Meet Diane Nelson, new head of DC: she’s not a fan of comics.
Diane Nelson, the lady who brought the Harry Potter franchise to Warner Bros., is not a fan per se of comics. Speaking to The Wrap, Ms. Nelson said:
“I’m the first to admit, I’m not by my nature a comic fan. What I bring to the party is a skill at moving properties and brands.”
Okay, so you’re in charge of a company that’s main property is comics, and you’re not a fan. Oh God. Though that is not great, Ms. Nelson spoke with Jonah Weiland at Comic Book Resources where she stressed the importance of being focused on creators.
Jonah Weiland: Diane, what do you see as DC Comics’ greatest strengths and assets today?
It’s a reflection, I believe, or at least it’s consistent with what Warner Bros. has cared about and stood for, that we are a talent-friendly company and are a place that values creators. I think the depth and breadth of the DC library and all of its imprints give us a real advantage over any competitor, however you define them. This isn’t just about the biggest or most well-known properties — those will clearly be a part of our initiative — but it can equally be about much lesser known properties that we incubate and build throughout the company, and it can be and should be about the acquisitions of new properties and characters. We are a content company and we’ll be even more focused on that in the future and that’s on a Warner Bros. and Time Warner level. I think recognizing the value of what our creators have created in this library and treating them carefully for the long term is the single greatest thing we have to work with here.
I think that is incredibly heartening, I must say. So, even though she might not be a fan, I think she trusts the people who are to keep creator’s interests and keep what is essentially the lifeblood of the universe pumping and happy. So, as long she sticks to the business role and enhancing the line’s visibility, the company should be fine. But I’m an optimist by nature, and I know many, many people are probably freaking out over the headline to this post.
In the mean time, I’d like to know who is going to be the Publisher now that Nelson is President.
On Paul Levitz.
Since Wednesday’s announcement, there have been a large number of posts looking back on the career of Paul Levitz, and all of them sounding like his career is over. Throughout the posts, there seems to be an overture of career death when it comes to him. Though Heidi catches herself, he’s a guy rejoining the ranks of company he’s most comfortable with.
He’s going back to the universe that he helped build, but not something he’s been directly involved with on a writer level for years now. Besides a run on Justice Society during Infinite Crisis Mr. Levitz hasn’t written a comic in who knows how long.
I mean, he did a metric ton for comics. Most importantly, he helped shape the modern method to writing comics. Denny O’Neil writes in his DC Comics Guide to Writing Comics about how Levitz studied writing, and developed the Levitz Paradigm:
Paul Levitz probably thought about what a comic book writer does more than any of his contemporaries, or mine, and during his dozen-plus-years stint as writer of The Legion of Super-Heroes, systemized what his predecessors did haphazardly, if at all. Then, as an aid to his own work, he created three versions of the Levitz Grid.
O’Neil explains that the procedure involves the writer having two, three or four plots going at once, but yet his editor wants single issue contained stories. The main plot, Plot A, occupies most of the pages and the character’s energy. Plot B is a subplot. Plot C and D are given some space, we’re talking a couple of panels. What happens when Plot A concludes, Plot B takes over at the issue’s conclusion. You may see something similar in this paradigm–its the base with which most, if not all, serialized dramas are based upon. In another post I’ll probably talk more about how this paradigm works in comics today.
Heidi puts it very well at the end of her post on Mr. Levitz: “Paul Levitz is One of Us, and he did about as much as One of Us could ever hope to do. And I’m pretty sure we’ll see some more achievements from him before this game is over.“
I agree. Looking forward to what he has in store.
Never forget.
Eight years ago today. Our hearts and prayers with the families and friends who lost a loved one that day.
