that I’ve been working on with my wife Tara.

We’re working with the Oscar and Emmy Award-winning ShadowMachine on the art and animation. They’ve worked up several brilliant pieces of art, but the one we’ve been sharing (thus far) is the character lineup by Brian Matyas:

Tara and I have also written a script for the Pilot. I’m probably the only one tickled by it, but we designed the title page to follow the format of the original series:

The announcement video — which you can watch below — has already gotten well over 10 million views.

Word of the announcement spread far and wide. We don’t even have a home for the show yet and it already feels like one of the biggest things I’ve ever been a part of. Here’s a small sampling of the coverage (click on screencap to go to the article):

SHOOTING MY MOUTH OFF: WHISPER WAR EDITION

The first two issues of The Whisper War are now out. I did an interview about the series with scifiction.com that you can check out on YouTube:

You can buy Whisper War #1 on Comixology by clicking here, and Whisper War #2 (also on Comixology) by clicking here.

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Be good to each other.

Best,

Marc

Encino, California

3.20.26

COMING ATTRACTIONS

A regularly-updated list of upcoming releases and events:

C2E2: Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (March 27-29, 2025)

STAR WARS: JEDI KNIGHTS Vol. 2: A Higher Path (April 14, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR #3 (April 14, 2026)

STAR WARS: DARK DROIDS OMNIBUS (April 18, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR #4 (May 12, 2026)

BRING ON THE BAD GUYS TPB (May 27, 2026)

SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY TPB (June 2, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR #5 (June 9, 2026)

SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE Vol. 2: Life & Death Choices (June 9, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR: Digital Collection (August 4, 2026)

WHAT IF…? CAPTAIN AMERICA (August 5, 2026)

Leave a comment

It’s been a while since I did a work update, but that’s due to a combination of two things. First, so much of what I’m working on is below the waterline that the iceberg looks a lot smaller than it actually is. Second, a good chunk of what’s on my plate is in the pitching/waiting for feedback stage.

That being said, An Innocent Girl goes into production soon (more on that below), PROJECT VISTA, the animated series I’m doing for Netflix is moving along swimmingly with art starting to come in and the writers revising their Season 1 scripts. I’ve also been spending more time than I should on my new novel, PROJECT DECADE, because I’m having so much fun with it. If you’re working with me and waiting on a draft or revisions longer than normal, this is why.

FEEDBACK

Cayden Ferzon asks:

Do you think a vote for Curtis Sliwa is was a vote for Zorhan Mamdani?

Because we have a two party system, there are generally only two viable candidates in an election, with the others being able to serve only as spoilers. If you view Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo as the two frontrunners and see the election as really being between them then, yes, I suppose you could make an argument that a vote for Sliwa was effectively a vote for Mamdani. But the 2025 mayoral election was a real outlier, IMHO.

Does some of your family that remains in NY feel unsafe under Mamdani?

Not in the slightest.

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Rick Ellis writes:

Always happy to see a reference to Jack & Bobby, a show that I wish was available for streaming.

I know, right? Such a tragedy that it’s not. I suspect it’s due to music rights issues, like a lot of shows of this period. But working on it was a really special experience.

I wrote about it a few months ago, and the main reaction was “why don’t I know about this show!”

We were a very well-kept secret. It certainly didn’t help that we premiered up against the premiere of a little show called Desperate Housewives. (We were filming my first episode on the day the overnight ratings came in and the mood on the set was devastating. We knew we were DOA.)

Nandini Bapat writes:

Congrats on the new project Marc and the signing!! ^_^ Thanks for your thoughtful words each week about the state of everything. I find myself nodding along each time. It's nice to know I (we) are not alone in our frustration and anger. 🙏💪

Thank you so much. It’s feedback like that that keeps me doing the newsletter whenever I’m feeling like it’s a useless excercise.

Craig writes:

Hi. Huge fan of the Arrow TV series that set the benchmark for every other superhero show.

Thank you. That’s very kind of you to say.

What is your opinion on the state of the genre?

The superhero genre has settled into what I’d said it would settle into: Instead of being the end-all-be-all of popular culture as it was for a good decade, it’s now just a “normal” genre amidst the other tried-and-true genres in TV and film. In other words, I don’t think superhero shows and movies have gone the way of the Western. It’s now just a genre that exists alongside horror, sci-fi, action, thrillers, etc.

If you were to write your own comic with a renowned comic book illustrator, who would you pick?

Ooo. That’s a tough one. If we’re talking artists alive and dead, George Peréz would be at the top of that list but for the fact that I was fortunate enough to collaborate with him on a 10-page story for Justice Society #50, so that was a big bucket list item checked off. John Byrne and Frank Miller are the two other artists I wish I’d had the chance to work with. But if forced to give a definitive answer to your question, I’d have to go with Jack Kirby.

WHAT IF… I WROTE ANOTHER MARVEL COMIC?

I didn’t give it a codename, but in a previous newsletter I mentioned that I was working on a new, non-Star Wars one-shot for Marvel. Yesterday, that project got announced at ComicsPro (the annual gathering of comic book retailers).

