DC's Dan DiDio Out as Co-Publisher

[Digifiend]

Do you think the characters you mentioned would have been used more effectively if they were owned? I don't think so.Disney's whole brand uses charcters from public domain like tarzan or jungle book. Again, the quality of the product you deliver will decide the profit you make.

Tarzan isn't public domain. In fact, Disney can no longer use him in new material, which is why he hasn't been in any of the Kingdom Hearts sequels despite being in the first game.

[scary harpy]

Tarzan isn't public domain. In fact, Disney can no longer use him in new material, which is why he hasn't been in any of the Kingdom Hearts sequels despite being in the first game.

Tarzan is in the public domain.

Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. currently owns the trademark on the name.

[Mr.B]

Could still move things to the 80s and have it be in the late 90s right now.

Or move the Silver age to the 00s.

[Holt]

As I understand the Tarzan thing, most of the early novels are in the public domain, but Edgar Rice Burroughs' state still has the trademark for the character himself.

[Manakel]

I'm not sure what your not sure about, sorry, honestly, so if I do follow you

There have been entry points, two major ones in recent years like new 52 and rebirth

But even if that's the case that people think it's hard to get into, and I certainly get that, that just requires better publishing and structure, not removal or replacement

You don't get people into reading superman say, by not having that character in the book

Mostly because it's a false start, new people, tend to jump into something niche like comics because they are brought in by an outside source, like a TV show or movie, you turn up and that character isn't there, they don't tend to want to invest and stick around

But even so, the new 52 did work, old and new alike untill its own planning faltered, same for rebirth,

This doesn't require a dropping of characters or continuity, rather smarter writing and structure for entry points

Some people do like big legacy numbers, but that's easy to manage with volume indica and number subscripts like they use whenever they want to create a big event number like day ww 750

As for fans passing on, your actually making my point in a way, fans will pass, but that's always happened, and those older fans bring in younger family to those books and keep buying them even when product tends to falter

There is no time when a current fan, isn't also an older fan, once they get past a few years of reading, if we think the hobby can sustain itself on new readers every few years, nope, not gonna happen

More so, older fans tend to love completion, one of the reasons they buy stuff they say they don't like, having new entry points and actually finishing the collection of a new volume, right up many of their streets

I do appreciate what you mean about access, I've never got back in the X men because it always looks so much of a hash job, but DC's recent efforts in both cases prove older fans will go with that if the concept is well marketed and the product is strong, and indica can always be there to sustain legacy away from new reader distraction

They want new readers sure, but throwing out the mythos isn't the problem, younger people's consumer habits are different, but it's not difficult to market both, that's really just an imprint or cover and writing solution

I will clarify then : i'm not sure about the fact you attract new readers with new characters. It is of course only my personal experience, but i didn't care about new characters i didn't even hear about, but the iconic ones like batman and wonder woman. the big one asides, i knew about robin (thanks to the animation show from the 90s) and that's about it, never heard of a wonder girl before reading N52 teen titans though. So you can make all the new characters you want (well, DC, not you personaly), i don't think that is what people are interested in at first, maybe later when they are more into the universe.

As for the universe itself, i like something coherent and clear. I like the continuity but it feels like the writers are developing it as they write about it, without having to refer to the big picture, like the map from multiversity. And thus starts the confusion, incoherences---->crisis---->reboot... Maths are less confusing than what DC is doing because the rules are clear and you always has to refer to previous work before doing something new, and i don't specially enjoy maths.

This aside, you understood me pretty well in fact.

[kilderkin]

I will clarify then : i'm not sure about the fact you attract new readers with new characters. It is of course only my personal experience, but i didn't care about new characters i didn't even hear about, but the iconic ones like batman and wonder woman. the big one asides, i knew about robin (thanks to the animation show from the 90s) and that's about it, never heard of a wonder girl before reading N52 teen titans though. So you can make all the new characters you want (well, DC, not you personaly), i don't think that is what people are interested in at first, maybe later when they are more into the universe.

