Layoffs at DC?

[kilderkin]

I've only skimmed the articles so I may have missed details, and while I have a business degree, I don't deal with corporations and they have a different set of rules for some things. That said, my knee-jerk reaction (having not taken any time to deeply consider anything) is this;

All the print stuff is being rolled into a single production arm, so the people who make the kid books, the YA novels and OGN's, and monthly floppies will all be under the same chain of command. That's not a bad thing, in and of itself. We're being told the floppy line will be cut down, so the monthly books featuring the Big Names will stick around while most everything else gets cut. So books like Action, Flash, 'Tec, and Wonder Woman will remain while titles like Outsiders and Hawkman will be cut. Titles like Superman/Batman, Supergirl, and Nightwing might survive on a case-by-case basis.

So that basically means we won't have more Batman books on the shelf, but there will be less of everything else. Hell, if I read it right and they cut 40% of the line, it likely means less Batman too, though Bat books and books with Batman in them will likely end up as a larger percentage of DC's output than what we have already.

DC's creator bullpen is going to shrink, and only the best selling creators or those who get in good with the boss will remain. So people like Snyder and Taylor and Bendis are probably sticking around, but lesser known creators are likely gonna be left behind.

When the dust settles, this might mean more DC focused OGN's, novels, and kids books, and while the usual suspects like the Trinity will still see plenty of action here, the loss of the floppies likely means we'll see a little extra effort put into secondary characters; the company won't want to leave these characters in limbo for too long and many IP's have already proven they have value in these non-LCS markets, like Raven who had a OGN that sold quite well in bookstores. So, we might lose (for example) Nightwing's monthly book but may get a Nightwing OGN instead.

For the immediate future, we'll see less of everything. In my level of business you don't make cuts like this and then launch a big new initiative or keep the same number of products in the system, and I imagine it's the same with the big corporations. But once the economy stops falling apart, DC/WB/AT&T will likely push out as much new content as they can get away with, with a wider range of characters and IP's so they can start recovering their bank accounts.

Doyle being let go likely means the end of Black Label, but we may still see some books *like* Black Label in the bookstores, as OGN's.

Jim Lee's new position sounds like a consultation to me, I feel like he'll be there to help ensure the bookstore people understand what the LCS audience wants.

I suspect we'll see a push into digital books, as there are a lot of cost saving measures there and you can potentially reach a much wider audience. At a guess, they'll handle this differently than they have their previous digital-first books; that's a market that plateaued quickly and remains well below floppy and bookstore sales, so if DC wants to succeed here they need to change their game a lot.

I think the next year or two (maybe longer) will have fewer books on the shelf at both the LCS and bookstore levels. We'll probably see a spike in digital first/only titles in 8-12 months, but still fewer comics than we've been used to.

It won't be the end of the world, or the end of comics. Not even the end of DC. They've survived implosions before and will survive this one, if only because they're so valuable as larger media adaptations. But the next year or more is gonna be pretty lean with less to pick from. This may be a massive blow to the LCS, but that'll depend on what other publishers do and whether or not DC fans keep spending money at their shops. The LCS is already in a tough position after quarantine, but if we keep spending as much money as we normally do, the LCS will probably manage to muddle on. If we don't replace our DC pull with other titles then the LCS likely won't survive.

And....I dunno. This isn't my kind of business and I need time to consider all the possible ramifications. But I wouldn't say the sky is falling. DC is not about to be bought by Disney, they're not going to stop making comics completely. They're just going to make a lot fewer comics, likely try to branch into healthier markets with better profit margins, and put more work on fewer shoulders. Focus will continue to shift from the floppy market to digital and bookstores. Basically, this is just the next phase of the trajectory we've been on this year.

