Business News

Following yesterday's announcement that the Del Rey Manga imprint was folding into a distribution arm for Kodansha Comics, a US branch of the Japanese publisher, American manga watchers were NOT jumping for joy. Chris Butcher came right out and said it:

ICv2 continues its sit down with Marvel publisher Dan Buckley, who says many things, but also points out one of the great dichotomies of comics -- everyone says they want done-in-one jumping on point comics -- but when publishers put them out, the sales don't pick up at all:

As rumored for months, Kodansha, the Japanese publishing giant, is shifting its relationship with Random House. Del Rey Manga is shutting down, but Kodansha Comics will remain, to be distributed by Random House. Del Rey Manga's associate publisher, Dallas Middaugh, will move over to Random House Publisher Services to act as the liaison for Kodansha.

Nothing really, business as usual. Seriously, there is a lot of change going on -- although DC Comics is staying in New York, a lot of people are either leaving their jobs or being faced with a move to another coast. We're not going to run all 80 -- or however many it is -- names, but some departments are newsworthy enough to be reported on.

ICv2 presents their annual chat with Marvel Publisher Dan Buckley and he just sort of lays it out:

A lot of think pieces are beginning to come out about the DC upheaval -- it's beginning to be clear that the initial feelings of relief after the first press release were about as accurate as the "We dodged that one!" feelings right after Katrina passed through. As expected, Tom Spurgeon lays out Twelve Initial Questions I Have About DC's Publishing Moves Announcements and it's very thorough. Tom writes from the distinct perspective of someone who isn't immersed in day-to-day DC Kremlinology and yet comes to many of the same conclusions.

When a company spokesman suggested that the LA Times story stating that 20 percent of DC's 250 or 50 employees would be laid off, was incorrect, he was perhaps half right. Bloomberg News uncovered a NY State Dept. of Labor WARN filing (Worker Adjustment and Retraining) which says that 80 employees will be laid off or relocate. Layoffs will begin on 12/27/2010 and continue through 8/27/2011, according to filer June Martin, SVP Human Resources. A DC spokesman told Bloomberg:

As we head into Day 3 of the Bi-Coastal Era of DC Comics, even bigger organizational changes were announced at Warner Bros. Short version: Time Warner head Jeff Bewkes announced that Warner Bros Chairman/CEO Barry Meyer would be staying on for two years (he had been rumored to be retiring before that) but studio head Alan Horn will be moving along in April 2011. Three men will fill a three-headed president role to replace Horn: Jeff Robinov, the movie guy, Bruce Rosenblum, the TV guy, and Kevin Tsujihara the multimedia/home entertainment guy. Although this all seems far distant from the traditional comics business, it is all tied in, of course.

Not comics, and yet still somehow related to ongoing discussions over how to make money off of your creative endeavors, Media Jobs Daily reports that jobs in social media are growing, meaning you can now make a living fiddling with Facebook and so on, and lists the following salary chart:

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.