2026 marks the 50th anniversary of Marvel’s What If? anthology series which explores potential alternate realities. To celebrate, Marvel is publishing a new series of one-shots

I’m writing What If Captain American Was Freed in 2099?* and working with legendary artist — and 2099 co-architect — Ron Lim. As a fan of both What If and Marvel 2099, this is a chocolate-and-peanut-butter project for me.

The What If anniversary specials will drop this summer. Popverse did an article about it.

*This was the title that was announced, but my hope is to replace “freed” with “revived”?

STAR WARS: JAR JAR

Star Wars: Jar Jar — the one-shot starring Jar Jar Binks which I co-wrote with Ahmed Best — dropped last week and the response has been pretty darn amazing. As I’ve been saying, there are a lot more ties to the greater Star Wars mythology than anyone is probably expecting from a one-shot and I’m glad people are picking up on them. A sampling follows below (click on each image to go to the actual article):

SHOOTING MY MOUTH OFF

Because of Whisper War and Jar Jar and some serendipity, I’ve been doing a bunch of interviews of late.

My friend MC Foley has just launched a new podcast — From Passion to Paycheck — about creatives getting paid for their art. We had a fun discussion which you can check out on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

I also chatted with Fanboy Factor about The Whisper War and some of my other comic book and television work. You can check out the interview here.

Finally, Whisper War artist Sedat Oezgen and I did an interview about Whisper War for a German publication. (Sedat is German.) If you can read German — or translate through Google Chrome — you can check out the article here.

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MORE INNOCENT GIRL

Last week, we announced another piece of casting for An Innocent Girl: Coleman Domingo is joining in a role that was written for him in mind.

Deadline had the announcement, which you can read here.

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Be good to each other.

Best,

Marc

Encino, California

2.20.26

COMING ATTRACTIONS

A regularly-updated list of upcoming releases and events:

SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE #10 (February 25, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR #2 (March 10, 2026)

C2E2: Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (March 27-29, 2025)

STAR WARS: JEDI KNIGHTS Vol. 2: A Higher Path (April 14, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR #3 (April 14, 2026)

STAR WARS: DARK DROIDS OMNIBUS (April 18, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR #4 (May 12, 2026)

BRING ON THE BAD GUYS TPB (May 27, 2026)

SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY TPB (June 2, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR #5 (June 9, 2026)

SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE Vol. 2: Life & Death Choices (June 9, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR: Digital Collection (August 4, 2026)

Leave a comment

FEEDBACK

Well well, last week’s edition generated a lot of feedback (and resulted in more than a few canceled descriptions). I’m grateful for the engagement. Let’s get into it:

Tub Ahelms writes:

I voted for Jill Stein in a safely blue district because Killer Kamala refused to deviate from Genocide Joe’s actions and words on Palestine. Fuck you, Trump, Biden, and Kamala.

Given the problems America is facing, I don’t believe in voting based on what’s happening — or not happening — in other countries. I understand that it’s difficult to hold your nose and vote for someone you don’t like, but that’s the unfortunate reality of being an eligible voter in America.

Related: If everyone in a “safely blue district” thought and voted as you do, it wouldn’t be so safely blue, would it?

Leave a comment

Laura Kirk writes:

THANK YOU for expressing my political feelings exactly. I always enjoy your posts.

Thank YOU for reading.

Kelly J. Crawford writes:

Dearest Marc, my heart is breaking for all my industry friends down in the US, right now. Every new day reveals horror story after horror story about innocent people being injured or killed in the fight for justice and basic human rights. I will never understand how Donald Trump got elected to the highest public office -- twice!

Well, racism, sexism, selfishness, and a healthy dollop of foreign interference made it possible — aided and abetted by Joe Biden deciding to run for reelection and Merick Garland deciding not to do his job.

Leah Poulliot writes:

Hard agree of the non-voter stance this past election. Refreshing to see some blunt honesty, which you always give, but saying it out loud makes it all the more validating to feel.

Thank you, Leah! And thanks for reading. I hope all is well with you.

William N. Fordes writes:

If one did not vote in 2024, one is complicit in the disgusting rape of democracy and civil rights we as a nation, and people like Ms Good and Mr Pretti in particular, are going through. For me, I marched against Vietnam, I marched against LBJ, I marched against the draft, I protested Iran/Contra, I protested Bush I and Bush II, marched against Trump 1.0 and 2.0 and will only stop marching and protesting when the legs give out. My new motto, replacing INDICT CONVICT IMPRISON on the tee shirts I had made for Trump 1.0 is “SEE YOU IN NUREMBERG, FUCKERS!”

Well, said.

Don’t Bother Reading writes:

Marc, you say “they” like “they” are united... but maybe “they”-- the Repúblican 50% of the country-- breakdown to something like 30% who like the policies but don't approve of the methods, 15% who have always and will always vote Republican no matter how or why the party alters, and 5% who love Jackboot Nazis in the streets? If so, if we add back in the liberal 50%, the Nazis account for 2 to 3% of population but an overwhelming amount of the state-approved and funded violence. Admittedly, that's a big IF. Also, I'm crappy at math. Love ya man!

I completely agree. The simple truth of the matter is that the vast majority of Americans agree on the same things: common sense gun laws, free and safe access to reproductive healthcare, no open borders, no fascism/authoritarianism. There’s a huge population of voters and potential voters for whoever is willing to speak to their needs and wants.

