Layoffs at DC?

[achilles]

Marvel made the right call trying to tie-in some of their characters with Scholastic. It kept some books alive longer than they would've been otherwise.

I'm not sure if some of the DC Kids Graphic Novels are with Scholastic, although it would be cool if they were.

That's....staggering! How can you get a job like that and literally not know anything about how to do your job? It...explains a lot though.

[Username taken]

Funny enough, webtoons which is basically creator driven is EXTREMELY diverse in both creators, content and characters. And people from all over can post stuff on webtoons.

Webtoons gets millions of hits in a day and I think this is a model that American comics need to look at if they are really going to survive into another generation.

It’s clear as day that the concept of the comic shop and “brick and mortar” retail has lost its appeal. I understand that people want their print comics but format of said print needs to change for it make sense for a vast majority of the public.

[lemonpeace]

The sheer incompetence.

the people running DC really were living in a different reality of delusion and confusion while their medium was falling further into disarray, weren't they? that's crazy

[Ascended]

the people running DC really were living in a different reality of delusion and confusion while their medium was falling further into disarray, weren't they? that's crazy

A lot of them, yeah. I don't know if they really thought things were fine, of if they thought the direct market could be saved, or if they knew their industry was dying and just didn't care as long as it lasted long enough for them to retire, or what. And then you had the people who knew things were falling apart and wanted to change things but couldn't pull that off.

Hell, even Didio knew the kind of danger the direct market was in and the threat to the industry posed by relying on it. Look at all the initiatives he pushed trying to expand that audience or break into new territory.

Getting rid of Diamond was a necessary move, it's apparently a open secret that they used their position to pressure the publishers into sticking with the direct market as much as possible so their monopoly on comics material wasn't threatened. But the distribution is just one bottleneck factor of many that the industry is still trying to get around.

[kingaliencracker]

A lot of them, yeah. I don't know if they really thought things were fine, of if they thought the direct market could be saved, or if they knew their industry was dying and just didn't care as long as it lasted long enough for them to retire, or what. And then you had the people who knew things were falling apart and wanted to change things but couldn't pull that off.

Hell, even Didio knew the kind of danger the direct market was in and the threat to the industry posed by relying on it. Look at all the initiatives he pushed trying to expand that audience or break into new territory.

Getting rid of Diamond was a necessary move, it's apparently a open secret that they used their position to pressure the publishers into sticking with the direct market as much as possible so their monopoly on comics material wasn't threatened. But the distribution is just one bottleneck factor of many that the industry is still trying to get around.

Actually, word came out after Didio was fired that one of the issues with him was that he was too much of a traditionalist in support of the direct market.

[Robanker]

Actually, word came out after Didio was fired that one of the issues with him was that he was too much of a traditionalist in support of the direct market.

I don't think it's either/or. He never wanted to abandon the DM model, but he wanted to expand and do other things to. Didio was trying to have a win/win, and sadly his biggest success was hiring the DC YA/Kids line we currently have right before he was fired. The right people were put in the right places and those books are doing very well by all accounts I've heard.

Truthfully, the DM model looks to lose money and that's him being an old fan, but it also is the method of saving the most face. It might actually have worked if given the chance to grow, but we'll never know. I was very critical of Didio's vision for the main line, but I will sing nothing but praise of the guy for genuinely trying to get these characters in the hands of readers who feel underserved by what DC usually pounds out.

[J. D. Guy]

Funny enough, webtoons which is basically creator driven is EXTREMELY diverse in both creators, content and characters. And people from all over can post stuff on webtoons.

Webtoons gets millions of hits in a day and I think this is a model that American comics need to look at if they are really going to survive into another generation.

It’s clear as day that the concept of the comic shop and “brick and mortar” retail has lost its appeal. I understand that people want their print comics but format of said print needs to change for it make sense for a vast majority of the public.

Webtoons getting more overt spotlight of late has been pretty interesting. Even CBR has been speaking on them often throughout the late Spring and early Summer with their recommendations.

If I am not mistaken, Webtoons has been a thing for awhile. It's good to see it and its base of creative talent and works getting wider recognition.

[Gaastra]

Bob harras quits early.

https://bleedingcool.com/comics/bob-...ly-heads-home/

[Ascended]

I don't think it's either/or.

All this.

Didio never wanted to abandon the direct market and he tried all kinds of things to improve/save it, but he also was behind same-day-digital, the earth-1 line, and all kinds of other things aimed at expanding DC's reach into new formats and demographics. These efforts were limited by a bunch of factors and Didio's ideas were often wrong-headed (the New52 was *never* gonna get new fans with it's lame ass 90's aesthetics) but at least he made the effort, which is more than most bothered with.

[Crazy Diamond]

All this.

