As the news begins to sink in regarding the partial move of DC to the West Coast, Dan Didio and Jim Lee shared the following announcement on The Source informing readers that Wildstorm and Zuda would be ending in December.
The changes happening behind the scenes this week are part of a greater campaign to reshape DC Comics and build a company for the future. Our responsibility as Co-Publishers is to find a balance between short term opportunities and long term vision; between our strengths in traditional print formats and the infinite potential beyond print; between our characters’ rich legacies in the past and the bright promise for the future they hold.
As we’ve said before, there’s much to celebrate about DC. The foundation for long-term success is already here.
The DC Universe features the modern adventures of the World’s Greatest Superheroes, as envisioned by an exciting mix of new and fan favorite comic book creators. Vertigo is committed to publishing cutting edge, creator owned comic books and graphic novels by a wide array of creative voices.
One of our first decisions of the Co-Publishers was to up the publication of MAD Magazine from a quarterly periodical to a bimonthly one. In the wake of that decision, the magazine has seen increased sell-through growth. And we’re thrilled that MAD’s brand of madcap humor now stretches across media, with a highly-rated television show on Cartoon Network. The Usual Gangs of Idiots are an important part of this company and pop culture.
As we move forward, we also have to acknowledge the need for change.
After taking the comics scene by storm nearly 20 years ago, the WildStorm Universe titles will end this December. In this soft marketplace, these characters need a break to regroup and redefine what made them once unique and cutting edge. While these will be the final issues published under the WildStorm imprint, it will not be the last we will see of many of these heroes. We, along with Geoff Johns, have a lot of exciting plans for these amazing characters, so stay tuned. Going forward, WildStorm’s licensed titles and kids comics will now be published under the DC banner.
After this week, we will cease to publish new material under the ZUDA banner. The material that was to have been published as part of ZUDA this year will now be published under the DC banner. The official closing of ZUDA ends one chapter of DC’s digital history, but we will continue to find new ways to innovate with digital, incorporating much of the experience and knowledge that ZUDA brought into DC.
We’ll be further expanding our digital initiative and making a lot more news in this space. As part of that transformation, the WildStorm editorial team will undergo a restructuring and be folded into the overall DC Comics Digital team, based in Burbank, which will be led by Jim Lee and John Rood. With nearly two million free downloads and hundreds of thousands of paid downloads, our digital foray is already reaching a new audience worldwide. We could not be more excited by the successful launch of our Digital Publishing products in June, which exceeded all sales forecasts and will be building on our early success with new applications for DC material on all major formats and hardware, partnering with Warner Bros Digital Distribution. It has extremely been rewarding to hear anecdotal stories of lapsed readers returning to the art form and of brick and mortar stores gaining new customers who sampled digital comics.
We remain, as ever, dedicated to working with the greatest creators this industry has to offer, while inspiring generations of creators and readers to embrace this medium that we all love.
Jim Lee and Dan DiDio
DC Comics Co-Publishers
15 Comments
In all honesty I don’t think the dissolution of Wildstorm or Zuda will have any major ramifications.
What does this mean for titles that aren’t kosher for a mainline DC release, but not as hard as a Vertigo title?
EXCEPT for Wildstorm fans. Some of the best books put out were Wildstorm ones. DC will just put out more Batman books and second rate ones instead.
Wildstorm(the Gen13/Wildcats universe) has had about 6 “Hard Reboots” in the past 10 years. It seems that they completly failed on every front outside of the Ellis/Millar run on Authority and that was about, a decade ago.
The last thing I read on a regular basis from WS was Ex Machina, and that was a creator owned title, having nothing to do with the Wildstorm Universe.
I’m sure there were plenty of Wildstorm fans out there and I used to have some of the toys, not that I could tell you who they were now but I do know that I haven’t picked up a Wildstorm title in 15 years or so. There was one guy I think from Wetworks that was a translucent blue color with black hair, but that was a toy so who knows. I have no idea what Zuda is or was either. I would hate if the characters were lost, for sure, I have favorite characters that seldom get play or aren’t very popular with the mainstream but I still want my guys to get some exposure. So, I’m sad to see it go a little. As long as the stories are still getting told, that’s all that should matter I guess.
