Marie Javins named new Editor in Chief of DC Comics

[OopsIdiditagain]

The audience for superheroes is clearly very large, given the popularity of the genre, and there's also clearly a large audience who still want to read comics that Scholastic has managed to tap into (to say nothing of the giant Manga readership).

DC (and Marvel) just have to get out of their own way and figure out how to appeal to readers who aren't already deeply invested in long-running superhero continuity.

That said, with so many other alternatives to consume superhero entertainment these days, I don't think the traditional approach is going to do it. For instance, I stopped reading The Flash comic years ago because I could watch The Flash every week on the CW. Comics have to do something the other mediums can't.

Tbh people just aren't reading comics as much because they find them too hard to get into. They feel like unless they know xyz event, crossover and past issue already they won't follow the comic.

[Frontier]

They aren't inherently mediocre or forgettable, but most episodic television absolutely is and few professionals working within the entertainment industry would deny that. While there are certainly great and wonderful episodes of television being produced week after week, the majority of shows on television are pretty mediocre and forgettable. Granted, your mileage may vary. It's entirely possible that what you may think is a perfectly entertaining episode of "Bland White People Get Into Trouble!" would likely make me want to claw my eyeballs out

Maybe I'm just so selective in the content I watch that it's just never struck me that way .

Exactly. As Morrison rightfully pointed out decades ago, comics are not bound by SFX budgets or have their scripts endlessly rewritten by armies of clueless studio execs (although editors have certainly ruined many a comic by doing this). DC Comics need to lean into what makes them unique and special if they are to expand their audience beyond readers like us who've been obsessed with them for years. We're already hooked. The trick is understanding that what hooked us isn't necessarily going to be the same thing that will hook a wider audience.

I guess from perspective, the stuff that hooked us is still just as relevant but the way it has to be conveyed to newer audiences is the sticking point.

[Lee Stone]

I thought this was already announced.
Or is she being assigned to a different position than originally planned?

Edit:
Yeah, it was.
But it was announced that she would be sharing the role with Michele Wells.
Is Wells still involved?

[Bored at 3:00AM]

Maybe I'm just so selective in the content I watch that it's just never struck me that way .

I only watch stuff that I like, too, but I'm all too aware that I'm only watching the cream of the crop, which is likely only 1% of the episodic television that's being produced regularly. It doesn't mean that a lot of what I'm not watching isn't well-made and entertaining, but even that only makes up, maybe, 25% of what's out there.

I guess from perspective, the stuff that hooked us is still just as relevant but the way it has to be conveyed to newer audiences is the sticking point.

There's that, but it's also that different audiences want different things from these characters. Some are more interested in the soap opera, whereas others are more about the high-concepts. Others simply like cool art. Making sure that the ongoing continuity is consistent is important to a much smaller percentage than the rest I suspect. However, I think continuity-obsessives like myself are less of a problem than the fans who refuse to accept that these characters need to change and evolve into something different than what they were when they first fell in love with them.

By freeing up creators to try different things, that should be less of a problem because DC can publish radically different takes on their characters without any requirement that they all work well with each other. Jeans & T-Shirt Superman comics can exist alongside Superdad. Grim n' Gritty Batman can stand right next to Biff! Bam! Pow! Batman and nobody needs to bend over backwards trying to explain it all in a way that makes it all sound hopelessly convoluted to new readers.

[skyvolt2000]

By freeing up creators to try different things, that should be less of a problem because DC can publish radically different takes on their characters without any requirement that they all work well with each other. Jeans & T-Shirt Superman comics can exist alongside Superdad. Grim n' Gritty Batman can stand right next to Biff! Bam! Pow! Batman and nobody needs to bend over backwards trying to explain it all in a way that makes it all sound hopelessly convoluted to new readers.

So WHO was explaining to readers of the 50s-90s?

WHo explains why Archie is still in high school after 75 years? Or the Simpsons or South Park or Arthur on PBS?

