Saturday, April 22, 2006
My Organization/Business Model for DC Comics
I've just recently gotten back into comics. I was never really a big reader of the superhero genre but I did read a few Batman, Spiderman, Superman issues as a kid. I've now started buying comics again and I find the industry more confusing then ever. So this post is going to simplify DC IMO and lead to a more consistent DC Universe as well.
I send questions to Mark Fossen over at Focused Totality/Operation Sports about the comics industry and such. Last night I asked if we'd ever see a boom period again and he basically said "not in the current format" tho he did mention that Trade PaperBacks and Graphic Novels are going through their own little boom. This got me thinking about how I would run DC to bring on better sales and such because as Fossen also said to me, the readership is aging rapidly.
So here's my model for DC Comics:
It's a 3 tier model with a "sandwich" tier between Tier 1 and Tier 2. There'll be different pricing for each tier and within the first Tier there's sub-divisions.
TIER ONE: Monthly Issues
First of all, I think the monthlies are far too skimpy for what they charge. 22 pages is NOT enough. I'm one of those people that likes to take their time reading but i've found that i've blown by the monthlies i've bought in 5 minutes or less! This, coming from a guy who likes to study the panels and such before flipping the page. So what needs to be done is simple. I think there should be a 48 page format and nothing less. There's also the issue of how many books should a character have. It seems to me that Batman and Superman have far too many books associated with them so a new rule i'd institute is "2 books associated with a character". That way you don't have to go all over the place to follow one hero's storyline and whatnot.
As i've said Tier One is subdivided:
1A) This is your main DC universe titles of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman JLA, JSA, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow and whatever else you want to put in there. These would be priced at $2 a pop. One thing i'd like to see in the main DCverse is a return to making the characters matter and less emphasis on the creative teams. This would mean giving any writer a bible to work off of for the title they're working on. That way they'd be forced to write good stories rather then putting in their little quirks on the table.
1B) This is my revolutionary idea. As we all know the comics readership is aging so I think a GENIUNE Silver Age/Multiverse imprint should be instituted. It'd also allow the writers to be creative and have fun with the characters. The All-Star line was SUPPOSED to do this but well Frank Miller went all dark with Bats and while i've heard the Superman one is actually a good nod to the Silver Age it's still pretty much rooted in Bronze Age stuff. So this imprint would be the answer. I'd like to see someone who worked in the SA handle editorial duties on this imprint.
Also in this tier would be an Elseworlds imprint, again it would allow the creative teams to really let their imagination run wild while not having to be tied down to continuity. I think this imprint wouldn't necessarily be a regular monthly but it'd come out enough that a seperate imprint is needed.
1C) This would be the DC Animated division. It's more or less the animated versions of the main DCverse as well as the Cartoon Network books. These would be in the format we see them today of 22 pages and the same price as well.
"SANDWICH"
Basically this'd be where you release mini-series and crossover events. One word about this tho, DC needs to have more clarity with their Mega Events. I know that Infinite Crisis is a once in 20 years kind of event but do we really need a what seems like 4-5 different mini-series surrounding the main event of Infinite Crisis? I mean this is just overkill. This event is supposed to bring new readership but when you have all this other stuff going on it's kinda hard to hook new readers when they have to buy 50 books just to follow the damn thing! (i'm exaggerating but i'm pretty sure that number is pretty accurate)
Anyways these mini-series and crossover events would then convert over Tier Two a year after the mini has fully been published. That way the TPB doesn't take away the sales of the mini. Even then a mini-series would be up for TPB form but that doesn't mean you have to publish it straight away.
Again these would be 48 pages and the price would go up to $2.50 per issue.
TIER TWO: TPBs and GNs
DC has a wealth of comic book goodness in the vaults that ache for a TPB/GN treatment. In fact, I have an idea for a TPB series. We all know that some writers have slavish fans so i'd like to see a Writer X TPB series where you'd get the full run of your fave writer on a book. To make my point clearer how about something like Marv Wolfman's run on Teen Titans. So if you're a fan of Wolfman you'd see a series of TPBs of his entire run of that title.
I like the pricing for these things so i'd keep it as is. I know TPBs and GNs have become the "in thing" so i'd like to see WB (which owns DC) to strike a deal with a major book chain to sell them exclusively or something. I know they sell TPBs at some major chains but I think it'd be more profitable to make it a permanent thing.
TIER THREE: Archives Editions and Specialty Items
I truly love the Archives Edition program at DC and hope to see even more of these bad boys. Yes the price is exorbitant but just look at the quality you're getting. It's money well spent. I think that DC could also put encyclopedias, artist specific artbooks and CD-Rom versions of the Archives Editions. The CD-Rom idea comes from the Marvel CD-Roms i've seen which offers full runs of the Avengers, Spider-man, Fantastic Four and the X-Men. Now unless those were not liscenced by Marvel then this is a great idea for DC to get at the tech crowd.
So there you have it, my idea to make DC more viable. DC also has a great parent company in WB. I think Warners should really ramp up the DC properties in other media. The cartoons have been wildly successful and the live action TV side seems to be doing well. I've even heard they're doing an Aquaman series! The movies are only now starting to get going again with the new Batman films and Superman coming out this summer.
The only thing WB needs to do more of is to actually, you know advertise DC a bit more. There should be more synergy with the TV and movie incarnation of the characters.
So my ideas would do this:
1. Simplify, while at the same time diversifying the DC Universe
2. Emphasizing character rather then the creative teams behind them
3. Put an emphasis on catering to the divergent fanbase: a streamlined DCverse for the ongoing series and a Silver Age/Elseworlds imprint for the older crowd who wish for simpler and lighter entertainment.
