HISTORY OF DC

• 1935 – Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson’s National Allied Publications releases New Fun: Big Comic Magazine #1

• 1937 – Dectective Comics #1 released; company’s unofficial name becomes DC Comics

• 1938 – Action Comics 1 released: Superman introduced; age of superheroes begins; on February 22, 2010 a mint condition copy sells for $1 million at auction

• 1939 – Detective Comics # 27 released: Batman introduced

• 1944 – 1954- DC acquires and merges with several other companies; begins to litigate over trademark infringement

• 1956- Silver Age begins with reimagining of the Flash, followed by the Green Lantern, and the creation of the Justice League

• 1961 – Stan Lee creates the Fantastic Four at Marvel, starting the Great Comic Rivalry

• 1971 – release of Green Lantern/ Green Arrow # 85 which depicts Green Arrow’s former sidekick Speedy as a heroin addict; start of the Bronze Age

• 1985 – release of 12 issue Crisis on Infinite Earths; start of the Modern Age

W5H

• When did they begin? – National Allied Publications sold its first book in 1935, and hit it big with Action Comics #1 in 1938

• Who are their customers? – Comics are purchased by everyone from young children to life-long comic fans in their 80’s

• What do they make? – DC Entertainment publishes a number of comics in a variety of genres and has spun off television shows, movies, video games and other media.

• Where can you buy their products? – Comics are sold primarily in comic specialty stores and through subscriptions. Digital versions can be purchased online and through apps. Trade paperbacks are available at most bookstores

• Why use the comic format? – Comics combine the story telling ability of a novel with beautiful art, and their serialized nature allows for complex story lines

• How do they make money? – DC makes money primarily from the sale of comic issues and trade paperbacks, but they also license their IP

VISION

The new identity is built for the digital age, and can easily be animated and customized to take full advantage of the interactivity offered across all media platforms

MISSION

Our mission is to strategically integrate the DC Comics business, brand and characters deeply

into Warner Bros. Entertainment and all its content and distribution businesses

STRUCTURE

Time Warner

Warner Bros

DC Entertainment

COMPETITION

PRIMARY CHARACTERS

THE MOVIE ISSUE

DC

• Superman

• Superman 2

• Superman 3

• Superman 4

• Superman Returns

• Man of Steel

• Batman

• Batman returns

• Batman and Robin

• Batman Forever

• Batman Begins

• Dark Knight

• Dark Knight Rises

• Green Lantern

Marvel (licensed)

• Spiderman

• Spiderman 2

• Spiderman 3

• Amazing Spiderman

• Amazing Spiderman 2

• X-men

• X2

• X3

• X-men: 1st Class

• Wolverine: Origins

• The Wolverine

• X-Men: DoFP

• Fantastic 4

• Fantastic 4: Silver Surfer

• Hulk

Marvel (MCU)

• Iron Man

• Iron Man 2

• Incredible Hulk

• Thor

• Captain America

• Avengers

• Iron Man 3

• Thor 2

• Captain America 2

• Guardians of the Galaxy

• Avengers 2

• Ant Man

• Captain America 3

THE RESET ISSUE

THE EDITORIAL ISSUE

“DC has asked us to alter or completely discard many long-standing storylines in ways that we feel compromise the character and the series. … All of these editorial decisions came at the last minute, and always after a year or more of planning and plotting on our end.”- J.H. Williams III

December 2010 – Nick Spencer fired from Supergirl before 1st issueSeptember 2011 - John Rozum quits Static Shock; J.T. Krul leaves Green ArrowJuly 2012 – George Perez quits Superman October 2011 - Gail Simone leaves Fury of FirestormNovember 2011 - Ron Marz leaves VoodooAugust 2012 - Rob Liefeld leaves Grifter, Savage Hawkman, and DeathstrokeMarch 2013 - Andy Diggle leave Action ComicsSeptember 2013 – JH Williams III and W Haden Blackman leave Batgirl

SWOT

1. Large library of familiar characters

2. Association with Warner Bros

3. Long history

1. Lack of targeted multimedia plan

2. Editorial issues

3. Once a decade resets

1. Expanded DC Cinematic and Television Universe

2. Trade paperback sales

3. Imprints and graphic novels / limited series

1. Marvel’s growing popularity

2. Online piracy

3. Creator owned series on independent imprints

Strengths

Opportunities

Weaknesses

Threats

TOWSSTRENGTHS/OPPORTUNITIES

• S1,S2O1 – expanding the live action DCU on film and television, utilizing both familiar, popular characters and lesser known characters.

• S3O2 – set up an on-demand publication system that can create collected volumes that are now out of print, as soon as they are ordered, cutting down on inventory while increasing sales

• S2O3 – adapt series like Y, Fables, Preacher, Sandman and Transmetropolitaninto films and television series

• S1T1 – Marvel’s success with the MCU has helped them overcome DC in popularity, but the average person still thinks of characters like Superman and Batman when they think of superheroes

• S2T2 – Use Warner Bros connections to develop a comic streaming app that lets users view comics without downloading files that can be shared later.

• S3T3 – Independent publishers will always be an issue, but DC can use them to scout new creative talent for their own publications.

TOWSSTRENGTHS/THREATS

• W1O1 – Developing a plan for a shared cinematic universe, similar to Marvel’s, could greatly enhance DC’s public perception and popularity. This can be further expanded by including television offerings like Smallville and Arrow.

• W2O1 – by developing rolling 5, 3, and 1 year plot summaries, confrontations between editors and creators can be limited and avoided

• W3O3 – Graphic novels and limited series are not subject to resets because they almost never last long enough to fall victim to the problems that necessitate resets.

• W3O2 – Trade paperback sales can help new readers get caught up and acclimated to post-reset cirmumstances

TOWSWEAKNESSES/OPPORTUNITIES

• W1T1 – fixing the weakness will mitigate the threat. Marvel’s popularity is mostly due to the success of their feature films, not their comics. By adopting a similar approach, DC can draw in new customers

• W2T3 – Creator owned properties are not subject to editorial oversight. DC can leverage its Vertigo imprint to draw in creative talent with the promise of support for creator owned titles

• W3T2 – While piracy might be a source of revenue leakage, it can also be used deliberately to attract new customers by removing cost as an obstacle.

TOWSWEAKNESSES/THREATS

PDCA

• Create rolling 5, 3, & 1 year plot plans

• Make story parameters clear to writers

• Promote and reward high performing agents

• Evaluate story success and popularity with reader surveys and social media

Check Act

PlanDo

BALANCED SCORECARD

1. Deliver high quality, connected storylines

2. Expand alternate media offerings

1. Foster long term relationships with creative talent

2. Develop rolling plot summaries

3. Reorganize incentive structure

1. Employ targeted hiring practices

2. Create and release anthologies to get new readers

caught up

1. License IP more

2. Take advantage of margins on digital distribution

3. More perks for creative talent

Customer Internal

FinancialInnovation and Learning

PORTER’S 5 FORCES

Marvel

Dark Horse

Image

New Market

Entrants -HIGH

Supplier Power -

HIGH

Substitute Products -

HIGH

Buyer Power -

LOW

REFERENCES

• http://zak-site.com/Great-American-Novel/comic_sales.html

• http://www.comichron.com/vitalstatistics/alltime.html

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DC_Comics

• http://guttersandpanels.com/gutters-and-panels/2013/3/23/the-new-52-timeline-of-departures

• http://www.geekexchange.com/dcs-editorial-problems-continue-as-williams-and-blackman-leave-batwoman-81753.html

• http://comicbook.com/blog/2014/01/08/dc-comics-claims-their-movies-far-exceed-marvel-movies-in-sales/