Comings & Goings old

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:

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%:

Kari Yadro has joined Dark Horse at the new job of events and community manager, a position which will oversee both convention appearances and events and social networking channels. Yadro was formerly at Barnes & Noble. PR below:

We won't slap a "Tolja!!!" over this, but a memo this afternoon confirms what many had been predicting since DC's new regime took over...

Via PR, retailer Chris Powell has stepped down as president of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund board and cartoonist Larry Marder has been elected to succeed him. PR below.

In the recent manga cutbacks, one company has remained conspicuous by their silence -- Del Rey's manga line, mostly licensed from Kodansha, has been...

More promotions, as Mark Waid becomes Chief Creative Officer at Boom and Matt Gagnon is upped to Editor in Chief. Congrats to both deserving fellows!

Globe-trotting gastronome CB Cebulski has just been promoted to SVP at Marvel. Cebulski is a familiar and popular figure at shows around the...

Dirk White, formerly of Dark Horse, has joined IDW as Director, Retail Marketing, a new position. AnnaMaria White has been promoted to Director, Marketing and Public Relations. Together the moves suggest that IDW is serious about increasing their market share through renewed retail efforts.

TV and comics veteran Jeph Loeb has been named to a new position within Marvel, according to a press release, below. As Executive Vice President, Head of Television, Loeb will work on bringing Marvel's characters to television and oversee both development and distribution of their series efforts, both animated and live-action. He will report to Marvel Publisher Dan Buckley.

Joe Quesada, whose been serving up his Cup o' Joe as Marvel Publishing's E-i-C- and CCO for a decade, has taken a larger role at Marvel Entertainment as Chief Creative Officer where he'll work alongside Alan Fine to provide creative input on Marvel's continuing expansion into all media.

Although Quesada has said in the past that the job of editor in chief "comes with a shelf life," his success at guiding Marvel's iconic characters through the digital era and into acquisition by Disney has led him to an even more important role at the company. PR below:

PW is reporting that there has been massive layoffs at Viz Media -- up to 60 people or 40% of the workforce have been laid off. ... We are of course saddened by these departures and sincerely appreciate the hard work, passion and dedication of those that have moved on, but we feel confident that with these changes, VIZ Media will be more streamlined and able to withstand the climate of the economy at this time. With the American manga market already in flux, this has to be seen as a body blow to the category as Viz was consistently the best selling American comics publisher, dominating the best seller charts with such mega-hits as Naruto and One Piece. ... Sources tell PW that as many as 55 people were laid off at Viz’s San Francisco headquarters and it appears its small New York office, which had about 5 staffers, has been closed.