Grim news at a grim time.
There were major layoffs at DC Comics and the DC Universe app on Monday, according to a wide array of reports and sources. In addition DC Direct (aka DC Collectibles) has been shut down.
For more formal info, head to The Hollywood Reporter. For the rumor mill, there’s Bleeding Cool.
Generally speaking, we don’t cover much business-side news here at 13th Dimension, mainly because our focus is on comics themselves, especially from the retro perspective.
Nevertheless, this is an extremely painful situation in an exceptionally difficult time. Personally, I expect the comics landscape to look radically different six months to a year from now.
My condolences to all those who didn’t survive the cuts and my best wishes to those who have.
— Dan
August 10, 2020
This is horrible news. đ
August 10, 2020
This is really unfortunate, especially for those who have lost their jobs. As a lapsed DC fan who was just starting to dip my toe back into their waters with DC Universe, it’ll be really disappointing to me if that service goes under. I subscribed less than 2 weeks ago and was having a lot of fun, predominantly with the older shows and comics. As it’s a cheap way to explore newer stuff too, they might have gotten me back onboard after years of apathy. Now, though? Who knows?
August 11, 2020
I feel for anyone losing their job but I think DC Comics lost its way a long time ago. Marvel might have too but I don’t keep up with their books. I’ve heard over and over again from old time fans that they felt slapped in the face that storylines and characters they enjoyed had been retconned out.
I know I gave Batman a try when Tom King took over, after a strong recommendation from a good friend, and it just wasn’t my Batman. He depicted the character as whiney and afraid, at least in the issue I read, and it didn’t work for me.
Batman works for me in the original books from the early 1940s, and then Steve Englehart’s run, and some of Don Newton and Gene Colan’s run from the 70s and 80s. DC just no longer published “my Batman” so I stopped reading it.
Denny O’Neil said it best a long time ago– you are a keeper of the flame when you work on a legacy character. You have to honor much of what’s gone before while still trying to provide entertaining stories for today’s readers. I try to do that with Kelly and Veronica on SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH for Archie. That was a series I read as a kid, and I wanted it to stay mostly recognizable to someone today.
I think DC abandoned this for their darker failed movie universes where everyone just seemed miserable. Sales reflected that and readers left, which has lead to these layoffs. Respect the fans while bringing in new ones and we all win.
August 11, 2020
Well said. Some make the argument that the current comic books are not written for âold peopleâ me; that theyâre written for a younger audience. Fair enough – just donât expect me to buy them.
August 11, 2020
There is no reason at all why they can’t be written to include both. It just takes good writing.
August 11, 2020
There have been plenty of well written Batman stories since the days of Colan and Newton. In a variety of flavors too. There wasn’t much grim and gritty in the beautiful Batman Universe book that Bendis did, and the current Batman Adventures revival is great for the younger set.
These layoffs don’t have anything to do directly with sales (or the Black Label editor wouldn’t have gotten the boot), it has to do with AT&T restructuring and not valuing the source of the IP. This is going to hurt the industry as a whole
August 12, 2020
Donât buy this theory at all- if the comics sales or the movies had been healthy they wouldnât be consolidating. BU with Bendis was a bright spot, but too little too late. Grim and gritty has turned a lot of us off reading.
August 11, 2020
I wish no ill to anyone at DC, staff or freelancers, and I sympathize with anyone who lost their jobs. However, DC has been heading in this direction since 2011. They completely lost me as a reader at that time, as they continually grasped at straws for new readers. I remember Didio’s dismay that whenever they released “old stuff” it outsold any new material they were publishing. As they lost me as a current comics reader, the strong reprint program has kept me hooked on all the comics I never got to read, or wish I could read again. I do hope that program will continue.