Didio never wanted to abandon the direct market and he tried all kinds of things to improve/save it, but he also was behind same-day-digital, the earth-1 line, and all kinds of other things aimed at expanding DC's reach into new formats and demographics. These efforts were limited by a bunch of factors and Didio's ideas were often wrong-headed (the New52 was *never* gonna get new fans with it's lame ass 90's aesthetics) but at least he made the effort, which is more than most bothered with.

Hmm... I dunno know about that.

http://www.tcj.com/2020-report-day-d...ee-interviews/

The quotes about Didio aren't flattering.

[Crazy Diamond]

I imagine some creators might make new characters while others will use established ones. Half the point of this whole thing seems to be using the brand recognition of the big names overseas in stories designed for those audiences. But I don't see any reason to limit creators to those IP's either.

And yeah, the bottom line rules all. Brand image and company trust play a strong role in sales, which is why DC will likely have certain ground rules for foreign adaptation, to ensure any IP's creators use are "bent" but not "broken." But here's the thing; what is offensive in America is not offensive elsewhere. So a story made and published in another country should play by the rules and culture of that country to ensure it sells where it's supposed to. And assuming it doesn't cross too many lines or goes too far for American readers, it'll be translated and reprinted.

And that Marvel guy got fired not for promoting Islamist ideology so much as sneaking bigoted anti-Jewish/christian content into the books. It's a different situation entirely; that guy was making content for American readers and that content was offensive by our standards. DC's initiative here likely isn't meant to play by our standards, otherwise they'd just ship our comics overseas (which they already do). This is supposed to be about making comics that foreign audiences will read, not comics that we will.

It wasn't that it was offensive by American standards so much that it was offensive to fans in Indonesia and those who were familiar with what he was peddling. Most Americans wouldn't have noticed the context of what that artist was doing unless if they knew about Indonesian politics.

[Restingvoice]

It wasn't that it was offensive by American standards so much that it was offensive to fans in Indonesia and those who were familiar with what he was peddling. Most Americans wouldn't have noticed the context of what that artist was doing unless if they knew about Indonesian politics.

To be exact, an Indonesian reader recognizes the code he puts and reported to Marvel because as both Muslims and a US media follower he knows American politics and the details of Koran. Most Americans won't recognize the code because most Americans aren't Muslim, but Americans are more offended because antisemitism is more of a US problem than Indonesia.

For example, when that news came out, even the Indonesian government heard about it, but their concern is to see if Ardian Syaf insulted Islam through his comic. Once they find out he didn't, they stopped paying attention.

[kjn]

Hmm... I dunno know about that.

http://www.tcj.com/2020-report-day-d...ee-interviews/

The quotes about Didio aren't flattering.

Both that and what Ascended says can be true at the same time. Didio can both enable harassers and working to protect people around him from fan backlash. Didio can both want to expand DC's publishing line, try to keep the direct market going, and have poor or misguided ideas on how to accomplish that.

[Ascended]

It wasn't that it was offensive by American standards so much that it was offensive to fans in Indonesia and those who were familiar with what he was peddling. Most Americans wouldn't have noticed the context of what that artist was doing unless if they knew about Indonesian politics.

No, most of us wouldn't have noticed what he put into the comics without it being pointed out (I was reading the book and I didn't notice either), but we don't stand for that kind of sh*t and once we saw it, dude's job was in danger. We didn't pick up on the subliminal messages because yeah, we're not well educated on Indonesian politics, but we don't stand for bigotry, we don't support anti-Jewish sentiment. This is an example of *not* making content appropriate for the audience.

But again, this isn't really similar to what DC's new international efforts will be like (presumably). That was one dude trying to spread some hate in markets where his opinion is not welcomed. DC hiring foreign creators to make comics for those foreign markets, rather than American markets, is about doing what is appropriate for those markets instead of building everything on American values and social norms. It's nothing more than "hiring the right people for the right job." You wanna sell comics in country X? You hire people from country X to make them. It's literally that simple.

Both that and what Ascended says can be true at the same time. Didio can both enable harassers and working to protect people around him from fan backlash. Didio can both want to expand DC's publishing line, try to keep the direct market going, and have poor or misguided ideas on how to accomplish that.

Exactly, nobody is one single thing. Look, I'm not defending Didio, from what I hear of his management "style" I don't agree with it, and I didn't agree with many of his business choices, and he seriously f*cked over my two favorite characters (he put a sexual predator in charge of f*cking Superman! Screw Didio). But for all the things he did wrong, he recognized that comics need to grow beyond the direct market and tried to get us there. His efforts mostly failed but he deserves credit for at least making an attempt when most of his peers were happy to drive the direct market into the ground with no plan on what to do afterwards.

[Gaastra]

Speaking of young readers trades the next dogman will have a 5 million book first print!

https://www.gamesradar.com/the-next-...rst-print-run/

That's just the first print. Not bad for a comic about a talking dog hero.