Did DC just replace Geoff Johns with Scott Snyder over the last year?

[Serd]

Hey fellow C fans,

for a long time - at least in my mind - Geoff Johns was always the face of DC. Beginning with his Green Lantern run (or before that with Flash and JSA, neither i have read) he was responsible for the big moments, the big developments and he shaped the universe. He followed GL up with making Aquaman cool and taking over the main book with Justice League. He did all events between Sinestro Corps War up until the Rebirth one shot. And he was writing and producing for a lot of DC shows like Arrow, Smallville or Flash. And let's not forget the movies like Wonder Woman. For me Geoff Johns was DC. Not unlike Bendis was Marvel.

For i have the feeling, that his special position at the top has been taking over by Scott Snyder during the last year or two. He had the best selling comic of the New 52 with Batman and although Allstar Batman wasn't a hit of the same scale, he had the best selling DC event of the last years with Metal. This lead to Justice League and - more importantly - he seems now the guy who paves the way for the whole DC universe with developments in his JL run. It helps, that he seems to get along with a lot of other writers and they seem to like to pick up concepts and ideas of his.

At the same time it seems, that Geoff Johns has been pushed to the side a little. He stepped down from his position in regards to the movies and to DC as a whole. He has one ongoing with Shazam (and one mini in the coming year with Three Jokers). While Doomsday Clock could be one of his best works from an technical and creative view, it seems to be little more than an afterthought for DC if you compare it with the stuff Bendis and Snyder are making at the moment. Before 2017 he seemed everywhere, now this doesn't seem to be the case.


Wh do you think this happened or do you think, that there was no change at the position of "DC's top writer"?

PS: And while i think that DC seems to push Tom King in the same direction, i would say that his stuff - while often very good or great - seems to lack the special blockbuster feeling the best works of Johns and Snyder have. Excuse me the bad comparison: If Geoff Johns is DC's Spielberg, King seems more like the Coen Brothers.

[Korath]

I actually think that Doomsday Clock is what led to Johns relative decline in DC overall.

It's a very beautiful book, but as story goes, for me there is very little.

I had to compare it to something, it would be what us French call "figures de style", literary devices used to enhance the story. Except that Doomsday Clock is an enormous literary device, without any real story, or reasons to be.

It is inspired by Watchmen but -in my eyes- failed to notice that the core of Watchmen was extremely simple : somebody his killing masked vigilantes and has to be discovered.

Doomsday Clock's core is that Ozymandias failed to save his Earth and need Manhattan, or perhaps it's Manhattan influence on the normal DCU, or Mime and Marionette's missing child, or the Supermen Theory, or whatever else you may think.

It's an extremely beautiful, well-crafted and almost endearing balloon of hot air.

And since DC hinged a lot of things on it, it's delays have opened a lot of empty space. And since Natures abhors emptiness, well, someone had to fill in, and Snyder was in the position, had the ideas and the connections, I guess.

[Lee Stone]

I think Johns will be replaced with King at the Round Table, as I believe Snyder replaced Morrison shortly after the start of New52.
And Doomsday Clock will likely be his Multiversity, with about the same level of reflection in the greater DCU after it's over.
In other words, while many ideas will be presented and followed up on, it may not have the full support or backing that it would have if Johns was still part of 'the clique'.

[jb681131]

All this is sad, Geoff Johns' loosing his tallent and Scott Snyder ruining everything.

[LordUltimus]

Hasn't Geoff started focusing more on the DCEU side of things?

[LifeIsILL]

Hasn't Geoff started focusing more on the DCEU side of things?

And how is that going? He hasn't done crap so far.

[Darkcrusade25]

I believe geoff said he doesn't like to do second runs of properties hes done before.

Leaves him with little options left tbh.

[Johnny]

Johns was DC's CCO for almost a decade and its president for a few years. I don't think he even wants to be in the spotlight any longer and he doesn't really need to be. When it comes to high-profile creators who've been around for decades, there's a reason why there's only one Grant Morrison and even he took a break from the big two for a while.

[Frontier]

Hasn't Geoff started focusing more on the DCEU side of things?

I don't think he's as involved post-Justice League.

His main focus seems to be Black Label right now.

[Ascended]

It's an extremely beautiful, well-crafted and almost endearing balloon of hot air.

I think this is my favorite description of Clock yet.

I'm actually enjoying the hell out of the book. I honestly didnt think Johns had it in him to write on this level, but he's completely surprised me in the best of ways. Yet Clock is halfway done, or more than halfway now (didn't an issue come out recently? I haven't been to the LCS in weeks) and it feels like almost nothing has happened. Like, you know those college freshmen who manage to write a paper using great terminology, and at first glance it looks smart, until you dig a little deeper and realize it's just saying the same thing as the textbook? Clock is kinda like that; really damn well done, but it doesn't actually have the depth it pretends to.

Still, its the best thing Johns has written in ages, and that really is saying something.

[Yoda]

He's helming all the new online shows like Titans, Stargirl, Swamp Thing, etc. full time. His only comic work now is Doomsday Clock and Shazam.

[Ascended]

I don't think he's as involved post-Justice League.

....I dont follow this sort of thing very closely, but if I recall correctly Johns was pretty hands-on with the DCEU for a little bit; he came into a position of authority (whatever his role was) when Wonder Woman was already in production, was involved in JL (which was a huge mess for reasons that had nothing to do with him), and stepped back shortly after it released. From what I understand, even though the problems with JL were already there when he got involved and none of the problems were directly his fault, he still ended up getting punished for the film's failure. Or maybe he got fed up with the Hollywood folks and stepped back on his own, I dont know.

Now he's....producing, I guess? Or serving in an advisory role anyway. Sounds to me like its his job to explain the characters and mythos to the movie people so they know what they're working with and don't stray too far afield.

[Jackalope89]

....I dont follow this sort of thing very closely, but if I recall correctly Johns was pretty hands-on with the DCEU for a little bit; he came into a position of authority (whatever his role was) when Wonder Woman was already in production, was involved in JL (which was a huge mess for reasons that had nothing to do with him), and stepped back shortly after it released. From what I understand, even though the problems with JL were already there when he got involved and none of the problems were directly his fault, he still ended up getting punished for the film's failure. Or maybe he got fed up with the Hollywood folks and stepped back on his own, I dont know.

Now he's....producing, I guess? Or serving in an advisory role anyway. Sounds to me like its his job to explain the characters and mythos to the movie people so they know what they're working with and don't stray too far afield.

He's doing a lot with the Titans live action series.

[Green Goblin of Sector 2814]

And how is that going? He hasn't done crap so far.

Uh...he co-wrote both Wonder Woman and Aquaman and he's deeply involved in the Titans series on the DC Universe streaming service as well as almost all of their original content. To say Johns hasn't done crap for DC TV and films is just factually inaccurate.

[Jabare]

we all know this is the face of DC

And how is that going? He hasn't done crap so far.

Gotham, All the CW superhero shows. Lucifer. DC streaming service shows. The WB superhero movies