The Comic Book Industry Reacts To Brian Michael Bendis Joining DC Comics

Yesterday saw the biggest comics industry shift in talent in years, and members of that industry have taken noticed.

On Tuesday morning, DC Comics announced that it had signed Brian Michael Bendis, an architect of the Marvel Universe for more than 15 years, to an exclusive, multiyear contract.

“We are beyond thrilled to welcome Brian Michael Bendis exclusively to the DC family with a multiyear, multi-faceted deal,” DC’s statement reads. “He’s one of the premier writers in the industry, having created so many unforgettable stories wherever he’s been and we can’t wait to see what he has planned for the DC Universe.”

Bendis himself confirmed the news, retweeting the DC Comics announcement.

“This is real,” Bendis tweeted. “I love you all. Change is good. Change is healthy. I am bursting with ideas and inspirations. Details to come! Stay tuned!”

Later in the day, Marvel Comics provided ComicBook.com with a statement in response to the news.

“Brian is a great partner and has contributed incredible stories and characters to the Marvel Universe over the years,” Marvel’s statement said. “We appreciate his creativity and professionalism, and we wish him the best on his future projects.”

Bendis has received multiple Eisner Awards for his work at Marvel Comics, work that includes reinventing Spider-Man in Ultimate Spider-Man, a critically-acclaimed run on Daredevil, practically rebooting the entire Avengers franchise, and creating characters like Jessica Jones and Miles Morales.

With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that it wasn’t just Marvel Comics as a publisher that took notice of Bendis’s move. Bendis’s colleagues in the comics industry – writers and artists working for DC Comics, Marvel, and others – took to social media to comment on this moment in comic book history.

Here are some of the most notable responses.

Geoff Johns, Rob Liefeld, Greg Pak

DC Comics president and chief creative officer Geoff Johns, who has been seen by many fans as Bendis’s opposite number at DC Comics, is looking forward to working with Bendis.

Deadpool, Cable, and X-Force creator Rob Liefeld thanked Bendis for “making comics great again.”

Greg Pak, Bendis’s Marvel colleague who wrote the “Planet Hulk” storyline in the pages of Incredible Hulk and the World War Hulk event that followed, offered Bendis congratulations and a joke about superhero names.

Phil Hester, Chip Zdarsky, Dan Slott, Scott Snyder

Creators Phil Hester and Chip Zdarsky both made jokers about Bendis’s move.

Spider-Man writer Dan Slott also lead with a humorous comment, but then got a bit more serious.

And Batman writer Scott Snyder is eager to work alongside Bendis.