What, if any, effect do you think the AT&T merger will have on DC comics?

[alton]

I don't see what AT&T can want or even do with DC Comics. I mean, aren't they just a phone company? Unless im missing some bigger picture here.

They are positioned to move into distribution of multi media and unfortunately control it's content if they so desire. This is not a good thing by any means. Read up on Charter Communications and Comcast. Thanks for putting Michael Cray at the top of the list. Best Damm comic out there.

[kjn]

One more reason why this likely won't have a big impact on DC comics publishing is that they are already a part of WB, which is a part of Time Warner. They already are a very small cog in a very big corporate machine. But the impact of the merger will certainly be felt much sooner on the Arrowverse and the movies, but even so I expect it to be indirect. More that the period of big uncertainty is over, and any new leadership can begin to assert itself on which projects to back and which directors and producers to sponsor.

[leo619]

To be honest, I believe this merger may have essentially saved DC comics from going under. The comic book industry itself was/is going under, as sales continue to drop regularly after comics start a huge initiative like New 52, Rebirth, ANAD, etc, Marvel had the pockets of Disney which I figured could bail them a bit longer, but DC did not have such an option. And with the classic fans having such a chokehold on the industry, the idea of a much needed reboot to allow these comics to continue seems skeptical to the big 2 (though bleeding cool did reveal a possible crisis my come in 2020, which would put it just in line as Rebirth transitioned with new 52). So this may have been a safety net to allow comic to last a bit longer. At least from the DC side.

[Trey Strain]

Buried Alien has pointed out that this web site was launched in 1995, and people were moaning then about the imminent collapse of comics. But the industry's sales are still right where they were then.

[alton]

Print isn't "losing money," and DC's comics won't even show up on their radar. DC's movies and television shows will though, and I wonder whether DC's actions re Geoff Johns just a day earlier are related to this. Timing, of course, is everything.

Here's another possible factor, although of course there's no evidence for this being the case -- why did Warner Bros. film chief Toby Emmerich suddenly release a statement yesterday lavishing praise on the Aquaman movie, and in which Johns concurred? (As if they were going to admit it if they thought it was shaky.) Could that be a preemptive strike against rumors that DC might have another flop brewing?

So maybe the merger has already had an impact on the comics, with Johns being moved back into print as a writer.

Anyway I don't think I would work well with Major Hoy. He'd want to launch a slew of "appreciation" comics about very old characters.

Actually I'm glad to see you took the kidding in stride. You are closer to the corporate ins and outs than I am but you gotta admit my wacko scenario has you salivating. I know I'd like a shot at the back catalog free of the icons. Major Hoy would be a great archival/historian and you would be creative director launching historic and modern into the new age. I'd throw money at it if I had any. This merger is not proven bad but the potential politics behind it are not good. Charter,Comcast,the elimination of net neutrality and now this. It may be the cash infusion that DC has needed as one post here has suggested but it will come at a price. AT&T would be idiots not go over every aspect of this acquisition with a fine tooth comb. That's all I have to say about this. I leave this discussion you guys and gals.

[Trey Strain]

Actually I'm glad to see you took the kidding in stride. You are closer to the corporate ins and outs than I am but you gotta admit my wacko scenario has you salivating. I know I'd like a shot at the back catalog free of the icons. Major Hoy would be a great archival/historian and you would be creative director launching historic and modern into the new age. I'd throw money at it if I had any. This merger is not proven bad but the potential politics behind it are not good. Charter,Comcast,the elimination of net neutrality and now this. It may be the cash infusion that DC has needed as one post here has suggested but it will come at a price. AT&T would be idiots not go over every aspect of this acquisition with a fine tooth comb. That's all I have to say about this. I leave this discussion you guys and gals.

A lot of what I'll called for DC to do, they've done it or seem likely to. Let's see...
-- Twice-monthly publishing
-- John Stewart in the JL, in place of Baz and Cruz.
-- The Golden Age JSA brought to this era as young characters.
-- A Flash team title.
-- A line of minis that feature second-tier characters.
-- The LoS brought to this era permanently.

Two other proposals that economics will probably make necessary sooner or later:
-- Junking decompression.
-- Printing floppies on newsprint.

Looking less hopeful, but not impossible:
-- Powering down the most extravagantly powered characters.
-- Junking the emotional spectrum.
-- Finding something for Baz and Cruz to do besides be Green Lanterns.
-- A Charlton team title.

I don't have a lot more that I'd like to change!

[BatmanJones]

Not enough money in comics for them to intrude there, especially since DC is doing better than it has in a long time in terms of keeping up with Marvel which has almost always beaten out DC with sales.

Also, I would expect AT&T would recognize that this is where the best properties and storylines come from to be used in movies/TV/other media where the real money is, and be willing to lose money on the comics division since it's like a farm team for the movies, which are like the big leagues.

It makes a lot of sense to be willing to lose money on comics (so little money relatively) in order that they continue to provide intellectual properties for use in major media.