Tbh people just aren't reading comics as much because they find them too hard to get into.

They are not hard to get into.

I don't need to read 80 years of Batman to understand Tim Drake or Batwing.

The issue is who the rest of the planet WANTS to read about is not the same as the comic book reader who DC (and others) pander to.

Cyborg can have all these fans from tv shows but the comic craps on him.

The MAIN complaint I hear from parents is "the kid likes (blank) and I go look for books with (blank) and there is NOTHING." Especially when it comes to characters of color.

DC (and Marvel) just have to get out of their own way and figure out how to appeal to readers who aren't already deeply invested in long-running superhero continuity.

BOth have tried and if the book is not starring a straight white male or Batman-WHO throws a fit about it? Who CONSTANTLY throws a fit about it?
Daniel Cherry MENTIONS John Stewart-FITS got thrown.
Earth 11 that has been around for 15 years has some images posted for a book-FITS are being thrown.

Raven, Beast Boy, Aqualad, Moon Girl, Ms Marvel, Jane Foster, Panther and others have SOLD and at times BETTER than Batman. Why is that viewed as a threat to so many?

You have to get readers in whatever way you can. If Nubia can be the door that introduces someone to WW.

There is reason companies are looking beyond the comic book store-the hissy fits are not worth it from a group that wants to be territorial.

[Frontier]

I only watch stuff that I like, too, but I'm all too aware that I'm only watching the cream of the crop, which is likely only 1% of the episodic television that's being produced regularly. It doesn't mean that a lot of what I'm not watching isn't well-made and entertaining, but even that only makes up, maybe, 25% of what's out there.

I guess I don't look at it like I'm watching the cream of the crop, just stuff I'm interested in, and the quality of said production is inherent to itself and not the medium as a whole.

Like, I can read a bad comic but I don't think that's systematic of there being a lot of bad comics even if I don't read them.

There's that, but it's also that different audiences want different things from these characters. Some are more interested in the soap opera, whereas others are more about the high-concepts. Others simply like cool art. Making sure that the ongoing continuity is consistent is important to a much smaller percentage than the rest I suspect. However, I think continuity-obsessives like myself are less of a problem than the fans who refuse to accept that these characters need to change and evolve into something different than what they were when they first fell in love with them.

By freeing up creators to try different things, that should be less of a problem because DC can publish radically different takes on their characters without any requirement that they all work well with each other. Jeans & T-Shirt Superman comics can exist alongside Superdad. Grim n' Gritty Batman can stand right next to Biff! Bam! Pow! Batman and nobody needs to bend over backwards trying to explain it all in a way that makes it all sound hopelessly convoluted to new readers.

When you put it that way it doesn't seem like that would require much change, since DC was publishing a Batman '66 comic alongside the main continuity and could probably release different Elseworlds comics of Superman if need be.

[BohemiaDrinker]

ok so from what I've gathered from these boards since I've been here is:

Jim Lee is basically the new Didio, iunno what the job specifically entails but he's the guy who will get blamed if the fans ain't happy. Daniel Cherry is like the business guy, he does the business, again no clue what that specifically entails. and Marie is editorial, which I think means she's basically like brand logicistics in the comics; making sure the trains run on time on the comics so to speak. do I have that straight?

From what I gather, it's not quite like that.

The (not so new) and overall boss is Pam Lifford, who basically has Diane Nelson's old job. She's very discrete and I don't know a lot about her, but some people say that her real focus is merchandising, toys, etc. So, expect heroes to change costumes more often, I guess. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Then we have Jim Lee. He remains publisher, as he shared this position with Didio for the last ten years. He's also CCO (a job previously held by Johns). If we go officially, this means that he will oversee Javins directly and have final say over the direction of the line (this is the publisher bit) and serve as a bridge/supervisor between the publishing division and whoever does media adaptations (That's the CCO side). It seems that he will be taking over Didio's functions now, but historically his style is quite different. He fostered quite the creative enviroment during his Wildstorm days, is generally well liked by both fans and creatives and seems more hands off. I doubt he will micromanage the line much.

