Layoffs at DC?

[Robanker]

Try Naomi. Makes Young Justice look like bad fanfic. And I say this as someone who has enjoyed Bendis' YJ.

Anyway, obviously this has nothing to do with the recent news about layoffs, this is just run of the mill "books aren't selling so they're out" business and prepping for whatever relaunch/reboot stuff is waiting at the end of Metal.

Yeah, but that doesn't mean the series will be renewed during the relaunch, or should I remind you of PG and Zatanna's ongoings before Flashpoint? :P

Really sad to see Hawkman and Young Justice go, and considering they finally fixed the Hawk's history, I really hope that solicitation isn't on the mark. I just want the Hawks alive, well and together for when the JSA rolls back around.

[Holt]

Silver lining with SS cancelled is one less Harley Quinn book.

SS is absolutely getting relaunched given both a movie and a game are due out.

[skyvolt2000]

Yeah, but that doesn't mean the series will be renewed during the relaunch, or should I remind you of PG and Zatanna's ongoings before Flashpoint? :P

Really sad to see Hawkman and Young Justice go, and considering they finally fixed the Hawk's history, I really hope that solicitation isn't on the mark. I just want the Hawks alive, well and together for when the JSA rolls back around.

Like Xombi they were probably axed due to New 52. Unlike Xombi they were already in the middle of arcs that needed to finish.

Seeing that other companies do season 2 or stop between runs-why not with Naomi. Because if that gap was planned-I am sure stories for season 2 are already done.

[Dylan Davison]

Yeah, but that doesn't mean the series will be renewed during the relaunch, or should I remind you of PG and Zatanna's ongoings before Flashpoint? :P

Really sad to see Hawkman and Young Justice go, and considering they finally fixed the Hawk's history, I really hope that solicitation isn't on the mark. I just want the Hawks alive, well and together for when the JSA rolls back around.

Never remind us, haha..I loved that Paul Dini run....

Thought Zee did go right over to JLD when new52 started. So maybe these characters will be tossed somewhere elae.

[kjn]

And looking a bit more into my crystal ball on what might change with DC.

Several of the lower-performing regular titles will be cut. This does not necessarily mean that they will give up on these characters, but any new stories involving them will be in digitals, OGNs, anthology titles, or limited series.

A lot of changes among the creators, especially writers. The "regular" stable of King, Snyder, Tynion, Bendis, Tomasi, Jurgens, and so on won't disappear, but they will become far less prominent. We will see a slow and gradual shift towards bringing in writers from other backgrounds and experiences—see DC Young for a possible model. This won't happen overnight: DC should want to keep their established contracts ticking for all sorts of reasons, but once those contracts run out, there likely will be changes of various sorts.

A far less proactive editorial policy, in favour of editing focused on recruiting writers, selecting among pitches, and keeping the publication pipeline running. One result of that will be that each writer will get a lot more independence in how to they write their title, with fewer editorial constraints on story points or events. This is partly due to the way that Wells ran DC Young, but also because with a smaller editorial staff, DC pretty much has no choice but to give their writers more creative freedom.

Changes in how different characters are approached. I'm especially interested in the Batgirl/Oracle problem and how they will approach Harley and Ivy, but there are probably other characters where DC's editorial staff has rather different ideas on how to handle these characters compared to creators and fans.

Also, I believe that the creative lead will move from the direct market books to OGNs and digital. This does not mean that DC will abandon the direct market, but it will be of secondary importance for DC's creative efforts.

[OpaqueGiraffe17]

Jim Lee clears up a lot of rumors and worries in this new interview: https://t.co/tY3uMCHVXg

This clears stuff up considerably. Looks like transitioning to the OGN angle we’be been speculating may have been off the mark after all. And they’re aiming at clearing out the bottom fourth of their line.

[cranger]

SS is absolutely getting relaunched given both a movie and a game are due out.

I figured they would come up with a new title for this new concept. It is not like it is going to look anything like the movie or game and we know movies/games do not lead to people walking in to comic book stores looking for those titles. As long as there is something in the back catalogue to resolicit to book stores, they are covered.

What we might get is something digital first that features the Suicide Squad as it appears in the movie and/or game.

[Konja7]

This clears stuff up considerably. Looks like transitioning to the OGN angle we’be been speculating may have been off the mark after all. And they’re aiming at clearing out the bottom fourth of their line.

Why do you think this interviee makes the speculatiion about "transitioninging to the OGN" to be wrong?

