Big changes are going on over at DC Comics as last week saw co-publisher Dan DiDio step down from his position after a decade of being in charge. It’s widely reported that DiDio was fired by AT&T as part of a large-scale restructuring and it’s believed that the corporation decided to let DiDio go now over concerns surrounding his big 5G relaunch event. A lot is riding on its success, apparently, potentially including the future of DC Comics itself.
Former DC artist Ethan Van Sciver shared his thoughts on DiDio’s exit in a YouTube video recently and revealed some worrying intel that he’d heard from his friends in the industry. According to Van Sciver, AT&T is losing interest in comic book publishing all together and, though they will continue the multimedia DC brand across movies, TV, games and merchandise, if 5G doesn’t go as planned, it could mean DC Comics as we know it will be folded.
“Understand. It doesn’t mean the characters are going to go anywhere. Batman, of course, is a prized possession of AT&T now. AT&T is Batman, and they are going to keep putting out movies and product and toys and all that stuff. Comic books are dead and they are going to close up the publishing house soon. I’ll tell you that a professional who I spoke to recently said, ‘Yeah, I was talking to one of the higher-ups at DC Comics who said that if 5G doesn’t work out, that’s it, AT&T is closing the publishing arm.’ So this is ball game.”
The 5G, also known as Generation Five, rebrand is expected to phase out the traditional heroes and replace them with legacy characters who will take on their iconic mantles and aliases. It was known to be DiDio’s baby, but word has it that the move will continue even without him around to spearhead it. Top DC talent, such as Scott Snyder and Brian Michael Bendis, are said to be worried and frustrated about this editorial interference scuppering their plans.
An additional rumor, which comes from the Lords of the Long Box YouTube channel, states that if AT&T does close down DC Comics then they could put it up for sale, maybe even offering it up to Marvel to take over, thereby creating a merged Marvel/DC multiverse. This is all hugely speculative at present, of course, and Van Sciver’s warning is also likely the worst case scenario. However, it’s clear that DC is in the midst of a real crisis.