As for the universe itself, i like something coherent and clear. I like the continuity but it feels like the writers are developing it as they write about it, without having to refer to the big picture, like the map from multiversity. And thus starts the confusion, incoherences---->crisis---->reboot... Maths are less confusing than what DC is doing because the rules are clear and you always has to refer to previous work before doing something new, and i don't specially enjoy maths.

This aside, you understood me pretty well in fact.

In all honesty I agree with this pretty much entirely

[skyvolt2000]

In my experience very few of my age group seem to care negativity if new characters are made, and used, most of us grew up getting to meet and like new characters, if anything we've been doing it for years, replacement does bother, there is that, but very rarely is that actually needed, companies do it to get a new character a boost of an older ones back, that doesn't sit well, it's never going too, the companies are gonna need to get over that, coz it's just tough, there's plenty room for both

I do find it interesting that I see a lot of posts aimed at the forty year olds as a problem (this isn't aimed at you specifically by the way)

Are some of that group vocal about about not wanting change, sure, but that's a small insignificant number, people are gonna need to blame someone else

Because that tends to be the group who keeps throwing all these fits and at times attacking creators and other fans. And some have chased folks out of stores over it-ask the Inhumans fans about that.

You wanna attract new readers with a new character, don't push them in established books with established readerships, pop them somewhere else like you tube channels aimed at the market you wanna teach, I e never seen DC or marvel sponsor a video on say comic pop, caped Joel, professor thorgi, or whatever, that would not cost that much, in fact many channels would love to day they'd don't that and do it cheap

Excluding Ms Marvel and MAYBE Miles-most new folks are introduced in established books.
Then they get a mini or solo or team book.

Popping up new folks does cost money. Not everyone watches those Comic Pop or whoever.

Further, if you're not depicting the new characters in the adapted media, which DC/Warner Media wasn't, then what on Earth would be the point?

First DC has to ALLOW you to use that person and that is the issue.

It's why you have Curtis Holt and not Michael Holt on Arrow.

Also not every character's endgame is to be on tv or in a movie. For many that happened WAY later.

[Ascended]

Fans are never the problem as far as a products success goes, if it's good and it's whats wanted, it will sell

I agree with just about everything, I think, but a comment or two. First, on the above bit; it's true that fans are never the problem because it's the suppliers' jobs to meet the demand, not the other way around. Fans want what they want, DC's job is to provide it.

However, there *is* a problem when the demand for your product is too low to make money. That's the problem comics have. It's not us, it's that there's not enough of us. DC is stuck trying to meet our demands while also attracting new readers who have different demands.

If the stories don't show the window to the world each week or month people will quickly stop caring, in the end stand alone graphics rarely become huge sellers cause they stop being relevant, with some notable exceptions

I'm not sure what you mean. Are you saying the stories have to remain a "window to the world" to stay relevant, or that them doing so dates them quickly? I think emotional honesty is essential, but reflecting the real world isn't. Plenty of fictional worlds succeed that bear no resemblance to our own. Virtually all of fantasy, for example. But the emotional reactions, dynamics, and relationships are all a reflection of reality, and that's what makes us invest in them. The world(s) of Star Wars bears little resemblance to our's, but we can feel the raw emotion when Luke screams "That's not true! That's impossible!!" and that's why the franchise lives on today.

[sifighter]

Good. Reeeally wasn’t a fan of Superman being 80 years old. I hope 5G just ends up being a possible future and not the actual present.

I have said this in other threads but I never expected nor do I expect an 80 year old superman. I honestly expect a 50+ or 60 year old semi-retired Superman similar to 70's All-star comics Earth 2 Superman where most of the time he was working as Editor of the Daily Star and Powergirl took over for him in the JSA but when events called for it he would show up to help. Those comics never went "oh he's too old to fight, and so is most the JSA" they just let him retire and live a life outside of being Superman. My thought was he'd just be working with the United Planets as earth's delegate while Jon was earth's Superman.

[kilderkin]

Because that tends to be the group who keeps throwing all these fits and at times attacking creators and other fans. And some have chased folks out of stores over it-ask the Inhumans fans about that.