Love you too, buddy. Please give my best to Susan.

“Don’t Bother Reading” also shared this with me:

A picture’s worth a thousand words…

Chinyere writes:

Fuck yeah, Marc! I’m glad you see the reality of the political situation in America, but I’ll dig deeper. 2X. FUCK. THE. NONVOTING. I understand hate and racism. It’s woven into the very fabric of this country. However, the shiftless arrogance and the privilege of the willful nonvoter is proof positive that America will never change until it’s forced into accountability for its actions, past and present.

If we ever see another election, and if by some miracle the oligarchy is overthrown, we’re going to need to go ALL Nuremberg, no hand-holding, 24-hr coverage on C-SPAN.

Oh, yeah. Cool Marvel stuff, too. 😁

The second Nuremberg reference this newsletter. I have to say, assuming we somehow make it out of our present moment with our republic semi-intact, I really hope there’s a true push for accountability. However, that push is going to have to come from voters. History has shown us time and time and time again that, when it’s up to Democratic leadership, they’d prefer to just turn the cheek and turn the page, just as they did on the Iraq War and the 2008 financial collapse. If Chuck Schumer had been in power in 1945, he would’ve said, “Why do we need a war crimes tribunal at Nuremberg? Hitler’s dead. We’ve crushed the Nazi party. It’s time to move on and look to the future instead of litigating the past.”

KentL writes:

We have definitely noticed the dearth of new shows. At one point we were subscribed to everything out there, but we've whittled it down to just a couple right now. I cancelled both D+ and HBO Max last summer. We jumped on a great deal for HBO Max at the end of the year (an obvious ploy to artificially inflate their sub numbers for the sale), but we haven't returned to D+ since because there just isn't enough to justify the cost. I'll probably insist on getting it back at some point this year (once I've built up a backlog), but there's really no rush.

I hear this from a lot of people and am encouraged by how many are canceling their subscriptions over a lack of new content. Hopefully, the streamers will get the message and start addressing the obvious appetite for new shows with longer episodic orders. If they don’t, I truly believe that it’s only a matter of time before someone figures out how to produce a compelling, independently-financed show and put it up on YouTube.

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AN INNOCENT GIRL

Today marked the first casting announcement for An Innocent Girl, my first post-Arrow collaboration with Greg Berlanti.

Suffice it to say, I’m rather excited. Kerry Washington gave the commencement address at my eldest’s high school graduation. James Marsden is the first live action Cyclops (and I love him in Paradise). And I met Chloe East back when she was a child actor on my wife’s show, Emergence. (Thanks for making me feel really old, BTW, Chloe.)

Variety describes An Innocent Girl as a “psychological thriller about a young and ambitious woman seduced by a high-powered D.C. couple who draw her into a dangerous world of sex, power and murder.”

You can check out the whole article here.

The title was Greg Berlanti’s idea. I’m not sure why he thought I’d like it…

As it turns out, the very first thing I wrote for Greg was the fifth episode of Jack & Bobby entitled… “An Innocent Man.”

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STAR WARS: JAR JAR

Next Wednesday sees the release of Star Wars: Jar Jar, the one-shot starring Jar Jar Binks that I co-wrote with the man who originated the role, Ahmed Best.

To mark the occasion, Ahmed and I are doing a signing at Golden Apple Comics in Los Angeles on Wednesday from 4 PM to 6 PM.

And AIPT has a preview:

APPLE VISION PRO

The Apple Vision Pro was released two years ago. The anniversary prompted me to dig out this little bit I’d dictated for the newsletter back in December:

I recently rediscovered my Apple Vision Pro when I decided to re-watch Avatar: The Way of Water prior to the release of Avatar: Fire and Ash. The reason I haven’t used my Vision Pro in quite some time is, well, there’s not a lot of use cases for it.

What it excels at is showing media, particularly in 3D. But I also will use it for its massive virtual monitor, which allows me to open tons of documents all at the same time when I’m jumping back and forth between different versions or different projects. The point of all thisis I was reminded of just how magical the Vision Pro is as a device.

Now, to be clear, I’m not saying that you should run out and buy one. It’s far too expensive, far too heavy, and is very much a Generation 1.0 device. That being said, the experience of using it is definitely not Generation 1.0.

It actually feels like it came from 15 years in the future. The hand/eye tracking is remarkable and orders of magnitude better than what you get with a Meta-manufactured headset.

And the eye tracking, which the Meta headsets don’t have, is nothing short of magical. The ability to track even the most imperceptible movements of your eyes, so that if you just, for example, look at an icon, it will know which icon you’re focusing on, is revolutionary. It feels as if the device is reading your mind.

However, like I said, there just aren’t that many use cases for it. What I think Apple should have done was, instead of making an iPhone — which does everything — they should have made the audio-visual equivalent of an iPod and market it as like Apple Personal Theater. You can even watch videos from various seats in a virtual theater on the Vision Pro. It’s pretty cool.

But the idea that it had to be a device that did absolutely everything all at once, that, I think, made for such a very heavy, very expensive device.

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Be good to each other.