A sound summary I feel

As long as trades get printed that I can buy at a LCS I'll be happy, I was thinking of going full trade anyways

If they decide I can only buy direct from them and cut out the LCS

I'll be happy to wave them by by

And if that means I drop comics I'll cope with that too

I like the experience of going to my LCS

The hobby will not hold my interest without it and I'll not miss it

If they go full digital there's lots of ways to keep up with that with detailed legitimatereviews and summaries on you tube

I'll be fine with that

[Lee Stone]

I mean, other than being disappointed about the firing's, I still don't feel like I know enough about what's going to make my peace about the future of DC. It still seems really mixed up.

It really sucks that people are losing jobs, but DC has been needing to refocus for a long time.

I think there will be some growing pains, but in the end DC will end up being stronger and possibly even better because of it.
And hopefully by then they'll be able to hire, and re-hire, again.

As far as the comics go, they've been kinda treading water in a 2010 kinda way.
And another reboot isn't going to fix it, at least not an official one where they blow a trumpet and throw up banners and streamers.

This may give them the opportunity to pull a Marvel and start putting a minor blind eye to continuity long enough to get everyone how they want them, without throwing them under the bus.
Bring back the history of characters and teams that still push trades, like the NTT.
Put out comics that re-establish characters familiar to non-comics readers, like Static, Supergirl and Black Lightning.
Or characters that have a lot of potential, such as Amethyst, Jonah Hex, Warlord and Bronze Tiger.

The best way to do this is to strip the comics line to the bare minimum: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Justice League.
Then let enough time go by to distance the 'New Look' DC, and start bringing them back out.

The current downsizing would be the perfect time to do something like this.

[Konja7]

It really sucks that people are losing jobs, but DC has been needing to refocus for a long time.

I think there will be some growing pains, but in the end DC will end up being stronger and possibly even better because of it.
And hopefully by then they'll be able to hire, and re-hire, again.

As far as the comics go, they've been kinda treading water in a 2010 kinda way.
And another reboot isn't going to fix it, at least not an official one where they blow a trumpet and throw up banners and streamers.

This may give them the opportunity to pull a Marvel and start putting a minor blind eye to continuity long enough to get everyone how they want them, without throwing them under the bus.
Bring back the history of characters and teams that still push trades, like the NTT.
Put out comics that re-establish characters familiar to non-comics readers, like Static, Supergirl and Black Lightning.
Or characters that have a lot of potential, such as Amethyst, Jonah Hex, Warlord and Bronze Tiger.

The best way to do this is to strip the comics line to the bare minimum: Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Justice League.
Then let enough time go by to distance the 'New Look' DC, and start bringing them back out.

The current downsizing would be the perfect time to do something like this.

I think another reboot is even more likely now.

After all, a reboot will increase sales at first. So this would be a short-term benefit.

Long-term negative consequences shouldn't matter as much because they no longer have as much interest in direct market and floppies.

They want to focus on OGN and Digital, so they probably don't care much about continuity anymore.

[scary harpy]

So are we all just making peace with this?

We are not controlling this.

I've accepted that Teen Titans Go is what children enjoy and what they think DC cartoons/comics should be. I've know that TPTB want to be kid-friendly.

I've accepted that TPTB are uninterested in comic books and are interested coloring books, Underoos, t-shirts, toys and etcetera. IPs and merchandising are the future of DC.

I given up hope on c-list characters; they will fade into limbo. Some b-listers may be joining them. I am curious which characters remain and which ones disappear.

Again, we're not controlling this.

[Vordan]

Is there any chance that DC's "less popular" characters will go into the public domain, or will the company try to sell the rights to their "less popular" characters to other comic book companies?

They won’t go public domain before their time. Big companies typically don’t sell IPs, even stuff they aren’t using, because they’re loathe to sell something and then have someone else turn it into a success that they don’t profit from.

[Frontier]

Right now all we have to make peace with is people getting fired. Other than that, some fewer less monthly floppies and ongoings and more kid friendly OGNs at some point in the future is all we suspect/know.

Yeah, it's really difficult to see this as good/bad without a clear idea of what's going to happen afterwards aside from speculation.

[Digifiend]

They won’t go public domain before their time. Big companies typically don’t sell IPs, even stuff they aren’t using, because they’re loathe to sell something and then have someone else turn it into a success that they don’t profit from.

