Author Topic: The business of comics  (Read 25726 times)

Offline AzT

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Re: The business of comics
« Reply #60 on: January 22, 2019, 09:47:54 PM »
Jimmy Palmiotti started a #newcreatoradvice conversation that is worth reading:

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So maybe we can give back a little. This hashtag #newcreatoradvice would be a good thing to use if you are an established creator and have advice for the new people coming into the field. Even the most basic advice would be appreciated. Any Pros interested?


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Other creators that have advice, use the hashtag so people can find it easily. #newcreatoradvice


Offline AzT

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Re: The business of comics
« Reply #61 on: January 24, 2019, 10:56:46 AM »
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Representatives for DC declined to comment for this story Wednesday evening, however they did provide Newsarama with the memo that DC employees received from Pam Lifford, President, Warner Bros. Global Brands and Experiences.

The full text follows:

"Today has been a challenging day. We have made organizational changes across DC that we believe will help to strengthen and evolve the division for future success. With these changes come difficult decisions which we take very seriously.

"We recognize and appreciate that all of our employees have made considerable contributions to our business and that it is difficult to lose colleagues, many of whom have been here for a long time and have made an important impact on DC. We thank them for their hard work and dedication to DC. As always, we are committed to taking care of our employees and will be as thoughtful as possible with those who are impacted by these changes.

"Together with Dan and Jim, and the executive team, we have spent time assessing DC’s business, as well as the comic book publishing landscape. DC is going back to its roots of delivering epic stories with our world-class characters, stories and brands. Being a premier house of storytelling will never go out of style and we intend to ultimately super-serve our existing fans, while providing new compelling content that engages and excites even more fans around the globe. Rest assured, the direct market will remain at the heart of our business - and will continue to be one of our greatest strengths.

"The new streamlined structure is focused on creating, delivering and supporting a robust publishing operation that will allow DC to be nimble, navigate an industry in change, and thrive. As we communicated today, we are forming three distinct work streams - Editorial, Production & Manufacturing, and Publishing Support Services.

"Editorial will continue to be run by Bob Harras, SVP & Editor-In-Chief, who will now also be responsible for new initiatives and global publishing, editorial scheduling, and art direction Production & Manufacturing will continue to be run by Alison Gill, SVP Manufacturing & Operations Publishing Support Services is a new business unit consisting of all departments that support the sales, marketing and promotion of our books, and this will be run by Hank Kanalz who is taking on additional responsibilities as SVP Publishing Strategy & Support Services As a result - DC Collectibles and its team will be part of the Consumer Products Toy team moving forward.

"We recognize there are other groups across DC who are not fully dedicated to supporting the publishing business and, therefore, are not directly addressed in today’s news. As The Global Brands & Experiences structure continues to develop, I look forward to sharing more with you as that evolves.

"Many of you will have questions and in the coming days you will receive more information from Bob, Alison and Hank about their teams. Together with Dan and Jim, I will be hosting Town Hall meetings Thursday on the individual floors to discuss these changes and provide more insight.

"Thank you again for your support, hard work and loyalty to DC. Each of you are incredibly valued and I look forward to seeing you tomorrow afternoon where I will do my best to answer any questions." - Pam 

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DC's longtime Senior VP Art Director Mark Chiarello has been laid from the company as part of organizational changes announced on Wednesday, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Chiarello has been on staff at DC since 1993, joining the company after freelancing as an artist in comics and animation. Chiarello was hired as Color Editor - a then-new position in the comic industry, riding on the digital transition of that aspect of comics production. Chiarello was later elevated to Editorial Art Director, where he oversaw the art for the comics line and edited several limited series including Batman: Black & White, the Batman "Hush" arc, the Before Watchmen titles, New Frontier, Solo, and Wednesday Comics. He wrote the instructional book The DC Comics Guide to Coloring and Lettering Comics with Todd Klein.

While working at DC, Chiarello continued his illustration career, including work on Abrams Publishing's Heroes of the Negro League (with co-author Jack Morelli) and a 2009 Carhartt advertising campaign.

According to sources, Chiarello was amongst a small number of positions eliminated by DC - estimated at less than 3% of their workforce. In addition to Chiarello, SVP Sales Trade Marketing John Cunningham and VP Consumer Marketing Eddie Scannell were also among those whose positions were eliminated.

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Re: The business of comics
« Reply #62 on: Today at 01:55:03 PM »

Offline perc2100

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Re: The business of comics
« Reply #62 on: January 24, 2019, 12:45:39 PM »
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Some big stuff went down at IDW earlier this year and most of what I've heard hasn't been favorable. Basically, most of the people who were most loved in the industry were pushed out. It's been disheartening to me as a San Diegan

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For whatever reason I'm just noticing this thread.  I too live in San Diego and have a keen interest in IDW.  I've met their co-founder, their Editor in Chief (who would've been announced around the time of this post of yours last spring), as well as some of their other artists and writers (Kevin Eastman and his wife live pretty close to me & go to the same martial arts studio as my family).  Can you elaborate what you meant?  Obviously nearly a year later it could be difficult to find what info you had to make this post, but IDW seems to be doing pretty well.  They did substantially tone down their Comic Art Gallery (i.e. the first floor of their HQ in Liberty Station), but I haven't necessarily seen a drop in their quality as far as the books go.  I think their ending of their Transformers series was a bummer but they're essentially rebooting it this spring (they had some great talent on those books).  What else have you heard going down with them?

