DC Comics

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DC Comics as we know it, and the DC Universe streaming service were both effectively killed today by AT&T. There's a lot of rumors and articles floating around, but:

Much of the DC Comics editorial staff is gone. DC Direct (their statue and toys line), is dead. Word is that they've been ordered to effectively phase out of comic book shops entirely and focus on digital (Comixology, etc.), and bookstores. It's extremely ugly.


From Hollywood Reporter:

The majority of staff of the streaming service DC Universe has been laid off, as has editor-in-chief Bob Harras and multiple other executives on the publishing side.

Monday's WarnerMedia layoffs have affected a significant number of high-level figures at comic book powerhouse DC, multiple sources tell The Hollywood Reporter.

Among those said to be losing their positions are editor-in-chief Bob Harris, senior VP of publishing strategy and support services Hank Kanalz, VP of marketing and creative services Jonah Weiland, VP global publishing initiatives and digital strategy Bobbie Chase, senior story editor Brian Cunningham, and executive editor Mark Doyle, who oversaw the rollout of the Black Label graphic novels. Jim Lee remains the CCO.

Roughly one third of DC's editorial ranks are being laid off, according to sources.

Insiders also say the majority of the staff of the streaming service DC Universe has been laid off, a move that had been widely expected as WarnerMedia shifts its focus to new streaming service HBO Max.

"DC Universe was DOA as soon as the AT&T merger happened,” said one source.
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From Bleeding Cool:

Earlier today, Bleeding Cool posted the news that DC Comics staffers, along with the rest of Warner Bros were undergoing a downsizing of staff. At the time, we were lead to believe that the brunt would be felt by DC Universe, as part of an alignment of streaming services being offered. But instead, it became rapidly clear that DC Comics editorial was being targeted in a major way for such changes. With everyone describing this as the DC Bloodbath – or New DC Implosion – and on a Monday as well.

This New DC Implosion seems to have all-but-confirmed the departure of Mark Doyle, Executive Editor at DC Black Label. Other named, repeatedly now, include DC Editor-In-Chief Bob Harras. Vice President, Global Publishing Initiatives & Digital Strategy Bobbie Chase. DC Editor Andy Khouri, DC Senior Story Editor Brian Cunningham, and SVP Publishing Strategy & Support Services at DC, Hank Kanalz. That DC Collectibles will be wound up as a line of statues and toys, with the rights licensed elsewhere to the like of Mattel or Hasbro.

But we are now getting a better shape as to what DC Comics will be looking like going forward. Because, as to whether Jim Lee remains as COO and Publisher, I am told that he will be transitioning out of that role, with current Executive Editor of Global Publishing Initiatives & Digital Strategy at DC Comics Marie Javins and Vice President and Executive Editor, DC Children's/Young Adult Michele Wells promoted, effectively running publishing, and reporting to Jim. For now.

But I have also been told that Eddy Choi, Executive Assistant to Jim Lee, Sandy Resnick, International Publishing, Ad Sales & Custom Creative Studio and Sara Haskell, Marketing Director are out. As are Michael Shelling, Director of Publicity (Publishing) at DC. Jonah Weiland, VP of Marketing & Creative Services and Jim Sokolowski, VP, Comic Book Specialty & Newsstand Sales, have also been laid off.

[...]
But I am told that these layoffs will have an immediate effect on the publication of DC Comics monthly titles, and I am to expect a rapid reduction of titles. If you thought DC Comics published an unhealthy percentage of Batman books, you ain't seen nothing yet. The Batbooks, most of the Justice League books and some of the Superman books will stay safe, as will the digital line, the original graphic novel line. But a lot of comics will have to disappear as there simply aren't enough people to work on them. Scott Snyder will be very grateful for Marie Javins' elevated role…

Because the plan is for publishing to definitely continue, but I am to expect a greater emphasis on digital and bookstore rather than the comic book shop, for now at least.
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From Comics Beat:

The end of DC Collectibles, if true, is also huge and telling. While I’m not going to run any more names until I have more concrete information, from everything I’m hearing this is a huge and significant downsizing of DC’s publishing operations that will have huge ripple effects across the entire COVID-scarred comics industry landscape. It’s impossible to see this as anything but a huge sign of disinterest in the comics publishing business by AT&T, WarnerMedia and the Global Brands division. While other WB divisions also faced severe layoffs, losing such a huge swath of the executive leadership at DC is a lot more than just more layoffs.
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I've been reading up on that -certainly a rollercoaster of an afternoon.