Excluding Ms Marvel and MAYBE Miles-most new folks are introduced in established books.
Then they get a mini or solo or team book.

Popping up new folks does cost money. Not everyone watches those Comic Pop or whoever.



First DC has to ALLOW you to use that person and that is the issue.

It's why you have Curtis Holt and not Michael Holt on Arrow.

Also not every character's endgame is to be on tv or in a movie. For many that happened WAY later.

Does it tend to be that age group, what varacity is there to that

Sure some are vocal, but thats not the same as many or all of them doing that, and that is how these criticisms are presented

A few vocal minority are not representation of the whole or majority

I suppose what I'm saying is don't group Udall in to that small vocal group, were not all the same nor the same cohort, and we are definitely not the enemy, just like any fan group there are some that are toxic but it's far from most

Not allowing for that is at best wrong and frankly at worst attacking an age group because of a small section I feel
___

As for presenting new characters, im not saying your wrong, but at least in recent years, those presentation of new characters has also been to remove or replace the original, certainly at marvel, that's not gonna work in most cases, people don't buy a box of chocolates and get taffy and be cool with that ( not the best analogy but you know what I mean)

[kilderkin]

I agree with just about everything, I think, but a comment or two. First, on the above bit; it's true that fans are never the problem because it's the suppliers' jobs to meet the demand, not the other way around. Fans want what they want, DC's job is to provide it.

However, there *is* a problem when the demand for your product is too low to make money. That's the problem comics have. It's not us, it's that there's not enough of us. DC is stuck trying to meet our demands while also attracting new readers who have different demands.



I'm not sure what you mean. Are you saying the stories have to remain a "window to the world" to stay relevant, or that them doing so dates them quickly? I think emotional honesty is essential, but reflecting the real world isn't. Plenty of fictional worlds succeed that bear no resemblance to our own. Virtually all of fantasy, for example. But the emotional reactions, dynamics, and relationships are all a reflection of reality, and that's what makes us invest in them. The world(s) of Star Wars bears little resemblance to our's, but we can feel the raw emotion when Luke screams "That's not true! That's impossible!!" and that's why the franchise lives on today.

Just to clarify, what I mean is that for a lot of readers for a lot of time, books were bought to see what was happening to their favourite character that week, to see what was happening in the mu that week, almost like visiting a friend

Trades and collection books, whilst nice to revisit, don't present a story with the same urgency

[superduperman]

Ideologically, what do we know about Lee? Is he likely to take the company in a different direction than Didio did? He seems to come across as a guy who just wants everyone to get along. Even going back to his Image days. Diio had an agenda. Does Lee? What is he likely to do?

[Vordan]

Ideologically, what do we know about Lee? Is he likely to take the company in a different direction than Didio did? He seems to come across as a guy who just wants everyone to get along. Even going back to his Image days. Diio had an agenda. Does Lee? What is he likely to do?

He’s the one who got Yang to do New Super-Man so he does seem committed to diversity. Otherwise I don’t know if we’ve ever really broken down what DC has down that can be attributed to Lee’s ideas.

[Kevin Street]

Jim Lee said at his personal spotlight panel at C2E2 that he will be the sole publisher of DC comics now: https://www.newsarama.com/49243-did-...ot-rumors.html

It looks like that's the only official statement we're going to get. And as for 5G, "Intention not to do a line-wide reboot." Rumors at Bleeding Cool that 5G is being retooled in (what sounds like, but who the heck knows at this point) a more fan-friendly direction.

I just... don't want to to stress about this any more. Last Sunday was an awful surprise that descended into panic that DC comics might go away. This Sunday it's the distant rumbling of a counter-revolution. Facts not known, but maybe it's going to be all right? In Jim Lee we trust? I spend all week worrying about serious things, Sundays are supposed to be about comic book fun. Hopefully this thing has worked itself out now.

[Holt]

To be clear, there was never any actual indication DC was going away. The source was not reputable at all.