Best,

Marc

Encino, California

2.6.26

COMING ATTRACTIONS

A regularly-updated list of upcoming releases and events:

THE WHISPER WAR #1 (February 10, 2026)

STAR WARS: JAR JAR (February 11, 2026) - w/ signing at Golden Apple Comics 4-6 PM

SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE #10 (February 25, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR #2 (March 10, 2026)

C2E2: Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (March 27-29, 2025)

STAR WARS: JEDI KNIGHTS Vol. 2: A Higher Path (April 14, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR #3 (April 14, 2026)

STAR WARS: DARK DROIDS OMNIBUS (April 18, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR #4 (May 12, 2026)

BRING ON THE BAD GUYS TPB (May 27, 2026)

SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY TPB (June 2, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR #5 (June 9, 2026)

SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE Vol. 2: Life & Death Choices (June 9, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR: Digital Collection (August 4, 2026)

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Greetings from America, where everything sucks.

I was recently on a phone with a friend, a fellow liberal, who lives in Kentucky. We were talking about what, if anything, we can do to un-fuck the country. (Spoiler Alert: There’s nothing we can do.) And he was mentioning — thinking of his neighbors — that “Whatever we do, we have to figure out how to mend the fences with our neighbors.”

And I thought… Do we?

I mean, I’ve heard some variation of “we all have to figure out a way to come together” for decades now. But it takes two to tango and I think we need to begin to wrap our brains around the idea that they’ve not interested in coming together with us. As the tragic events in Minnesota demonstrate, they don’t want to reconcile with us, they want to — say it with me — kill us.

If we’re going to spend any energy on winning hearts and minds, I humbly suggest that those efforts should be directed towards getting the tens of millions of Americans who didn’t bother to vote in the 2024 election to — oh, I don’t know — fucking engage in the democracy that they’re allegedly supposed to be a part of.

All of which is to say that the people who didn’t vote in ‘24 can go fuck themselves — just not as much as the people who voted for Trump or Jill Stein can go fuck themselves. And I draw that distinction in the form of: If you voted for Trump or Jill Stein, there’s nothing I can do for you, but if you didn’t vote, I’m willing to engage with you and try to drag you out of your apathy.*

*I have a theory that for many who don’t vote, it’s not apathy that explains their inaction but, rather, self-righteousness. They love nothing more than to hold themselves above the fray saying, “Both sides are equally bad so I won’t vote for either.” Dumbass: Show me the Democrats who are executing people in the streets. While you’re at it, you should know that the decision not to vote is still a decision that affects the outcome of an election, so a non-vote is a vote, moron.

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FEEDBACK

Cayden Ferzon asks:

Do you think Donald Trump is antisemitic?

Is the Pope Catholic?

Seriously though, I think Trump is an equal-opportunity bigot. He’s prejudiced against anyone who isn’t a CIS straight white male Christian. Full stop. Jews just happen to get caught in his very large net of small-minded hatred.

Matt Moore writes:

Two words: Rum Sleg. Brief preview for Star Wars: Jar Jar looks great. Can't wait to read it.

Thank you! SFX magazine just did a nice little article about it:

Don’t Bother Reading commented:

I had to look up CSAM. Now I have to live with that.

I’m sorry.

Funny story: I think it was Season 4 of Arrow where we had a storyline where Thea Queen had this bloodlust that her father suggested sating by killing a pedophile. Broadcast Standards & Practices, however, told us that we couldn’t say the word “pedophile” on-air. WTF? Well, the fuck was that, according to the BS&P exec, “A pedophile is someone who sexually abuses children and we don’t want the dialogue to conjure that image.”

Leaving aside the questionable assertion that one word of dialogue can make the audience visualize something and leaving behind the even more questionable assertion that BS&P has providence over not just what the viewer sees on TV but also sees in their mind’s eye, I pointed out that, according to any dictionary, a “pedophile” is a person who is sexually attracted to children. (Link.) In other words, it’s possible to be a pedophile without laying a hand on anyone.

But I digress.

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WELCOME TO THE PARTY, PAL

Hollywood journalist Matt Belloni writes a weekly newsletter on all things Hollywood. In a recent edition, he published this:

To which, all of my unemployed writer friends (i.e., my writer friends) say… DUH.

I do think that the dearth of new shows is starting to hit the general audience. In other words, I think they’re starting to get hip to the fact that they’re paying $15 a month for less “new content.” The next, and most critical, step is that they begin canceling their subscriptions as a result.

The problem is that television production isn’t exactly something you can just flick a switch or turn a dial on. Even if our tech oligarchs were to open the spigot tomorrow, it would be at least a year before those new shows start hitting people’s eyeballs.

OKAY, THIS MIGHT BE MY FAVORITE HEADLINE EVER

This is courtesy of Collider in an article about The Whisper War (known to readers of this newsletter as PROJECT RECURSION).

(The check is in the mail, Collider.)

The article includes an exclusive* preview of Whisper War #1, which drops digitally on Comixology on February 10.

You can check out the article here.

