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In his video introducing DC's Rebirth publishing plan, Geoff Johns calls it a "third rebirth" for DC. At first I thought this referred to the original DC, Silver age Flash and...something else? But he was actually referring to reimagining Green Lantern and the Flash characters with better, more motivated origins. Perhaps more accurately, from an external viewpoint, its the third rebirth of DC in the Diane Nelson era, following the New 52, DCYou and now a new line based on core characters. Or as he put it, in the video's most quoted line, "It's not just an event, it's a mission for us."
"52" is the lucky number at DC Comics, and with the (once) New 52 reaching their 52nd issues, it's time to celebrate with a series of variant covers, because as far as we know, a NEWER 52 might be on the way.
Everyone has been wondering what DC would do to shore up its line, and now Bleeding Cool has a rumor that is sure to heat up the hot stove league: a June relaunch with a focus on more media-centric titles: And the new line even more dominated with Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and Harley Quinn/Suicide […]
It’s obvious to anyone who’s been looking at the sales charts of late that DC is having something of a sales problem, with levels not bouncing back after Convergence and the DC You relaunch something of a dud. Dark Knight III was a cash injection but it hasn’t been enough to lift the fighter off […]
If you were concerned that the next Avengers movie, Avenger: Infinity War, slated for 2018, would contain 150 Marvel characters and sacrifice drama, storytelling and memory storage to too many characters running around, rest easy: there will only be 100 characters in the film. that's because the Marvel Netflix character can't really cross over into the movies. This little tiddlebt was revealed by director Joe Russo—one half of the Directin' Russo Brothers—who was being interviewed by a Portuguese outlet, and thought, as many have before him, that just because it was in a foreign language he could be bat more candid than normal.
Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige will no longer report to the notoriously difficult Isaac Perlmutter, but instead will report directly to Disney Studios head Alan Horn, a move that will give him much more freedom.
(Above, Ryan Sook’s cover for Superman: Alien American #1) If you’ve been following our sales charts here at The Beat you know that June was the big relaunch month for DC following Convergence and the move west, with 20 new #1s and new storylines and new costumes for old favorites. And sales were pretty good […]
As we all know, DC is now a west coast company, and there’s a lot of changes happening. Co-publishers Dan DiDio and Jim Lee have been doing the press rounds with a series of interviews conducted at SDCC for various outlets, and in the Comic Book Resources edition it seems like stability is the new […]
With DC Entertainment not ensconced safely in the petri dish of the Burbank studio world, THR’s Borys Kit delivers the Story of the Move with two videos of the DC library then and now. Trigger warning: images of Steve Korte holding a whip.
The move west didn’t merely uproot the staff; it also meant a cross-country trip for DC’s celebrated library on Broadway, which was stored in a vault and included nearly every comic the company has published as well as a collection of licensed merchandise and oddities. (Collectively, DC’s copies of the first appearances of Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are worth more than $2 million.)
Special movers, working with Warner Bros. Archives, packed nearly 100,000 comics and 8,000 hardcover books into 600 boxes, and a security team escorted them to a giant truck in mid-March. DC executives tracked the vehicle via GPS, and another security team oversaw the collection’s unloading. “It was like medevacking the heart from New York to Burbank,” says Nelson.
The front office certainly looks nice. I still feel a stab when I go up to the Carnegie Hall area, but sometimes puling stakes and moving is what it takes:
Overall, the move went as smoothly as possible, with no major damage to the collection reported. Nelson, whose office door boasts a transparent Wonder Woman image, says the new environment has affected employees and their work: “There’s a happiness that comes with being so close to the studio — seeing people they haven’t seen on a regular basis — and being in a creative space that feels like a comic company.”
“In this year on March 1st came at last the Passing of King Elessar. It is said that the beds of Meriadoc and Peregrin were set beside the bed of the great king. Then Legolas built a grey ship in Ithilien, and sailed down Anduin and so over Sea; and with him; it is said, went Gimli the Dwarf. And when that ship passed, an end was come in Middle-earth of the Fellowship of the Ring”.
Today is the final day of DC Entertainment’s New York office, long located at 1700 Broadway, opposite the Ed Sullivan Theater where the Beatles took America and Stephen Colbert will soon take up residence. DC will now be located in Burbank, near its Warner Brothers parent company.
After 18 months of slow, agonizing attrition, the final New Yorkers, those who chose not to make the move to the new Burbank offices, will turn off the lights, shove the last color xerox into the shredder and move on to their new lives. I understand that Mad Magazine is staying in New York, and Marie Javins is shutting down some convergence stuff before she to goes off to the Grey Havens, but this is really the end of an era.
Usually when I say someone retiring is the end of an era, I mean that the way that person did business is gone. In this case I really do mean it is the end of the era of New York publishing in general, and New York comics publishing in specifics. From its sleazy, pulp infused beginning in the offices of Harry Donenfeld and Major Nicholson Wheeler, to the shops of Iger and Fox, on through the legendary Camelot of the Marvel Bullpen, the confident smiles of Continuity Studios, the DC implosion, Marvelcution, the Crisis Era, the evolution of stats to FTP servers, from men and women with bottles of india ink bowed over pages of art to men and women with wacom tablets fixing pixels, New York was at the heart of the American comics industry.
Although by the dawn of the direct sales era, Marvel and DC were the only publishers left in New York proper, they still loomed large in the freelancer’s ambitions and the readers’s imagination. For decade, a visit to the city by an out of town creator might include appointments at both Marvel and DC, in olden days merely wandering the halls in search of a friendly editor; in newer times appointments, visitors badges and close supervision were more the order of the day. (I’m not sure anyone is actually allowed in the Marvel offices any more.) People still visit the offices of Marvel and DC—mostly movie stars and wrestlers, based on the photos I see on my Twitter feed—but for freelancers it isn’t the kind of cozy home away from home that made certain editor’s offices a hang out spot as welcome as the corner bar or coffee shop.
One of my first visits to the DC offices was in the 80s before it moved to 1700 Broadway. Hanging out in Mark Waid’s office he told me it was my lucky day because Steve Ditko was coming by to drop off some work a bit later. Needless to say, I hung out until the moment arrived, shaking the great man’s hand awkwardly. Ever the professional, Ditko dropped of his pages, mumbled you’re welcome and then left. Later in the day I stood in front of a wall of covers as some guy named Mike Mignola analyzed their compositions.
An earlier visit (I’m too shy to say what year) was to interview Marv Wolfman, who put up with my fangirl interrogation with more courtesy than he had any need to. During the ordeal, a tall, gaunt young man arrived to shoot the shit, introducing himself as Frank Miller. I think he had read some of my writing in the Comics Journal and as I stammered my admiration of Daredevil, he said he liked my writing. I definitely wrote all about that day in my diary that night.
Many years later—after I had actually become Marv’s assistant for several years, sitting in an office in Burbank not far from where the new DC offices are located—I actually got a job at DC Comics itself, and 1700 Broadway became the daily destination of my commute. I’m not going to lie, the brief three years I worked at DC were miserable, definitely as much for the people I worked with as for me. But there were fun times, despite it all. Crashing Letterman rehearsals with Martha Thomases. Listening to anime soundtracks in Andy Helfer’s office. Working with incredible creators like Brian K. Vaughan, Warren Ellis, Darrick Robertson, Rodney Ramos, Devin Grayson, John Bolton, Sean Philips, Dylan Horrocks, Philip Bond and many more. Giving some people their first notable jobs, like Pia Guerra and Giuseppe Camuncoli. My first assignment there was editing the Space Ghost Coast to Coast comic, and I got Andy Merrill who wrote it and did the voice of Brak, to record the outgoing message on my answering machine. That was fun and I wish I had a recording of that recording!
Even when I worked there, 15 years ago, DC’s 1700 office space already seemed to be some kind of throwback to a previous era of corporate life. Every other place I’d worked had open plan cubicles and doors with windows for all but mega boss level execs. At DC even assistants had a solid door that could be shut for total privacy, creating a little world where you could tear your hair out over late freelancers or office politics. (Sometimes the doors didn’t shut enough; on one of my early, journalistic visits to the office, through a door left ajar I was amazed to see someone—Joe Orlando?—taking a full on nap, face down on his desk.) A stat room—outdated even when I worked there—adorned with an 8-track tape was one of my particular favorite places. A hallway leading to the ladies room near the Vertigo offices was what I called “The Hall of the Failed Imprints” with the logos of Impulse, Piranha, Helix and more in a stately parade. A giant framed cover of a book called Leave it to Binky with the image of a man mistakenly kissing a fish suggested that humor comics had once been popular and I theorized that they could be again, but I was seemingly alone in that belief.
The years I worked at DC happened to coincide with the lowest depths of the US comics industry since Wertham. Sales were awful and morale was low around town—Marvel was coming out of bankruptcy and had some good stuff in the Marvel Knights line, but that was an outlier. I was convinced that graphic novels and the alternate esthetics of the indie comics world would help rebuild the audience that had fled in droves following the speculation bust earlier in the 90s, but finding a way to actually put that conviction into action wasn’t easy in an industry where risking any money whatsoever was a pipedream.
But I survived, comics survived, manga brought in a whole new readership, Bill Jemas’s daring moves at Marvel perked up the interest of some new and lapsed readers; DC figured out how to get the Wednesday crowd totally committed with events like the original 52, and movies starring Spider-Man, Batman and the X-men proved that the characters had legs outside the pages of deconstructed periodicals.
