The death of comic books has been heralded for years, but just like the superheroes and villains depicted in comic books, the medium keeps coming back, sometimes bolder than before.
ICv2, a website that tracks industry sales, estimates that comic book and graphic novel sales fell 7% in 2023 (down from $2.01 billion to $1.87 billion in 2022). . But this year, the industry has rebounded in a big way. Final numbers are not yet available, but sales are believed to be increasing.
Perhaps no one has had a better year than DC. DC has launched several publishing initiatives, new product lines, and new distribution channels.
“DC has lost market share and been downsized multiple times in recent years,” said Milton Griep of ICv2. “They’ve had a long road back, but they’re showing signs of coming back to life. They’ve definitely had a great year.”
The company has further enhanced its timeless stories with a new graphic novel format: Compact Comics. The 5.5″ x 8.5″ book was released in 10 titles, all in second printing. 1985’s Watchmen was so popular that it reached its third printing. The graphic novel was a hit not only in comic shops, but also in bookstores where superheroes traditionally don’t sell well. The line plans to publish 15 books in 2025.
DC also entered web comics with DC GO!, featuring new comics and reformatted classic stories, and DC Universe Infinite, a digital comics subscription service, expanded to France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. did. This week, Brazil and Mexico joined the list.
There have been other successes, but none as big as the launch of the “Absolute” universe, which reimagines DC characters in new ways. Absolute Batman No. 1, written by Scott Snyder and illustrated by Nick Dragotta, has sold more than 400,000 copies. This work went through multiple printings and became the best-selling comic of 2024. Other comics in the series also sold like hotcakes. “Absolute Superman No. 1” by Jason Aaron and Rafa Sandoval and “Absolute Wonder Woman No. 1” by Kelly Thompson and Hayden Sherman also went through numerous printings and sold over 500,000 copies combined. It sold.
DC has also made its presence felt in the real world, with Batman receiving a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a 7.5-foot bronze statue of Green Lantern hero John Stewart unveiled in downtown Burbank. And while Joker: Folie à Deux was a huge hit, HBO’s The Penguin was a surprise hit and garnered critical acclaim. Next year promises to keep the momentum going with more initiatives (a revival of creator-owned Vertigo titles) and DC Studios’ big-screen debut with James Gunn’s Superman, which releases a trailer on Thursday. I am.
Chronicling the adventures of these heroes and villains begins with Warner Bros. Discovery’s publishing division, which powers many aspects of its superhero stream. And that work is all the more important as our movies, TV projects, video games, toys and apparel support millions of fans around the world.
“People love the fact that they can explore the world of publishing endlessly to some extent,” says Jim Lee, president, publisher and chief creative officer at DC. “We’re a 24/7 business, so we publish 365 days a year. I don’t know if there’s another entertainment media business that does something similar. There’s no off switch for what we do.”
Lee and DC General Manager Anne DePies spoke with The Hollywood Reporter via Zoom to discuss how Triumphant 2024 was the culmination of years of planning, Hush 2’s publication plans, and Absolute, Black Label and Elseworlds. I explained what the differences are between the lines. ?
Watchmen, Catwoman, All-Star Superman
Provided by DC (3)
From what I’ve heard, comic book sales are likely to rebound in a very big way in 2024. How was it for you?
Anne Deupise We had a strong year overall in the direct market and mass channels, not only in new periodicals, but also on the books side. There is an overall recovery. We’re excited about how we’re going to end this year and where we’re going in 25 years. So from where we’re sitting, there’s a pretty optimistic view.
JIM LEE Sometimes you benefit from big trends to improve your business, and sometimes you make decisions that help drive your business forward. And I think we made some really great decisions this year, both creatively and business-wise. This has significantly increased our bottom line for the All In and Absolute lines, increasing sales and bringing more fans back to our stores.
DEPIES I don’t think it’s just about 2024. Much of what you have seen this year has been in the works for several years. And what we’re building with all the new lines, like Compact Comics and the launch of DC Finest, will last for years. They will be our new evergreens.
Lee We’ve been working on this for two, maybe three years, so a lot of things take time to set up and implement, but everything has come together to make it a great year for us.
In the previous heyday of comics, in the 1970s and 1960s, for example, comics were like a month-to-month business where every month you sat down and asked, “What are we going to do next month?” And it almost seems like a bizarre idea by today’s standards. How much does it cost a publisher like DC to come up with a multi-year plan that takes all of this into account?
LEE I was both, right? I was a small publisher before being acquired by DC, and I saw the wealth of resources that a company like DC had to offer. So if you’re small, you don’t have the staff infrastructure to plan too far ahead. We really check it every quarter. “What’s coming out?” “What’s slow?” But in reality, in order to run a business efficiently and effectively, especially the backlist, which is a key part of the business, grows larger every year. It requires a different kind of thing, so I had to start planning deeper. The cadence of information that needs to be sent to distributors and shared with retailers and fans.
