Can DC Comics be#1 in the marketplace again ? Is Blackest Night key to the publisher ’s hereafter ? We asked unexampled DC Colorado - publishing company Dan Didio and Jim Lee , as well as new DC Entertainment Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns .
Congratulations on the new positions , but how does “ co - publishing firm ” really ferment ? Who ’s handling what , and what are the responsibilities of a DC Publisher in general ?
Jim Lee : It ’s interesting . I ’ve been read content display board and [ seeing ] people speculating on who would be a good publisher , and , yeah , people have a very different definition of what that think of . I mean for us , the tradition has been changed so that Dan and myself can really focus on the creative [ side ] of editorial . Really , await at all the dissimilar editorial imprints and making sure that they are well - serviced , and that we produce the just potential book from each railway line . That entail , lick with talent , securing new projects , lick with the editors to make certain that the volume are on time and have the good writers and artists possible ; it mean shape with Geoff Johns on overall originative guidance and big events on editorial . It ’s sort of like being the uber - editor to all the editor program , but there ’s more to it than that . It ’s also looking at outside license , so there ’s a business enterprise component to it , as well as a marketing constituent . What ’s really nerveless is that , the squad that comprises this component for DCE , we have five people in this executive squad and we have finance and we have selling and we have Geoff as Chief Creative Officer , and we have the co - newspaper publisher , so we ’re not doing anything in a vacuum . We ’re really doing it with the advice and Colorado - development with marketing and with Geoff ’s section .
Dan Didio : I require to say that , just because my primary responsibility up to this point was with the DC Universe and Jim ’s was with Wildstorm , it ’s not just about those imprints . We are really elaborate and turn in conjunction with all the impression at DC with one publishing goal , which is to be the number one publisher . Not only in regards to sales event , but we want to be able to grow the business , grow the market , but at the same time , be the premier point for creators to come to bring their work . We unfeignedly believe that DC , and DC Entertainment , is the best place to be if you ’re in the business of working in comics right now .
downwind : The digital blank is obviously go to be an authoritative one for us going forwards , and it ’s one that I have a keen interest in , and I ’ll be working with John Rood – who ’s in charge of marketing , sales and business development , in figure out what is the right vehicle for us as we move forward in that quad . There ’s more matter on our plate than we could obviously wish well for , so we ’re kind of picking and choosing which ones we need to pass on , and working together on a number of unlike unity . We ’re able-bodied to wreak that style because we ’ve been known each other for a longsighted time and there ’s mutual obedience for each other . There ’s no ego there , we ’re very honest and blunt with one another , and we have very matter - of - fact negotiation , and it ’s been really majuscule just talk about the direction and the future of DC .
Didio : One of the gravid things about form with Jim on this is that , I remember when Image Comics launched [ Lee was one of the seven original spouse in Image Comics in 1991 ] . I remember how it really localize the industry on its capitulum , and how it helped redefine and re - brace the whole stage business . I know Jim was instrumental in so many things that were spearheaded over there , and his inside knowledge is go to be extremely beneficial to us as we really stress to invigorate and re - energize everything that we ’ve been doing here .
It feel like this is happen at a very secure meter for DC , with Blackest Night and Brightest Day re - energizing the fans , in terms of the DCU line of business …
Didio : Yeah , Blackest Night and Brightest Day are just two key ways that this caller has gain from the creative leaders of Geoff Johns . Geoff really take on Blackest Night and knew it , was able to excuse it so that the key concept proceed not only into the comics , but the toys and so many other areas that really made it what it was . It ’s our goal that Geoff will be able to bring that same energy to everything that DC is release moving forwards .
That was where I was proceed , is Blackest Night conk out to be a model for everything decease forward , in terms of not only the presentation within the comics , but also the marketing and tie into other media ?
Geoff Johns : Yes , to a certain extent , I think Blackest Night was successful as it was because I work with everyone at DC [ editorial ] , and [ product section ] DC Direct and sales and marketing and everyone , and everybody rally together for Blackest Night . The fact that DC Direct had the toys arrive out while the serial was add up out , everything was in sync . The synergism in - house was terrific , and the idea is to bring that synergy throughout all of DCE , including films , video , animation , video games and everything beyond . But Blackest Night is a great instance of how it can all go mighty .
Didio : And of how secure this metier can be when you take a really impregnable direction , a vindicated vox , and roleplay it across multiple medium . And that ’s something we ’re search to do … But not solely do . There ’s so much of what DC is , and DC is built on diversity . DC is built with very alone voice in the different imprint , and that is something that we ’re going to build on .
Johns : Blackest Night is just an example of how we go up one projection , a braggy event within the DCU . But draw close everything else , it ’ll be with the same sort of support , but [ in terms of smell ] , it ’ll be very diverse .
Something that I ’m escort a destiny of , particularly in [ DC Entertainment ] Diane Nelson ’s statement about these appointee , is the idea that DC should be the finish for comic record book creators … Is that an thought that is focused around comic strip only ? What if one of your creators come up with a pitch for a tv series , a toy idea or a film ?
Didio : We are truly drive by content . For us , we desire to be capable to build and fortify any content that we sense can be exploited across multiple medium . One of the thing that I enjoy about [ Jim Lee ’s imprint ] Wildstorm when I first arrived here was the Cliffhanger lineage , and how it gift such a vocalisation to so many creators with their own particular stories . We ’re desire that we can carry on to build individual strong creative voices where they work well , and at the same time , lend those vox to our character where they wreak well .
Johns : To your point , though , it all start out in comics . We ’re not give-up the ghost to go outside and do random movies or miniature approximation . It all starts in comics .
Didio : As co - publishing house , our principal concern is the publishing line .
What should we be expecting to see from DC over the next year or so ? Is there an immediate end you ’re looking to get hold of ?
downwind : There ’s nothing concrete in term of digital media , but translating that into other media , that ’s Geoff Johns ’ direction and I think that ’s definitely going to be a big part of it , too .
Johns : You ’ll be hearing more and more about , not only inner comedian , but outside comics , what we ’re up to during the yr .
Lee : Our ultimate end is to become the number one publishing company . None of this really makes signified if we ’re just going to keep the status quo . We just announced this this dawn , but now we ’re going to sit down with everyone here at DC and discourse how we ’re blend to achieve that . That ’s by all odds our top precedency .
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