Publishers

Whaddaya know, Wonder Woman is back she she's getting her own David E. Kelley-produced TV show.

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:

This has not upset fanboys at all. CBR's Kiel Phegley and Marvel e-i-c Joe Quesada engage in a massive, week-long tell-all on the subject of One More Day, and it's current retcon in One Moment in Time -- O.M.I.T. OMD, you may recall if you have been near a comic book website in the last three years, retconned the marriage of Peter Parker and Mary Jane out of existence because of a deal made with Mephisto. It was a hugely popular story element ridiculously controversial and fan complained loudly and continually for three years. AND NOW, O.M.I.T. has made that story never happen. So despite the memories people may have of the touching Shea Stadium Watson/Parker nuptials, that storyline is now as leveled and buried as Shea itself.

As part of DC's ongoing reorganization, three editorial personnel have been laid off from the Vertigo imprint: Pornsak Pichetshote, Jonathan Vankin, and Joan Hilty, The Beat has learned. All three are Vertigo veterans. Pichetshote was responsible for the recent hit THE UNWRITTEN, while Hilty and Vankin had mostly worked in acquiring graphic novels, including fall releases, CUBA and HOW TO UNDERSTAND ISRAEL IN 60 DAYS OR LESS.

We get a lot of previews in our in-box -- 146 a day from Marvel's Arune Singh alone -- but we can't run them all nor would we want to. But we can't help but be tempted by the prospect of another Brubaker/Phillips production, this time Incognito: Bad Influences #1.

The Eisner Award-winning team of Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips and Val Staples present the most anticipated super hero noir series of the century, as Zack Overkill heads deeper into the criminal underworld than ever before. This is the mission that’ll redefine his life…if he can find a way to survive long enough.

The book goes on sale on October 20.

Experimental, award-winning cartoonist Dash Shaw is obsessed with the reality show Blind Date. Don't ask why -- it just is.

Former Marvel E-i-C Bob Harras has just been named DC Editor-in-Chief. Harras will be in charge of all DC imprints, including DC Comics, Vertigo and MAD. Since leaving Marvel in 2000, Harras held a variety of consulting positions and and joined DC's collected editions department several years ago as Group Editor. The announcement is a little bit of a surprise as Harras had kept a low profile at DC...perhaps all the more reason to be given a promotion. At any rate, it's sort of a no-brainer since he already has experience running a giant comics publishing company and knows DC's operations inside out.

Note: We thought this interview with Feige on the occasion of the IRON MAN 2 Blu-ray release was incredibly long and unfocused and couldn't believe he or his secretary took all the time to answer the questions, but turns out it was a ROUNDTABLE. That makes more sense. .

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:

This Strange Tale II cover by Ivan Brunetti -- revealed in Marvel's December solicitations -- has been justly lauded from coast to coast -- just look at the expression on Dr. Strange's face if you don't believe us. But we also like this Ozma of Oz cover by Skottie Young. We've seen a lot of Oz art in our day, and this takes it in a whole new direction that genuinely exciting.