*”Exclusive” gets an asterisk because, well…

COMING ATTRACTIONS

Marvel announced a bunch of new trades and collections, so I’ve updated my list of upcoming releases — and personal appearances — accordingly:

THE WHISPER WAR #1 (February 10, 2026)

STAR WARS: JAR JAR (February 11, 2026) - w/ signing at Golden Apple Comics 4-6 PM

SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE #10 (February 25, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR #2 (March 10, 2026)

C2E2: Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (March 27-29, 2025)

STAR WARS: JEDI KNIGHTS Vol. 2: A Higher Path (April 14, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR #3 (April 14, 2026)

STAR WARS: DARK DROIDS OMNIBUS (April 18, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR #4 (May 12, 2026)

BRING ON THE BAD GUYS TPB (May 27, 2026)

SPIDER-MAN: BRAND NEW DAY TPB (June 2, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR #5 (June 9, 2026)

SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE Vol. 2: Life & Death Choices (June 9, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR: Digital Collection (August 4, 2026)

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Be good to each other.

Best,

Marc

Encino, California

1.30.26

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FEEDBACK

Norman Anderson writes:

What a year! You’ve done a lot of really wonderful projects that most definitely helped a great many people get through this last year of dark times. I know it’s helped me. Also, this newsletter has been a comforting reminder that we are not alone in this world. There are many of us that are like minded. It’s a fantastic thing to see that you are still thriving in this type of work environment as well. Have a relaxing and happy Holiday and New Year. Thank you, good sir. 🙏🏻

Thank you very much. That’s very kind of you to say.

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Neutral Foundry writes:

The part about maybe underselling the hopelessness resonates in a weird way. When you lay out the timeline of events like that, it becomes clear how quickly things compound. I've had similar moments where trying to stay optimistic feels almost naive. The idea of a general strike is interesting but you're right about mission creep being teh killer. Every movement lately seems to get diluted by trying to fix everything at once. Narrowing it down to one clear demand would require a level of coordination and discipline that feels almost impossible in the current landscape.

Well said.

It certainly doesn’t help that none of our elected officials seem all that interested in fixing things. I’d assumed they were just underwhelmed — not sure what to do in the face of unprecedented corruption and overreach — but now I realize that they’re just complacent, more interested in preserving their position at the trough than actually stopping the no-longer-slow rise of fascism. The Democrats will always be the party who brings a strongly worded press release to a gunfight.

And, oftentimes, it’s not even all that strongly worded.

Harvey Hammer writes:

Gotta agree with that last comment to 2025. I've been very absent from newsletters, so sorry about that - but this year for me's been full of great and not so great things. Writing my year in review for my newsletter, I have once again pinched your layout. Impressive once again to see what you've written in a year! Hopefully 2026 can bring us all back to things we've lost. Happy New Year!

Thank you. For some reason, I thought I wasn’t all that prolific in 2025, but listing everything out made me realize that wasn’t the case.

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PROJECT DECADE

I wouldn’t call it a New Year’s resolution per se, more like a personal/business decision but I’ve decided not to take on any more spec/development projects until my current slate of pitches reaches some kind of critical mass of conclusion.

That being said, I’ve started work on a new novel. This is an idea I’ve been noodling on for over a year now which I’m very fond of and it’s exciting to finally get going on it. My first three novels (Overwatch, In Any Lifetime, PROJECT SPECTRE) were written during lulls in Hollywood work, so this should be interesting…

Here’s the first sentence (subject, of course, to change):

SAY GOODBYE TO HOLLYWOOD

TV comedy writer Lauren Bans wrote a piece for New York magazine about the number of people — particularly writers — leaving Los Angeles. You can check it out here.

The article spoke to me for many reasons, most of which should be obvious to readers of this newsletter.

This past Wednesday was the one-year anniversary of the Palisades and Alta Dena wildfires. The former forced me and my family to evacuate and claimed the homes of my manager and close friends of ours. Those friends were forced to stand by and watch their home burn while — I shit you not — a firefighter with a hose stood only a few feet away. The firefighter couldn’t get any water from the nearby hydrant.

The median annual tax bill for homes in the Palisades is around $17,241 well above the national average of $2,400. So my manager and my friends were not only completely and utterly failed by the local government, but they paid over seven times more than the national average for the privilege.

In June, my wife and I become empty nesters. I’m not sure if my television commitments will allow me to leave LA entirely — or even if there will be, y’know, a June — but for sure I’m going to be spending as little time here as I can manage once our youngest is out of the house.

SAY GOODBYE TO HOLLYWOOD TWITTER

Eighteen years ago, I joined Twitter to live blog the birth of our second daughter. I wrote as if I was her, so many of my first tweets were like: “Diaper change.” “Poop time.” “Pooping.” “Napping.” “Boobies.” (Given the way discourse on Twitter eventually went, I was ahead of my time.)

Then, when Arrow premiered, the network encouraged us to get very active on Twitter. And then get active on Twitter I did. I had a lot of great interactions with fans and a few not-so-great ones. I engaged in a lot of political debate with Trump supporters, but — to be honest — the worst behavior came from people from my own side of the aisle.

I’ve watched an entire generation of writers tweet themselves — and their friends — out of jobs because they either thought showrunners don’t look at their social media or that showrunners should still want to hire entitled virtue signalers who practice performative victimhood. Yeah, that sounds like a really fun writers room to work in. Sign me up.

But I digress.

After the 2024 presidential election, I resolved to get off of Twitter and off, I am happy to report, I have remained. Not only have I not missed it in the slightest, I recognize how measurably happier I am as a result. The only lingering negative emotion comes from when I think about how much time I gave to arguing with idiots and how much energy I gave to the attacks accusing me of misogyny, antisemitism, or wrongthink.

