It ’s a Brave New World over at DC Comics this hebdomad , thanks to their new administrator team , but what does that mean for everyone ? We hunt down down five head left by all the latest alteration .
Is DC Comics move to the West Coast ?
With DC Entertainment Chief Executive Diane Nelson , Colorado - publishing company Jim Lee and CCO Geoff Johns all based out of California , it may make sense to move DC Comics across the company to one centralised location , andit ’s a decision that Nelson has admitted has not been made yet . For now , though , expect a lot of air miles to be ratcheted up by the troupe ; Johns and Lee have both talked about continuing a bi - coastal cosmos , and Didiohas saidthat he ’ll now be spending “ at least one calendar week out of every month ” in California from now on . As fourth dimension goes on , do n’t be surprised if news break that the publisher is prompt .
What will happen to Didio , Lee and Johns ’ current province ?
Both Johns and Lee will go on to give rise workplace for the newspaper publisher , with Johns telling us on Thursday that his new positioning will not affect his already full work load ( which includes writing Green Lantern , The Flash and co - writing the bi - weekly Brightest Day series ) . Lee , meanwhilewent as far as to release a personal statementabout the interrogation :
For devotee of my prowess – dread not , drawing laughable Word is in reality a part of my unexampled job description , and I actually design on increasing the frequency of which you will be seeing my work . It ’s important to me not only on a personal level that I continue with a hand in the actual creation of newfangled funnies but also for a broad commission .
What about Vertigo ?
DC President Nelsonsays
With Vertigo , the importance of Maker own properties , creator mother attribute , as an expansion and supplement to what we do , is a vast part of what the DCU is moving forward . Vertigo is staggeringly of import and Dan and Jim ’s authorization is to give it the same business sector parameter and goal as each of the imprints have .
Considering that Vertigo has antecedently survived on lower sales that DC ’s superhero cable in the direct grocery store , exist on both prestigiousness and a greater front in the bookstore market , we ’re not certain how we find about listen that it ’ll now have the “ same line of work parameters and destination ” as the publishing firm ’s other imprints . Vertigo is now under the ascendency of executives who ’ve traditionally looked at thing from a more mainstream , superheroic perspective , and Vertigo executive editor Karen Berger – astonishingly seemingly ignored in the high - profile reshuffle , although who know what may have happened behind the setting ? – now answers to former peers Didio and Lee … Although , of course , the imprint did n’t have any problems while Berger answered to the likewise - known - for - superheroic - work former President Paul Levitz . This one is an open question , and an important one for DC Entertainment in general ; from a business power point of scene , Vertigo is where the legal age of the publishing firm ’s successful new IP ( Y The Last Man , Fables , The Losers , We3 ) has come from in the last decade or so . It ’s something to be nurtured , not manhandled .
What does this intend for how we buy our comics ?
Former president Paul Levitz was a strong withstander of the Direct Market scheme of comic book computer memory , and his leave the place has grow fears from some retailers about DC ’s commitment to that particular side of the manufacture ; for example , observe retail merchant Brian Hibbs :
I have major concerns about Didio in damage of his willingness to engage with the Direct Market retail merchant ; which , given the hot air on display about the importance of our section of the market and the potency of intent on comics and print puddle it kind of all the more nerve - wracking .
sure enough , the new vehemence we ’re get wind – last ! – about DC preparing to enter the digital distance would paint a picture a new manakin a distribution that could harm comic retail merchant , depend on how it ’s rolled out , and for all new read/write head of marketing and business sector ontogenesis John Rood’stalk of“cherished retailer partners , ” it ’s clear that he ’s signaling that a change is coming :
What has kept me from a in force night eternal rest so far is the subject of equipoise – balancing what ’s proficient for the traditional business channel with what will be best for the future of the business and the art form , balancing what superserves the current superfans with what will serve an entirely new generation of lover , balancing promotion with profit , etc … One of my delegacy is to work with the newfangled executive squad to take DC storytelling and publicity to the next grade . We see it as a sanctified certificate of indebtedness to you – to loose our characters and stories and newsworthiness across all platforms that count to you . You ’ll presently see us at DC Entertainment make big word in Digital , in the short- and long - term , from mobile strategy to a suite of publishing products .
We ’re envisioning swag digital download releases to allow for the Direct Market retailers to keep a story of exclusivity to be harbinger within the year , but grant to insiders , it ’s way too early to presage what form the digital initiatives will take right now .
How realistic is the # 1 Publisher finish , really ?
It depends how you look at it . DC has a very strong presence outside the Direct Market , placing 93 titles in the top 750 selling graphic novels in bookstall last year , making them the second most successful publishing house behind Viz(and most successful non - manga publisher ) , and inside the Direct Market ’s book sales event , it ’s a likewise impressive tale . In terms of individual issue gross sales , however , they have long - station moment to Marvel Comics with a market percentage difference of around 5 - 10 % ( although they came out on top twice in monthly sales chart last yr ) . consider Marvel ’s weakness in bookstall – they placed just a third as many books in the bookstore chart , for just over a fifth of DC ’s dollar portion amount – this seems to put DC in a strong attitude , but regard this : bookstall market sales calculate for $ 93 million clam in 2009 ; Direct Market sales – which are build up around unmarried issue sales event – accounted for $ 429 million . For DC to touch their tell end and become the # 1 comedian publishing company , they have to vex Marvel in the Direct Market . That could be a problem .
There are two problem for DC in term of beating Marvel ’s food market share . One is easy solve ; Marvel traditionally print more material than DC each month ( Although that seems to be an area DC is already catching up in ; in May , both companies are release in the region of 120 titles ) . The second may be more disturbing for lover , because it means addressing the fact that DC historically supports low - sell material for longer than Marvel . For the last one-half of 2009 , DC book made up at least half of the top 10 selling releases in the direct marketplace , but their market share go along to gaol behind Marvel ’s , strictly because of the slower gross sales of their mid - to - low - selling Koran . If DC is really going to trounce Marvel ’s Direct Market share , they ’ll have to either as if by magic bring up sales across the intact line or look at pluck some lover - favorites that are n’t the favorites of enough fan ( and then , replacing them with new series that sell good ) . Cue instantaneous backlash .
Is it possible ? Yes , but not easily ; DC are in the strongest position they ’ve been in for years so as to attain it , thanks to the fan and retailer reaction to Blackest Night , but they ’ll have to make tough decisions in parliamentary procedure to make it materialize , which may involve worm economical realities with creative I ( Vertigo , for example , may be hit hard by raising the cancelation point of a serial ) .
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