4. Make the TPB/GN side of the business at the forefront for mainstream exposure.
5. Synergy between the different incarnations of the DC properties.
I send questions to Mark Fossen over at Focused Totality/Operation Sports about the comics industry and such. Last night I asked if we'd ever see a boom period again and he basically said "not in the current format" tho he did mention that Trade PaperBacks and Graphic Novels are going through their own little boom. This got me thinking about how I would run DC to bring on better sales and such because as Fossen also said to me, the readership is aging rapidly.
So here's my model for DC Comics:
It's a 3 tier model with a "sandwich" tier between Tier 1 and Tier 2. There'll be different pricing for each tier and within the first Tier there's sub-divisions.
TIER ONE: Monthly Issues
First of all, I think the monthlies are far too skimpy for what they charge. 22 pages is NOT enough. I'm one of those people that likes to take their time reading but i've found that i've blown by the monthlies i've bought in 5 minutes or less! This, coming from a guy who likes to study the panels and such before flipping the page. So what needs to be done is simple. I think there should be a 48 page format and nothing less. There's also the issue of how many books should a character have. It seems to me that Batman and Superman have far too many books associated with them so a new rule i'd institute is "2 books associated with a character". That way you don't have to go all over the place to follow one hero's storyline and whatnot.
As i've said Tier One is subdivided:
1A) This is your main DC universe titles of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman JLA, JSA, Aquaman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow and whatever else you want to put in there. These would be priced at $2 a pop. One thing i'd like to see in the main DCverse is a return to making the characters matter and less emphasis on the creative teams. This would mean giving any writer a bible to work off of for the title they're working on. That way they'd be forced to write good stories rather then putting in their little quirks on the table.
1B) This is my revolutionary idea. As we all know the comics readership is aging so I think a GENIUNE Silver Age/Multiverse imprint should be instituted. It'd also allow the writers to be creative and have fun with the characters. The All-Star line was SUPPOSED to do this but well Frank Miller went all dark with Bats and while i've heard the Superman one is actually a good nod to the Silver Age it's still pretty much rooted in Bronze Age stuff. So this imprint would be the answer. I'd like to see someone who worked in the SA handle editorial duties on this imprint.
Also in this tier would be an Elseworlds imprint, again it would allow the creative teams to really let their imagination run wild while not having to be tied down to continuity. I think this imprint wouldn't necessarily be a regular monthly but it'd come out enough that a seperate imprint is needed.
1C) This would be the DC Animated division. It's more or less the animated versions of the main DCverse as well as the Cartoon Network books. These would be in the format we see them today of 22 pages and the same price as well.
"SANDWICH"
Basically this'd be where you release mini-series and crossover events. One word about this tho, DC needs to have more clarity with their Mega Events. I know that Infinite Crisis is a once in 20 years kind of event but do we really need a what seems like 4-5 different mini-series surrounding the main event of Infinite Crisis? I mean this is just overkill. This event is supposed to bring new readership but when you have all this other stuff going on it's kinda hard to hook new readers when they have to buy 50 books just to follow the damn thing! (i'm exaggerating but i'm pretty sure that number is pretty accurate)
Anyways these mini-series and crossover events would then convert over Tier Two a year after the mini has fully been published. That way the TPB doesn't take away the sales of the mini. Even then a mini-series would be up for TPB form but that doesn't mean you have to publish it straight away.
Again these would be 48 pages and the price would go up to $2.50 per issue.
TIER TWO: TPBs and GNs
DC has a wealth of comic book goodness in the vaults that ache for a TPB/GN treatment. In fact, I have an idea for a TPB series. We all know that some writers have slavish fans so i'd like to see a Writer X TPB series where you'd get the full run of your fave writer on a book. To make my point clearer how about something like Marv Wolfman's run on Teen Titans. So if you're a fan of Wolfman you'd see a series of TPBs of his entire run of that title.
I like the pricing for these things so i'd keep it as is. I know TPBs and GNs have become the "in thing" so i'd like to see WB (which owns DC) to strike a deal with a major book chain to sell them exclusively or something. I know they sell TPBs at some major chains but I think it'd be more profitable to make it a permanent thing.
TIER THREE: Archives Editions and Specialty Items
I truly love the Archives Edition program at DC and hope to see even more of these bad boys. Yes the price is exorbitant but just look at the quality you're getting. It's money well spent. I think that DC could also put encyclopedias, artist specific artbooks and CD-Rom versions of the Archives Editions. The CD-Rom idea comes from the Marvel CD-Roms i've seen which offers full runs of the Avengers, Spider-man, Fantastic Four and the X-Men. Now unless those were not liscenced by Marvel then this is a great idea for DC to get at the tech crowd.
So there you have it, my idea to make DC more viable. DC also has a great parent company in WB. I think Warners should really ramp up the DC properties in other media. The cartoons have been wildly successful and the live action TV side seems to be doing well. I've even heard they're doing an Aquaman series! The movies are only now starting to get going again with the new Batman films and Superman coming out this summer.
The only thing WB needs to do more of is to actually, you know advertise DC a bit more. There should be more synergy with the TV and movie incarnation of the characters.
So my ideas would do this:
1. Simplify, while at the same time diversifying the DC Universe
2. Emphasizing character rather then the creative teams behind them
3. Put an emphasis on catering to the divergent fanbase: a streamlined DCverse for the ongoing series and a Silver Age/Elseworlds imprint for the older crowd who wish for simpler and lighter entertainment.
4. Make the TPB/GN side of the business at the forefront for mainstream exposure.
5. Synergy between the different incarnations of the DC properties.
# posted by Chris Fung @ 4:54 PM 
