Marvel Comics to Leave New York and Move Staffers to L.A.

After calling the Big Apple home for almost 90 years, Marvel Comics is moving out of New York City. And heading to Hollywood.

The relocation was revealed to staff at a town hall Thursday at Marvel’s New York office in Midtown, where employees were informed that its publishing division will be pulling up stakes and transferring operations to Burbank, California, the current headquarters of Marvel Studios and corporate parent, The Walt Disney Company.

The development is accompanied by a changing of the guard at the top. Stephen Wacker, a respected veteran comics editor who also earned an Emmy nomination for his work in the company’s forays in animation, has been named Marvel’s new editor-in-chief, replacing outgoing chief C.B. Cebulski, who had steered the division since 2017. Cebulski will still remain part of the family, however, as he will be moving to Japan to spearhead the company’s push into manga, among others things, as editor, Asia originals.

Both changes are meant to reinvigorate the comic book side of the company, which has been overshadowed in recent years by the success of Marvel’s movies, and by a creative slump that saw it lose its position as comics market share leader for the first time this century. Marvel chief Kevin Feige’s installing of the new leadership and the relocation of its comics side to Disney’s Burbank base represents a long-term investment in what he believes underpins the source of Marvel’s storytelling.

Presiding over the town hall were Feige and the publishing unit’s new leaders, Marvel’s head of television, animation, comics and franchise Brad Winderbaum and David Abdo, newly installed as general manager, comics and franchise.

“This move will position the team beside our broader creative organization and create opportunities for collaboration across both Marvel and Disney,” stated Winderbaum and Abdo in a letter that was sent companywide after the town hall and obtained by The Hollywood Reporter. “Bringing our comics, film, television, and other creative teams together will help us learn from one another, collaborate, and build on the strengths that make Marvel the true House of Ideas.”

The move to California is seismic. New York City is considered the birth place of the comic book industry and the company’s earlier incarnations, Timely Comics and Altas Comics, were headquartered on 42nd Street. New York is where most of Marvel’s classic creators, including Stan Lee, Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko, resided. It is also where most of its key heroes – the Fantastic Four, the Avengers – lived; Spider-Man is perhaps the most New York hero of them all.

The move also now leaves the Empire City without a major comic publisher. Rival DC left town in 2015 for Warner Bros.’ Burbank batcave.

The decision to move had been months in the making. For one, the current New York office lease at its Avenue of the Americas location is set to expire next year, which made a relocation decision necessary. But the company also sought to explore the idea of combining all of Marvel’s businesses in one city, something that had not occurred since before Disney bought the company in 2009.

When the new Marvel Comics leadership came on board in May, it began meeting with staff in the New York office to assess the feasibility of such a combination. As part of that process, they conducted an audit of where comic creators are based.

And where once most creators lived in the Tri-State area, today’s creator community is global. And among the U.S.-based contingent, more are located in California than in New York

“New York has played a huge part in who Marvel is as a company, and in the pages of our comics,” wrote Winderbaum and Abdo in their company letter. “While our network of writers and artists is now an international operation, New York is still woven into our DNA and that will never change. Our colleagues in New York have helped shape generations of stories and characters, and their contributions to Marvel’s legacy cannot be overstated.”  

Marvel is now seeking to have all of the New York based employees of the comics and franchise group, just over 100 people, relocate to California by July 2027. Marvel will begin hosting orientation sessions for those employees and their families beginning next week.

“We sincerely hope they choose to continue that journey with us in California,” wrote Winderbaum and Abdo. “We are committed to supporting every affected employee throughout this transition, which will take place over the next 12 months.”

Among those joining the Burbank headquarters will be Wacker, who is making his Marvel return after leaving the company in the early 2020s to lead Jonathan Hickman’s worldbuilding project 3W3M and then co-founding the entertainment studio Stone Kite.

A beloved editor with strong talent relationships, Wacker spent over fifteen years at Marvel, overseeing Spider-Man comic runs that included the best-selling “Brand New Day” and “Superior Spider-Man” eras. He was also editor on Daredevil and Hawkeye when those titles won Eisner Awards and was involved in the introduction of Kamala Khan, also known as Ms. Marvel.

Wacker also has extensive experience across Marvel’s animation, television and digital media divisions. Among other things, he co-produced the Emmy-nominated Rocket & Groot animated series in 2017 and also executive produced the successful Wastelanders audio series for Marvel. 

Cebulski leaves as the third longest tenured editor-in-chief in Marvel’s nearly 90-year history. He recently oversaw the relaunch of the Ultimate Universe and was involved in the “Krakoan Age” of X-Men comics. The editor has strong ties to Japan and spearheaded a manga partnership with Shonen Jump, creating titles like Deadpool Samurai and Spider-Man: Octo-Girl.

Wacker will report to Winderbaum and Cebulski will be part of Wacker’s global leadership team.