How're You Enjoying Geoff Johns as DC's Chief Creative Officer?

[Ascended]

So I've been fairly critical of Johns the last few years. Seriously, I hate how "Comic Book Guy" I sound when talking about him. I used the love the guy, I just feel like he jumped the shark after Sinestro Corps War (with Aquaman being an exception). But I gotta say, I was thinking about it today and since he took control of DC's creative direction a lot of good stuff has happened. I dont know how much credit he deserves for DC's recent wins, because I have no idea how things have been put together behind those doors, but I feel like many of the changes have his fingerprints on them to one degree or another.

Overall, Rebirth has been a huge success. Fans seem largely happy, market-share is solid (far as I know), reviews are largely positive. Not overwhelmingly of course, the DCU isn't perfect, but most everyone seems happier than they've been in a while. I even feel like the whole Watchmen/Rebirth subplots have been better received than usual.

He made nice with Tony Isabella, getting the guy back to write a new mini with DC's original PoC hero. That's good press. And good timing, given the tv show coming soon.

And rumor is Waid might be coming back too.

Young Animal is publishing some of the industry's best comics you're not reading. These books were always gonna be regulated to "cult classic" status.....and that's okay. I dare anyone to tell me Mister Miracle isn't one of the best things going.

They're about to launch a new line featuring a bunch of new, diverse characters. And I like that they're swinging big on this, with strong creator rights. It's a risk, but it's a good looking one.

Milestone is a thing again. Probably. I mean, we did get that update last month.

Hanna Barbara (is that how its spelled?) is doing a few things that people seem to really love. Flintstones. Who knew?

The television side of things is doing well. Wonder Woman did really, really well, though the movies are the weakest point for DC right now. That part really sucks since movies generate more revenue than all the rest of it combined.

And he just nabbed the biggest writer at Marvel. Whether you hate him or loathe him, stealing Bendis is a big move. And rumor is, Hickman and/or a few other Marvel hitters are coming over too. And Marvel's response? Announcing Lockjaw. Seriously, what Twilight Zone weirdness is this?

What're you guys thinking of Johns as CCO (or whatever title it is he's got)? Cause I gotta say, given what I know (and what I think I know), this guy is actually (perhaps surprisingly, for our more jaded posters) doing alright.

[Outside_85]

I'm not to be honest, because it seems that for everything Johns does right, there is also something he does very wrong.

[Jackalope89]

Overall? Yes. I like it. There's a few things I question, like the constant time travel arcs throughout, and the actual plans are for say, the Titans (Wally's history is gone, Donna has an evil future self, Roy being all stupid about confessing his feelings...), Nightwing (his team up with Huntress lasted all of 2 issues before getting a low blow), Batgirl (until the recent arc, you would think she was in a completely different city, then just a suburb of Gotham), and Justice League (though hopefully Priest will right that ship).

[BatmanJones]

Doing great on the comics and I wish he'd write more of them. I'm a fan. But his grade really depends a LOT on the JL movie. And even more on whatever shared universe movie (Flashpoint for example or a JL 2) comes next. That's been DC's one failing: their movies. They've given Johns the power (and the responsibility) to right a ship that badly needs righting. How he does with that will determine his job performance more than anything because there's so much more money in movies than any other thing. So DC is winning on everything else but losing the overall financial battle because Marvel has been so much more successful with their movies and are so much further ahead. It's insane to look at the releases for 2018. I think every single month has a new Marvel movie. DC has Aquaman. In December.

Diane Nelson got pushed out or down and wasn't happy about it and now it's on Johns to really produce, not just in the comics but in the movies too. And we're not getting another one for another 13 months? There will be another 8 Marvel movies by then at least while DC sits quiet, not even sure after test screenings if they're going forward with Flashpoint because they still don't know if they can count on Justice League. And Johns has played a huge role in Justice League and had plenty of opportunity for input into it. He's got his work cut out for him even if JL is a screaming hit, but I'm more and more worried as they seem less and less sure of it.

And there, again, I'm referring to the fact that they won't green light any shared-universe story until they know how people like Justice League. Shouldn't they have a pretty good idea about that by now?

[Lee Stone]

Doing great on the comics and I wish he'd write more of them. I'm a fan. But his grade really depends a LOT on the JL movie. And even more on whatever shared universe movie (Flashpoint for example or a JL 2) comes next. That's been DC's one failing: their movies. They've given Johns the power (and the responsibility) to right a ship that badly needs righting. How he does with that will determine his job performance more than anything because there's so much more money in movies than any other thing. So DC is winning on everything else but losing the overall financial battle because Marvel has been so much more successful with their movies and are so much further ahead. It's insane to look at the releases for 2018. I think every single month has a new Marvel movie. DC has Aquaman. In December.

Diane Nelson got pushed out or down and wasn't happy about it and now it's on Johns to really produce, not just in the comics but in the movies too. And we're not getting another one for another 13 months? There will be another 8 Marvel movies by then at least while DC sits quiet, not even sure after test screenings if they're going forward with Flashpoint because they still don't know if they can count on Justice League. And Johns has played a huge role in Justice League and had plenty of opportunity for input into it. He's got his work cut out for him even if JL is a screaming hit, but I'm more and more worried as they seem less and less sure of it.

And there, again, I'm referring to the fact that they won't green light any shared-universe story until they know how people like Justice League. Shouldn't they have a pretty good idea about that by now?