Next is Daniel Cherry. I don't know him, but he used to work with games and Esports, and his function seems to be the marketing guy. He will probably be the new face of the company going forward, the guy who tries to get people excited about DC properties. On the hierarchy he's in the same level as Lee (as Didio and Lee were before), but their different functions seem to be more clearly attributted now.

Lastly but not leastly, there's Marie Javins. She's EIC, which means she handles the day to day of the line, hire and fire creators and editors, etc. It's Dan Didio's original job (and the one he seems to never have ceased doing, even after becoming publisher). I don't know much about her, but creatives seem to absolutely love her, which is always good in my book.

Given her track record so far, I'm optimistic for what this means for DC moving forward. I'm sure some clueless corporate execs will no doubt throw some monkey wrenches at Lifford, Cherry, Lee, and Javins, which always happens, but I'm confident in the team DC has right now to both respect DC's legacy while also refocusing their audience to a wider one that isn't over-reliant on aging white male fanboys.

I agree with this. It's way too soon to know how the new team will go, but until proven wrong I remain optimistic. 2 of the 4 people here have a good track record in comics, at least. I don't like what BC is saying right now about the future, but I also don't put much stock in it. So we'll see.

[Bored at 3:00AM]

When you put it that way it doesn't seem like that would require much change, since DC was publishing a Batman '66 comic alongside the main continuity and could probably release different Elseworlds comics of Superman if need be.

I suspect the main difference is that they'll be less main continuity stuff and more stand-alone stuff and self-contained imprints that exist in their own continuity, like White Knight, Injustice, DCeased, Bombshells, and the rest.

[kjn]

But it was announced that she would be sharing the role with Michele Wells.
Is Wells still involved?

That's what I wonder to. DC Ink/Zoom/Young Reader has been a smash success from a creative standpoint, with a much higher level of storytelling and themes than DC's regular output.

[HAN9000]

From what I gather, it's not quite like that.

The (not so new) and overall boss is Pam Lifford, who basically has Diane Nelson's old job. She's very discrete and I don't know a lot about her, but some people say that her real focus is merchandising, toys, etc. So, expect heroes to change costumes more often, I guess. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

According to BleedingCool, Pam Lifford is the one who censored Batman Damned and wiped out Batman's dick from the book.

[Vordan]

Looks like Javins was the one they decided to keep and Wells was the one they decided to let go. God man, I wish Javins luck because DC is a shell of itself right now.

According to BleedingCool, Pam Lifford is the one who censored Batman Damned and wiped out Batman's dick from the book.

All that fuss over the Batpenis for a story that was dreadful. Damned was a terrible book, what they were thinking picking that to launch BL with I’ll never know.

[The Darknight Detective]

Tbh people just aren't reading comics as much because they find them too hard to get into. They feel like unless they know xyz event, crossover and past issue already they won't follow the comic.

That and the high cost per issue for not that much content doesn't help, either.

[superduperman]

I thought this was already announced.
Or is she being assigned to a different position than originally planned?

Edit:
Yeah, it was.
But it was announced that she would be sharing the role with Michele Wells.
Is Wells still involved?

No. She was just fired this morning. Along with a bunch of other people in a second round of layoffs. None of this bodes well for the company.

[Ra-El]

No. She was just fired this morning. Along with a bunch of other people in a second round of layoffs. None of this bodes well for the company.

So the real news wasn't Marie Javis is the new Editor In Chief, but that WB fired another bunch of people.

[Bruce Wayne]

No. She was just fired this morning. Along with a bunch of other people in a second round of layoffs. None of this bodes well for the company.

AT&T has 150 billion in debt. A good chunk was from the purchase of WB. Their solution is basically layoffs at all levels to save money. DC's is ultimately at the mercy of AT&T. DC is screwed because of the losses in personnel, which probably well continue until AT&T corrects its balance sheet.