Expect something similar with Marvel any day now as soon as Disney realizes its a money pit that's been actively undermining the success of the films.
 
TristramEvans said:
I've been reading up on that -certainly a rollercoaster of an afternoon.

Expect something similar with Marvel any day now as soon as Disney realizes its a money pit that's been actively undermining the success of the films.
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Yeah. With DC Comics phasing out of comic book shops, I can't see Marvel being far behind. Even if they don't follow, I can't see comic book shops being able to solely rely on Marvel. This pretty much spells the end of comic book shops as well.
 
Apparition said:
Yeah. With DC Comics phasing out of comic book shops, I can't see Marvel being far behind. Even if they don't follow, I can't see comic book shops being able to solely rely on Marvel. This pretty much spells the end of comic book shops as well.
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The world of my childhood is dying, and I don't know how to feel about that
 
Rumor is that the DC Comics collections department (i.e. those who make and publish the hardcover and trade paperback collections), has been severely cut as well. The supposed plan for DC Comics now is no more collections of old material like the Silver Age omnibuses and to phase out of the monthly floppy market, and to now focus on digital serial comic books which will then be eventually collected into hardcover and sold at bookstores, and original graphic novels. The DC Comics collection department was severely cut because they no longer need to painstakingly restore old material (who reads old comic books am I right?), and just easily collect and package the new digital comic books for bookstores.
 
Yikes. I feel really bad for all those comic book shops out there. I actually grew up on spinner racks in drug and grocery stores and never really knew the wonders of comic shops until I was in high school. So nostalgia doesn’t really tie into my feelings on shops, I just don’t like people losing their jobs.
 
Apparition said:
The DC Comics collection department was severely cut because they no longer need to painstakingly restore old material (who reads old comic books am I right?), and just easily collect and package the new digital comic books for bookstores.
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Keep in mind they already have restored nearly everything they have the rights to from 1938 through the 1960s at least, and even more for saleable properties like Batman. There isn't a lot of need for a department to do what has already been done. They've marketed their Golden and Silver Age superhero stuff ad infinitum at this point. What's really missing is a lot of the Bronze Age material and the material there is hardly a market for, like their Westerns, funny animals, and war comics.
 
Honestly I don't have much issue with phasing out floppies, a format that stopped making sense by the 90s, and moving to digital and the real growth markets of TBPs and bookstores.

But cutting classic reprints would suck. I honestly kinda doubt that rumour and suspect it may just be fear mongering.

Even the evil corporations that now own all the classic film studios actually do a pretty good job of keeping the classic American films of the 30s-70s available in high quality, restored blu-rays. Or at least let the boutique blu-ray companies put them out.

Perhaps these corporations recognize the cultural value of film moreso than comics but considering the money made off of comics over the last number of years I would suspect even the suits have come around.

The loss of comicbook shops will suck though, the best shops I think aren't as reliant just on superhero comics but I'm sure that is still their bread and butter. You never know though, second-hand bookstores have proved more reslient than most would have thought.
 
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Dumarest said:
What's really missing is a lot of the Bronze Age material and the material there is hardly a market for, like their Westerns, funny animals, and war comics.
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Fantagraphics have done a great job reissuing classic EC horror and war comics so I wonder if they may license it to them.
 
Excellent link Ladybird Ladybird, very insightful both about this situation and the often limited viewpoints of fandom.
 