For the past year, I’ve had it on my to do list to delete my Twitter account. I finally did so this morning.

I wish I could say that Grok’s recent use of AI to generate CSAM was the final straw, but the truth is that there have been a whole bushel of “final straws” ever since Elon Musk took over the site.

Good riddance.

PROJECT RECURSION

Yesterday saw the announcement of what I’ve been teasing as PROJECT RECURSION: The Whisper War, a new, five-issue series from Comixology Originals. The Hollywood Reporter broke the news.

Here’s a better look at the cover for the first issue (art by Sedat Oezgen and Carlos Caberera):

And here’s a sneak peek of a page from Issue 1:

The Whisper War #1 comes out on February 10 from Comixology…

STAR WARS: JAR JAR

…and the very next day (2/11) sees the release of Star Wars: Jar Jar, the one-shot featuring Jar Jar Binks and Kelleran Beq which I co-wrote with Ahmed Best, the man who brought both these characters to life.

Comicbook.com had a preview of some of the art by Kieran McKeown and Laura Braga:

MITZVAH OPPORTUNITY

Stephen Culton of the Between A Pod And A Hard Place podcast has set up a GoFundMe to, like many others these days, cover his rent and avoid eviction. If you have some extra bucks to spare for a good guy, you can donate here.

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Be good to each other.

Best,

Marc

Encino, California

1.9.26

A regularly-updated list of upcoming releases and events:

SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE Vol. 1: The Janus Directory (January 20, 2026)

SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE #9 (January 21, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR #1 (February 10, 2026)

STAR WARS: JAR JAR (February 11, 2026)

SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE #10 (February 25, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR #2 (March 10, 2026)

C2E2: Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo (March 27-29, 2025)

STAR WARS: JEDI KNIGHTS Vol. 2: A Higher Path (April 14, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR #3 (April 14, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR #4 (May 12, 2026)

BRING ON THE BAD GUYS TPB (May 27, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR #5 (June 9, 2026)

THE WHISPER WAR: Digital Collection (August 4, 2026)

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Then, there was yet another mass shooting in America, an anti-semitic attack in Australia, and Rob Reiner and his wife were killed, prompting a psychopathic reaction that can only be described with the word “evil.”

And it occurs to me… I actually may have undersold things.

Speaking of last week’s newsletter:

FEEDBACK

Shelly Rainen writes:

I feel the same as you. These are very frightening times and the Supreme Court bears a lot of the blame. I am beside myself.

It’s fairly horrible. And I absolutely agree with your assessment that the Supreme Court is largely to blame. I used to revere that institution so much. But Citizens United and Roberts’ Trump immunity decision have done more damage to America than 9/11 and Pearl Harbor ever did. I’m glad I’m no longer an attorney.

I hope you’re well. Please give my best to Ed.

Norman Anderson writes:

Everything you said is exactly how I feel. The system was never supposed to work like this against the people…or was it? I don’t know anymore.

I think it’s a little bit of both.

Each day I feel like we’ve fallen into a particular crossover of the Arrowverse.

Crisis On Earth: Never Ending

What we really need is a “real” Arrow. Notice that I said “Arrow” and not “Green Arrow”…?

I did. And I agree with you. I often think about writing a comic or TV show about someone who targets the people who are destroying our society/country — but doubt I’d ever be able to get any traction with it.

I sincerely hope that we are wrong about it being too late. The heroes that you write and create are a shining light in the distance. 🙏🏻🏹💚

Thank you.

Travis H writes:

I feel like there is so little I could add because this was stated so succinctly and perfectly.

Thank you for saying so.

As one topic was addressed, my mind would instantly jump ahead, and sure enough a sentence or two later that point was made precisely. Where do we go from here?

It’s a great question. Upon reflection, the only answer — I think — is some kind of mass uprising like a general strike. But even then, I’m not sure what it would accomplish. The problem often is that the more people involved, the more “demands” there are, and the more demands there are, the more diffuse the action becomes, and the more diffuse the action, the lower the likelihood of success.

So, to take a general strike as an example, it would have to be something like: “We’re on strike until Trump is removed from office” and limited to just that so as to avoid “mission creep.”

All in all, highly unlikely.

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STAR WARS: JEDI KNIGHTS

The tenth and final issue of Jedi Knights dropped this past Wednesday. I’m really proud of this series and the fact that we did all ten issues with the same creative team — a near-impossibility in the current comic book climate.

