I’ve moved on from DC Comics. And I’ve come to accept that
there won’t be change as long as Dan Didio, Jim Lee, Bob Harras, and Diane
Nelson are in charge. But I also understand that something’s gotta give.
Evenutally.
Publishing is a BUSINESS. And eventually executives at the
top are going to get tired of hearing deflections, bullshit, and more bullshit
from DC’s current editorial regime. Sooner or later the numbers on the spreadsheets
are going to tell a story people like Dan Didio just can’t cover up with
excuses and quick fixes like Convergence.
The Dan Didio era at DC Comics is eventually going to have to
end. And the next editor in Chief who takes his place at DC Comics will have a HUGE
MESS to clean up.
I’m a visionary and a forward thinker. And as an independent
publisher I see a rough road ahead for DC Comics. The post Dan Didio era will
be a TOUGH one for DC Comics fans and the publisher itself as it makes the
efforts to correct its course and navigate itself through a changing publishing
marketplace. But I believe the DC Comics brand can overcome the challenges put
in front of it if that editor in chief has the vision to see a bigger picture,
puts on their hip boots, rolls up their sleeves, and understands the hard work
that needs to be done. There’s a lot of GARBAGE that’s going to need to be hauled
out at DC Comics and it’s going to have to be cleared out by a fleet of dump
trucks. So that next editor in chief better bring a shovel and a rolodex with the
numbers of a couple of trash haulers with them on their first day of work.
DC Comics has suffered from over a decade and a half of
dysfunction. And that dysfunction has damaged the DC Comics brand
internationally. Sales of DC Comics have declined. Sales of merchandise to such
as action figures have stalled. Warner Brothers executives have appeared
completely clueless as it tries to compete with Marvel Studios in making movies
for the DC Comics brand. Overall, the DC Comics brand has lost market share in
almost every sector with the exception of its Television division.
Right now the DC Comics brand is in a state of confusion.
Most of iconic comic book characters like Superman, Batman, and Wonder woman
are unrecognizable with customers young and old due a decade and a half of
retcons, costume changes, and multiple reboots in the publishing division. The
next editor will face a challenge trying to familiarize both old and new
readers with DC’s characters and make their designs and stories memorable in their
minds again.
In the publishing division, the next editor-in-chief will
also have to sort out the jumbled mess that is the DC Universe has become. DC’s
Universe has gone from an easy to follow continuity to a confusing multiverse
filled with enough plotholes and inconsistencies that would confuse a small
child. Readers are told everything fits, but everything doesn’t when a reader
follows a straight line. All of Didio’s mismanagement has led to a DC multiverse
that has become completely Fucked Up Beyond All Repair.
I dare to say it, but to get to that straight line that makes
the heroes accessible to new readers, the new Editor-in-Chief may have to hard reboot
things in the publishing division. However, with an experienced publishing
professional at the helm the DC new Universe would resemble something like it
did before Didio was hired. One where The Golden Age is set in World War II,
and there’s a clear line for legacy heroes leading to today. A universe where Superman
wears red trunks and a cape, Diana Prince is Wonder Woman, Batman is Bruce
Wayne and Dick Grayson is Robin. Painful, but when you’re dealing with a decade
and a half of dysfunction it requires a complete rebuild of a damaged brand. Again
rebuilding a brand like DC Comics is a five to ten year plan, and several
iconic DC franchises like Teen Titans and Wonder Woman are so systemically damaged
by nearly two decades of bad storytelling they need a complete hard restart
with brand new origins based on the original origins to get new readers and
casuals back on board.
There has to be a plan to get readers to connect with and relate
to the characters in the DC Universe. And reconnecting them with their stories.
Again, that’s going to take five to ten years minimum, starting with the Trinity
(Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman) and rolling out secondary titles like Green
Lantern, Shazam! Flash, Aquaman, and Green Arrow six months afterward. Along
with the trinity there should be a Justice Society book to show that the Golden
Age left a legacy and that they’re still facing oldschool menaces like Per Degaton and Solomon Grundy,
but the first year of a DC relaunch should focus on building the worlds of the DC
trinity and the secondary heroes and end with the formation of the Justice
League and the launch of that title.
The second or third year should start with the introduction
of other heroes like Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, and Firestorm and end with the
formation of the original Teen Titans (new members like Cyborg, Starfire and
Raven, coming in a year later). Again, this rebuilding of the DC Universe and
the DC Comics brand will take five to ten years minimum, not be rushed together
like DC’s new 52.
And in that time writers are going to be forced tell some
great tales without the crutch of a gimmick or multi-line crossover event to
carry them from issue to issue. Rebuilding is going to separate the hacks from
the craftspeople, and when a creator doesn’t have the crutch of gimmicks and
events to hold them up, they’ll be forced to get creative. The creators will
have to focus on characters, their stories and making them interesting and
compelling, using the original stories from classic DC adventures for
inspiration, but taking them on modern twists.