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I call b.s.! Ace the Bat-Hound had no forebears and was created from whole cloth when divine inspiration struck Bill Finger and Sheldon Moldoff!
BatmanFamilyFrom1961.jpg
(And Bob Kane really drew this!)​
 
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Chris Brady said:
But people will still not be able to use it, as Trademarks don't really expire and that can mess things up.
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They'll be able to use things in the stories that have entered the public domain, but that's it. It'll be interesting to see if Community Superman and Community Batman wind up going in a completely different direction and take off
 
You'll be able to use the original Superman, Lois Lane, and the Daily Star, but not Metropolis as that didn't appear until Sept. 1939 and no Jimmy Olsen (Nov. 1938) or Perry White (Nov. 1940) for a little while.
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Of course, anyone with taste would rather use Captain Marvel.
Whiz22.jpg​
 
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It's worth noting the Fleischer Superman cartoons have been in the public domain for a while

In the heyday of DVDs, there were like a dozen or more collections of it being sold by different companies

Why is this important? Because they all used the image of Superman and the original logo on the covers
 
TristramEvans said:
um....what?
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Yeah. I just had to take some Excedrin as I suddenly developed a strong headache after reading that.

My guess is that some WarnerMedia senior VP thought "Hrm... comic books. Comic books are for kids. Kids like video games. eSports are hip and trending. Let's get an eSports person!"
 
ill-tell-you.gif
 
Hmm...just before this there are 666 replies. DC's address until the '90s was 666 Fifth Avenue. Satanic influence explains Crisis on Infinite Earths and the deliberate undoing of everything that made DC special. Only Satan would take away Superman's red shorts, Wonder Woman's robot plane, and make Batman such an a-hole. It all makes sense now. :devil:
 
This is an older story, but I'm cleaning out some of my saved links and figured I'd share for anyone here who missed it (if nothing else as a reminder of a better time)

io9.gizmodo.com

Behold the Batman '89 Comic That DC Rejected Because They Hate Joy

I mean, we’ve already had the (dearly missed) Batman ‘66. Why not homage another classic Batman adaptation with its own comic book series? Alas, somehow DC Comics said no to this fantastic pitch from Joe Quinones and Kate Leth based on the beloved 1989 Batman movie.
io9.gizmodo.com io9.gizmodo.com
 
Apparition said:
Yeah. I just had to take some Excedrin as I suddenly developed a strong headache after reading that.

My guess is that some WarnerMedia senior VP thought "Hrm... comic books. Comic books are for kids. Kids like video games. eSports are hip and trending. Let's get an eSports person!"
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Reads to me like they're bringing in someone younger with a background in running a digital content focused business.
 
Ladybird said:
Reads to me like they're bringing in someone younger with a background in running a digital content focused business.
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Without realizing that they're different markets. Typical clueless Executive behaviour.
 
The Hollywood Reporter interviewed Jim Lee about the state of DC Comics today.

Yes, there will be more Batman — John Ridley, who won an Oscar for penning 12 Years a Slave, is writing a Batman mini-series (“It will have a huge impact on the rest of the line,” Lee says) — and there will also be the return of Milestone, a label that features under-represented heroes and creators.

[...] That said, we will be reducing the size of the slate. But it’s about looking at everything and looking at the bottom 20 percent, 25 percent of the line that wasn’t breaking even or was losing money. It’s about more punch for the pound, so to speak, and increasing the margins of the books that we are doing. It was about aligning the books to the franchise brand content we’ve developed and making sure that every book we put out, we put out for a reason.

[...] We are bringing in a general manager to the organization. My role, the way it was envisioned 10 years ago, was that I would always have a partner that would focus on the operational side. The general manager we’re bringing in has a wealth of marketing experience, global partnership experience, general business development experience. That person will start in September.

[...] The original content that is on DCU is migrating to HBO Max. Truthfully, that’s the best platform for that content. The amount of content you get, not just DC , but generally from WarnerMedia, is huge and it’s the best value proposition, if I’m allowed to use that marketing term. We feel that is the place for that.

In regards to the community and experience that DCU created, and all the backlist content, something like 20.000 to 25,000 different titles, and the way it connected with fans 24-7, there is always going to be a need for that. So we’re excited to transform it and we’ll have more news on what that will look like. It’s definitely not going away.