When IS their time anyway? Batman and Superman are over 80 years old now, so they must be getting close to the trigger.

[Vordan]

Yeah, it's really difficult to see this as good/bad without a clear idea of what's going to happen afterwards aside from speculation.

I’ve been a pessimist and I still feel pretty despondent but I’ll try being optimistic. The good of all this is:
1. If you’ve hated DC under Didio for the last couple of years you’re in luck, there’s going to be a massive shift in direction without a doubt.
2. Harras is gone and he was a major enabler of bad behavior at DC. The two “heads” of DC right now are women so hopefully the good ol’ boy culture is at an end.
3. The current editor of Death Metal is close with Scott Snyder, and is one of the two heads, so hopefully that means she is going to try to fight for the characters at DC.
4. The other head I think comes from the YA line, so she will hopefully continue to push for that.

This is one of those transformative periods in history, and that applies to everything, Comics is simply the part we’re focusing on. What happens next is definitely going to be a status quo shift.

[skyvolt2000]

We are not controlling this.
Again, we're not controlling this.

Actually we DO.

If Dc say Green Lantern is ONLY Hal Jordan and screw the rest. Don't be shocked if it doesn't sell.

If DC decides the face of black heroes is Cyborg and SCREW the rest. Don't be shocked when it fails.

Remember they are trying to get OUR money.

I don't have to accept whatever they try to toss out. NOBODY does.

[scary harpy]

Actually we DO.

If Dc say Green Lantern is ONLY Hal Jordan and screw the rest. Don't be shocked if it doesn't sell.

If DC decides the face of black heroes is Cyborg and SCREW the rest. Don't be shocked when it fails.

Remember they are trying to get OUR money.

I don't have to accept whatever they try to toss out. NOBODY does.

They Do Not Care About Comic Books.

Buy or Don't...whatever makes you happy.

They care about IPs and merchandise. They want to be kid-friendly. Expect this to shape the future.

[Mr.B]

Speculation isn't reality.

[The Darknight Detective]

When IS their time anyway? Batman and Superman are over 80 years old now, so they must be getting close to the trigger.

About 14-15 years from now, their original stories from the late '30s will go into the public domain, but not the characters themselves. The latter are and will be still in the hands of DC.

[NaVi]

For the life of me, I can’t understand this commitment to a belief that Batman’s popularity is artificial and that all the other characters are held back to make him look good. No people just like Batman and writers are going to put Batman in cool situation because it brings interest to the book.

Like Batman not doing cool things in Justice League book and being a minor sideline character.... won’t hurt Batman’s popularity. However a bunch of Batman fans are going to read the book and say “lame he’s not really doing anything”, then the sales of that book will slide, while they keep reading the Bat line of books

the league brings together the most important characters of dc, that's why it is a showcase for a new reader, when that reader sees some stupid and useless gods who totally depend on a mortal, tell me, do you think they would be interested in useless gods or the incredible mortal. the comics of a superhero that are not from the batmanverse are more or less like this, the superhero faced and humiliated by someone far inferior to them, but then batman arrives and everything is solved. an example of what I say is superman unchained (superman anniversary comic), a superman comic in which batman appears with an armor that escapes the senses of superman so that a few numbers later the stupid superman has to go to batman to For him to find a way to defeat the enemy on duty, even in his comics, Superman has to be the fool for Batman to have his star moment. Another example is that the most famous Batman comic is remembered even among Batman fans, not for history or art, but for the beating he gives to Superman.

[Holt]

Is there any chance that DC's "less popular" characters will go into the public domain, or will the company try to sell the rights to their "less popular" characters to other comic book companies?

They'll hang on to them for future adaptation use.

[Tony]

I have thought about it a lot and I think if they drop down to 12 titles or so that are aimed at all ages fun where the heroes are the good guys and the villains are the bad guys again it'll be the best DC has managed since the mid 90's. Hopefully they drop the direction Didio spearheaded entirely.