Sundays are known for folks gathering around tables on television and pontificating about some of the hottest topics out there, offering their expertise. We bring that tradition to Graphic Policy as the team gathers to debate in our Sunday Roundtable.

On tap this week?

Mr. H: I think without a doubt the anticipation and success of Star Wars was the biggest story of 2015. For 2016 I’m hoping for more cohesive runs for DC and Marvel and the continued success of the genre. However that latest Batman v Superman trailer did not instill me with the best confidence at the moment..

Brett: Yeah, this is definitely the year for Star Wars. Hell, the AP named it the Entertainer of the Year.

Elana: That’s all true Mr. H.

I think the other big story was this was a huge year for female protagonists even if Marvel and DC weren’t putting us on the big screen.

Alex: I agree with you there, Elana. I think that of the three mentioned in the Salon.com headline, Rey is by far the most important of the three; she starred in a more child friendly movie that has been blowing the records out of the water left and right and (if I could italicize here I would Brett can you do it when you compile the post?) she more than holds her own against some of the franchises biggest names.

Myself, I think that something that should at least be in the discussion of being big news for comics is Bill Finger finally getting his name in the “Batman Created By…” byline that you can find in any new comics, movies, and one would presume videogames that have been released since I believe around October.

Ever since I found out about Bill Finger, it’s something that I’ve been posting about on my own blog karcossa.wordpress.com (apologies for the shameless plug). That DC have finally taken a step in the right direction is fantastic.

Brett: Yeah, its taken a while, but some right has been done.

A big story I think is both Marvel and DC rebooting/relaunching and it being really mixed with what looks like pushback from readers. DC has gotten critical praise for a lot of books but mediocre sales, and generally Marvel’s relaunch hasn’t delivered a big sales boost. There’s a big gap out there for someone, but no one has filled it, which may be the story for 2016.

Alex: I’d love to see Valiant get more love next year. I’ve found myself drifting more toward them over the year and away from the Marvel and DC.

Paul: One thing I’ve noticed and seen mentioned, but not making major headlines, is Marvel/Disney cutting out their major female characters from marketing and merchandise. Like are you kidding me? Avengers: Age of Ultron comes along, and we see zero to little Black Widow merch? And now THE most anticipated movie of the year drops in The Force Awakens and where is Rey? One or two items MAYBE but come on, nowhere near seeing the love other characters are getting on the shelves. Very disappointed in Marvel and especially Disney for these moves. Sure, they have their princesses to cash in on…but when will they realize that not all little girls want to be under the sea or wearing glass slippers? Some of them want to be in Avengers tower or in a galaxy far far away…shame on you Marvel/Disney. HUGE opportunities missed here.

Brett: While I agree about Age of Ultron, I think the Rey stuff is very unfair and what’s going around is factually wrong. A lot has focused on toys and she’s actually represented a lot in the toys. Folks seem to ignore exclusives and how releases work with that as well as toys coming out in waves. This seemed to blow up due to a Target exclusive, ignoring Toys R Us had an exclusive figure that’d have factored in to it. I was at a store two weeks ago and there was a lot of stuff with Rey. That’s all a rant for another day.

Paul: I was only going by the things I had read; I’m glad to hear there is more out there. I stand corrected

Brett: That’s a whole discussion for another day, so we’ll shelve the discussion for now. Everyone has some great suggestions. What do you readers think is the biggest story? Sound off in the comments below!