DC Comics Officially Goes Hollyw...er, Burbank!

Torchsong

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=48808

End of an era...beginning of a new one? Does this matter?

nweathington

The new era began when Paul Levitz stepped down. This move has been building since then. What I'm waiting to see is how many DC editors elect to stay behind in NY come 2015.

Okay, really I'm just waiting to see if Mark Chiarello elects to leave DC or not.

Chuck_Melville

Yeah, this is pretty much the end of DC as we've known it. It's a new kind of business and a new kind of dynamic now. Good or ill still remains to be seen, but I'm thinking that games and videos are now the business (if they weren't already), and comics have become the tail that wags the dog.

playdohsrepublic

I think you will see a huge shift in editorial at DC. Half are already based out of Burbank from what I understand, but most probably won't come from NY. That kind of move, especially if you're married, have family, is a life altering decision. We can probably expect Didio to go Hollywood like Quesada did.

SolitaireRose

Torchsong said:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=48808

End of an era...beginning of a new one? Does this matter?

It matters a LOT. People at DC are going to have to move across country, as are production folk, it makes East Coast conventions/retailer conferences/etc... much more expensive, and (to my mind) it is the culmination of the changes from Time/'Warner over the last few years. I'm thinking you will see a lot of long-time employees and more than a few editors not making the move. I think it also signals that DC is a project for creating movies and TV shows, and the comics are a secondary after-thought.

nweathington

playdohsrepublic said:

I think you will see a huge shift in editorial at DC. Half are already based out of Burbank from what I understand, but most probably won't come from NY. That kind of move, especially if you're married, have family, is a life altering decision. We can probably expect Didio to go Hollywood like Quesada did.

I don’t know. Publishing jobs are becoming much harder to find, so I can see a good number of them opting to make the move. But, as you said, the ones with families will be more likely to stay in New York.

BionicDave

I can't believe it actually took them this long. Even soap operas - the slower evolving cousin to comic books - became entirely L.A.-based a couple years back. I hope that this move will make for a better synergy between DC Comics' creators, editors, management staff, and the various gaming and film/TV departments. And hopefully this will be a good opportunity to fine tune the process of getting us great comics.

WetRats

BionicDave said:

I can't believe it actually took them this long. Even soap operas - the slower evolving cousin to comic books - became entirely L.A.-based a couple years back. I hope that this move will make for a better synergy between DC Comics' creators, editors, management staff, and the various gaming and film/TV departments. And hopefully this will be a good opportunity to fine tune the process of getting us great comics.

FINE tune?

RedRight88

SolitaireRose said:

Torchsong said:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=48808

End of an era...beginning of a new one? Does this matter?

It matters a LOT. People at DC are going to have to move across country, as are production folk, it makes East Coast conventions/retailer conferences/etc... much more expensive, and (to my mind) it is the culmination of the changes from Time/'Warner over the last few years. I'm thinking you will see a lot of long-time employees and more than a few editors not making the move. I think it also signals that DC is a project for creating movies and TV shows, and the comics are a secondary after-thought.

With technology these days, does location really matter...I mean heck, don't most writers and artists live in places other than New York or LA?

playdohsrepublic

RedRight88 said:

SolitaireRose said:

Torchsong said:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=48808

End of an era...beginning of a new one? Does this matter?

It matters a LOT. People at DC are going to have to move across country, as are production folk, it makes East Coast conventions/retailer conferences/etc... much more expensive, and (to my mind) it is the culmination of the changes from Time/'Warner over the last few years. I'm thinking you will see a lot of long-time employees and more than a few editors not making the move. I think it also signals that DC is a project for creating movies and TV shows, and the comics are a secondary after-thought.

With technology these days, does location really matter...I mean heck, don't most writers and artists live in places other than New York or LA?

Nothing beats face to face communication. Especially for the editors, who have a lot to juggle beyond the writers and artists. It makes it easier to pool resources and to course correct when issues arise. I work for a company that has offices all over the country and especially overseas and I can tell you location still matters, a lot. The work that is done in a single location doesn't suffer from the inevitable miscommunications that build up over time. At least not to the same degree.