And a new boom was made, much of it coming out of the offices at 1700 Broadway.
I’ve written a lot about the politics of DC’s New York offices over the years, but the short version of the story I always heard is that Warner Bros. always wanted to move it to the West Coast, or at least had an inkling of wanting to do it. And Paul Levitz, the Gandalf of this particular tale, knew it, but always stayed one step ahead of those plans. When Levitz left all the way back in 2009 and Diane Nelson took over, moving the offices to the West Coast was once again considered—and a whole west coast office that was staff-ready was already built— but Levitz, or someone, had signed such a long lease on the offices that to break it would literally have cost more than the move. So it took a few more years before the plan could finally be announced, in the fall of 2013.
And then the long goodbye began.
I think the last time I was actually in the DC offices was five years ago, to see the late Jerry Robinson talk about his iconic Joker art he was selling. Over the last few months, I had a lot of plans to go up to DC for one last visit, but I could never bring myself to put it on my calendar. I guess it would have been too sad to actually see in real life. My Facebook feed has been sad enough over the last few months, with questions about Los Angeles real estate, then photos of packing, goodbye parties, and status updates located at LAX. The new DC looks to be an interesting place, with a lot of new attitudes and definitely some changed procedures. I’ll put up all the speculation I’ve been saving up about the future of DC in a later post, but for now, it’s time to end this era.
Ron Marz also has a bittersweet reminiscence:
Visiting a publisher’s offices is a boon to a freelancer’s career. It makes you a face, not merely a name attached to an e-mail. You get so much more accomplished in the same room, rather than via electronic means. Assignments result from those visits; bumping into an editor in the hall can bear more fruit than a stack of pitches.
I was offered the writing gig on “Superboy” when I was up at the office, the editor essentially saying, “Hey, we need new, regular ‘Superboy’ writer. Do you want to do it?” I said yes, and started on it shortly thereafter. It was that simple.
Dan DiDio had some of the best packing up photos of all on his FB page.
Computers for the last remaining New York employees were removed Wednesday, just leaving more clean-up, as wistfully chronicled by Vertigo’s group editor Will Dennis, who is not making the move.
Life goes on, and I’m sure we’ll look back on all this as an exciting new era for DC in years to come. Eventually people who remembered DC being in New York will be vastly outnumbered by people who only heard about it, and Will’s Roy Batty quote will be entirely accurate. I send my best to those who are leaving their jobs, and to those who took the move to the West. In the movie “Wild” there’s talk about coming to a “fork in the road” in life. This fork was more corporate than most, but instead of dreaming of a thrilling job at a New York publishing house, kids will now dream of a thrilling job at a small division of a movie studio. And Batman will still throw up his Bat-signal.
Anyone who knows me, knows I have a Lord of the Rings quote for every occasion, and here’s the one that kept going through my mind as I wrote this, from the end of the chapter “Lothlórian”:
At the hill’s foot Frodo found Aragorn, standing still and silent as a tree; but in his hand was a small golden bloom of elanor, and a light was in his eyes. He was wrapped in some fair memory: and as Frodo looked at him he knew that he beheld things as they once had been in this same place. For the grim years were removed from the face of Aragorn, and he seemed clothed in white, a young lord tall and fair; and he spoke words in the Elvish tongue to one whom Frodo could not see. Arwen vanimelda, namárië! he said, and then he drew a breath, and returning out of his thought he looked at Frodo and smiled.
`Here is the heart of Elvendom on earth,’ he said, `and here my heart dwells ever, unless there be a light beyond the dark roads that we still must tread, you and I. Come with me! ‘ And taking Frodo’s hand in his, he left the hill of Cerin Amroth and came there never again as living man.
Another East Coast resident is staying on and has a job as former DC associate editor Rickey Purdin has just been announced as Marvel’s newest Talent Manager:
As Talent Manager, Purdin will continue to escalate and bring awareness to the Marvel Comics brand by seeking out and cultivating the next generation of comic book writers and artists as well as working with Marvel’s current pantheon of extraordinary creators. “I can’t express how thrilling it is to join Marvel after so many years of reading these comics and being shaped by the characters, stories, and creative teams,” says Purdin. “Aiding Marvel’s extremely talented editorial team is a dream-come-true and incredible developments are already in the works.”
C.B. Cebulski, Marvel’s VP of International Development endorses Purdin by stating, “Marvel has always made our talent our top priority and with Rickey’s hiring, we know our artists will continue to be in the most capable of hands. With his deep understanding of style and storytelling, and history of identifying up-and-coming artists, Rickey’s role will ensure that everyone from this industry’s youngest guns to the most seasoned of veterans will continue creating the best comics possible for Marvel!”
Prior to joining Marvel, Rickey was able to work with exceptionally gifted creators and also provided a keen editorial eye across various Superman and Batman titles.
Rickey Purdin is another outstanding talent continuing to expand his visionary work with Marvel, the House of Ideas.
Purdin is also another member of the Legion of Ex-Wizard employees, a large and varied group that has done much to change the face of comics.
This week DC has been revealing new looks for its core characters, including some startling fashion changes. The new looks have been revealed in various places We’ve cobbled it all up for you below but here’s the shorter version:
• Batman is now a robot or something. Scott Snyder calls it “the boldest, weirdest, biggest thing we’ve ever tried on the book.” Maybe the suit is an eco skeleton or something…his ears are now antenna-thingies that have distant echoes of a cross between Doom PAtrol Cliff, Batman Beyond and Ultron.
• Superman now looks like..Channing Tatum. After he trashed his tights the other day he’s put on some comfy jeans that give him mobility and a sporty vibe. This look debuted in the Morrison/Quitely Action Comics, but Superman has a shorter, more contemporary haircut. And no capes because Edna Mode.
• Wonder Woman has gotten a VERY thorough update that also seems to include body armor as well as big wrist spikes (ala Wolverine) and a logo treatment that…well, it resembles Captain Marvel just a weeeeeeee bit. I don’t really like loincloths, but whatever floats your boat.
• Also Harley Quinn has kneeepads…dont’ know how long that has been going on but NOT GOING THERE.
While I don’t expect to see any of these looks on toasters or immersion blenders any time soon, a shake up is good, and I’m sure all the stories behind these changes will be exciting (The Batman robot one looks promising). In the meantime here’ amore of DC’s new June look:
Here’s the lineup:
BATMAN #41
Written by SCOTT SNYDER Art by GREG CAPULLO and DANNY MIKI
Cover by GREG CAPULLO
THE JOKER Variant cover by SEAN MURPHY
On sale JUNE 10 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for more information.
The all-new Batman makes his debut! Who is he, and what happens next? Find out here as a new era begins in Gotham City!
ACTION COMICS #41
Written by GREG PAK and AARON KUDER / Art and cover by AARON KUDER
THE JOKER Variant cover by DARWYN COOKE
On sale JUNE 3 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
The epic new storyline “TRUTH” begins! For Superman, there’s no more holding back!
HARLEY QUINN #17
Written by AMANDA CONNER and JIMMY PALMIOTTI / Art by CHAD HARDIN
Cover by AMANDA CONNER / THE JOKER Variant cover by EDUARDO RISSO
On sale JUNE 10 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
They’re here – the Gang of Harleys has arrived! Because the world demanded more Harley Quinn, Harley has answered the call – will a dozen more Harleys do the trick? Meet Carli Quinn, Harley Queen, HanukQuinn, and many, many, MANY more in a story that will have your sides splitting!
SINESTRO #12
Written by CULLEN BUNN / Art by BRAD WALKER and ANDREW HENNESSY
Cover by MARTIN COCCOLO / THE JOKER Variant cover by JOSHUA MIDDLETON
On sale JUNE 17 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T
There’s a traitor in the Sinestro Corps who has set New Korugar on a path to certain destruction! The smart move would be to evacuate the Korugarian refugees from the planet, but Sinestro knows finding the identity of the traitor is more crucial, which leads to an unexpected betrayal from someone you would never expect, and a punishment from Sinestro that will alter someone’s life irrevocably!
GRAYSON #9
Written by TOM KING and TIM SEELEY / Art and cover by MIKEL JANIN
THE JOKER Variant cover by DAVE JOHNSON
On sale JUNE 24 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Everything changes as Helena takes over SPYRAL! Plus: Grayson gets a new partner!
WONDER WOMAN #41
Written by MEREDITH FINCH
Art and cover by DAVID FINCH and
JONATHAN GLAPION
THE JOKER Variant cover by BRIAN BOLLAND
On sale JUNE 17 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US RATED T
Retailers: This issue will ship with two covers. Please see the order form for details.
A daring new direction begins with the arrival of a brand-new villain! But while he may be new to us, he’s not new to the world he seeks to tame. And speaking of villains, Donna Troy’s quest to destroy Wonder Woman ratchets up another gear (if that’s even possible!), while the games of the Gods bring dark portents to the ultimate Amazon!
GREEN LANTERN #41
Written by ROBERT VENDITTI
Art by BILLY TAN and MARK IRWIN
Cover by BILLY TAN
THE JOKER Variant cover by BEN OLIVER
On sale JUNE 3 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
“Renegade!” Beginning a new chapter in Hal Jordan’s life as he becomes the universe’s most wanted outlaw! And wait till you meet Hal’s new partner, Darlene. She’s definitely not what you’re expecting!
