Publishers

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.

10/16-10/17/10 SAN FRAN ALTERNATIVE PRESS EXPO 10/19/10 LOS ANGELES SKYLIGHT BOOKS 10/20/10 PORTLAND ART MUSEUMREADING FRENZY 10/22-24 VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL WRITERS FESTIVAL 10/29-10/30/10 TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL OF AUTHORS 11/15/10 CHICAGO...

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.

Ever since the Big Shake-up last year, both Marvel and DC have been the subject of much speculation regarding moves, with some guessing that Marvel might move to Disney's offices in White Plains...or to Burbank. However it seems that preserving the Pixar-like independence for Marvel is still a priority, as they are staying in town and merely moving a few blocks uptown. While an announcement of some kind is expected today about DC's possible West Coast move, the NY Observer confirms that Marvel is moving to newer uptown offices, , 135 West 50th Street, the same address as Sports Illustrated and EW. The House of Ideas will take over the 60,000 sq. ft. office on October 1 -- or...next Friday.

Yes, there is a GHOST RIDER sequel being made right now, but it won't come out until 2012. And then the world will end. Nicolas Cage rides the flaming chopper again, Splash Page reports. The CRANK team of Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor directs, and it's filming in Romania. You'll recall that although there wasn't that much enthusiasm for the first one, the rights would revert to Marvel/Disney if Sony didn't do something with the property, and Sony wouldn't want that. Because there is life in that flaming chopper.

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:

Only three were produced, alas, but they are swell. We have censored some salty language for our younger readers -- read the shocking unexpurgated version in the link!

By Torsten Adair --

The following is a selection of new comic strip titles due to be published this Fall 2010. This list is not comprehensive, as there are over 200 books about comic strips scheduled from September to December. These are just the titles which caught my eye. Although you are welcome to debate the definition of "comic strip" in the comments, for my purposes I'm including single-panel cartoons as well as books about comic strips in this list.

And speaking of long awaited graphic novels, Chester Brown, another indie comics genius long silent, has finally announced a new graphic novel for 2011. It's called PAYING FOR IT, and it deals with his ongoing experiences with prostitutes.