Marvel Now 2017 Spoilers: Covers Up To Secret Empire #6 Of 9 Issue 2017 Mini-Series; After Generations, No Marvel Event Until At Least 2019!

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Marvel Now 2017, Secret Empire and Generations spoilers follow.

During the controversial retailer summit with Marvel executives, chronicled by ICv2, Marvel’s combative Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing, David Gabriel attempted to reassure worried retailers concerned about poor Marvel sales and event fatigue.

Gabriel indicated that “you guys will be happy to know that at the end of Secret Empire, we do not have any big crossover event scheduled. We haven’t even talked about one for 18 months, at the very least. Those will be away for quite a while.” That puts us into at least the year 2019 until Marvel’s next event. 2018 will be Marvel event free.

This followed David Gabriel explaining that the reason Marvel will also have another event called Generations in the middle of the Secret Empire event was not because they had a great creative reason to have that mini-series, but because it simply an editorial edict to improve sales for Marvel and retailers as early issues of events like Secret Empire do well, but there is a naturally attrition after that. Generations will help bump sales of Marvel Comics as Secret Empire winds down and does less sales by each issue.

An exasperated Gabriel told retailers that with “Secret Empire, you’ve got four months. I can guarantee you in the last two months the sales are going to go down, because they do on every event, in every story, and everything we do. We have to look at that and say, ‘We need something to prop up those last two months, not just for us but for all of you.’ That’s where the sales idea of Generations came from (it was more editorial). Then we’re getting into the end of our year. You’re going to have Secret Empire, which is going to be down. You’re going to have Generations in the second month in September which is going to be down because of the way things go. We sat back and said, “Well, what’s an easy thing to get out?

Like with David Gabriel’s much publicized and maligned comments on diversity at Marvel not being profitable, I wonder if these comments will also hurt sales of the initial issues of Secret Empire and Generations?

With that, we also have the gorgeous cover to main Secret Empire event with covers for the 9 issues mini-series having its covers up to Secret Empire #6 by Mark Brooks released. However, as you can see from the below, the Secret Empire event is actually an 11 issue event mini-series opening with Secret Empire’s Free Comic Book Day 2017 (FCBD 2017) issues plus Secret Empire #0. Add tpb that a trade paperback call Road to Secret Empire, that collects key Marvel issues from the last few years that are important leads into for the event, the event gets quite expensive, but, wow, those Mark Brooks main covers are gorgeous.

Those don’t include all the various tie-ins to regular ongoing Marvel series and event one-shots / mini-series that with the core Secret Empire event mini-series for the month of June 2017 includes almost 20 Secret Empire titles.

It’s not all doom and gloom creatively though. You can be upset that the cosmic cube was used to recreate reality so Captain America was always a Hydra agent, but Steve Rogers’ Secret Empire costume(s) [yes, plural] seems cool and the event will feature the return of Ares! Plus we can expect the Winter Soldier to have a big role in the event.

With that, below are the covers by Mark Brooks from Secret Empire #6 down.

Plus the lead-in tpb.

Are you excited for Secret Empire and Generations?

Will David Gabriel’s impact sales of both negatively?

Does the year and half, 18 months moratorium on Marvel events post Secret Empire, comfort you?

Let us know.

John is a long-time pop culture fan, comics historian, and blogger. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief at Comics Nexus. Prior to being EIC he has produced several column series including DEMYTHIFY, NEAR MINT MEMORIES and the ONE FAN'S TRIALS at the Nexus plus a stint at Bleeding Cool producing the COMICS REALISM column. As BabosScribe, John is active on his twitter account, his facebook page, his instagram feed and welcomes any and all feedback. Bring it on!