He never say it isn't a possibility.

[Gaius]

SS is absolutely getting relaunched given both a movie and a game are due out.

Yes, unfortunately.

[Konja7]

One rumor I heard this week is that DC is going to only sell trades and OGNs and make a deal with Marvel for them to publish DC’s comics.

(Laughs.) There is nothing further from the truth in that. I don’t know where you would even connect those dots. Why would we ever do that?


This question is curious. I've never heard a rumor of the Layoff that include Marvel. This distracts from the main question about transition plans to OGN.

[cranger]

Why do you think this interviee makes the speculatiion about "transitioninging to the OGN" to be wrong?

He never say it isn't a possibility.

One rumor I heard this week is that DC is going to only sell trades and OGNs and make a deal with Marvel for them to publish DC’s comics.

(Laughs.) There is nothing further from the truth in that. I don’t know where you would even connect those dots. Why would we ever do that?

Unless you think he is lying or avoiding half the question.

[Robanker]

I'm confused on that last part. Are they going digital only?

But other then that, great interview. Smaller amount of comics is fine, as long as it's not all Batman haha.

A lot of us, myself included, have been saying they should do this with their b/c list for years. Release stuff like Metal Men digitally at a more reasonable price point and then either print it in floppies or collect it as a trade if successful.

Characters like The Metal Men, Power Girl, Blue Beetle and so many others have core fanbases but struggle in the direct market. This allows them to have books and not get crushed because they don't measure up to the DM model.

Believe me, I'd rather they were in print, but it ain't happening. If digital gives them adventures with the possibility of coming out in print, then sure, let's do it.

It just requires DC to commit and give them talent without looking at digital like some graveyard to keep an IP warm... So we'll see.

Never remind us, haha..I loved that Paul Dini run....

Thought Zee did go right over to JLD when new52 started. So maybe these characters will be tossed somewhere elae.

She did, and like PG, during the new 52 she got reshuffled into a team book. That's about what I expect it the Hawks survive, sadly.

I loved that Zee run too.

And looking a bit more into my crystal ball on what might change with DC.

Several of the lower-performing regular titles will be cut. This does not necessarily mean that they will give up on these characters, but any new stories involving them will be in digitals, OGNs, anthology titles, or limited series.

A lot of changes among the creators, especially writers. The "regular" stable of King, Snyder, Tynion, Bendis, Tomasi, Jurgens, and so on won't disappear, but they will become far less prominent. We will see a slow and gradual shift towards bringing in writers from other backgrounds and experiences—see DC Young for a possible model. This won't happen overnight: DC should want to keep their established contracts ticking for all sorts of reasons, but once those contracts run out, there likely will be changes of various sorts.

A far less proactive editorial policy, in favour of editing focused on recruiting writers, selecting among pitches, and keeping the publication pipeline running. One result of that will be that each writer will get a lot more independence in how to they write their title, with fewer editorial constraints on story points or events. This is partly due to the way that Wells ran DC Young, but also because with a smaller editorial staff, DC pretty much has no choice but to give their writers more creative freedom.

Changes in how different characters are approached. I'm especially interested in the Batgirl/Oracle problem and how they will approach Harley and Ivy, but there are probably other characters where DC's editorial staff has rather different ideas on how to handle these characters compared to creators and fans.

Also, I believe that the creative lead will move from the direct market books to OGNs and digital. This does not mean that DC will abandon the direct market, but it will be of secondary importance for DC's creative efforts.

I sincerely hope writers from other backgrounds are edited strongly because usually they just come in, wing it and deliver a mess. See: Kreisberg, Guggenheim, Picoult.

Sometimes it's very hit-or-miss: Smith, Meltzer.

Do we know of any examples where they hit it out of the park?

This is all for main line, of course. Anything goes in Elseworlds and YA stuff.

[Holt]

and we know movies/games do not lead to people walking in to comic book stores looking for those titles.

And I'm sure this push will involve trying to change that.

Suicide Squad has been consistently published in some capacity since 2011, so that will likely continue.

[HsssH]

While I have enjoyed many of the low-selling comics I understand that at some point they had to cut them for good.

[kilderkin]

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.

As I understand it from a friend in copyrighted and trademark law the characters might become free from copyright but the distinctive likeness continues to be a trademark

So for instance

In the future superman might become public domain, but not the distinctive aspects of his design, the sheild and kiss curl iirc

That's one way long established images are protected

But as I say, this is my second hand understanding