DETECTIVE COMICS #41
Written by FRANCIS MANAPUL and
BRIAN BUCCELLATO
Art and cover by FRANCIS MANAPUL
THE JOKER Variant cover by PATRICK GLEASON
On sale JUNE 10 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
Following the events of “Endgame,” get ready to ride with the GCPD in a whole new city! Harvey Bullock is leading a Bat task force, but what are his duties, and can he be trusted? And what kind of welcome awaits his new partner, Renee Montoya?
SUPERMAN/WONDER WOMAN #18
Written by PETER J. TOMASI
Art by DOUG MAHNKE and others
Cover by PAULO SIQUEIRA
THE JOKER Variant cover by CLIFF CHIANG
On sale JUNE 17 • 32 pg, FC, $3.99 US • RATED T
The epic new storyline “TRUTH” continues! As the pressure mounts, a relationship is tested!
Also here’s a look at the Batman/Superman #21 cover where you can see the robotic bats in all its glory.
As this morning’s DC news broke, people started….tweeting. They couldn’t help it.
Also, is Prez actually Beymax?
By:
Heidi MacDonald,
on 2/6/2015
Blog:
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It’s the new 49—or the end of the New 52. DC has just unrolled their June line-up, a slate of 24 new titles, along with 25 returning ones, which, they promise, will show the new face of comics.
This summer, DC Entertainment launches a bold new direction for the DC Universe (DCU) that is even more inclusive and accessible to a wider group of readers as the publisher continues to evolve comic storytelling for its next generation of fans.
In other words, the winds of changing rattling the have even been felt at DC comics and now we have National Book Award nominated writer Gene Luen Yang writing Superman.
How different is this line-up? Bat-Mite, Bizarro and Prez are back, three humor oriented titles long banished from the grim and gritty.
The lineup will be debuted to the world in DC’s Free Comic Book Day offering, shown above, which features Batman by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo, Justice League by Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok and Superman by Gene Luen Yang and John Romita, Jr.
The move comes on the day that DC is holding a retailer summit at their new Burbank offices this weekend. The new titles will debut in June following the two month “Convergence” event which tides over the company as its staff moves to the West Coast.
The New 52 branding, announced in 2011 with huge fanfare, served its purpose well. The new continuity introduced will remain but more new reader friendly book will be introduced. And the tone will be different. Ming Doyle will be writing Constantine: The Hellblazer AND drawing Dark Universe, to be written by James Tynion IV. The popular Harley Quinn team of Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti will add Harley Quinn/Power Girl a 6-issue limited series, and Starfire with are by Emanuela Lupachino. Garth Ennis and John McCrea are back with a Hitman spin-off, Section Eight. Although 25 titles will return, among the cancelled: Batman And Robin, Earth 2, Justice League Dark, Justice League 3000, Supergirl, Red Hood And The Outlaws.
The new line-up is announced at a time when Marvel is also refashioning it’s line, with a new look following May’s Secret Wars.Meaning this summer will be a very different, very inclusive, very diverse comics industry.
We’ll be back with some commentary in a bit.
Here’s the entire line-up with art (where available) as it’s rolled out this morning:
Batman Beyond
W: Dan Jurgens
A: Bernard Chang
Bat-Mite (6-issue limited)
W: Dan Jurgens
A: Corin Howell
Bizarro (6-issue limited)
W: Heath Corson
A: Gustavo Duarte
Black Canary
W: Brenden Fletcher
A: Annie Wu & Irene Koh
Constantine: The Hellblazer
W: Ming Doyle
A: Riley Rossmo
Cyborg
W: David Walker
A: Ivan Reis
Dark Universe
W: James Tynion IV
A: Ming Doyle
Green Lantern: Lost Army
W: Cullen Bunn
A: Jesus Saiz & Javi Pina
Doomed
W: Scott Lobdell
A: Javier Fernandez
Earth 2: Society
W: Daniel Wilson
A: Jorge Jimenez
Dr. Fate
W: Paul Levitz
A: Sonny Liew
Harley Quinn/Power Girl (6-issue limited)
W: Jimmy Palmiotti & Amanda Conner
A: Stephane Roux
Justice League of America
W: Bryan Hitch
A: Bryan Hitch
Justice League 3001
W: Keith Giffen
A: Howard Porter
Martian Manhunter
W: Rob Williams
A: Ben Oliver
Midnighter
W: Steve Orlando
A: ACO
Mystic U
W: Alisa Kwitney
A: Stay tuned for artist info!
Omega Men
W: Tom King
A: Alec Morgan
Prez
W: Mark Russell
A: Ben Caldwell
Red Hood/Arsenal
W: Scott Lobdell
A: Denis Medri
Robin, Son of Batman
W: Patrick Gleason
A: Patrick Gleason
Section Eight (6-issue limited)
W: Garth Ennis
A: John McCrea
Starfire
W: Jimmy Palmiotti & Amanda Conner
A: Emanuela Lupacchino
We Are Robin
W: Lee Bermejo
A: Khary Randolph
Ongoing Titles
Action Comics
W: Greg Pak
A: Aaron Kuder
Aquaman
W: Cullen Bunn
A: Trevor McCarthy
Batgirl
W: Cameron Stewart & Brenden Fletcher
A: Babs Tarr
Batman
W: Scott Snyder
A: Greg Capullo
Detective Comics
W; Brian Buccelato & Francis Manapul
A: Francis Manapul
Batman/Superman
W: Greg Pak
A: Ardian Syaf
Catwoman
W: Genevieve Valentine
A: David Messina
Deathstroke
W: Tony S. Daniel
A: Tony S. Daniel
The Flash
W: Robert Venditti & Van Jensen
A: Brett Booth
Gotham Academy
W: Becky Cloonan & Brenden Fletcher
A: Karl Kerschl
Gotham By Midnight
W: Ray Fawkes
A: Juan Ferreyra
Grayson
W: Tom King & Tim Seeley
A: Mikel Janin
Green Arrow
W: Ben Percy
A: Zircher
Green Lantern
W: Robert Venditti
A: Billy Tan
Harley Quinn
W: Jimmy Palmiotti & Amanda Conner
A: Chad Hardin
Justice League
W: Geoff Johns
A: Jason Fabok
Justice League United
W:Stay tuned for creative team info!
A:
Lobo
W: Cullen Bunn
A: Cliff Richards
Secret Six
W: Gail Simone
A: Dale Eaglesham
Sinestro
W: Cullen Bunn
A: Bradley Walker
New Suicide Squad
W: Sean Ryan
A: Carlos D’Anda
Superman
W: Gene Luen Yang
A: John Romita, Jr.
Superman/Wonder Woman
W: Peter J. Tomasi
A: Doug Mahnke
Teen Titans
W: Will Pfeifer
A: Kenneth Rocafort
Wonder Woman
W: Meredith Finch
A: David Finch
And the PR:
This summer, DC Entertainment launches a bold new direction for the DC Universe (DCU) that is even more inclusive and accessible to a wider group of readers as the publisher continues to evolve comic storytelling for its next generation of fans. Award-winning, critically acclaimed writers are headlining the June 2015 slate of DC Comics’ new periodicals and graphic novels, including Gene Luen Yang, Bryan Hitch, Garth Ennis and Ming Doyle.
Beginning June 3rd, the DC Comics line of comic books will consist of 24 brand-new series that will begin at issue number one, as well as 25 on-going, bestselling fan favorite series that will continue without a break in the issue numbering. The total number of periodicals in the DCU will be 49, with additional new titles debuting throughout the year.
“This heralds in a new era for the DC Universe which will allow us to publish something for everyone, be more expansive and modern in our approach and tell stories that better reflect the society around us,” said DC Entertainment Co-Publisher Dan DiDio. “Whether you’ve been a DC fan your whole life, or whether you are new to comics – there will be a book for you beginning in June.”
DC Comics will be keenly focused on going back-to-basics with its legendary characters, like BATMAN, SUPERMAN and WONDER WOMAN, while also reinventing key characters, such as BLACK CANARY, BIZARRO, CYBORG and STARFIRE, with a new contemporary tonality to ensure a diverse offering of titles. Top writers and artists, as well as emerging fresh voices, are on board to help create an expansive lineup of comics that appeals to a broad audience of fans.
Depicting some of these iconic characters in a more contemporary light include National Book Award finalist Gene Luen Yang who will join artist John Romita Jr. in the ongoing adventures of SUPERMAN. Comic superstar artist Bryan Hitch will write and draw new tales of the world’s greatest heroes in JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA. The pitch perfect team of Garth Ennis and John McCrea returns to DC Comics for a limited series called SECTION EIGHT featuring characters from their popular Hitman comic. VERTIGO creator Ming Doyle will be lending her talents to DC Comics, penning CONSTANTINE: THE HELLBLAZER along with newcomer artist Riley Rossmo.
“More than ever before, DC Comics fans are being exposed to our rich portfolio of characters through multiple sources, including an unprecedented number of highly successful TV shows, video games and upcoming major motion pictures,” said Co-Publisher Jim Lee. “We are looking to extend that experience within publishing to ensure there is a comic book for everyone. For example, fans of the ARROW television show may want more stories about BLACK CANARY. Now they can find modern, fresh takes on the character in the pages of her standalone series both in stores and digitally.”