I wouldn't be surprised if he's assigned to oversee the digital media service that will be carrying Young Justice and other shows. Especially if there are plans for regular original releases.

[Jackalope89]

Doing great on the comics and I wish he'd write more of them. I'm a fan. But his grade really depends a LOT on the JL movie. And even more on whatever shared universe movie (Flashpoint for example or a JL 2) comes next. That's been DC's one failing: their movies. They've given Johns the power (and the responsibility) to right a ship that badly needs righting. How he does with that will determine his job performance more than anything because there's so much more money in movies than any other thing. So DC is winning on everything else but losing the overall financial battle because Marvel has been so much more successful with their movies and are so much further ahead. It's insane to look at the releases for 2018. I think every single month has a new Marvel movie. DC has Aquaman. In December.

Diane Nelson got pushed out or down and wasn't happy about it and now it's on Johns to really produce, not just in the comics but in the movies too. And we're not getting another one for another 13 months? There will be another 8 Marvel movies by then at least while DC sits quiet, not even sure after test screenings if they're going forward with Flashpoint because they still don't know if they can count on Justice League. And Johns has played a huge role in Justice League and had plenty of opportunity for input into it. He's got his work cut out for him even if JL is a screaming hit, but I'm more and more worried as they seem less and less sure of it.

And there, again, I'm referring to the fact that they won't green light any shared-universe story until they know how people like Justice League. Shouldn't they have a pretty good idea about that by now?

Johns is also writing the Titans series that's coming. And working on Doomsday Clock. And taking an active role in the overall DCEU.
He's a busy guy.

[BatmanJones]

Johns is also writing the Titans series that's coming. And working on Doomsday Clock. And taking an active role in the overall DCEU.
He's a busy guy.

And so far I give him an A+ on the comics. I'm only saying I don't think he'll be measured by the comics or Titans TV series nearly as much as what's about to happen (good or bad) when Justice League hits. Comics aren't big money and don't sell toys. Movies are and do. And it seems like that's what Johns was promoted to fix since that's what's been broken.

I expect his record on the movies over the next year is going to account for a lot more of his grade with his higher ups than Doomsday Clock is so he'd better hope JL is amazing or that he can magically cook up some more GREAT movies pronto. I don't see him staying in his current position wrt the film division if the perception hasn't changed a year from now. And that only gives us one movie: Justice League. If JL bombs and then we have a movie a month from Marvel all year, "But Aquaman is coming soon" isn't going to cut it.

I am wishing, hoping, and BELIEVING that JL WILL be great, despite the unsettling embargo news which smells enough like fear to worry me. For now I am dedicated with all my being to loving this movie. There's only so much I can do. I can only bring the enthusiasm and give them a lot of rope. I choose to believe my hopes and wishes will be reflected in Justice League being the best superhero movie yet. It doesn't have any business being anything but that.

Every superhero lover (including a lot of movie makers) has had forever to think about how to make the seminal Justice League movie. "It was better than the other ones" isn't enough for me. This movie has no business doing anything but being amazing.

[Vinsanity]

Don't really notice all that he does which is kind of a good thing.

[Ascended]

I agree that the success of the movies will have a big impact on how people look at Johns' career, now and in the future.

However, I feel like that's unfair to him. He can help producers and script writers on their story and dialogue, give directors and actors insight into the properties and characters they're dealing with, and otherwise do everything possible to make the films good.

But at the end of the day, he's not the guy directing the film, the actors playing the roles, or the guy making cuts in the editing room. Johns can steer the ship but the final product is largely out of his hands.

I also wonder if it all isn't too much responsibility. He's got a guiding hand in almost every corner of DC's business. That's a lot of ground to cover. I dont want to see his work suffer because he's trying to do too much and is spread too thin. I mean, so far so good but he hasn't been in this new position all that long yet.

[Krypto's Fleas]

He’s the greatest caretaker of the comics and movies we could want.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

There's simply too many moving parts at DC Entertainment to know which stuff is Johns and which stuff is someone else, so it's pretty difficult to either give Johns the credit or the blame for a lot of DC's output.

On the comics side, he's saddled with the often misguided decisions of Dan Didio, whose seemingly boundless enthusiasm is matched only by his poor judgement.

On the TV side, he's had the luck to be teamed with Greg Berlanti, who seems to understand how to balance the needs of CW soap opera with fanboy geekery within a TV budget extremely well.

On the film side, he's been stuck with the decisions of Zack Snyder until very recently.

[Lightning Rider]

I'm waiting for the payoff on a lot of things, notably fixing the Flash family and the conclusion of the Watchmen story, though I've been mostly satisfied with Rebirth. In terms of the movies, we'll see. A course correction was needed but I have a feeling I'll like the tone of pre-Johns era DCEU better.

[Calvinr]

I think he’s doing a good job so far, I’ve never bought so many books at one time (that’s not all down to him) but tbf like the OP mentioned how much credit he deserves is hard to say from the outside looking in, but I’m happy so far.

I’ll judge his rebirth project as a whole after his Doomsday Clock arc has concluded, my only concern is maybe he’s trying to do too much...I mean writing screenplays for movies, while also writing stories for the comics, while at the same time being involved in things like casting for potential actors, producing films etc it just seems like it’s potentially it may be too much for one guy after a while.

[Tony]

DC is better than it's been since the 90's so I'm happy with him.

[Sacred Knight]

Overall I think he's doing a pretty good job from a business perspective. I lost the feel for him from a creative perspective quite some time ago, but I won't argue with recent business moves.