DC

Well, a very very looong week continues for employees of DC Entertainment as each and every person undergoes an interview to explain whether they are staying, going, or getting laid off. Ugh. There is certainly a lot of information and speculation floating around, but it seems unnecessary to play this out on the internet while staff is still being informed. In the meantime, for observers, this IGN interview with Diane Nelson, Jim Lee and Dan DiDio includes as much information as we're likely to get for now. While as many questions remain today as there were yesterday, at least there is a plan in place, says Nelson:

Okay, now we know why there's still unease over all outposts of the DC Entertainment empire today: In the first interview we've seen with DC head Diane Nelson, she explains that DC's staff will be cut by 20%:

Well now, didn't exactly see this one coming: while everyone has been wondering if WildStorm would become the new DC since they were already on the West Coast...turns out that as of December, WildStorm will be no more. WildStorm titles, licensing and kids comics, all recently coming out of La Jolla, will be turned over to the DC banner. The Zuda brand is also done for.

PR just went out announcing the organizational changes. In a surprise last-minute reprieve, editorial is staying in New York...but digital, multimedia and administrative are going to LA.

We're told a series of meetings will take place at 1700 Broadway today in which the shape of DC's move to the West Coast will be described.

It seems that the general air of Doompocalypsamagedden has now even extended to the comic book film, a once thriving genre that provided much of the capital that has fueled the biz for the last decade. Over at Comic Book Movie, there's an unsigned "volunteer contribution" that suggests "comic book movie" could go the way of the Western or the POLICE ACADEMY movies:

DC Entertainment head Diane Nelson pledged a "no fear" era at DC since announcing changes earlier this year, everyone has been plenty nervous ever since she took over. The reason? DC's proposed move to the West Coast. Will it happen and when? That's been the question on everyone's mind. Word on the street is that next week, the answer to "Will DC be moving to the West Coast?" will finally be revealed, and an article in The Hollywood Reporter seems to back that up.

The "Brightest Day" and Batman titles continued to be the driving force of DC's comic-book line in July. The publisher's overall performance in the periodical direct market remained more or less flat, consequently. The most prominent new release of the mainstream DC Universe line, and maybe a bit of a wildcard for retailers, was the debut of Batman: Odyssey, a six-issue miniseries by writer/artist Neal Adams, who is still something of a high-ticket name, but hasn't actually produced a substantial comics project in decades.

At Vertigo, overall sales were slightly down in July because Fables, for all intents the imprint's flagship series, didn't come out. At WildStorm, the numbers were slightly up because of two new miniseries debuting above the 10K mark.

See below for the details, and please consider the small print at the end of the column. Thanks to Milton Griepp and ICv2.com for the permission to use their figures. An overview of ICv2.com's estimates can be found here.

With the Green Lantern movie underway for delivery in 2011, the emerald warrior is getting all kinds of promotions to make sure that by the time Ryan Reynolds has been on 100 junkets, everyone will know who Green Lantern is. And to that end, he's already being licensed out the wazoo. For instance, the Asbury Park Press tells us that Green Lantern is getting his own roller coaster at the Great Adventures in New Jersey. The ride -- 15 stories of 63 mph mayhem -- will open to coincide with the movie.

For more information.

Via David Chelsea , his art for the annual Wonder Woman Day auction:

This year’s piece of original art (or one of many others contributed by superstar cartoonists like Jamie Hernandez, David Lloyd and Roberta Gregory) can be yours. You can view the piece big here. The Wonder Woman Day silent auction will take place Sunday October 24th at Excalibur Comics in Portland. You can also bid online. Details at the Wonder Woman Day website.

For everyone wondering if mainstream comics are so tired that "the general zeitgeist seems to be that mainstream comics are spent right now" maybe this is part of the reason why.