[...] You’ll definitely see more international content. You’re going to see more digital content. When you talk about growing our business, both physical and digital, to me the opportunities are global. That’s what we’ll be focusing on. Sometimes that takes the form of content that we take here and translate and sell in other marketplaces, but we want to partner with creatives in various territories and unlock stories that feel authentic to their marketplaces with characters that they can embrace as their own, and look for opportunities to take those characters and seed them throughout all our mythology.

[...] We’re using that as a model as we go out and do more digital content. We’ll take the most successful books and repackage it as physical books .I think there is definitely business to be had in physical periodicals. But that said, I think there’s greater upside in digital because we can go to a more global audiences and the barrier to entry, especially in this pandemic, is lower. It’s a lot easier to get digital content into the hands of consumers that want to read stories. We want to lean into that and think thoughtfully what digital content should be, what it should look like, the format.
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It's basically confirmed all of the rumors and leaks from earlier in the week.
 
Yeah, been following this and other contractions & drama on the Youtubes. :thumbsdown:

Hugs to DC fans, but this hug has been going on for years now it seems. :sad: Like a beloved relative in hospice. A pity when it seems self-inflicted as they often chased bad trends from Marvel. That and the stupid universe reboots didn't help.
 
opaopajr said:
Yeah, been following this and other contractions & drama on the Youtubes. :thumbsdown:

Hugs to DC fans, but this hug has been going on for years now it seems. :sad: Like a beloved relative in hospice. A pity when it seems self-inflicted as they often chased bad trends from Marvel. That and the stupid universe reboots didn't help.
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DC is well known for reboots, often having to do them whenever they write themselves into a corner. Like Superboy. They thought it would be easy to write him out, but then forgot that he was integral to the Legion of Superheroes. So they had to write him back in in another way, which ended up confusing the issue and then more issues leading to the next 'crisis' and the next, and the next.

But Marvel's reboot, that was odd. Not only that, it was UNNECESSARY! Battleworld didn't need to happen. The MCU was supposedly opening the door to a new market (No it wasn't, it's two different audiences and they don't care*) so why did they feel the need to remake the 616?






*Common argument that is made is how Kids/Parents would come into comic shops asking for say Iron Man, only to be handed a comic with RIri Williams. Which is a nice fallacy once you find out that Iron Man 1 came out in 2008 and Riri was created in 2015. There's a seven year gap no one seems to account for.
 
Stevethulhu said:
That's exactly how I feel about the last round of Star Wars movies.
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I love Star Wars, Star Trek and Comics, among other things, and all of them seem to be under attack. Star Wars is effectively dead, reduced to a single television level show.

Star Trek has been losing money so hard that it's also effectively dead, although they're announcing new shows (which is a Alex Kurtzman/Secret Hideout tactic to try and bully money from potential investors), no one is picking up the international distribution for either Star Trek Lower Decks and the alleged final season of Discovery.

Marvel Comics has been going down the drain for the last 10 years, and DC is effectively gone. Hell, Jim Lee just came out and claimed that Comics are effectively a Hollywood script farm now!

How do you think I feel.

(Like I'm back in High School)
 
Chris Brady said:
I love Star Wars, Star Trek and Comics, among other things, and all of them seem to be under attack. Star Wars is effectively dead, reduced to a single television level show.

Star Trek has been losing money so hard that it's also effectively dead, although they're announcing new shows (which is a Alex Kurtzman/Secret Hideout tactic to try and bully money from potential investors), no one is picking up the international distribution for either Star Trek Lower Decks and the alleged final season of Discovery.

Marvel Comics has been going down the drain for the last 10 years, and DC is effectively gone. Hell, Jim Lee just came out and claimed that Comics are effectively a Hollywood script farm now!

How do you think I feel.

(Like I'm back in High School)
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I've seen a few things about these long term franchises, including Trek, which was once known as THE Franchise. About how they're basically being treated like corporations to be raided. 40+ year loyal fanbases ignored in favour of 'new' fans. Despite proven loyalty and millions of spent money units.

We live in strange times.
 
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