The fate of DC Comics has been somewhat uncertain the past week, but DC CCO Jim Lee assures fans that their favorite books aren't going away anytime soon; though readers may have to make some changes in how they read them.
A massive round of layoffs shook all of WarnerMedia - DC's parent company - and the comics division was hardly immune to the corporate restructuring's fallout. Multiple high-level editors were shown the door; reportedly a third of the editorial staff was cut; the bulk of DC's streaming service, DC Unlimited, was slashed; and DC's internal merchandise and collectible production arm, DC Direct, was shut down entirely. All told, approximately 800 employees got caught up in the sweeping series of layoffs. And all this came literally days before DC FanDome, an online fan event covering all things DC with hundreds of writers, actors, directors, artists and more scheduled to (virtually) attend.
But Jim Lee survived the cuts and, in a recent - and extensive - interview with THR, detailed what this would mean for the comic division in the future. Fans panicked when rumors began to circle that this might be the end of DC Comics entirely, but Lee was quick to dispel those concerns, saying "It is still the cornerstone of everything that we do. The need for storytelling, updating the mythology, is vital to what we do." But he would continue later on in the piece to describe that the way fans consume comics in the future may be where major change can be anticipated. As one can expect, the future is online, according to Lee.
Citing the success of the digital-first Injustice series, Lee said he expects DC Comics will rely more and more on digital platforms to see what characters or series find an audience. Then, once the most sought after titles are determined, they will then be given more of a print focus. "When [Injustice] came out, it was the best-selling digital comic of the year." Lee explained. "It outsold Batman. And brought a lot of adjacent fans into our business. And when we took that content and reprinted it in physical form, we sold hundreds of thousands of units. It was as big of a hit in physical as in digital."
We’re using that as a model as we go out and do more digital content. We’ll take the most successful books and repackage it as physical books. I think there is definitely business to be had in physical periodicals. But that said, I think there’s greater upside in digital because we can go to a more global audience and the barrier to entry, especially in this pandemic, is lower. It’s a lot easier to get digital content into the hands of consumers that want to read stories.
Considering how many books have found success with the digital-first format in recent years, it should come as no surprise that DC would look to continue to build on that, especially after this recent company-wide shakeup. And while this may come as a disappointment to traditional collectors who need the latest copy of Batman or Wonder Woman in their longbox ASAP, the major physical books likely aren't going anywhere anytime soon. If nothing else, this refocusing may mean an even larger audience, which would eventually mean more DC Comics on shelves.
Source: THR