And after the next editor-in-chief establishes a structure
for the new DC Universe, they’re going to have to establish standards for content
with the DC brand. Right now DC Comics are just inappropriate for just about
adults let alone children. Yes, comics have fights in them. But the violence
has gotten to the point of excessive with gory mutilations, decapitations
gratuitous depictions, of death. When it comes to depictions action sequences
DC comics today has crossed the line between good taste and…filth. The new EIC
has to get the standard back to good taste if they hope to win over new readers
in the 21st century.
The standard for most blockbuster films today is PG-13. And I
believe comics need to meet to that standard for content if they hope to
compete with movies, TV, and the Internet. DC needs to become a family oriented
brand just like Disney, and Superman needs to be treated with the same respect
Disney gives Mickey Mouse and Disney’s Princesses.
The next editor-in-chief will also have to rebuild the brand
for DC’s Super heroines. DC Comics has the best stable of recognizable female
characters in comics. Supergirl, Batgirl, Wonder Woman, Starfire, Wonder Girl, Dr.
Light, Catwoman and Harley Quinn. A gold mine for licensing and merchandising.
But the way the DC’s heroines have been depicted pretty much alienate any
female comic fan and casual and alienate most male comic fans. The cripplings,
mutilations, and rapes of these characters are sickening and downright
disgusting. The stigma from these depictions of violence against women have
damaged the brand DC’s brand long-term with female readers.
With mothers, grandmothers and aunts giving kids money for
comics, There’s no place for this kind of violence against women in comics. The
new EIC will have to make a guarantee to readers that there will be no more
women in refrigerators at DC. EVER.
And the next editor in chief at DC will have to extend an
olive branch to all those creators out there. After the implementation of the
New 52 most writers and artists have sworn off working for DC. A new EIC will
have to be an ambassador of goodwill who reconnects artists and writers to the
brand and gets them to understand the history of the characters they’re working
with as they develop new adventures for them. They’ll have to diplomatically
explain standards for quality and story. They’ll have to be open to working
with creators and creating a team environment where everyone works together
towards rebuilding the reputation of DC Comics.
There’s going to be a steep learning curve for some artists
and writers as they learn that the excesses of the 1990’s are no longer the
standard in a 21st Century publishing world and that the gimmicks
and shock marketing that worked then don’t work now. People are indifferent to
shock and writers and artists are going to have to learn how to get comic fans
attention with something other than a death, a gory comic panel or some other
overused plot device readers have grown tired of seeing.
DC will also have to be open to changing the way it compensates
artists if it hopes to get new ideas flowing for its publications. There’s a
lot of fresh young talent out there in the indies and the webcomics scene who
have proven they deserve a job at one of the big two, but the archaic
work-for-hire model is keeping them from even considering working with them.
DC’s new editor in chief will have to be an advocate for them when they talk to
WB Bosses about profit sharing with them on licensing and merchandising if they
hope to get forward thinking creators on board and bring their new ideas and
new characters to the brand.
DC’s new editor-in-chief will also have to be open to
creating products that aren’t in 32-page comic formats. The serialized comic
today costs too much and offers little entertainment value for the comic fans’
dollar compared to competing products. OGNs (Original graphic novels,) eBook
exclusive series, and even limited series will have to be the part of the
publishing catalog along with reprints of classic material. Even exclusive
webcomics should be part of a catalog at a new DC Comics.
And that new Editor-in-Chief will have to make an effort to
reach out to comic fans across the globe. They’ll have to be the ambassador of
goodwill to DC readers young and old. Instead of being an aloof jerk like Didio
is sitting at a comic panel blowing off readers at a comicon they paid their
good money to attend, they’ll have to actively listen to their customers and
get creators to listen to them at book signings. As I see it, creators are
going to have to get out and sell their work at the Barnes & Noble and the
comic shops just like they do at the tables when they do commissions. They’re
going to have to talk to the readers. And that feedback from these interactions
hopefully will help them create better stories.
Finally, the next editor-in-chief needs to insist that DC
recent logo needs to GO. It’s the symbol of Dan Didio. The symbol of a decade
of FAILURE. It’s design is uninspired, and reflects the how dysfunctional and
directionless the brand has become. The DC brand needs to be represented by its
iconic four-star bullet again. That bullet was a standard for quality. It meant
the reader was going to get comics readers of all ages would be able to enjoy
and heroes any parent would be eager to share with their kids.
Many comic fans complain about the Dan Didio era at DC
Comics. But Shawn James would like to focus on the post-Didio Era. Like a last
place football team with a first-round draft pick DC Comics would be a rough
place to be in the first few years. But with a solid Editor in Chief with a
publishing background, leading the brand like a great head coach a plan can be
put in place to rebuild the franchise and make it a rock-solid team of writers,
artists and editors who would be focused on taking into first place and gaining
the most market share in the comic book industry.
And what of the characters like Batwoman, Renee Montoya, and all sorts of gay characters? How do yoy plan on dealing with them? And quite frankly I think you should stop aiming your hatred at Dan Didio, Diane, Nelson, Jim Lee, and Bob Harras. It wasn't DC who appointed him to his position it was Warner Bros.
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