Posted in: Comics | Tagged: Bob Harras, bobbie chase, Comics, dc, Diane Nelson, joey cavalieri, john rood, Mike Marts

Last Night's Gossip About The DC Comics Move (UPDATE)

The big meeting happened yesterday. Individual meetings with Human Resources begin this month. But DC Comics staff have been assured by DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson, that if they want to join the move West, they can. There will be no compulsory redundancies.

While all eyes are on the New York DC Comics office and who exactly will move with the publisher and who will quit, the names of Bob Harras, Bobbie Chase and Joey Cavalieri are being mentioned as those who won't be moving. And while a family man like Batman Group Editor Mike Marts would have also been likely to stay on the East Coast, and may have the ear of other publishers, could an offer of DC Comics Editor In Chief move him to move? And was John Rood planning to leave anyway? But there is no suggestion that Dan DiDio will be leaving. Indeed, from Facebook, he replied to the question, if he was going west coast, "I'd rather like to think of it as the west coast is going Dan."

That's the gossip half heard over those Manhattan bars, anyway, as a number of comic creators are getting rather nervous that the editor that they'd built time making a relationship with, won't be making the trip. Reality may be very different. But again I;ve been told that the junior editors in general will probably have an easier ride.

But while all eyes are on the New York staff, there may be drama kicking off over West.  Nelson told the Wall Street Journal;

Once I set up my executive team, we put about 80 people in place here. Some came from New York and some were new hires. I put an emphasis on a few key areas: Geoff Johns as chief creative officer oversees our creative affairs and services, interacting with the media teams.

One of the problems may be that Burbank-based Chief Creative Officer Geoff Johns has been writing more comics, and I understand that the reason he has dropped some comics is the demand that he write less and be an executive more – he's at a maximum of two comics a month after current obligations have been fulfilled (no idea about his TV scripts) and there has been a request made to editorial to inform Nelson if he tries to write any more.

There has also been some division between DC with books known as Geoff Johns books – those he writes, or has a strong affiliation with the writer – and the rest. Geoff's books had been relatively free from editorial interference from Bob Harras or Dan DiDio, though the recent repeatedly rewritten Trinity War crossover tested that.

Dan DiDio recently told editorial staff, that if they were siding with Geoff Johns over Dan with regard to reporting structures that they were backing the wrong horse. And as far as we know, Geoff Johns still hasn't signed a new exclusive creative contract with DC, after it lapsed earlier this year. Now, of course, DiDio regards Johns like a brother and but it could get interesting when they are all working on the same floor together.

At least the Christmas party will be easier to organise next year.

UPDATE: And yes, given this context, this was just hilarious;

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