DC Comics, uhm, DC Entertainment Publisher + Executive Team Announced

The long awaited answer to "Who will replace Paul Levitz as DC's Publisher?" has finally been answered.  In a post on the DC Comics blog, they have announced the new executive team for DC Entertainment.  The team is as follows:

Jim Lee and Dan DiDio will be co-publishers.  Geoff Johns will be Chief Creative Officer.  John Rood is named EVP, Sales, Marketing and Business Development.  And rounding out the team, Patrick Caldon was named the EVP, Finance and Administration.  Obviously those last 2 will get glossed over as fans heads explode across the country.

I have to admit I did not see this coming.  We have speculated about whether or not DiDio would get the Publisher gig, and we wondered about Jim Lee's candidacy for the position but quickly dismissed with the assumption that it would require him to move to New York City.  The post does not go into detail as to where each co-publisher will be working, nor of the rumored move to the West Coast, probably LA (where all the movies happen), as has often been rumored.

One thing I didn't see coming was Geoff Johns' name in the mix and I've got to say, it's a smart move for DC Entertainment.  The resurgence of DC Comics in the past 3 years or so can be focused squarely on Johns' work in the Green Lantern and Superman titles.  Everyone knows how big of fans we are of Johns, and it's awesome to see him get his due and rewarded for being such an amazing talent, not only to making comics, but also TV (as evidenced by his work on Smallville) and soon to be movies (we assume).

So there you have it, the new executive team at DC Entertainment.  Now let's see them make some good comics!

 

UPDATES
A note from Diane Nelson – "This partnership – both Dan and Jim as Co-Publishers and Geoff, John and Pat as executive partners with them – was a very organic and natural one. And this team is brimming with respect for one another and excitement at what this combination can achieve."


A note from Jim Lee & Dan DiDio – "With the Co-Publisher structure, it’s going to allow us to be in many places at once, both literally and metaphorically; to better position DC as one of the great creative engines which fuels and defines so much of our world’s Pop Culture while making sure we continue to address and redefine what makes DC’s characters so great."


A note from Geoff Johns – "Aw, Yeah!" and "So what does a “Chief Creative Officer” do? Well, I still wear t-shirts and write and go to conventions, but I’ll be doing a whole lot more too."

Comments

  1. All three have proven their mettle to me at DC. This can only be a good thing – unless it prevents them from making more comics, of course.

  2. wow!!! those are some big changes, does this mean Johns will be writing less?

  3. So now Jim is a co-manager?  I didn’t know DC was headquartered in Scranton PA.

  4. @tdog – check out the link to Geoff’s note about it (updated above)- he says he won’t be writing less…

  5. This just in; Geoff Johns does not sleep……

  6. I can’t imagine a better talent to take on the role of chief creative officer at DC than Johns. That’s fantastic news. 

  7. I guess Jim Lee has one more reason not to draw now.

  8. I’m alittle shocked that Jim Lee is Co-Pub. 

  9. Nice. I am shocked to see Jim Lee back into the fray, not so much for Johns promotion though. He has done so much for DC that he deserves to help shape the company more so then just writing comics.

  10. Okay, I was a little worried before.  Now I’m totally pumped.  This put some very cool pieces in place at DC and readies them quite well for the future of the DC brand.  Bring on the Marvel and the House of Mouse.  I think DC will be able to stand up to them with this team.

  11. Also, smart move not to announce this yesterday. They could’ve gotten lost in our new cycle. 😉

  12. I have said it before, I will say it again.  I am convinced Geoff Johns isnt human.  He is a robot. No man can do all he does.

  13. I think Mr. Johns is an excellent choice for this role.  His creativity and work ethic are to be commended.  I second his "Aw, yeah!"

  14. I was not entirely sure what a Chief Creative Officer was– the job title reminded me of when I worked at dotcoms and people would hand me business cards that said "Chief Dragon Slayer" or "Head Web Ninja"– so I did the big-boy thing and looked it up.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Creative_Officer

    Interesting job to go to every morning. Apparently, CCOs are more common in the videogame industry, which explains why I never heard of ’em.