Breakout star, Brenden Fletcher, co-writer behind the all new, highly successful BATGIRL book will also be writing the new BLACK CANARY series launching in June. Fan favorites Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti will be the creative team on new titles STARFIRE and HARLEY QUINN/POWER GIRL and will continue to helm the perennially bestselling HARLEY QUINN.
“Beyond character and creators, the June slate will showcase different styles and approaches to storytelling as we add offbeat, irreverently funny titles such as BIZARRO, BAT-MITE and PREZ,” said Lee. “Truly there will be something for everybody as we simultaneously celebrate our rich legacy while embracing new voices and concepts.”
A first look at upcoming storylines will be the focus of DC Entertainment’s Free Comic Book Day issue – DC COMICS: DIVERGENCE – available Saturday, May 2, featuring three 8-page previews for the June releases of Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s BATMAN, as well as Geoff Johns and Jason Fabok’s launch of the Darkseid War within JUSTICE LEAGUE featuring the biggest villains in the DCU – Darkseid and the Anti-Monitor, and Gene Luen Yang’s DC Comics debut with celebrated artist John Romita, Jr on SUPERMAN. More than half-a million free issues of the DC Entertainment sampler will be given away at comic book retailers globally.
“In this new era of storytelling, story will trump continuity as we continue to empower creators to tell the best stories in the industry,” said DiDio.
To learn more about the June DC Universe slate, visit www.dccomics.com.
And the final week of Convergence mini-series has been announced, with characters from the ancient Pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths world, with a little oddball stuff like the Crime Syndicate. Announcements were made at EW and Newsarama. The previous weeks of COnvergence—the two issue moving fill-in event that will help ease DC’s staff into their new West Coast home—focused on different eras. Week one was pre New 52; week 2 was the 90s, and week three was the 80s. And now we’ve gone back to the protean slurry.
Notable creators this time…well I like the Jeff Parker-Evan Shaner team and it’s always nice to see Len Wein, Denys Cowan and Bill Sienkiewicz working together.
PRE-CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, Earth 2
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA
Writer: Dan Abnett
Artists: Tom Derenick and Trevor Scott
Colorist: Monica Kubina
Older and in full retirement under the dome, members of the Justice Society get the chance to regain their youths to stave off forces from the Qward Universe. But the promise of youth comes with a deadly price.
INFINITY INC.
Writer: Jerry Ordway
Artist: Ben Caldwell
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
The young heroes of Infinity Inc. must choose between the path set for them by their parents or the one they’ve set for themselves as they face post-apocalyptic Jonah Hex.
DETECTIVE COMICS
Writer: Len Wein
Artists: Denys Cowan and Bill Sienkiewicz
Colorist: Felix Serrano
Helena Wayne and Dick Grayson fight side by side in memory of Bruce Wayne as they decide who will become the next Batman.
ACTION COMICS
Writer: Justin Gray
Artists: Claude St-Aubin and Sean Parsons
Colorist: Lovern Kindzierski
Superman teams up with Power Girl, but can they stop a nuclear strike from Lex Luthor and Stalin of Red Son Moscow?
WORLD’S FINEST COMICS
Writer: Paul Levitz
Artists: Jim Fern and Joe Rubinstein with cartoons by Shannon Wheeler
Colorist: Paul Mounts
The Seven Soldiers of Victory regroup to defend their city against the Qward invasion, while cartoonist Scribbly Jibbet transcribes their adventures.
PRE-CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS Earth 3
CRIME SYNDICATE
Writer: Brian Buccellato
Artist: Phil Winslade
Colorist: Lovern Kindzierski
The Crime Syndicate’s absolute control of their city is challenged when the dome comes down and changes everything. Now, Superwoman is on death row while the rest of the team fights One Million Universe’s Batman and Superman!
PRE-CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, EARTH 4
BLUE BEETLE
Writer: Scott Lobdell
Artist: Yishan Li
Colorist: Dave McCaig
Hub City is on the brink of collapse and anarchy! But its heroes—Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, and Question—find inspiration and strength from the most unlikely source.
PRE-CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, EARTH S
SHAZAM
Writer: Jeff Parker
Artist: Evan “Doc” Shaner
Colorist: Jordie Bellaire
It’s Shazam versus Steampunk, as the world of Gotham By Gaslight takes on the Captain Marvel family and friends.
PRE-CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, EARTH X
PLASTIC MAN AND THE FREEDOM FIGHTERS
Writer: Simon Oliver
Artist: John McCrea
Colorist: John Kalisz
Plastic Man and the Freedom Fighters are on the gallows in a New York taken over by Nazis, when robot super-heroes attack from Futures End and enemies become allies.
MULTIPLE EARTHS
BOOSTER GOLD
Writer: Dan Jurgens
Artists: Alvaro Martinez and Raul Fernandez
Colorist: Chris Sotomayor
Trapped with Rip Hunter and other time travelers, Booster and his future self must work together to get out of prison and off the planet.
The combination fan wish fulfillment and classic writer comeback that is Convergence—DC’s two month fill in event slated for next March and April while the company moves—have been announced, via The Nerdist and IGN. Once again it’s old home week with Marv Wolfman writing the Teen titans, Len Wein writing Swamp Thing, and artists including Tim Truman back at DC for one last go round.
This was originally going to be an event that featured a lot of younger creators, and there is one—EGOs artist Gus Storms is drawing the Legion.
BTW this event has gotten less and less attention as the weeks go on. Of course, the timing what with world news, is unfortunate. Also, holiday.
ADVENTURES OF SUPERMAN
Writer: Marv Wolfman
Artists: Roberto Viacava and Andy Owens
Colorist: Sotocolor
Superman and Supergirl try to escape the city through the Phantom Zone, but they enter a portion they’ve never seen before and learn that Supergirl is destined to die if they return to their proper time and dimension. True story
BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS
Writer: Marc Andreyko
Artist: Carlos D’Anda
Colorist: Gabe Eltaeb
After a year under the dome, the Outsiders have gone their separate ways, but when OMAC attacks, Batman must find out if they have what it takes to still be a team.
THE FLASH
Writer: Dan Abnett
Artist: Federico Dallocchio
Colorist: Veronica Gandini
Trapped in Gotham, Barry Allen has nowhere to run. He fights on, seeking justice as well as a way to save the city. But he faces a Tangent Universe foe that thinks faster than the Flash could ever move.
GREEN LANTERN CORPS
Writer: David Gallaher
Artists: Steve Ellis and Ande Parks
Colorist: Hi-Fi
Say the Oath, save the world! If only being the Green Lantern Corps was that easy. Hal has resigned, John is busy, and Guy is pissed. Together for the first time—they’ll save Gotham or die trying.
HAWKMAN
Writer: Jeff Parker
Artists: Tim Truman and Enrique Alcatena
Colorist: John Kalisz
Hawkman and Hawkgirl put their Shadow War on hold as they face the anthropomorphic might of rat-men and bat-men in the deadly land of Kamandi!
JUSTICE LEAGUE AMERICA
Writer: Fabian Nicieza
Artist: ChrisCross
Colorist: Snakebite Cortez
With their heavy hitters sidelined, Elongated Man must lead the much-maligned “Detroit Justice League” against the overwhelming power of the heroes from the Tangent Universe!
NEW TEEN TITANS
Writer: Marv Wolfman
Artists: Nicola Scott and Marc Deering
Colorist: Jeromy Cox
Titans Together! Fighting against the might of the Tangent Universe’s Doom Patrol, we are reminded why this is the greatest Titans team of all.
SUPERBOY AND THE LEGION OF SUPER-HEROES
Writer: Stuart Moore
Artists: Gus Storms and Mark Farmer
Colorist: John Rauch
While Brainiac 5 struggles to break through the dome, Superboy tries to keep the Legion of Super-Heroes spirits up—but then the Atomic Knights ride into town.
SWAMP THING
Writer: Len Wein
Artist: Kelley Jones
Colorist: Michelle Madsen
Swamp Thing struggles to survive when the dome cuts off his contact with the Green.
WONDER WOMAN
Writer: Larry Hama
Art and Color: Josh Middleton
White-jumpsuit-clad Diana Prince is in the grips of a Domesday cult when her lover Steve Trevor leaps into the fray to save Etta Candy from vampires of Red Rain.
There are now a ton of job listings up at the WB job board for DC’s new West Coast set-up. Among them publicity and strategy and planning and print and even editorial. We
looked at this a few weeks ago, and now even more content and managing jobs are posted, including a Director, Business Strategy and Planning to go along with the Manager previous listed. Are there going to be ANY indians in this village? Some good jobs there, though.
PS: Newsarama reports that DC has hired a
Director of Publicity, one
Michael Shelling , filling the role long ago vacated by
Alex Segura.
Acknowledging that moving cross country and restaffing an editorial department might be distracting for its staff, DC officially announced it’s two month fill-in event today, CONVERGENCE. The event will replace the New 52 line-up for two months, April and May of 2015, with a framing 9-issue mini-series, starting with a zero issue, and spinning into 40 two part mini series. Promo art by Carlos Paguayan and Jose Marzan Jr.
The event has been rumored for quite a while, and I’m told it was hatched back in the spring as a way to ease the transition as DC personnel make the move from NYC to Burbank in April 2015. The event was originally run by Tom DeFalco but he moved on and was replaced by ex-Marvel/Teshkeel editor Marie Javins, who worked closely with Dan Didio on the event.