[Trey Strain]

Not enough money in comics for them to intrude there, especially since DC is doing better than it has in a long time in terms of keeping up with Marvel which has almost always beaten out DC with sales.

Also, I would expect AT&T would recognize that this is where the best properties and storylines come from to be used in movies/TV/other media where the real money is, and be willing to lose money on the comics division since it's like a farm team for the movies, which are like the big leagues.

It makes a lot of sense to be willing to lose money on comics (so little money relatively) in order that they continue to provide intellectual properties for use in major media.

Exactly. Comics don't lose money, they generate ideas for movies and television, and they're low-risk. Movies are high-risk. That's what they'll be looking at.

[kjn]

It may be the cash infusion that DC has needed as one post here has suggested but it will come at a price. AT&T would be idiots not go over every aspect of this acquisition with a fine tooth comb. That's all I have to say about this. I leave this discussion you guys and gals.

I doubt there is much actual cash changing hands here, especially since this is described as a merger rather than a buyout or purchase. A lot of stock will change hands, but any actual cash payouts (from either end) will go to shareholders to buy shares, not into the actual businesses.

Trey and BatmanJones are likely quite correct on their analysis of the future role of comics publishing. Comics are also a cheap way to keep IPs alive for trademark purposes; much cheaper than doing movies or animated series.

[Trey Strain]

One thing that might change about the movies: The new people might recognize that DC is too far behind Marvel to ever catch up in the shared-universe game, and move instead to stand-alone movies. I think that would be a good idea.

I've also gotten the impression that DC's approach to movies has been more or less intuitive, rather than based on market data. If so, that will probably change too. No more, "Hey, I bet a Shazam movie would be cool! Let's do it!" It would become more a matter of trying out the concepts on movie-goers first

[Phoenixx9]

They will put a free phone in each DC character's hand!

[Ascended]

One thing that might change about the movies: The new people might recognize that DC is too far behind Marvel to ever catch up in the shared-universe game, and move instead to stand-alone movies. I think that would be a good idea.

It's rare that I agree with you, but I've been saying this since the DCEU began. DC doesn't need a shared movie universe; the only reason (well, not only reason but a sizable consideration) Marvel did it is because they licensed off their best IP's and needed a gimmick to draw audiences in for the C-listers they had left. DC has never needed the shared universe gimmick, they still have most of the biggest names in the genre. Or at least, more than enough to turn a profit with.

[alton]

It's rare that I agree with you, but I've been saying this since the DCEU began. DC doesn't need a shared movie universe; the only reason (well, not only reason but a sizable consideration) Marvel did it is because they licensed off their best IP's and needed a gimmick to draw audiences in for the C-listers they had left. DC has never needed the shared universe gimmick, they still have most of the biggest names in the genre. Or at least, more than enough to turn a profit with.

I was gonna bow out on this thread but I seem to remember that all fans wanted to see was a Justice League movie and just had to see as many capes on screen as possible. This was a carryover from Smallville and festered like a gangrenous sore and look where that lead us. Of course Marvel had to screw every thing up with three successful Avenger flicks and a number of other successes. With the exception of Batman at the time and later on the fluke success of WW DC didn't have characters that resonated with the non comic audience. Arrow verse changed some of that but even that has started to get bogged down with silly cross over non events. Building a series of independent story lines TV or film was the way to go from the start and not necessarily with the top drawer characters. But here we are where we are now with the hardcore DC fans to blame.

[Ascended]

But here we are where we are now with the hardcore DC fans to blame.

Man, I don't even blame the fans for this one. It's the studio's job to give people what they don't know they want, and ignore the bad ideas that all of us think are brilliant, no matter how badly we think we want them.

DC didn't need a shared universe, weren't structured (from a managerial standpoint) to build one, and have IP's strong enough to stand on their own. The smart move was always going to be finding a different direction and doubling down on the individual strength of their library, not copying Marvel's success but "with slightly more gray tone and angst."

[superduperman]

One thing that might change about the movies: The new people might recognize that DC is too far behind Marvel to ever catch up in the shared-universe game, and move instead to stand-alone movies. I think that would be a good idea.

I've also gotten the impression that DC's approach to movies has been more or less intuitive, rather than based on market data. If so, that will probably change too. No more, "Hey, I bet a Shazam movie would be cool! Let's do it!" It would become more a matter of trying out the concepts on movie-goers first

And now Affleck is out as Batman. I kind of wonder if Warners hasn't been looking for a way out of the DCEU. They've already got a stand alone Joker movie in the works that has no connection to the DCEU coming and one of the rumors I heard was that if WW had bombed, they were just gonna reboot anyway. One hit out of four movies so far isn't a good track record. In a way, WW put them in an odd bind. I kind of wonder if they might not be better off just junking the DCEU, making that the WW universe, and let other characters do their own thing in their own universes. Not sure if you could sell that idea, though.