  15. It sounds like they’re giving Johns a title for what he already does.  I mean, he already controls Flash and Green Lantern, and I think he still has his hands in the Superman Universe, and has displayed a lot of interest in taking up Aquaman and Hawkman. The other day on Twitter, I saw JT Krul (he writes a lot of Titans every now and then, and is about to do some Justice League stuff as well as Green Arrow) asking Johns when they can get together to discuss upcoming plots.  All he really had left to conquer was JSA, Wonder Woman, and Batman.

    Still not completely sure on what the publisher does, though. 

  16. Geoff Johns is a creative robot, sent from the future to save one lucky company….

  17. If I were a DC fan (and I am), I couldn’t help but be excited about these announcements, if for no other reason than what DIDN’T happen. A lot of people (myself included) worried that when Diane took over and they rebraned as DC Entertainment, then bounced Levitz, that Time Warner was pressuring DC to become more corporate. That could’ve invited a VERY startling change in the way the comics business is handled. But instead, Diane took her time, and has now promoted established voices from the comics business, to run the comics business AS WELL AS further tighten the DC characters in the pages of the books we read with the mythology and branding that extends into toys, clothes, video games, movies, TV, etc…

    The one caveat I’ll put out there is, in my experience, co-CEOs (or Publishers in this case) rarely last long. I suspect strongly that over the next 18-24 months, Jim and Dan’s roles will be further defined, with one of them becoming very much THE guy. But for now, it’s all roses and they’ll be working on different functions. Jim is a West Coast guy, Dan is a New Yorker, so there should be some natural delineations of their responsibilities that they can start with.

     

  18. I think it’s interesting to see one of the big two make CCO an official position, especially since Johns has seemed to be DC’s defacto CCO for a couple of years now.  I wonder if Marvel will make Bendis CCO in the wake of this announcement.

  19. Doesn’t taking on such duties usually mean less writing?

  20. Johns isn’t a usual writer. 

  21. Well, the only question i have is: Will Geoff keep writing the Flash?

  22. If you follow the link to Geoff’s full response, he confirms that he’s writing all the projects they’ve announced for him including the Flash, as well as many other things. 

  23. OK, having read all of the having read a bunch of the press stuff, I now have a nerd hard on. 

  24. Glad to see Johns and Lee being recognized for their awesome contributions to the medium. I’m on record as not being the biggest Didio fan, though I am enjoying most dc books and their direction overall.

  25. this could not be a smarter move on DC’s part. and I’m really glad this wont interfere with Johns writing, SUPER excited for the ne Flash series.

  26. Interesting. The Johns role makes sense, he’s obviously one of the writers trusted as a major architect and guiding force of the current DCU, and he’s proven himself as a team player and collaborator time and again.

    The co-publisher thing immediately made me think of The Office, and I see that I"m not the only one. 😉 It does seem a little silly, and I suspect that — as others have mentioned — the roles will shift as things become more clearly defined.

    So, with DiDio in as a publisher, should we expect the Watchmen sequel now…? 😉

     

  27. I was worried about this and then I read the notes that were being released by the different people involved.  Then I realized all is well and that DC is going to become a much bigger powerhouse.

  28. Also: The should formally announce which co-publisher handles "big picture things" and which one handles "the day-to-day stuff."

  29. In Johns I trust

  30. No love for John Rood and Patrick Caldon?

  31. As a DC fangirl this sounds great

  32. This is a great moe by DC, and I hope that Marvel, if they have to, does something similar, instead of putting people from Disney incharge.  The negative?  Johns will never return to Marvel.  🙁

  33. Does this mean that Bendis will somehow get the same title at Marvel?Don’t they always find a way to mimic each others moves?

     

    C.