Bleeding Cool had a preview:

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YEAR IN REVIEW

As has become my custom, here’s a rundown of all the work I did in 2025. There were a lot of revisions and rewrites this year, but I’ve decided to keep them off the list and recall first drafts. As always, a few projects I haven’t spoken about here before are scattered within:

JANUARY

• Star Wars: Jedi Knights #8 (comic book script)

• Bring On the Bad Guys (series outline)

• PROJECT SPEED (feature film pitch)

• Bring On the Bad Guys: Doom (comic book script)

• Spider-Man & Wolverine #2 (comic book script)

FEBRUARY

• PROJECT SMALLS #2 (comic book script)

• Star Wars: Jedi Knights #9 (comic book script)

• PROJECT SUBURBAN (pitch for feature film rewrite)

MARCH

• Bring on the Bad Guys (comic book scripts for five back-up stories)

• Justice League: Dark Tomorrow (comic book pitch)

• Star Wars: Jedi Knights #10 (comic book script)

• PROJECT MASQUERADE (TV pitch)

• Pitch for a movie that didn’t sell

• Spider-Man & Wolverine #3 (script)

APRIL

• Bring on the Bad Guys: Mephisto (comic book script)

• PROJECT VISTA (TV pitch)

• Justice League: Dark Tomorrow (comic book script)

• Spider-Man & Wolverine #4 (comic book script)

MAY

• Spider-Man & Wolverine #5 (comic book script)

• PROJECT SMALLS #3 (comic book script)

• PROJECT NEW EARTH (graphic novel script — co-written)

JUNE

• PROJECT DETROIT (feature film pitch)

• PROJECT VISTA (Season One outline — co-written)

• BILLY JOEL (spec screenplay for feature)

• PROJECT SMALLS #4 (comic book script)

• PROJECT SPECTRE (novel manuscript)

• PROJECT WATER BUGS (story area for TV pilot — co-written with my wife)

• PROJECT FEDERAL (story area for TV pilot)

JULY

• Spider-Man & Wolverine #6 (comic book script)

• PROJECT VISTA Ep. 101 (script)

• Spider-Man & Wolverine #7 (comic book plot/script hybrid)

• PROJECT FEDERAL (outline for TV pilot)

AUGUST

• X-O Manowar (comic book script — 8 pages)

• Spider-Man & Wolverine #8 (comic book plot/script hybrid)

• PROJECT SUBURBAN (feature film)

• Script for a yet-to-be-announced 8-page story for DC Comics

• Star Wars: Jar Jar (synopsis for comic book — co-written with Ahmed Best)

• PROJECT RECURSION #5 (comic book script)

SEPTEMBER

• Pitch for a movie that didn’t sell

• PROJECT CANNONBALL (pitch document for feature film — co-written)

• Spider-Man & Wolverine #9 (comic book script)

• PROJECT MAPMAKER (beat sheet for animated film)

OCTOBER

• PROJECT WATER BUGS (script for TV pilot — co-written with my wife)

• PROJECT VISTA Ep. 108 (TV script)

• Spider-Man & Wolverine #10 (comic book script)

• PROJECT FEDERAL (script for TV pilot)

• PROJECT SMALLS #5 (comic book script)

NOVEMBER

• Nothing new. Just rewrites and revisions.

DECEMBER

• Persona (prose short story — 9k words)

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COMING IN 2026

I have a pair of comic book projects that are coming out next year but they haven’t been announced yet. Here’s the stuff that’s coming your way in ‘26:

SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE Vol. 1: The Janus Directory (January 20, 2026)

STAR WARS: JAR JAR (February 11, 2026)

STAR WARS: JEDI KNIGHTS Vol. 2: A Higher Path (April 14, 2026)

BRING ON THE BAD GUYS TPB (May 27, 2026)

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Happy New Year.

Be good to each other.

2025, don’t let the door hit you on the way out, asshole.

Best,

Marc

Encino, California

Netflix’s proposed takeover of Warner Bros. is an extinction level event for the entertainment industry — particularly if Netflix makes good on its vow to destroy the theatrical release of movies. (Okay, maybe it’s not a “vow” per se, but it’s definitely been their guiding philosophy.) Paramount has come in with a competing, hostile bid, but it’s not like they’d be any better for the health of the industry.

BTW, either conglomerate could alleviate the negative impact of a merger on the industry by committing to not cut staff or projects post-merger, promising to — essentially — run Warner Bros. like a separate, independent studio. (And Netflix could vow to respect theatrical windows for movies.) The problem is that any such assurances would ring — and be — hollow. When Disney was trying to acquire 20th Century Fox, they promised that they wouldn’t reduce 20th’s output… until they did precisely that. These CEOs will say anything to get their deals past federal regulators.

(Excuse me, I need to pause to laugh at the idea of federal oversight.)

Speaking of, in the past, neither of these proposed deals would be even a glimmer in a CEO’s eye given that they’re so obviously anti-competitive and clear-as-glass antitrust violations. But we functionally no longer have antitrust laws in this country. (And, no, that’s not because of Trump. This is a problem that started on the Democrats’ watch. Eric Holder, take a bow.)

I’ve definitely found myself feeling blue about these developments. But my despair is less centered around an already-broken business becoming more so than it is at the acceptance of the truth that we now live in a democracy (in name only) run by oligarchs.

Worse, there are no guardrails. No ways out. No fixes. No one, as I’ve written before, coming to save us. Agent Orange controls all three branches of government and presses a heavy thumb on the fourth estate as well.

And don’t get me started on those aforementioned Democrats.

I refuse to engage in the “both sides are horrible” rhetoric that has historically benefited Republicans, but at the same time one can avoid saying both sides are horrible and acknowledge that the Democrats have been, well, horrible. At best, they’re just woefully and irredeemably ineffective. “But they’re the minority party,” you say. “What can they really do?” To those asking that question, I direct you to how the Republicans acted as the minority party under Obama and Biden. That’s the playbook for being the opposition if one is interested in actually, y’know, opposing something. But the Democratic leadership has no interest in that. They either want to preserve their place on the trough or cling to an extinct notion of “bipartisanism.” Many times, it’s both.