Larry King has a good question – Wildstorm had a lot of “harder” stuff that wasn’t quite at Vertigo level but was still more mature than your standard DC title. Is that stuff just going to vanish? Frankly, I hope the re-org didn’t cost too many people at the Wildstorm division their jobs.
As for Zuda, aren’t they creator-owned? I know a cartoonist team (Ed Power & Melissa DeJesus of the “My Cage” comic strip, sadly ending soon) whose Zuda project was rejected and is now coming out from Slave Labor around Christmas. Hopefully, the other Zuda artists can do the same thing so they don’t lose their work.
This is pretty sad. Wildstorm has really been putting out some great stuff lately. In my opinion they were probably the best comic publisher around in the late 90’s. Hopefully most of their properties won’t be forgotten and will be divided out between DC and Vertigo.
EXCEPT for Wildstorm fans. Some of the best books put out were Wildstorm ones. DC will just put out more Batman books and second rate ones instead.
Which books are your favorites?
I collected most of them, early Gen 13 were some of the first comics I read. Gen 13, Stormwatch, Authority, Backlash, Grifter, Wildcats etc were great. Maybe they have low sales now but if you have been reading since ’92 it’s sad to think they want be published anymore. DC won’t treat the characters properly in the DCU.
I don’t see why they don’t just integrate a few of the Wildstorm characters into the DCU, even if it is displacing them from “thier” world. Majestic’s been there (I think?), and no matter how many times DC reboots and redifines a set number of alternate worlds, it never sticks too long.
There are a few Wildstorm characters I actually really liked, and I hate to see all the reboots, cancellations, etc.
Damn.. I am sad to see Wildstorm go. I’ve been following pretty much all of the books before and after the end of the world thing going on. The fact they have not returned to status quo after it has kept my interest going. Large changes that actually are not swiped under the rug soon after..
Not that the actual DC hasnt been doing something like that. I mean, they’ve had pretty good long running events going. 52, Countdown.. etc.. I actually liked all of them.
52 especially, but that’s mostly due to Booster Gold.
Wildstorm has been limping around since well….when did Alan Moore stop doing America’s Best Comics? This announcement is no big surprise. I have not personally bought a Wildstorm book in over 10 years and frankly at my local comic shop I did not see anyone else for that matter. Wildstorm is one of the places where Warren Ellis and Mark Millar among others made their names. Can anyone tell me who is writing or drawing a Wildstorm book right now? I am sure some die-hards can but there used to be a buzz about what creators were coming to the table with their ideas. My only hope is the canceling of this line makes way for other titles to have their shot.
And this is just the fates way of telling me that I should stop buying comic all together. I buy 3 (count’em …1 …2…3) comics now. Superman/Batman which sort of sucks balls this year. Street Fighter Legends: Ibuki whose LAST ISSUE comes out today. And God of War WHICH IS A WILDSTORM COMIC!!!! The last issue of God of War was due out in January too!!! WTF!?!?! It’s a bi-monthly comic as it is. They better put the final F’ing issue out or I may just have to flip out completely. Once again fate tells me that comics are not for me any more.
Ok … nerd rage aside, this is agitating. I really did enjoy their Gen13 relauch last time around. I just think it’s kind of dumb to announce 3 months a head of time that a publisher is going down. What incentive do readers have buy comics like Gen13 for the next 3 months when they know their stories won’t finish? I was going to buy God of War next month (because I was looking to finish the series), but now I figure “why waste my money on a story with no ending?”
Make sure you read the full story. The imprint is shutting down, with the titles moving under the DC banner. There’s nothing that says the company is pulling a CMX shutdown, simply moving things. In the process I do anticipate several titles going away, but there is nothing that says any or all of them are ending just yet.
Yeah … I’m not really buying that. I have a feeling the only titles getting saved were the franchises that once sold for them and everyone else (including the mini-series) are going to get the boot. That’s about all I trust from them.