Missed It: DC Infrastructure Locking Into Place

Heidi MacDonald has a nice write-up here on something I completely missed: that several infrastructure changes at DC Comics are now settling into their final state. This includes the full establishment of DC Entertainment in Burbank, the physical consolidation of publishing endeavors back in New York to reflect smaller staffing levels, and the final closure of the WildStorm offices.

No one should be sad or discouraged that worked at or for WildStorm. Nineteen years is a lengthy run for any entertainment enterprise, and only in comics with its mindset locked onto forever characters does running a company for nearly two decades seem in the slightest way like too short a time. A number of fine comics were made. The history of the company within comics is secure for its contributions to high-end superhero comics during the late '90s and early 2000s, an extended moment in the medium's history that preceded this a concurrent wider cultural interest in a certain kind of superhero narrative. The primary DC "universe" should for years to come see some benefit from folding several of the company's characters and concepts into its wider narrative. The book end of DC benefited greatly from being able to offer the WildStorm work in a number of formats, particularly profitable, high-end ones. Companies will be graced for years with creators that saw a key part of their career unfold there, or people that worked there in an editorial or publishing capacity.

Still, I think there's some historical work to be done -- not right now, but eventually -- as to why that imprint failed to become the point on DC's spear, as some thought would happen back in '99 when WildStorm's acquisition was announced. Given DC's roll of the dice in a line-wide relaunch this September, one hopes that WildStorm's messy 2008-2009 line re-direction specifically, and attempts to re-brand the line more generally, are studied within those walls with alacrity rather than buried in corporate memory. Because that didn't go so well. I would imagine there's also some exploration of the company's evolving relationships within DC Comics and with certain creators (primarily Alan Moore) to be done that might provide a different view on long-standing industry issues. For today, though, the good times and fond memories can and should hold sway. Goodbye, WildStorm.
 
posted 7:00 am PST | Permalink
 

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