Posted in: Comics, Comics Publishers, DC Comics | Tagged: dc bloodbath, dc comics, Mad Magazine

DC Comics – Collections, Exclusives, MAD and Assistant Editor Changes

More details regarding yesterday's layoffs at DC Comics, widely referred to as the DC Bloodbath, have reached Bleeding Cool. We urge you to read previous reports from yesterday and from today, this piece will only deal with new information. But it does provide more details regarding what DC's Two-Year Plan to become a very different looking comic book publisher, and explains further the decimation of the Collected Editions department at DC, and also just how much of an impact these Warner Bros changes are having on the comic book publisher. Because, this is the biggest DC Comics layoff ever, even more than 1978 – though maybe not as a percentage.

The Creative Services group, of which Jonah Weiland was VP of, has been closed. They were the group behind DC Direct as well as supervising pitches, source books, internal style guides, character art approvals and logos, creating a uniform DC Comics look and style.

MAD Magazine has gone – the longstanding satirical comedy magazine that was bought by DC Comics will be closed at the publisher. It may be licensed out elsewhere.

UPDATE: As of today, I am being told that DC's Creative Services group is not closed and that MAD Magazine is not gone. What that actually means, we may learn at a later date

I am also told that all exclusive creator contracts, that cover the likes of Dan Abnett, Tom King and Brian Bendis, are being reviewed.

DC Collected Editions have lost their two most senior people. Scott Nybakken, Senior Editor – Collected Editions who has been at DC for over twenty years after working at The Comics Journal. And Jeb Woodard, Production Manager at DC Comics, who has worked there for a 14 years stretch with another three years at the publisher before then.

Anyone with an executive assistant position to an executive who has been let go, has now also been let go. None are being reassigned.

As Bleeding Cool previously reported, DC Comics' title count is to be reduced, both monthly books and collections. While a relatively few number of editors have gone, almost all assistant editors and associate editors have retained their jobs, and may see promotions.

Those editors still in jobs will now have to edit the collections of the monthly books they already work on, rather than use the Collected Editions department. Archival projects, seen as more labour intensive will be reduced or licenced out to the likes of Scott Dunbier at IDW.

I am also told that Albert Ching, formerly of CBR and Newsarama, and Specialist, Marketing Services at DC Comics for the last couple of years, will now be in charge of Marketing. Whoever it is might want to talk to retailers about what is going down sooner rather than later.

Again, none of these changes is yet official. Some aspects may be renegotiated or changed before any press releases are issued. But this is the state of play right now. You can catch up on previous articles with this link.

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