The event was announced this morning in USA Today. The whole event is being overseen by TV’s Jeff King, (White Collar, Continuum, Stargate SG-1) with Carlo Pagulayan and Stephen Segovia on art on the framing mini, and Dan Jurgens and Scott Lobdell helping oversee things. The 40 two-issues minis will feature a wide variety of writers and artists.
The story itself will not feature the NEW 52 characters, but spins out of two weekly series which both end in April, Earth 2: World’s End and The New 52: Futures End. These both involved Braniac messing with various realities, and new villain, Telos will create more mischief. Just like Pandora did and we all know how well that worked out.
The series will probably deal with all the messy extra earths that DC has floating around that got papered over by the New 52, with characters such as as
Donna Troy, Blue Beetle and the Justice Society of America possibly reemerging.
“What we’re really addressing is they all exist and have existed and exist within the framework of the New 52,” Jim Lee told USA Today. “Convergence is in many ways the most meta epic event we’ve done.”
“It captures the full essence and scope of DC’s incredible history and storytelling, ” Dan DiDio said.”There is a story and a character for every generation of DC Comics fan. But then in a shocking turn, he added that Jeff King was brought on to have “a fresh set of eyes to look at it and make sure that it’s as open and accessible to all fans. Not just the people who have been reading DC throughout the years.”
According to DC’s own piece about Convergence,
If you’ve been reading THE NEW 52: FUTURES END and EARTH 2: WORLD’S END, now is the moment you’ve been waiting for. All things converge as readers get to experience the DC multiverse like never before—hundreds of heroes, hundreds of villains, numerous worlds, and universe altering events all in one place, one time.
Taking place outside of time and space—on the question mark, just below Earth 29 and above Chaos, on the Map of the Multiverse—and introducing the new villain—Telos, this massive event will be published throughout April and May.
Hm with Marvel bringing back Secret Wars and DC going multiversal on us again it’s going to be one busy summer.
As for what happens AFTER Convergence?
That…is still developing.
Well FINALLY. Warner Bros. stopped heming and hawing and announced that they are actually making a Justice League movie! Hoorah! And it’s going to be directed by Zack Snyder. Hoo…rah? In a big reveal at the WSJ, president of worldwide production Greg Silverman revealed that the JL movie will be a sequel to 2016′s Batman vs Superman, and both will star Henry Cavill as Superman, Ben Affleck as Batman and Gal Godot as Wonder Woman. The role of Cyborg is also being cast. The Justice League movie probably won’t appear until 2018 at the soonest, however, meaning you will be able to completely high school or college before you see this film. Meanwhile, Marvel will have put out a Woodgod movie.
But there is more! According to the piece, films based on Shazam, Metal Men, 100 Bullets, and Fables are also in development for a total of nine films. Wonder Woman? Well, everyone thinks it would be great but the story has to be right, and blah blah blah. Clap your hands if you believe, Tink!
In a companion piece, the WSJ’s Ben Fritz digs in to what DC head Diane Nelson, DC CCO Geoff Johns and WB topper Kevin Tsujihara have to do with all this. Kremlinologists, stand by!
Although she oversees the small but profitable comics business, where digital publishing has become a priority, Ms. Nelson’s focus is coordinating a studio-wide DC strategy.
Her approach is the opposite of Marvel, which maintains a continuing narrative and cast of characters across all of its projects. Samuel L. Jackson, for instance, has appeared as superspy Nick Fury in “Avengers,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and the TV show “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” Ms. Nelson has instead encouraged Warner producers to develop diverse and even contradictory takes. The Batman in “Superman vs Batman,” to be played by Ben Affleck, will be different from the one in “Gotham” and in coming direct-to-DVD animated movies and videogames. A kid-friendly version of Batman even appeared in February’s hit “The Lego Movie.”
“It isn’t about a single approach to everything,” said Ms. Nelson. “It’s the right character matched with the right talent in the right medium.”
According to this piece, Johns is heavily involved as a consultant on scripts, visual designs and titles, and he isn’t a stickler for continuity like the time when “DC staffers in New York asked an animation executive to change a script because the villain Man-Bat wouldn’t be physically strong enough to carry the Penguin (the Batman foe) on his back.”
Oh where to begin. If you want to know why DC is moving to the West Coast, I think that snarky story tells you everything you need to know.
Nelson’s “encouragement” of the scattershot approach mentioned is because, unlike Disney/Marvel’s ability to do things as a team for the greater good, Warner Bros. has always been a bunch of jealous factions. This is something that Tsujihara has been tasked with changing, but this system has been in place a looong time, and it will take a while.
I’ve been told for years by insiders that one of the problems with the WB movie slate is that for years a lot of top execs there just didn’t “get” superheroes. That’s pretty obvious from all the fits and starts on even the simplest projects, and misfires like Green Lantern. However, once again, this has to change. There are only so many Harry Potter books and Lord of the Rings appendices….however there are hundreds and hundreds of in-house comic book properties. So, someone had to bite the bullet.
Before this news came out I was reading this piece by Jeff Gomez and Fabien Nicieza about how not only has WB fallen behind Marvel’s 14 year movie plan, but even the enthusiastic comic book movieing of Sony and Fox.
What’s stopping (or at least slowing) Warner Bros., while studios like Sony Pictures and 20th Century Fox announce elaborate, interconnected film series for its Spider-Man and X-Men/Fantastic Four Marvel sub-universes? That’s a mystery perhaps only the Dark Knight detective can solve.
The piece was accompanied by this stark chart. I’m sure more than a few execs at WB have looked at versions of this chart as well.
Between them, Disney, Fox and Sony have 11 announced superhero films for 2014-2018. Warner has ONE. Or had one. Now they have TWO!
The WSJ piece also included this chart. IT’s a gamble but if it pays off, it’s so so worth it.
I’m not as much of a Snyder hater as a lot of people, but he has a proven success behind him, and obviously he gets along with people, so giving him the JL movie was a natural, seeing as Christopher Nolan is finished with all that comic book stuff. At least he does understand the source material, as best he can. Disney/Marvel is all about being cheap and nimble and building the stardom of actors like Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans, and making Captain America 2 in six months. WB is all about looking classy and hedging bets. It’s kind of how they have to be after Steel and Catwoman.
On the other hand, WB is going full steam ahead with all kinds of TV projects involving DC/Vertigo characters. And Fox is thinking of getting in on that, too, with a possible X-Men TV show.
Just to finish up here, 2018 is a long way away, and I guarantee we’ll see more DC-based movies before then. (Wasn’t Guillermo del Toro working on a bunch of projects, including Justice League Dark, as well?) All of the hesitation and aversion at Warners is going to end…because it has to. This is a comic book world, and we are happily living in it.
With Comixology’s acquisition by Amazon, the number 1 digital comics app is now but a pawn in the larger Kaiju battle of Amazon, Apple, Google and so on. And as many predicted, the first victim of this has been the ability to actually BUY digital comics through Comixology’s ipad and iphone apps.
Amazon does not allow any of its products to be sold through their ioS Kindle app, to avoid paying Apple the 30% cut that they charge for in-app purchases. When the Amazology deal went through, this is one of the first things that people thought would change, and yo diggity, on their tumblr Comixology has announced that this is the case. They are changing both iPhone and iPad apps to remove in app purchases.
We have introduced a new comiXology iPhone and iPad Comics App and are retiring the old one. iPhone and iPad users will now buy comics on comixology.com and download to the app. All your purchased books will be readable in the new app once you’ve downloaded it and taken the following steps:
If you don’t have a comiXology account, go to comiXology.com to create one, or create one in the original Comics app!
In the original Comics app, log into your comiXology account.
Sync your in-app purchases to your comiXology account by tapping the Restore button on the Purchases tab.
Download the new comiXology app. This will be your new home downloading and reading comics.
Start shopping on comiXology.com. New web purchases will appear in the “In Cloud” tab in our new app.
If you have comics downloaded in the old app, no problem! You can continue to read them there without re-downloading to the new app.
Last, but not least, to thank our loyal customers and ease this transition, we are offering a $5 eGift Card credit to all those who have purchased through the comiXology platform in the past. This credit will be automatically applied throughout the day to those accounts who are eligible and all of those eligible have 30 days to purchase books with that credit. Enjoy!
$5! When you’re owned by a 8000 lb gorilla with no worries about profits you can do things like this.
This news just dropped and Twitter is exploding. More to come!
BTW, there is suddenly some concern on The Street about Amazon and its lack of profitability. Even though sales continue to rise, the profit margin is wafer-thin. Some see pieces like this as simple East Coast jealousy…others as the start of greater scrutiny.
UPDATE: Oh here is the workaround to add the Comixology web store 00 where you can still make purchases — to your Apple device.
People are STILL talking about Amazon’s announced plans to acquire Comixology, although it has settled into the wait and see mode for now, as the deal won’t be final until June. But while you’re making up your own forecasts, here’s more of what people were saying.
¶ JK Parkin at Robot 6 has a good overall round-up of reaction. :
¶ Albert Ching has the longest sitdown with David Steinberger and David Nagger of Amazon and perhaps the clearest statements of how new and developing this all is:
It’s early still, but for both of sides, what are you hoping to see from this deal? David S., how do you envision comiXology growing in ways that might not have been possible otherwise?