Offline AzT

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Re: The business of comics
« Reply #63 on: January 24, 2019, 12:54:17 PM »
Most recent IDW press releases about the state of their business:

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Offline AzT

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Re: The business of comics
« Reply #64 on: May 08, 2019, 10:48:38 AM »
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Lion Forge (St. Louis) and Oni Press (Portland) announce a merger which will set the two companies on a path to becoming the premier destination for original graphic storytelling, gaming, entertainment, and more. Polarity, the parent company of Lion Forge, will become the majority owner of the new combined entity, with James Lucas Jones serving as president and publisher and the ONI team leading creative and business operations.

Offline AzT

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Re: The business of comics
« Reply #65 on: May 29, 2019, 12:32:04 PM »
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Our Memorial Day weekend was filled with drama, but not in a good way. At approximately 5 AM on Sunday morning we had someone break in through the rear door of Jason St. He then proceeded to walk our front area of the store, where we have five 6' tall cases filled with our most significant back issues. He smashed the doors off three of those cases, and then chose 14 comics to steal, which had a net retail value of $42,000+.

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Offline AzT

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Re: The business of comics
« Reply #66 on: June 04, 2019, 12:32:13 PM »
Say it isn't so :'(

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Bleeding Cool has been informed by a number of sources this morning that DC Comics is planning to shutter its Vertigo imprint. This has come as quite a surprise to some, as I also understand that DC Comics has just greenlit a number of Vertigo projects for publication. Indeed, there are plans for a big launch of new books for San Diego Comic-Con spearheading a new Vertigo… thing. But I have been told that word has come from on high rather rapidly to make the change, some contracts are being revoked, some creator-owned titles released back to their creators and some will be moved within the publisher. And those affected are being informed.

Offline Chris

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Re: The business of comics
« Reply #67 on: June 04, 2019, 02:33:27 PM »
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Say it isn't so :'(

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Jeepers.  Scary stuff.

Offline AzT

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Re: The business of comics
« Reply #68 on: June 10, 2019, 09:22:04 AM »
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Offline AzT

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Re: The business of comics
« Reply #69 on: June 18, 2019, 09:35:33 PM »
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In 2016, Rozanski ended a 44-year run exhibiting at San Diego Comic Con.  Curiously, he’s a special guest of the con for 2019, where he will be showing his support for the International Court System, a drag-focused LGBT organization with a significant charity arm.  Rozanski is a national officer in the organization. "Well, I have incredibly mixed feelings toward [San Diego] Comic-Con.  Toward the end, the treatment we received was so far beyond shabby that it beggars the imagination.  I’m going back there because I was asked to go back there, and now that I’ve been invited to be part of the Out in Comics panel, I feel like I actually have a reason for going and a contribution to make.  But just being paraded around as one the guys who worked for 44 years to help keep this place going… yeah, you know, that really doesn’t do much for me. I went with huge reservations.  But now that I’m attending the Out in Comics panel in drag as Bettie, now that makes a difference."

Offline AzT

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Re: The business of comics
« Reply #70 on: June 21, 2019, 05:09:38 PM »
 :'(

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blastoffcomics
“A thing isn’t beautiful because it lasts.” – The Vision, Avengers: Age of Ultron
It is with much regret that we announce that Blastoff will be closing its doors at the end of July. It has been a marvelous and miraculous seven years with you all. We've served an entire city of families, spread the gospel of comics to local schools and libraries, donated tens of thousands of dollars and an unending supply of comic books to dozens of charitable organizations, and we've built reading rooms at hospitals and brought joy to sick children all over the country. We don’t regret a single second of it.
Thank you for your fellowship and your support. It has been a privilege to be among you. #blastoffcomics

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Offline SamTurtledove

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Re: The business of comics
« Reply #71 on: July 02, 2019, 05:38:08 PM »
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The Walking Dead comics are coming to a surprising ending this week

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Offline mark

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Re: The business of comics
« Reply #72 on: July 02, 2019, 11:58:36 PM »
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Issue 192 was brutal, even by TWD standards. I (along with probably most everyone else) was expecting it to end at issue 200, they even put out fake covers and solicits that suggested as much. I guess it makes sense for a series that was built around shocks and surprises to end on one.

Offline AzT

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Re: The business of comics
« Reply #73 on: July 03, 2019, 11:25:43 PM »
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Sources tell THR that after issue 9, MAD will no longer be sold on newsstands and will only be available through comic book shops as well as mailed to subscribers. After issue 10, there will no longer be new content in subsequent issues save for the end-of-year specials (those will be all-new). Beginning with issue 11, the magazine will only feature previously published content — classic and best-of nostalgic fare — from its massive fault of the past 67 years. DC, however, will also continue to publish MAD books and special collections.

Offline Chris

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Re: The business of comics
« Reply #74 on: July 04, 2019, 11:16:55 AM »
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Uh oh.  DC has cancelled both Vertigo and MAD magazine?  These kind of cancellations make me nervous for comics in general.