The Abattoir That Is DC Comics Editorial

 

 When AT&T bought Warner Brothers, I assumed that some changes would be made to the WB and some of that would trickle down to DC Comics. I have been wondering when the axe would drop or when corporate changes would be made.

 It seems that time is now. As of 8/10, news had leaked out that there were going to be major changes in the DC C suite and Editorial offices. Here is a link to Bleeding Cool's coverage of the proceedings: https://bleedingcool.com/comics/jim-lee-bob-harras-marie-javins-new-dc-comics-implosion-rumors/ 

 This is not trimming of the fat. This is a culling of the herd. 

Now I certainly haven't agreed with the path DC has taken in their comics, probably an overall sentiment of the last 20 years or so. But some of the names are good comics people, people who love comics and the characters, and who interact with fans.

Seeing Hank Kanalz, Andy Khouri, and Brian Cunningham listed among those who are leaving was shocking. These were solid folk who I followed and trusted.

Does AT&T even care about this little corner of WB? Is there a vision for the future? Or was this just a purge? 

Does AT&T care about stories and characters? Or only (as Gerry Conway states so eloquently on Twitter) the ability to strip mine the IP for profit?

Or was this just a result of downward economic trends in the pandemic? Employees were laid off everywhere within WB. Or is that just an excuse?

 

 This doesn't sound too good either. 

'A rapid reduction in titles' means less product on the shelves. I suppose the dust has to settle a bit and new people have to be brought on board. Or maybe AT&T thinks that the world simply doesn't need 50 DC titles a month.

And I will say that I simply dislike reading digital comics. If this is AT&T's way of moving out of the paper publishing business, this might be the death knell for my fandom.

I have pondered the death of comic books and the death of DC Comics for a long time. It suddenly feels a bit more real.

 

Part of this is the complete dissolution of DC Direct.

Again, per Bleeding Cool, rather than having an in-house department to control and parse out merchandise, AT&T will most likely sell the license for the properties to other companies. 

This also sounds like a bit of a cash grab.

Maybe it just what DC needs. To paraphrase the great Harry Lime, times of chaos are often times of great creativity. If I am sick of most of what DC has been doing recently, maybe things need to be shaken things up a bit.

Still I can't help but feel that this is more like a salting of the Earth than sowing a new crop.

 

 Maybe I should be thinking more about Swamp Thing #50 and Swampy's thoughts on aphids. Maybe it is only from the evil of this destruction that a purer, more virtuous DC Universe.

I guess we'll have to see.

All that said, only the best for those who have lost their jobs in this cycle.

Posted in: Reviews