Steinberger: What’s interesting about Amazons’ approach, and one of the things that attracted me to it, is that when you have a functioning company that’s doing well, Amazon first just gets to know the company, puts the resources behind the company, we finish this transaction, and then we talk about what’s next. Then, we start brainstorming what we can do together. At that point, we really start digging in. In the meantime, we just do our business. As a wholly owned subsidiary, we get to continue our relationships the way they are, we get to keep moving in the direction we’ve been moving in, and we get to explore the possibilities forthcoming. That’s a very long-winded way to say we actually have not, believe it or not, made huge plans, on new features and new combinations that any one of us can think up a million really great things to do. We’ve got to think of those, and pick them out, and get it done.
Nagger says they are equally open as well.
Tech writer Andy Ihnatko delivers a benediction to the deal by comparing Kindle editions vs Guided View—Comixology’s native format has a clear superiority over Amazon’s.
ComiXology’s books are a joy to read, with a “guided panel view” mode that’s created by a storyteller’s perspective, not an engineer’s. Its comics are sumptuous, ultra-definition, fully zoomable pages that allow me to appreciate the meticulous craftsmanship that goes into a great page of art. I buy all of my comics digitally because reading a ComiXology comic is far more enjoyable than even the printed editions. How’s the Amazon experience? It’s the exact reverse. I bought Lucy Knisley’s fantastic graphic novel “Relish: My Life in the Kitchen” as a Kindle edition. I got through about a third of it before I went back to Amazon.com and ordered the printed paperback. The Kindle was just too hard to navigate and read.
¶ Over at Comics Alliance I take part in a podcast discussion along with Andy Khouri, Alison Baker, Chris Roberson and Matt D. Wilson. Some good informed discussion here.
The great digital hope has been acquired by one of the giant fire breathing kaiju of the digital era. Will they trample tiny cottages beneath their feet or become a lovable behemoth? Ask me in a year. In the meantime…
First off, will you be able to read your comics? A story at the Guardian indicates yes…but…
The firm also sought to reassure users that their comic collections, some of which are in the thousands of dollars, were safe after the acquisition. “Of course [they are safe]! Our goal is to build on each other’s strengths and create the best service for all comic and graphic novel customers.” But it declined comment on whether it would “guarantee” that customers would always be able to read the comics they had purchased.
No guarantees. That is pretty much standard with any digital media. Folks have pointed to
Jmanga’s collapse for a model of how you can lose your collection from something that seemed solid. Of course, in the short term, Amazon and Comixology will keep you reading all your comics. Even the most gloomy analysis—Amazon acquired a competitor to wipe them out—suggest that where there’s smoke there’s money. Digital comics are obviously a growth product of the future and Amazon will want to keep and grow that business, even if it is just to move Comixology to their Kindle storefront.
While we can only speculate at this point, it’s worth noting that among the dozens of companies Amazon has acquired there are many different models for how that development evolves. For instance, in 2005 Amazon bought POD company Booksurge, eventually turning it into
Createspace, now an Amazon-like portal for uploading and selling your books via Amazon, Kindle and other Amazon services.
Audible is company selling audio books that may offer a very direct comparison to Comixology. The Audible store is still a standalone, but with a Amazon branding. And to buy books you need to sign in with your Amazon account, something that we imagine could happen very quickly with Comixology. Books sold on Audible are subject to Amazon’s customer ratings and everything else you get on the main Amazon site. So really, Audible is a dedicated webstore for audiobooks just in case you are easily confused by going to Amazon and being bothered by those print things.
On the other hand, there’s Zappos, the world’s biggest shoe store. As a woman, I love shoes, and I have to confess I had no idea that Zappos was owned by Amazon and I have purchased shoes through both! They offer different brands, different pricing and a different user experience.
Zappos also retains its own fairly unique corporate culture, as this story indicates.
During the 4-hour meeting, Hsieh talked about how Zappos’ traditional organizational structure is being replaced with Holacracy, a radical “self-governing” operating system where there are no job titles and no managers. The term Holacracy is derived from the Greek word holon, which means a whole that’s part of a greater whole. Instead of a top-down hierarchy, there’s a flatter “holarchy” that distributes power more evenly. The company will be made up of different circles—there will be around 400 circles at Zappos once the rollout is complete in December 2014—and employees can have any number of roles within those circles. This way, there’s no hiding under titles; radical transparency is the goal.
While it’s clear that Amazon offers different levels of autonomy for its company, it’s also true that comics are more like books than shoes, and the ebook business is one that Amazon is already very active in with its game changing Kindle business.
A frequently brought up question in my emails and DMs was how Amazon and Apple will play together. These two get along in a more Godzilla vs Mecha Godzilla way, so don’t expect loving cooperation. For instance, you can’t actually buy anything through the iOS Kindle app, unlike Comixology’s where you can spend away. As the Register put it, “Amazon therefore just acquired itself an app that lets it do things Apple doesn’t like it to do.”
UPDATE: as mentioned in the comments, I had this exactly backwards. It’s Amazon who refuses to pay Apple’s share of the costs, so will you see them ditch in-app purchases to spite Apple? Comixology was the top grossing non-game app on the iPad in 2013 and #11 overall,which must have meant significant profit. Would Apple Amazon cut off its nose to spite its face?
Yes. Oh yes.
At the Big Five (Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Facebook) level it’s all a pissing contest. And Amazon does NOT play nicey nicey.
Of course, there is the brick and mortar aspect to the story. While ComicsPRO just released a fairly defensive statement, at least one retailer was glad he never signed up with CX’s retailer service:
As you may recall, when Comixology first got on the scene they smartly made peace with retailers by offering a bunch of services for stores, such as digitized pull lists. They also offered a digital storefront that some stores used, a model that found much more success than Diamond’s attempt at the same. Some retailers were always wary of the system however, and now it looks like they may have been the wise ones after all.
Winners in all of this may be digital alternatives. iVerse is still around, with some unique services, including its potentially large library lending system. Sequential is an indie-focused stand alone app that just signed up Top Shelf, NBM and Fantagraphics. Image and 2000AD have held on to their own drm-free download sales. And of course Dark Horse has its own digital store.
That said, there’s no questions but that Comixology was the leader in this space, with its sales dwarfing other digital vendors’. And of course, everybody was already selling through Amazon, whether it was actual books, or Kindle editions. Tieing in Amazon’s formidable user reviews and related material makes discoverability much easier for comics, one area where Comixology had a ways to go.
And what about Submit? While it’s been specifically mentioned that this service will continue—users upload their own content and sell them via Comixology splitting the revenue. This is a lot like what many of Amazon’s services are already like, including the Kindle Direct Publishing portal. HOWEVER, Kindle charges a “digital delivery” fee by the MB of upload, as Todd Allen explored in this 2011 piece. This adds up to significant costs. Moving to a KDP model from the Submit one would be pretty onerous for indie comics creators. On the other hands, maybe it wasn’t a big cash cow to begin with, as this post from Ryan Estrada shows.
With Submit submissions already backed up for six months, this never really caught fire, I think, and most creators have been moving to Gumroad, Sellify or their own Paypal storefronts. DIY and the maker ethic are going strong in indie comics.
Then there’s the whole Guided View trademark matter…something I’ll need a whole other post to get into.
Finally, how much did Amazon pay for Comixology? We may never know but history offers guides. The terms of the Booksurge acquisition were never disclosed. Amazon purchased Woot!, a daily deal’s type tech store for $110 million in cash. Audible sold for $300 million and Zappos for $940 million. I guess people like shoes more than books.
You know how what goes around comes around. Or, to put it another way, comic book fans love to bitch and moan. It is impressive to look at this DC New 52 Timeline of Departures, Firings, and Bridge-Burnings, a long list of high traffic comings and goings. I had forgotten half of them and it isn’t even a complete list. But it’s also easy to stir up outrage. The Harley Quinn thing was, to be honest, a badly written script, but for everyone who was tut tutting “how could they do it the week before Suicide Prevention Week??!!?!??” I’d like to point out…it wasn’t even the week OF Suicide Prevention Week…it was the week BEFORE Suicide Prevention Week. it’s a bit much to expect the DC Nation bloggers to sit with a calendar of awareness events and plan their coverage. In other words…you were reaching, people. Plus, just as Black History lasts right into March 1st, and women get breast cancer on December 12th, suicide should be prevented year round.
Perhaps with that in mind, and with tweetrage over DC’s Dan DiDio growing, everything has come around, and pundits are now saying, “Wait a minute, do we really want someone to lose his job?” On a more practical level, wishing and hoping that Warner Bros. execs will somehow be influenced by fan tweetrage to make major business decisions is just childish.
Besides, even while sales show some attrition, the New 52 DC is way more successful than the old 47 DC, or whatever it was. The New 52 was the kind of game changing success story that gives you a ton of leeway for all kinds of later missteps and setbacks. That’s just how the game works.
The Outhouse ran their own ode to DiDio and concluded:
4. The old DCU ain’t coming back. No matter how much you wish for it, DCE is not going to come around, two years later, ‘admit’ they were wrong, put things back to the way they were. Sales-wise, the reboot has been a success, and, in fact, reboots in general are a standard practice in the entertainment industry. You see the same kind of thinking about iconic characters and the ‘illusion of change’ at Marvel as well, and it reflects the attitude of pretty much all corporate intellectual property owners in the age of cross-branding and global marketing. Warner Bros. is not going to change their minds to suit the whims of a relatively small readership. There’s much more money to made in movies and TV, and the Batman franchise alone has been rebooted, what… four times now?
