This is “old” news by Internet standards, but it’s still well worth reporting on and soliciting your comments: Longtime DC writer James Robinson (Starman, JLA, Superman, Earth 2) has announced that he will be leaving DC Comics. Earth 2 #16 will be his final issue for the company. With his departure he joins the likes of Judd Winick, Rob Liefeld, Chris Roberson, Andy Diggle, and a distressing number of others who have recently/semi-recently left the company.
DC received a good amount of press and attention upon the unveiling of their “New 52” initiative, a company-wide revamp/reset of their superhero line. The move reinvigorated sales for the company but left some longtime fans cold. Those fans have taken to the internets in order to voice their displeasure over what they see as editorial heavy-handedness and a changing corporate culture. Vertigo Editor Karen Berger, who stepped down from her post just a little earlier this year seemd to cite a changing corporate culture as one reason for her departure in a recent NY Times profile, and DC co-publisher Dan DiDio’s remark in that same Times article would appear to affirm this:
“There’s not a challenge to be more profitable out of the gate. But there is a challenge to be more accepted out of the gate… We have to shoot for the stars with whatever we’re doing. Because what we’re trying to do is reach the biggest audience and be as successful as possible.”
To DiDio’s credit, he appears to have apologized to DC’s creatives for the editorial issues that have appeared to hamstring some of them, and certainly no company sets out to be less successful than possible. That said, DC would do well to attempt correcting the growing perception of a company in creative/editorial turmoil.
MMorse is a comforting fiction. You can pretend to read his mind on Twitter at @M_Morse