I think in time, consolidating will be good for DC. But the ensuing transition period will probably a nightmare.

nweathington

RedRight88 said:

SolitaireRose said:

Torchsong said:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=48808

End of an era...beginning of a new one? Does this matter?

It matters a LOT. People at DC are going to have to move across country, as are production folk, it makes East Coast conventions/retailer conferences/etc... much more expensive, and (to my mind) it is the culmination of the changes from Time/'Warner over the last few years. I'm thinking you will see a lot of long-time employees and more than a few editors not making the move. I think it also signals that DC is a project for creating movies and TV shows, and the comics are a secondary after-thought.

With technology these days, does location really matter...I mean heck, don't most writers and artists live in places other than New York or LA?

It doesn’t matter to the freelancers, no, but it matters a great deal to the editorial and production staff members who have to pick up their lives and move them to the other side of the country. Besides the emotional baggage that comes with leaving a home behind, those that own houses would have to sell them in a very poor housing market or else pay two mortgages. And assistant editors on down don’t make a ton of money. So, yeah, it’s a pretty big deal to them.

CaptShazam

Roughly how many people are we talking about? I know that Time Warner has Scrooge McDuck type money but to move a lot of people across the country can be a huge expense.

nweathington

CaptShazam said:

Roughly how many people are we talking about? I know that Time Warner has Scrooge McDuck type money but to move a lot of people across the country can be a huge expense.

I don't know the exact number, but I think it’s somewhere in the neighborhood of 200-240 people.

SolitaireRose

nweathington said:

CaptShazam said:

Roughly how many people are we talking about? I know that Time Warner has Scrooge McDuck type money but to move a lot of people across the country can be a huge expense.

I don't know the exact number, but I think it’s somewhere in the neighborhood of 200-240 people.

I went through something VERY similar back around 2001. The company I worked for said they were moving the HR processing department from Minneapolis to Arizona, and because we were all people who made about $30K, we wouldn't be invited to move, but we were told we would be responsible for training our replacements, and couldn't post for a different job in the company until the move was complete.

I will imagine that they will move the high end people, but Joe Schmoe who works in production will just be training his replacement. That's how it works in corporations.

But I don't KNOW that...it's just a guess based on corporate practices and Time/Warner's history.

nweathington

SolitaireRose said:

nweathington said:

CaptShazam said:

Roughly how many people are we talking about? I know that Time Warner has Scrooge McDuck type money but to move a lot of people across the country can be a huge expense.

I don't know the exact number, but I think it’s somewhere in the neighborhood of 200-240 people.

I went through something VERY similar back around 2001. The company I worked for said they were moving the HR processing department from Minneapolis to Arizona, and because we were all people who made about $30K, we wouldn't be invited to move, but we were told we would be responsible for training our replacements, and couldn't post for a different job in the company until the move was complete.

I will imagine that they will move the high end people, but Joe Schmoe who works in production will just be training his replacement. That's how it works in corporations.

But I don't KNOW that...it's just a guess based on corporate practices and Time/Warner's history.

Yeah, I went through the same thing a couple of years ago. My job only moved a three-hour drive away, but I couldn’t afford to make the move, even with the relocation money they were offering. For one thing, my wife was making more money than I was, and there were very few jobs in her field at the new location. And I’m sure a lot of the DC staffers will have the same problem.

Nelson’s letter made it sound like at least most of the staffers will be allowed the opportunity to keep their jobs, and I imagine they would all get some type of monetary package (perhaps scaled for seniority) to help with the move. It just might not be cost effective for a lot of the lower-end position people to make that move. I would think that those that opt to remain in NY will get some type of severance package (based on how long they worked for the company) if they stay till the end to help with the transition. That’s just based on my experience though, not on any inside knowledge.

bralinator

DC Comics is leaving the home it's known for almost 80 years

While consolidation makes a lot of sense, NYC has been the home of the comics industry almost 100 yrs so this seems odd. Are most DC employees ready to uproot their lives and move to California? I don't know how this will affect DC's comics, movies, or any of their media. What are your thoughts, if any?

John_Steed

Guess the DC folks get a better tan.

David_D

Amalgamated!