As I’ve often noted in private conversations, as co-publisher, Dan DiDio has one of the qualities that companies love in an executive: he’s a decision maker. In fact maybe he makes too MANY decisions, and many of them are highly debatable, but nature abhors a vacuum or a hemmer and hawer. DiDio is anything but.
The reality, as I outlined in my “Coloring Book Theory” post, is that Big Two comics are now editorially driven. Period. The End. If top notch talent calling the shots on corporate icons sells more copies, eventually it will become more the norm, but sales will have to slip a lot more than they have for that to happen.
And yet, the current craze for the 90s in comics—from aping the art styles of 90s Image artists to lenticular covers to no name talent on top books—shows no sign of slowing down, even though the 90s were the lowest ebb for corporate comics since Wertham. Even with the corporate realities I just outlined, homogeneity is a big wet blanket that tends to dull excitement. The New 52′s biggest breakout has been its own brand, a brand that will eventually chip away in standard attrition.
These trends take a looong time to play out, however, and hashtags aren’t going to speed things up.
It was not a very good day for DC comics yesterday. Not only did their editor in chief and executive editor engage in a humiliating display of Kool-Aid fueled happy talk with enough papering over to remodel Versailles, but a whole new round of enthusiasm-sapping rumors about the Justice League movie made the rounds The word this time: Will Beall's script sucks and has to be scraped before a decent director can be hired. Juicy rumors abound:
It would be hard to overemphasize the influence that Karen Berger had on the comics industry. I’m sure some people will argue her influence only extended to the mainstream comics industry, but it would be hard to find too many young adults reading comics in the from the 80s on who didn’t find something to enjoy in somewhere in the line up of Swamp Thing, Sandman, Hellblazer, Animal Man, Doom Patrol, Shade The Changing Man, The Invisibles, Transmetropolitan, Preacher, 100 Bullets, Fables, Y the Last Man, Scalped and beyond. That’s an insanely powerful line-up of iconic comics series and characters, and the creators who worked on the books were a who’s who of the engaged, inspired and imaginative creators of the era. In the tweet above, Roberson put Berger, whose exit from DC after 33 years was announced yesterday, in the proper company. Like Gaines and Lee, Berger excelled at the tricky business of matching story and art from disparate sources. You could add Julius Schwartz and Archie Goodwin to the list of the great editors, but they didn’t change the landscape the way Gaines, Lee and Berger did, terraforming it into a new thing with a new viewpoint.Julian Darius at Sequart has a succinct history of Berger’s career at DC, and he nails the rite of passage for just about everyone who wanted to write comics for the last 20 years: “getting a book at Vertigo” became universally known as the way to make your mark on comics.
Vertigo soon came to be regarded as a proving ground for many of the industry’s best writers. The imprint also became known for limited ongoing series in the model of The Sandman, although now creator-owned. Such a series came to feel like a rite of passage in a major writer’s career, increasingly even the case for writers Berger hadn’t personally recruited. Such series, all published by Vertigo, prominently included Grant Morrison’s The Invisibles, Garth Ennis’s Preacher, Warren Ellis’s Transmetropolitan (after moving to Vertigo from DC’s defunct sci-fi imprint, Helix), Mike Carey’s Lucifer (a follow-up to The Sandman), Brian Azzarello’s 100 Bullets, Brian K. Vaughan’s Y: The Last Man, Bill Willingham’s Fables (although not designed to be limited in duration), and Jason Aaron’s Scalped. Even when one of these series didn’t sell particularly well, it almost invariably came to be listed as one of the first works mentioned in connection with that writer. Sometimes, these series helped catapult a writer to A-list status; in other cases, they were concurrent with such a rise, helping to legitimize that writer as a serious mind capable of serious works. Such was the power of Vertigo at its height.
With the support of then DC publisher
Jenette Kahn and especially president
Paul Levitz, Berger was able to carve out the dark, striking horror of Swamp Thing and imaginative fantasy of Sandman into a whole line of books—and did it offering creators a piece of the pie in an equitable publishing model that far outlasted similar efforts. Even with writers whose styles were as disparate as the above, the adjective “Vertigo-esque” was immediately understood by everyone who had come near a comic in the last 20 years. “Dark and edgy” soon became meaningless buzzwords, but there would be something gothic, something about expanding consciousness, blurry sexuality, disgusting maggots and decay, a hidden world. The earliest books of the proto Vertigo took bland superhero characters and made them angsty explorers. It was grown up (if often melodramatic) and it was very much the way Berger envisioned things should be. Writing for Vertigo meant you had to be enormously literate about not only comics but literature and science and weird, unexplainable things…and it was all on the page. At its best Vertigo meant intelligent comics for intelligent readers.
It was an extraordinary run, and twitter was filled with tributes:
Karen was my boss for two years, from 2000-02, and it’s safe to say that working at Vertigo was not a good fit for me, and we often clashed. We both cared enormously—but about different things. That said, they were mostly philosophical differences and I didn’t lose sight of Karen’s enduring legacy as an editor or the fact that she was, at heart, an incredibly nice and thoughtful lady. I was very pleased earlier this year when she agreed to appear on my panel about editing comics at New York Comic Con, and enjoyed hearing her talk about some of her most recent graphic novel projects. Mariah Huehner, who was an intern and assistant editor during my tenure, has her own remembrance of working at Vertigo:
Of the many things I noticed about Karen Berger, the high level of respect and esteem in which the other editors and creators held her was the most obvious. People -liked- working with her. They respected her opinions even when they disagreed, and she was a huge reason why people wanted to work there. Creators felt understood and encouraged, while also challenged and held to an extremely high writing standard. Her story notes were always simple and insightful, asking questions, never criticizing, but not letting things slide either. She made sure the story worked and helped the creator tell it, without trying to write it for them or push an agenda. She clearly understood how to be a story collaborator and agent, without ever taking anything away from the writer or artist responsible for its creation.
Although I didn’t work with Karen directly most of the time, she would encourage my writing and ask my opinion on pitches from time to time. She was always very fair in her reviews of my work and seemed to really believe I had the ability to be a good editor in my own right. It meant a lot. Before working at Vertigo I had somewhat taken my writing abilities for granted, even though I loved to do it. During my tenure there I was encouraged to do interviews, press releases, and copy a great deal, and learned a lot about what worked and what didn’t.
If all this has an elegiac tone to it, it’s that for all it’s huge success, influence and multiple Eisner Awards, it’s impossible to see Vertigo going on without Karen Berger, or even if DC and WB have any interest in continuing, or what that would mean. While news of Berger’s departure was stunning, it surprised no one who had been paying any attention, and over the last 12 months the demise of Vertigo and Berger’s potential exit were a staple of the rumor mill.
Rich Johnston has a succinct write-up of
the downward spiral of the last few years: from having signature characters Swamp Thing and then Constantine taken back to the DCU, and the end of Vertigo’s Hellblazer, to be replaced by a DCU Constantine. Only yesterday,
Peter Milligan, the last of the Vertigo’s elder gods to still work on books regularly, was talking about
the end of Hellblazer in curt, pained answers:
Was the end of the series a surprise to you, or is this something that has been in the works for some time?
Like I said, that my run was coming to an end was no surprise. I’d been thinking about it for a little while and thinking of my “out.” I had a strong suspicion that the series would end, but when it came, it came suddenly. Like death.
Are you surprised at all by the outcry from creators and readers alike that are angered/upset/dismayed about the end of “Hellblazer?”
No. Not surprised at all.
As the latest DC sales chart which is going up later today will show, sales had eroded immensely and looking at the bleak numbers—and without the idea of developing creators and properties to support it—the idea of a Vertigo imprint doesn’t make that much publishing sense any more from a business standpoint. Aside from the fact that a huge chunk of the Big Two comics writer of note for the last 20 years got “discovered” at Vertigo.
Scott Snyder, the hero of the New 52, was a Vertigo find;
Jeff Lemire was an an acclaimed, award winning indie cartoonist, much respected in his native Canada, but it’s fair to say Sweet Tooth got his name on the board at DC. Besides the Brit crew, writer who blossomed at Vertigo include
Azzarello, Brubaker, Aaron, Brian Wood, Brian K Vaughn, and so on. Without Vertigo to give talent a platform to really show what they can do, the scouting trips to Image are already underway. But will they really be needed? For me the death knell for Vertigo came when it was announced that Scott Snyder would be taking leave of American Vampire, his series for Vertigo, to catch up on Batman and Superman.
Here’s the entire story, courtesy of Newsarama:
Nrama: So this hiatus you’re taking is definitely not going to become the end of the series. You’re setting up what’s happening next.
Snyder: Yeah, I cannot emphasize enough how absolutely firm we are in terms of how temporary this hiatus is.
[snip] We know we’re only taking about six months off from the series, between us. That might mean a little longer between issues that the readers see. So what I mean is that Rafael is only taking off six months after he finishes #34, and I’m only taking about six months off from writing American Vampire — maybe even less. For me, it’s mainly so I can get ahead on Batman and Superman, and I can also get ahead on The Wake with Sean Murphy. Part of it is needing to be able to stagger these books to make sure I’m able to give 100 percent on each one.
