Layoffs at DC?

[superduperman]

I think they're going to bring in their own people. AT&T I mean. Just replace everyone with yes men who will do whatever corporate wants.

[Ascended]

I want to know what we think this might mean for the comics. Ongoings, minis, one shots, OGNs, Black Label, etc. The whole kit and caboodle. Is this the end of monthly floppies? Is Black Label gone? Is everything going to go to the book market route like their kids stuff? Is everything going to be ok and this means no change to what we see here in the books?

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.

[Samm]

Well DC is trending on Twitter. Rumors and speculation everywhere

[Wally West]

Bob Harras was one of the big architects of new 52 and a lot of the grimdark stuff that came after it (alongside Didio who was already doing the grimdark thing for a decade up to that point) right? He was also a big backer of Liefeld and Scott Lobdell if I recall correctly.

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

I think they're going to bring in their own people. AT&T I mean. Just replace everyone with yes men who will do whatever corporate wants.

This is where creativity and business can conflict. DC is way too bloated and is way too quick to retcon and reboot to serve whatever agenda the creative darling of the year has. I do really think they could use someone who is going to be colder and focus them and maximize a more streamlined output that is easier for readers to follow.

[Wally West]

I feel like DC really would be much better off being stripped down to core group of titles that can sustain large volumes of the world and can feed off of each other into crossovers and then everything else that isn’t fully baked should just be a graphic novel.

So like you have the Bat books, the Superman books, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Flash, JLA, Aquaman, and maybe Titans. Keep it at like a manageable 25 titles. So if you’re a total DC junkie you can follow the bulk of the universe for 100 bucks a month if you care to and it’s easy to get crossovers over off the ground.

But if some writer has a Booster Gold idea and they can’t heavily pitch it as something that can sustain 10 years and will function well in crossovers and be cohesive with everyone else.... make it a graphic novel that’s special and focused.

I like this idea alot. I hope it's the format we move to.

[Tony]

I don't care too much, but I really hope we get one more Legion Omnibus to connect to the Superboy books, and I selfishly hope they shake up the Superman book creators. The line should be smaller honestly, and digital is the future.

[Vakanai]

Oh yes we knew this day was coming.

Batman selling could only block the iceberg from the Titanic for so long.
Keeping bad employees (personality, behavior or skill wise) could only block the iceberg.
Even if AT&T didn't buy into Warner. This was COMING.



Yeah they are going to be at Wal-Mart, Target or Barnes & Nobles.




Won't do any good unless WE THE FANS give them a legit shot. Not write them off as diversity SJW hires.

Won't do any good if WE CONTINUE TO HATE BUY books that we have screamed as being bad. I can't cry about (blank) writing 10 books if I buy all 10 books despite how bad they are. We might like Nightwing or Static or Cassandra Cain but we have to LET IT GO.



You can sell trades in stores. Since DC has a deal with Wal-Mart why not put them there? There are books stores out there.



You don't need a 10 year plan for Booster Gold. Just do a OGN and be done with it. Seeing that the direct market and store owners have issues with certain demographics and genre-you restrict them to OGN ONLY.

Find a reasonable page count for a $10-12 OGN and do say 4 a month (one comes out every week). 48 books a year.

Unless you want to go Archie Digest route and YES those do have new stories in them.

I'd do both, OGNs and digests. Really get them out there.

[HandofPrometheus]

I felt like DC needed to clean house but not like this and definitely not during a time when jobs are needed more than ever.

Wasn't Doyle already kicked from being an editor or something? I'm sure he was reported by Bleeding Cool before.

Those annoying Comicgate people on YouTube gonna have a field day with this. Expect 1,000 videos full of complete nonsense.

I have no idea if DC FanDome will be effected because At&t is trying to get money back so stopping an event with highly anticipated content doesn't seem smart. Wtf is going on at WB and At&t?

[Vakanai]

Guy who headed up DC’s YA line is out: https://twitter.com/choffercbus/stat...253161986?s=21

Christ wtf are they doing? Just cutting everyone who makes a salary over a certain amount it looks like. DC is going to be crippled by this.

Okay, now this is just stupid. Both Black Label and the YA lines have been successes. What the hell is the plan here? You don't cut the most profitable and critical successes. Not unless you're cutting publishing entirely...

[Vakanai]

I think they're going to bring in their own people. AT&T I mean. Just replace everyone with yes men who will do whatever corporate wants.

I think so too and this is my hope. I mean I don't think that's a good idea, but better than some of the alternatives.

[vasir12]

I felt like DC needed to clean house but not like this and definitely not during a time when jobs are needed more than ever.

Wasn't Doyle already kicked from being an editor or something? I'm sure he was reported by Bleeding Cool before.

Those annoying Comicgate people on YouTube gonna have a field day with this. Expect 1,000 videos full of complete nonsense.

I have no idea if DC FanDome will be effected because At&t is trying to get money back so stopping an event with highly anticipated content doesn't seem smart. Wtf is going on at WB and At&t?

Stopping the event wouldn't do. The movie, TV, and game news will generate money that have no baring on the comics. I do think they might have to adjust their comic news though... Especially if they planned to announce things for the future

[Ra-El]

Anyone who think this was done for creative reasons are fooling themselves. WarnerMedia did what big corporations do when they merge, they look around, find too people who have similar jobs, fire the one with the bigger paycheck and promote the other one.

They didn't let Harras go because of Berganza or Lobdell, this may have contributed, but they probably let him go because his salary was huge and they know they can put someone in his place for half the money.

[superduperman]

This is where creativity and business can conflict. DC is way too bloated and is way too quick to retcon and reboot to serve whatever agenda the creative darling of the year has. I do really think they could use someone who is going to be colder and focus them and maximize a more streamlined output that is easier for readers to follow.

I get what you're saying and cooler heads should prevail. But I also don't want DC to just be an advertising wing for the movies and TV shows either. Where the only comics we get are movie tie ins. I do think DC has needed someone not in house to come in and be the adult. I just don't want the comics division to just be an extension of the movie division.

[Jadeb]

Okay, now this is just stupid. Both Black Label and the YA lines have been successes. What the hell is the plan here? You don't cut the most profitable and critical successes. Not unless you're cutting publishing entirely...

It might be as simple as hitting a specific cost-reduction figure. Sometimes there’s no more strategy than that.

I feel terrible for the folks affected.