The former DC exec tells you its true origin…
As you are almost certainly aware by now, the famed, sought-after 1982 DC Comics Style Guide, which has never been released for public consumption, is finally coming out this year, thanks to a deal between DC and Standards Manual. It’s up for pre-order now and you can click here for the full rundown and INSIDE LOOK.
But former DC chief Paul Levitz has some info that you may not know: What the Style Guide actually was and how it came to be:
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By PAUL LEVITZ
The Style Guides were done to change a policy that was unfair to artists — most earlier DC licensed products or ads simply picked up images from the comics, without any additional payment to the talent. Led by president Jenette Kahn, we changed that policy so that most licensees had to use artwork created specifically for that purpose, either in the Style Guides (for which the talent was paid a higher rate and knew the intended use) or newly drawn.
That policy remained in place through both Jenette and my tenure, with the modification that when we had a reason to use older art (like a nostalgia-themed “DC Originals” program), we paid reuse fees to the talent.
The cover of the upcoming hardcover, replicating the original
There’s justifiable celebration of the wonderful artwork in that first guide by Jose Luis Garcia-Lopez and Dick Giordano, who became the premier artists for our licensing program for many years. Because that art was used for so long, we paid bonuses to the artists to try to properly compensate them for the use of their work.
And while we’re at it, a tip of the hat to the art directors of the project: Joe Orlando (who selected and guided Jose) and Neal Pozner (whose design work pulls it all together). Joe is, of course, an industry legend (as well as my first boss and mentor), and Neal probably would be if his career and life weren’t cut short by AIDS, and his talents spread between his work at DC, on record album covers and theater posters. As well let’s acknowledge Mary Yedlin (then Moebus), DC’s first modern head of licensing, who helped guide the project.
The early 1980s were a period when we did a lot to make practices at DC more civilized for our contributors and allies, and it’s nice to see one of the tangible examples of that coming back into print and being celebrated.
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MORE
— 1982 DC COMICS STYLE GUIDE Now Up For PRE-ORDER. Click here.
— 1982 DC COMICS STYLE GUIDE to Be Released as a Hardcover — Finally! Click here.
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Paul’s column is a slightly modified version of a Facebook post. Used with his permission.
May 19, 2024
For me, that book captures between its covers what was so special about the Bronze Age. Crisis would soon throw it all away but here it will live forever. I ordered my copy. Thanks for sharing the background, Paul.
May 19, 2024
Such an incredible article. I’m really grateful for the Style Guide’s forthcoming official public release.
May 19, 2024
I’ve already ordered my copy (and the DC Style Guide variants too). I’m a Bronze Age DC fan because that was when I got into comics. That’s what I still enjoy most today.
Many thanks to Paul Levitz for his background on the Style Guide and its purpose. I keep hoping he has a memoir of his time at DC in the offing.
May 19, 2024
Thank you Dan and Paul for posting this and providing accurate details.
I’m the co-founder of Standards Manual publishing book.
We’ve been working with the information we had, but obviously we need to revise. We’ll make updates online soon, and with the book still in production, I’m glad we can make sure things are straight in print.
As you can see from our website, our focus is preserving pieces of design history (with a heavy focus on graphic design, which we practice professionally). With this title being so comic focused we obviously have some blind spots to fill, and will do so.
Paul, am I right that you were there when the guide was commissioned?
Looking forward to bringing this book to you all.
Please keep the extra information coming!