The only thing that would really make me not want to do the books is if I couldn’t give everything I have to each one. So I’d rather stop doing a book for a few months than put out a book that I don’t feel 100 percent about.
And by the time we come back, I’ll essentially be way ahead on Batman and Superman. I’m ahead now, but I’ll be way ahead, hopefully. And I’ll be far enough into The Wake, because Sean [Murphy] has a really meticulous drawing style, which is incredible and I love, that it will be staggered by the time we come back. What I mean is, I’ll be far enough ahead on the books that it will be almost like having two books and not four at that point.
Although Snyder’s new Vertigo book (even typing that seems so tentative now) wath
Sean Murphy, The Wake, will doubtless come out, considering what a valuable player he is for the DCU, but it is’t hard to imagine that becoming more of an “Icon” type thing. Others have an even more pessimistic view.
Stewart has been drifting away from superhero work for a while, and without a champion, a third volume of a quirky book about a guy in a scuba suit does sound rather a reach for the modern corporate comics company.
There’s still the “Before Sandman” project, a new Neil Gaiman written Sandman tale, announced at the last San Diego Comic-Con which was to cap off the 25th anniversary of Sandman festivities. The artist on this project, JH Williams III, is wistful (and surprisingly candid) about the project’s completion,
I find the timing of her departure from DC to be sadly ironic, in that next year when Karen says her final goodbyes to the company it will also be the 25 year anniversary of Sandman, one the titles that sort of started the whole thing (to which there is a brand new Sandman project on the way for this anniversary that I’m to start illustrating very soon). Sandman issue 1 was published in October of 1988 but dated January 1989, which helped lead to the formation of Vertigo under Karen’s direction, next year will bring the 20th anniversary of the legendary imprint. Having known Karen for many years and doing a few things for vertigo here or there, I had long been looking forward to working with her at a much closer level on this new Sandman project. So while excited over Sandman, its become bittersweet as her involvement will be going away. I’m a bit uncomfortable over it, actually. But it is what it is. I know I will not help but think of her that first day I put pen to paper, on that very first page Karen will be there in spirit.
I was also seriously disappointed when I’d heard about the demise of Vertigo’s Hellblazer recently announced, in favor of transitioning the lead character into the DCU entirely, not an idea I’m overly fond of. As a longtime reader of Hellblazer it was disheartening. I felt as if Vertigo was beginning to slowly be sucked dry, it’s life’s blood drained away. And with the departure of Karen Berger I have to admit that I’m feeling even more disheartened. And speaking as bit of a fan here, not an industry professional, I’m feeling torn between a struggle of anger about some things and rather optimistic for what the future may hold for Karen, and in turn for us as readers. As a creative editor Karen has something to say, always has, and I’m certain her voice will rise up out of the din and resonate with something new. And when that voice does sound, in whatever form that may take, I know I’m there to listen.
So what then of the future? For Karen Berger’s future, although everyone wants to see her take on some new project, it’s unknown if she has a no compete clause the way many departed DC execs do. Also, she’s 54 and has nothing to prove. A boutique imprint at a major publisher like Random House maybe? Certainly this will become an interesting topic for the hot stove league.
As for Vertigo, the line itself, there will be “assisting in the transition to a new leadership team which includes veteran staffers whom she has mentored over the years,” a rather mysterious statement in the official PR that comes off like asking Rex Ryan who’s starting at quarterback for the Jets next week. This had to be in the cards for a while and yet Berger was making plans for new projects as recently as last week, according to one freelancer I spoke with.
As for who those “veteran staffers” might be, on is, obviously, there’s Shelly Bond, who was made Group Editor nearly a decade ago and continues to oversee the successful Fables franchise. Another is Senior Editor Will Dennis, whose work on many a DCU project, including Before Watchmen, leaves him in a strong position. Mark Doyle, who signed up Scott Snyder, would be another name in the mix. I’ve heard a few other, more surprising names, however. We’ll have to wait and see.
While any of these fine editors could carry the torch forward, the real, brutal question is…is the Vertigo imprint even needed any more? Johanna Draper Carlson lays it out:
It’s very possible to envision an American comic industry without Vertigo, and many people are. Although DC’s press release indicates intent to continue the imprint, as many people started wondering after the announcement of the cancellation of Hellblazer last month, it’s an open question whether Vertigo is needed at all these days, or whether it had a future under the Warner/DC Entertainment regime with or without her. There’s no longer any need it fulfills for the company or creators, as the main DC line now publishes mature readers material and creator ownership is easier to get elsewhere. I don’t know whether Berger intends to change industries or find something else to do in comics or retire, whether she’s tired of what DC has become or simply feels like a change, whether the company made her an offer she couldn’t refuse or suggested she leave before they pushed or were tired of paying that many vice presidents. I hope we hear more from her next year. She had a long and storied career, responsible for all kinds of major accomplishments it’s too late for me to list accurately. On a political level, she was one of the most visible women in a high-ranking position at a comic company, and losing her feels to me like another sign of how female-unfriendly corporate American comics have become.
At the most brutal level, there is no place in corporate comics for creator owned comics. That is just a fact. And on another level, Vertigo’s mission has become almost unnecessary. It isn’t a choice between Hawkman and X-force any more. It’s a choice between Hark a Vagrant and XKCD, Saga and The Walking Dead, Ganges and Sailor Twain, Building Stories and The Freddie Stories.
Vertigo, the brand, is still a valuable name on the spine of many of DC’s best selling backlist books, but how long will a book publishing program remain important to Warner Bros? In the face of declining sales, Vertigo tried to relaunch a bunch of monthly titles earlier this year—most recently with Saucer Country and New Deadwardians and so on and…well, that was it. The graphic novel program launched years ago and still has books in the pipeline, but has had dwindling internal support from all signs. Would the market have supported these projects with a new imprint, like DC Blaze or something? Corporate comics don’t do new too well.
All of this will unfold, privately and publicly. But it will all be different. In all of the outpouring of comments today, the one overriding feeling was that this was the end of an era. And you know, it was a pretty awesome era.
I’ll end this, Death of Speedy style, with a video from 1985 of young Karen Berger and young Alan Moore taking about Swamp Thing. It was all so innocent then, but the stories will endure.
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In his video introducing DC's Rebirth publishing plan, Geoff Johns calls it a "third rebirth" for DC. At first I thought this referred to the original DC, Silver age Flash and...something else? But he was actually referring to reimagining Green Lantern and the Flash characters with better, more motivated origins. Perhaps more accurately, from an external viewpoint, its the third rebirth of DC in the Diane Nelson era, following the New 52, DCYou and now a new line based on core characters. Or as he put it, in the video's most quoted line, "It's not just an event, it's a mission for us."
"52" is the lucky number at DC Comics, and with the (once) New 52 reaching their 52nd issues, it's time to celebrate with a series of variant covers, because as far as we know, a NEWER 52 might be on the way.
When has Dennis Barger ever been at Comics PRO?
My big question (outside of creative teams, of course): Will DC really only be producing 26 issues in June?
That seems to be the case, but then again, there were no final issue notifications in the May solicits. We know Omega Men is ending at #12, because Jim Lee stated so. But what about Midnighter, or Constantine: The Hellblazer, or Justice League of America? etc…I know JLA is getting relaunched in the Fall, but what happens in the meantime?
I’m assuming all New 52 launch books end at 52 and all DC You books end at 12, but 26 sure does seem like a (very welcome) small number of comics for DC to produce.
It was stated over on CBR that they’d be printing 32 monthly (some bi-weekly) titles. A shocking drop from their 52.
I’m wondering just how much of this rebirth will be a huge dropping off point for fans. Every single title is a top tier character book now. They’re all Superman, Batman, or Wonder Woman oriented. With the exception of The Titans (Cyborg, Titans, Nightwing, etc.) B and C list characters (Swamp Thing, Midnighter, Martian Manhunter, etc. all gone. Sure those aren’t big draws for many folks, but I’ve always been a niche, weird character fan. I’m just not big into the main tent pole characters. So depending on the creative teams, this might be a big reason to actually pick up fewer DC titles, not more. We shall see…
“I love this world but there’s something missing”
Quality?
Something actually worth reading?
Effort?
I was at a Cpro once, total waste of money. ‘
Love
Dennis
I got a good laugh out of Tom’s comment; he’s harsh, but I agree with the sentiment. Bring back the pre-Flashpoint continuity and tell fresh, exciting stories with those time tested versions of the characters. You might be surprised how many lapsed readers you regain as a result. I think it’s one of the main reasons as a whole Marvel is kicking DC’s ass in sales right now. Continuity.
I will never find the calls by superhero fans for more creativity in their favorite corporate-owned multimedia franchise characters to be nothing short of hilarious.
Focusing on core characters may make sense for comics sales, but if they don’t build up B- and C-list characters how will they launch their catalogue of IP into other media where the real money is?
Thank you for writing this, Heidi. It’s probably the most objective DC thing I’ve read on Comicsbeat and I mean that sincerely. It confirms where DC is going now – not for new readers like me. Long boxes says it all, don’t know anyone with one of those. It’s a good jumping off point for me. I loved DC You and the way the New 52 made DC accessible for me for the first time ever.