So what’s to be done about it?

I’ve written a variety of these thoughts in my head over the past couple of weeks, but I always get stuck at this point. Because, truly, I don’t think there is anything to be done. The oligarchs are all aligned with Trump and, as I said, Trump holds all the levels of power. Supreme Court, I’m especially looking at you. As a lawyer, I’m inclined to look to the judicial system for hope but given the systemic corruption of the Roberts Court there’s no hope to find.

Same with the media. Even before the media was subsumed by corporate interests, they were so afraid of having a left wing bias that they embraced an obvious right wing bias. And, yes, that was before our present American Oligarchy. The way the media has covered — or not — Trump’s obvious mental decline stands in shameful contrast with how they hammered Biden’s every stutter or Freudian slip.

So what’s to be done about it?

Again, I have no answers. Is there the possibility — if not likelihood — of a massive Blue Wave next year? Sure. All signs point to that. Except… the Midterms are almost a year away. How much damage can be done in 11 months? (For the answer, look at the past 11 months.) And who’s to say that Trump won’t rig the election — either directly or through the voter suppression tools the Supreme Court will have handed him by then. And even if Trump doesn’t engage in such measures (unlikely), House Speaker Mike Johnson can simply refuse to seat whichever Democrats get elected.

So what’s to be done about it?

Maybe the answer is… nothing. Maybe things are just too far gone. Maybe we’ve lost our democracy. Maybe the time to speak up — like when we allowed a conservative Supreme Court decide the outcome of a presidential election; or when we remained silent while Obama’s DOJ let so many corporate mergers go through; or when we let a congressman heckle the President during a joint session of Congress; or when we blithely accepted Mitch McConnell stonewalling Merrick Garland’s nomination; or when we allowed “but her emails” into the public discourse; or when we permitted an unpopular 78-year-old to run for president again; or when we let the aforementioned Mr. Garland prioritize his reputation over justice — is past.

Maybe this is our new normal.

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FEEDBACK

Norman Anderson writes:

Jedi Knights #9…cool! I wish HBO would have just let you guys do your idea for the Green Lantern show. I mean, really? You both have extremely fantastic track records when it comes to creating epically phenomenal shows. Have a wonderful week. I’m looking forward to the next newsletter.

Thanks so much. In the case of the Green Lantern series, we were the victims of the relatively recent (past 5 years) increase in corporate oversight. The days where studios just trusted writers and producers based on their track records are over.

(I’m just a ray of sunshine this week, aren’t I?)

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SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE #8

Spider-Man & Wolverine #8 dropped this past Wednesday and is getting a terrific response. In fact, the reaction to this arc overall has been really terrific. I wish I had launched the series with it — but I didn’t have the idea a year ago when I was starting.

Anyways, AIPT has a preview:

Be good to each other.

Best,

Marc

Encino, California

12.12.25

COMING ATTRACTIONS

A regularly-updated list of upcoming releases and events:

STAR WARS: JEDI KNIGHTS #10 (December 17, 2025)

SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE Volume 1 (January 20, 2026)

STAR WARS: JAR JAR (February 11, 2026)

STAR WARS: JEDI KNIGHTS Volume 2 (April 14, 2026)

BRING ON THE BAD GUYS TPB (May 27, 2026)

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Greetings from Mid Wilshire, where I’m hard at work on PROJECT VISTA. Yesterday, I delivered the Network Draft of PROJECT FEDERAL.

And I’m excited to say that we’ve found a publisher for my new novel. This one is definitely a departure for me and is written in a genre that I don’t have much familiarity with. I’m really excited about it.

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STAR WARS: JEDI KNIGHTS #9

Jedi Knights #9 drops today (11/19) and is the first part of about as close to a two-part story as I’m doing on this book. This issue and the next wraps up the ongoing Corlis Rath storyline and alternates between the pre-Phantom Menace “present” and flashbacks to the days when Qui Gon-Jinn was a Padawan learner under the mysterious Count Dooku.

AIPT has a preview:

SHOOTING MY MOUTH OFF (POPVERSE EDITION)

Last week, Popverse published two articles: An oral history of the Brand New Day era of Spider-Man and another on the ill-fated Green Lantern show Greg Berlanti and I were doing for HBO.

The Green Lantern article can be found here. It’s my first time speaking publicly about what befell that show.

Unfortunately, the Brand New Day piece is behind a paywall. But if you’re so inclined, you can check that one out here.

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That’s it for me this week. Sorry for the short edition. More post-Thanksgiving.

Best,

Marc

Mid Wilshire, Los Angeles, California

11.19.25

COMING ATTRACTIONS

A regularly-updated list of upcoming releases and events:

SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE #8 (December 10, 2025)

STAR WARS: JEDI KNIGHTS #10 (December 17, 2025)

SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE Volume 1 (January 20, 2026)

STAR WARS: JAR JAR (February 11, 2026)

STAR WARS: JEDI KNIGHTS Volume 2 (April 14, 2026)

BRING ON THE BAD GUYS TPB (May 27, 2026)

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