Is DC chewing more than they can bite?

[Bromor]

To make you understand, in the recent months i've seen waves of delays and series cancelled even months before they are released. Should DC slow down a bit?

[MajorHoy]

Are you trying to say "Is DC biting off more than they can chew?"

One thing about those delays / cancellations after the books are initially solicited, sometimes it may be that plans change for reasons other than a company can't fit them into the schedule.

A perfect example was when Batwoman was originally going to have a series beginning in early 2011. That never happened, but it appears that series was delayed until after DC's line-wide relaunching following Flashpoint / the New52. So it's hard to say if different things are resulting in DC delaying plans for any of the books that are delayed or cancelled after they were initially solicited.

[Gaastra]

Remember when marvel and dc had "fill in one shot" comic stories ready in case there is a delay?

lead to some neat one shot comics. (but sometimes put the main story on hold for a month.)

[DrNewGod]

Remember when marvel and dc had "fill in one shot" comic stories ready in case there is a delay?

lead to some neat one shot comics. (but sometimes put the main story on hold for a month.)

I've heard those called "inventory stories." I don't know if this is correct (somebody verify for me please), but I've heard they'd have a number of partially produced stories, sometimes rejects, sometimes quicky repurposed material that could be finished fast and shoved in. Another tricked they'd do was take an old published story (art and all), cut it down a bit, and wrap a short framing sequence for the "flashback" around it.

[Ascended]

To make you understand, in the recent months i've seen waves of delays and series cancelled even months before they are released. Should DC slow down a bit?

Delays happen for a lot of reasons, and sometimes it's not that anyone did something wrong, or dragged their feet, or the company screwed up, sometimes sh*t just happens.

Most of the delays Ive heard about recently involved Geoff Johns, and that guy seems like he's got a lot going on. His role in DC (not just comics but everything) was changed not too long ago, which certainly screwed a lot of schedules and plans up, and he's still working on all kinds of tv projects and helping produce/co-write the movies (or something) on top of his comics work. And I assume he has a life of his own outside of work, like a wife and maybe kids or whatever, that can force you to take time from your job too.

I think DC is putting a lot of stuff on the shelves right now, but I dont think its all that much more than usual. Im not concerned with DC biting off more than it can chew so much as Im concerned about some of the creative choices they make (gods dammit DC give Nightwing and Cyborg the gods damn respect and attention and love they deserve!!!!!!!!!!!!).

The delays on Doomsday Clock do seem to be too much. A project this big, the company and creators should've maybe given themselves a longer head start to ensure that this crap didn't happen. And I dunno what the hell is happening with Shazam. But really, these are pretty minor, small problems with a small handful of books while the vast majority of the company keeps doing their thing on schedule.

[Frontier]

The most notable delays I've read about (that aren't Johns related) are Justice League Odyssey, The Outsiders, and John Ridley's book.

[Ascended]

The most notable delays I've read about (that aren't Johns related) are Justice League Odyssey, The Outsiders, and John Ridley's book.

Oh yeah, I forgot about them.

Didnt JLO get delayed because they had to change the plot around so the book would line-up with whatever Snyder's doing? That seems like a pretty huge editorial misstep. And Im pretty sure Outsiders is being delayed to line up with the rumored Bat event they're cooking, so not really a mistake so much as an adjustment so things flow better (in theory of course).

Hadn't heard anything about Ridley doing a book. What's the word on that?

[skyvolt2000]

I've heard those called "inventory stories." I don't know if this is correct (somebody verify for me please), but I've heard they'd have a number of partially produced stories, sometimes rejects, sometimes quicky repurposed material that could be finished fast and shoved in.

Archie Comics is GUILTY of this now and TODAY.

A Chuck Clayton Halloween story was suppose to be in an Archie Digest in 2017. It never made it despite being listed in previews.

I know they did this a lot in the 70-80s with those digests. You just never knew who did what. So a lot of stuff Tom Deflaco did for Archie was never credited.

Another tricked they'd do was take an old published story (art and all), cut it down a bit, and wrap a short framing sequence for the "flashback" around it.

How about TRACE over the original? Archie (again)

I can't tell you how many time an Archie story that was drawn and PUBLISHED in the 1940s-1950s took Reggie out of the story and made him in Chuck Clayton.
I have seen Chuck change his hair style in a story that was published in the 70s and in 5 different digests (published in the same year or month) has him different.

Marvel-remember the issue of Luke Cage when he went to Doom's castle?

How many versions of that front cover is there. I have seen 3 with Doom saying something different.

[Daniel22]

I've heard those called "inventory stories." I don't know if this is correct (somebody verify for me please), but I've heard they'd have a number of partially produced stories, sometimes rejects, sometimes quicky repurposed material that could be finished fast and shoved in. Another tricked they'd do was take an old published story (art and all), cut it down a bit, and wrap a short framing sequence for the "flashback" around it.

Yeah, or "Evergreen stories". They used to be a lot more common but have fallen out of favor for whatever reason. Now they prefer to delay instead of doing a fill in, even to the point of holding up other titles, titles being published out of order and continuity being incomprehensible. I think inventory stories are much better than those things.

On the plus side, sometimes an old unpublished story pops up years or decades later and gives us an unexpected treat of a creator in their prime. Marvel did a whole tpb, "From the Marvel Vault", with stories like that. It was pretty cool if you're into comics history or the work of older creators.