DEPIES We think about business globally. We have partners all over the world. Our international partners jointly develop a publication plan one year in advance. So by planning ahead, you can enable all your partners around the world to deliver DC in the same way in every region.
Do you think the quality of comics has improved this year?
LEE That’s a lot of questions, isn’t it? If I say yes, I’m saying that everything published before 2024 was not good. I’m not going to fall into your trap. (lol). I think they publish great manga every year. If we take comic books now and compare them to the Bronze Age as referenced earlier…not that the Bronze Age wasn’t great. It’s a different business, a different audience, different business goals and expectations. The level of manga writing has improved, and so has the art. Look at the artist. They are unable to maintain a monthly schedule from month to month. Artists rarely do this, as there is a lot of effort and detail that can be seen in a work of art. …We need to spend more time with them than we did when comics were cheap and disposable for young kids.
The Absolute line is clearly a huge success. To me, this reflects the success of Marvel’s Ultimate line. The fact that these mashups and remixed versions resonate, whether it’s something like this hardcore Batman or Peter Parker who’s married and has kids, says a lot about the state of the industry. Is there one?
Lee: I think we live in an era where there is probably more content than we can consume. If you said, “Hey, if you’re interested in DC superheroes, here are all the projects. Here’s how long it takes to read all the comics and watch all the comic book movies.” That’s a lot. there is. So even though people have almost endless options available to them, it’s great that they still choose their favorite characters and are interested in alternative takes on those characters, in many ways just like any other. I think that’s true. So I think it’s really about meeting the fans where they want to be.
Could someone please tell me about the different lines?
Lee: We had a lot of conversations with the writers. Because it starts the whole process of what it means to be an “absolute book” and what it means to be a “back label” or “the rest of the world.” For me, Elseworlds really needs to break free of the conceit of the original so we can get something cool, different, and creative out of it. But with the Absolute line, we stay true to the essence of the characters, change some details, modernize the setting, change some of the secondary and tertiary relationships, and see how it turns out. I would like you to check it. There is a difference. And Black Label is true to its conceit, true to its canon, but out of continuity. Each of these imprints and sub-imprints needs a north star so you know why you do each one and what purpose they serve.
Absolute Batman, Absolute Superman, and Absolute Wonder Woman
Provided by DC (3)
Not much is said about the origin of the Absolute Line. Who came up with that idea?
Lee It has matured over the years. Even before COVID-19, we had talked about implementing an alternative pipeline, but that never happened. I think Scott Snyder’s interest in coming back to DC and doing some Batman stuff was a central reason for planning this. But we wanted to do something big. We typically do something every six or eight years. (Publishing resumed in 2016) Eight years have passed since “Rebirth.” (Publishing reboot in 2011) There was only 5 years between “New 52” and “Rebirth”. But between Scott Snyder and Josh Williamson, there were two creators who had this idea for a pocket universe that was kind of different than the multiverse kind of situation. And it really requires us to do something big and spectacular in line with our business.
Is there a brain trust or group of architects that will protect absolute boundaries?
Lee It’s mainly Josh and Scott and obviously our editorial team behind it. So Paul Kaminski and Katie Kubert worked on “Absolute.” In reality, it’s a combination of in-house editorial leadership and outside talent. and Marie Javins, editor-in-chief.
Next year, 2025, could be a big year for DC with the release of the Superman movie. Are there any plans for a comic book adaptation or various tie-ins with that movie?
I think the last time a Lee comic was successfully adapted into a movie was 1989’s Batman. What typically happens is that a back catalog of great Superman stories or Batman stories drives sales for some movies. Fans want to know more about these characters, so they head to stores and bookstores to buy timeless classic favorites. The books that were most highly praised and sold the most before a big media event are the ones that sell the most when the media is a hit and doing really well. So we’re calling this the Summer of Superman. While we don’t have any direct adaptations of the movies, we’ve got a lot of great Superman content around the movie window that we hope people will really want to see. – Take a peek into the life of the world’s first superhero.
batman hash 2 comic cover
Provided by DC
Jim, next year you’ll be returning to the monthly comics drawing page for the first time since 2016’s Batman: Hush 2. Can we talk about that?
Lee Okay. But can we say there will be bigger news than hash even next year? Is it fair to say so?
Depys Yes, I agree, but I also think Jim is humble. We all feel that (Batman No. 158) and beyond are extremely overdone.
Where are you in the drawing process?
This is the second issue of Lee’s six books. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but this is a two-part story. There will be the first six issues of the actual Batman continuation, starting with Batman No. 158, which will be published in the last week of March. And it runs 6 issues. It resolves that arc, but it ends on a bit of a cliffhanger. And Jeff and I will be back for the final six to solve the hash case, which will probably be in 2026.
It’s like dividing Harry Potter Book 7 into Part 1 and Part 2.
that’s right. Here you go.