  34. au contraire, Josh. I’m having some new "How Rood!" T-shirts printed up as we speak. Oh yeah, I’m gonna capitalize on this John Rood news frenzy like a mutha–!

  35. The positive?   Johns will never return to Marvel… 8 )  He’l  be writing GL, Flash, and other stuff for a long time to come.  YES!  He might also be writing some of the movie scripts and maybe helping with some of the TV stuff.  AWESOME!!!

    HEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!!!!!

    breath, breath, breath <thump>

    Sorry had a geekgasm there!

  36. I betcha this means All-Star Batman and Robin is going to ship late……

  37. Y’know, I have to echo Wood’s sentiment above. It didn’t quite hit me until I sat on it for a bit, but the truly important thing here is that DC Entertainment promoted from WITHIN. We all worried that they’d bring in executives that saw the comics as nothing more than kindling for movies and merchandising, and instead what we’re seeing is that the business of comics is still in the hands of people who love comics. And that’s fantastic to see.

  38. @josh I, for one, am really exited for Patrick Caldon.  He’s done truly visionary work in the accounting world, and I’m psyched as hell to see him bring that kind of left-brain thinking to this industry.  John Rood I’m a little more cautious about.  Some of his marketing choices have been a little too avant garde for what is, in many ways, a conservative industry, but I’m hoping that his legendary excitement and "go-get-’em" attitude will balance out Caldon’s storied easy-going (say would say laconic, but I think that’s too harsh) nature.  They’re a dream team of their own, and I think we’re in for a wild ride.

  39. @Quinn: Do expound on these two fellows. Teach your fellow nerds. 🙂

  40. Ok seriously super stoked about Geoff Johns position and it bring a great glee to me after seeing his great work on Smallville.  I do understand what Johns postion is but I’m confused as what Didio & Lee publisher postion will entail.  What does a publisher do in the movie biz?

  41. I just hope this doesn’t keep Caldon and Rood from doing… whatever the heck it was they were doing before.

  42. Geoff Johns is approaching critical mass!

  43. I’m not a big DC universe fan, but I do like it when creative folks with a proven track record get put in charge of, um, creating stuff.

  44. It’s nice to see Geoff Johns getting the title to go along with what he’s been doing for the past few years anyway. He’s pretty much steering the ship over there, creatively. He’s obviously got the passion to go along with his talent. It’s great to see his hard work being rewarded like this. 

  45. @SuperMoore
    I’ve long posited that Johns is Brainiac myself. So, yay for Brainiac!

    In all seriousness, I’m so happy for the guy, he truly deserves it!

  46. I think Chief Creative Officer must be like a showrunner type role in TV shows. Sounds like he’s going to be responsible for coming up with the overall creative direction of the DC Universe. And Jim Lee makes sense to me, he’s the one responsible for DC Universe Online which is going to be a huge MMO.

  47. @Paul He’s been recently writing a lot of comics.  Did he not used to write as much?

  48. Has anyone heard Dan DiDio talk about how this will affect his writing? I know his brand-new run on the OUTSIDERS hasn’t been received very well (according to the average ratings on this site). Will this mean he’s jumping off the book?

  49. I surprised that people are questioning Jim Lee in this position, the publisher’s job is that they are in charge of distribution, marketing/ promoting, selling, art/ story DIRECTION and overall planning and copy editing. Mr Lee has been the continuity specialist and head of the DCU Online MMORPG guys since it’s conception, he knows the universe back to front, now it’ll be his job to assist in guiding it, and besides, who better who co-promote the DC Line of Comics? Almost everyone in comics has heard of the guy, and most people revere him. This should be good, with him and DiDio at the helm with Johns coming up with amazing Universe spanning ideas, the next few years should be awesome.

     

    Be interesting to see how big the DC Universe Comic that’s co-insiding with the MMO will be like with the new heads guiding it all.

  50. i hope johns helps make more awesome stuff as he does his comics. he is coming in to retcon the DC offices