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4TH UPDATE: Here's what the Warner Bros statement says Paul Levitz will do. "Paul Levitz, who has served as President & Publisher of DC Comics since 2002, will segue from that role to return to his roots as a writer for DC and become a contributing editor and overall consultant to DCE. This transition will take place as expeditiously as possible without disrupting DC’s business operations. In his new role, Levitz will be called upon for his deep knowledge and more than three-decade history with DC Comics, both as a comic creator and an executive. Besides serving as a writer on a number of DC Comics titles, he will be a contributing editor and consultant to DC Entertainment on projects in various media. Additionally, he will consult as needed on the transition and integration of the DC Comics organization into DC Entertainment and will utilize his unique experience, knowledge and relationships with the comics industry’s creative community to help achieve DC Entertainment’s goal of maximizing the value of DC properties. Further, Levitz will advise DC Entertainment on creative and rights-holder relationships, in particular regarding the legacy relationships that have been a part of DC Comics for decades."
3RD UPDATE: DC Comics senior staff have just been told by Paul Levitz about the Warner Bros restructuring of their company. There's still no public announcement. But DC Comics insiders are now telling me that Levitz, the president and publisher, said he will "transition out" after a new publisher is sought and found. He chose to leave after 35 years at the comic book company. As I reported early this morning, Warner Bros gave him an option to stay but in a different capacity. I now am told that there never was a scenario where he would have been reporting to Diane Nelson or where that didn't sit well with him. "He was a constructive, positive partner in the restructure," a source advises me. (But his reporting structure was going to change. Previously, he'd reported to Alan Horn) One insider told me Levitz's conversation with senior staff this morning went like this, "Don't worry. No one should sweat right now. It's all going to be fine."
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Paul Levitz leaving would be very bad for DC Comics, and for comic books in general.
First Disney is going to controlling Marvel and now DC fans find out their favourite publisher is going to be overseen by a woman, but not only that, a blonde one!
A tough month for fanboys everywhere.
Paul, a glorified comic book editor, has been the biggest corporate cock-blocker in the development of DC properties for Warner’s TV and film units over the last two decades.
So much so that at one point the DC library was called the biggest under-valued asset of any corporation on the public stock exchanges a few years ago.
That it took this long to move him out is simply incredible.
People forget it was a big deal when Carmine Infantino was supplanted by Jeannette Kahn back in the 1970s, as the corporate masters sought to modernize management at DC. It speaks volumes that longtime DC staffer Bob Rozakis in an interview stated “It was not expected at all.”
http://metropolisplus.com/awodcc/rozakis.htm
I expect this is a out of a desire to similarly have fresh blood revitalize DC. One longtime comic book colector I know recently told me he has all but dropped the DC line, complaining that it is too dark and overly complicated. I guess the various special events they have been doing, etc. aren’t to his liking. And this guy has been reading this stuff for decades! Maybe the current direction of the line is what Warners wants to address.
It couldn’t have happened to a more boring guy. Levitz is singlehandedly responsible for DC Comics not being able to grow out of their juvenile roots faster. Levitz’s crap treatment of Alan Moore is legendary, to the point of Moore taking his name off of films like Watchmen & V For Vendetta because of DC’s actions against him. Paul likes to play the nicest guy in the business, the one that everyone can talk to like a father figure, but he’s actually quite vicious if you get on his bad side, and completely, 100%, believes that comic books should be for kids only.
wait a minute, first Levitz is accused of being too “juvenile” and then he is accused of being too “dark” …ala “adult”
which is it? either he is the Dark Prince himself or a Cutie-pie Cherub…you cant have both folks.
?????
….personally if he was in charge of not releasing a variety of DC characters it maybe because all the same people who are now complaining about him, from the left & the right, also complained about how sucky the DC characters have been treated in film, so he didnt want to see the stable raided & ruined.
Folks, bad film adaptions are not the book publisher’s fault but Warner’s fault, the film line’s, not Levitz…
….and if it is Levitz’s fault for bad DC films, then give Levitz credit for the phenomenal re-invention of Batman, shall we????
…oh and i hope all the Moorites dont see this as some kind of vindication of Moore’s puerile grievances. Levitz has not been fired in fact he is more in a creative role then ever before, especially for the movies.
All of Moore’s co-creators feel he, Moore, has gone overboard with his complaints&grievances. I dont believe any of the screen adaptions are due to Levitz intervention, in particular Watchmen which was done the closest to Moore’s work, have done the least bit of hurt the appreciation of Moore’s works.
nuff said & cheers folks. smokes ‘em if you gots ‘em.
@Dana Gabbard: I can guarantee that comic book collector is in the minority. DC is currently on a winning streak, with Blackest Night, Batman:Reborn, and Wednesday Comics all receiving great acclaim and sales to match.
Considering that a year ago it looked like Dan D. was going to be replaced, that’s a hell of a turn around. This is great news, as it has been long overdue for Warner Brothers to acknowledge what a treasure this universe is. Hopefully, it won’t be too long before we start hearing some exciting developments with these projects.
Trama — Sales as compared to what? Back in the early 1990’s, Superman would sell 2 million copies of various weekly titles, now DC is lucky to “sell” (accounting is hard due to Diamond Distribution’s deal) around 90,000. Who knows how many get remaindered. There are about 2,500 comic stores, DC’s weeklies are not available anywhere else, so that amounts to about 36 copies of “Adventures of Superman” or so sold each comic store. Yes there’s direct, but it’s a pittance. Even the collected story arcs as Graphic Novels don’t make much money — Marvel’s Annual Report (you can read it online yourself at the SEC’s “Edgar” site) totals only 17% of revenue in 2008 from Publishing. Some years it’s been 11%.
Comic books sales are fighting over the same, ever shrinking, late thirties to forties fanboys. Comics are not available all over. For this to change, DC has to drop Diamond, and get in grocery stores and drug stores at checkout counters, appealing to young boys and young men. That’s where the money is (better be priced a lot lower than $5 a copy too).
Most of DC’s heros are “light” (more Iron Man than Batman) and indeed that Batman is so dark compared to all the others (contrast) is what makes that character work. DC movies, TV shows won’t work with “low risk” characters like Jonah Hex or Human Target anymore than Constantine made a ton of money. The sweet spot for money making is appealing to young/old, male/female, with something light and uplifting, action-adventure.
Time-Warner is a vertical media company: a young boy ought to be able to read weekly about Flash and Green Lantern and Hawkman from cheap comics at the Grocery store. A buck a piece. He ought to be able to see them on TV, and in movies. Time and other Time-Warner outlets ought to promote them. He should find “extras” on DC websites. That’s what an integrated media company is supposed to do.
I have no confidence this will actually happen.
wonder how long it’ll be before Ms. Nelson finds out Levitz personally passed on producing Harry Potter comix before they became the biggest publishing phenom on the planet
truly a visionary.
There already was a Harry Potter comic. It was called Books of Magic and written by Neil Gaiman years before the Potter books came out. Kid with ruond glasses and his pet owl, with unlimited magic potential? Check.
The book did okay but not great. There was no reason to think a Harry Potter comic, which covered similar ground but was initially more juvenile, would appeal to a comic book audience (in their 30s for the most part, or older.)
Levitz’s job was to protect the brand at DC. And while in recent years the books have gotten way too closed off to casual new readers, he has made sure the line survived the end of the spec boom market of the ’90s. DC did well during this time while Marvel went into bankruptcy. Now Marvel is on top again (good for readers) but that doesn’t mean Levitz did wrong.
Plus, his run as a writer on Legion of Super-heroes was long and fantastic.