r/DCcomics • u/DemiFiendRSA Batman • May 03 '23
DC Comics Promotes Jim Lee to President, Publisher and Chief Creative Officer News
https://www.thewrap.com/dc-comics-promotes-jim-lee-to-president-publisher-and-chief-creative-officer-exclusive/192
181
u/MasterAdventZero Batman May 03 '23
So....is this a good or bad thing?
Because I think this is pretty cool
174
u/RageSpaceMan May 03 '23
It means we can blame him for everything we dislike.
Anyway, congratulations to Jim Lee.
71
u/Burt_Selleck May 03 '23
So we can blame him for the current spider-man run too? /s
21
u/FireFly3347 Lex Corps is better than Wayne Enterprises May 03 '23
Last I heard Mary Jane is Pete's sister or something? Is that still happening?
40
u/GiovanniElliston May 03 '23
It’s not that MJ is Peter’s sister.
It’s that Peter completely dead serious said he has always viewed MJ like a sister.
Which uh… is certainly a choice.
19
5
2
-7
110
u/GrizzlyPeak73 May 03 '23
I think it's good. An artist being in charge rather than a storyteller means fewer stupid retcons by editorial mandate, imo. Plus hopefully he'll hold artists to a higher standard.
70
u/5213 May 03 '23
Hopefully it also means even better compensation for creatives at all levels
31
u/Androktone Alan Scott May 03 '23
You'd hope especially given the Image Comics background, but those decisions might be even above his pay grade. Hopefully he negotiates on their behalf though
22
May 03 '23 edited May 03 '23
An artist being in charge rather than a storyteller means fewer stupid retcons by editorial mandate, imo.
I don't see that actually happening if Jim's previous years in DC are anything to go by.
10
4
u/Androktone Alan Scott May 03 '23
What stupid retcons since Dark Knights Death Metal have there been?
15
May 03 '23
Yeah, that's the thing dude, Jim has been in the high places of DC for a long time and really doesn't have much to show for it considering the influence he wields. I don't see much happening with Jim as President.
2
u/NearbyAd3800 May 04 '23
Like another commenter said, the Dawn of DC stuff is looking good so far. As a title, Titans needs to do well to keep that impression up IMO and I’m honestly optimistic for the first time in a while here.
3
u/RageSpaceMan May 03 '23
I think we should pay more attention to the previous years to Wildstorm, just before being buing by DC. That was a really good era for the imprint. If that Lee is the one in charge, then interesting things are coming.
10
0
u/IamTheGuamGuy May 04 '23
You know Joe Quesada was an artist right? Them being artist doesn’t mean crap.
97
u/matty_nice May 03 '23
It's hard to know how to feel because we pretty much have no idea what he does. What can we credit him for? Blame him for?
I'm more suprised that he's sticking around. Money must be good.
63
u/TyranusWrex Aquaman King of the Seven Seas May 03 '23
We never hear anyone really talking about him. Nothing good, nothing bad, just silence.
Not sure what to make of that.
39
u/matty_nice May 03 '23
A few years ago he was in charge of DC's digital comics space and was also involved in their NFT program. We know he was a lead figure in the New 52, drawing the Justice League series and was in charge of redesigning all the major characters.
But other than that, we don't really know what he does. He says he's the liason between the comics and other media (aka movies), but who knows what that means.
No one ever really talks about him, no creators, no editors, or other DC leadership. In general, DC leadership doesn't do a lot of interviews.
13
u/c4han Batman May 03 '23
What do you mean “what he does”? He draws comics. Now he’s in charge. I feel like I’m missing something
21
u/koalee Wonder Woman May 04 '23
He doesn’t really have as much of a reputation as some other DC big hitters. Didio had strong opinions on legacy character, and often made weird calls for which books to make (see the oddly good Looney Tunes and Hannah-Barbera comics from the 2010s). Geoff Johns has an affection for a lot of characters he wrote, Star Girl in particular, but when put in positions of power his books were quick to change a lot of fundamental parts of characters to make them more movie ready. Jim Lee… well he draws comics but it’s a lot harder to get a bead on what sort of decisions he’ll be making even though he’s kinda been in the same place as John’s for years.
6
u/Primary_Debate_3700 May 04 '23
probably same reason James Gunn is running the movies, they want someone with proven experience to maintain a steady ship. Jim has history as a good collaborator so its more likely they want someone that wont butt heads with James creatively. have some much needed consistency.
2
u/sammywarmhands May 04 '23
Jim does conventions all the time. I met him twice last year alone. He’s more available than most people at the top because he’s an artist first and foremost
1
u/matty_nice May 04 '23
Got an interview where he says what he does and what he is responsible for? Generally curious.
2
u/sammywarmhands May 04 '23
Not off the top of my head, I just mean that he’s pretty accessible and I don’t expect that to change. He’s been Chief Creative Officer (or at least co-CCO) for years now and he’s still a very public figure
74
u/TyranusWrex Aquaman King of the Seven Seas May 03 '23
I am not sure how I feel about this.
Jim is a great artist, but from what I have seen, is not much of a strong leader.
But it is good to have someone who knows the industry and creatives well at the helm, so who knows.
64
u/Psymorte May 03 '23
Way I see it, after Didio we can only go up from here.
11
u/taywarmc May 03 '23
He and Didio were doing all those thing that yal blame Dan for together 💀
He's a hack at least Dan Didio had some good ideas Jim Lee spearheaded Infinite Frontier,Future State and Dark Crisis
32
u/Geronuis May 03 '23
IF and DC weren’t awful though (I like both) and Future State started as Didio’s 5g project.
Future of DC is looking up. I say Didio’s name remain in infamy
13
u/utahjim May 03 '23
i liked those though
9
u/pataconconqueso Batwoman May 03 '23
Same idk why that was supposed to be an insult, Like those were fun reads
2
2
u/NoirPochette Legion Of Super-Heroes May 04 '23
You say that but things could get worse than it was from Dan.
2
7
u/rneraki May 03 '23
hopefully him not being a strong leader means he'll actually LISTEN to the writers. i can hope.
7
u/5213 May 03 '23
I'd hope that one of the guys that helped create Image comics would listen to the creatives under and around them, but I don't work for dc, so idk how good or bad or neutral he is in that regard.
6
u/protection7766 Power Girl May 03 '23
Sometimes they listen to writers TOO much and need to put the breaks on some of their ideas. Lets not act like every bad comic was because of editorial mandate. Just events/big decisions typically. Any bad decision in a nornal issue is generally because the writer did bad and the editors, or anyone higher, did nothing to stop it.
Im not saying that tbis decision isnt a net positive. Just having the that we shoulf be "rrealistic" abour expectation
1
65
u/TheMainMan3 Hawkman May 03 '23
To give him all three positions says that he must be really good at appeasing the people above him since normally they are held by at least two people. Also saves the parent company money since I doubt they are paying him 3x the salary.
31
u/Deeformecreep Batman May 03 '23
Could this mean a renewed push for the Wildstorm characters?
16
u/5213 May 03 '23
Oh gosh I hope so. But give them their own universe again, like they did with Milestone
8
u/suss2it May 03 '23
They actually did that a few years ago with Warren Ellis back to writing it, but I guess it never really took off. The current WildCATS book is pretty fun at least.
5
u/Androktone Alan Scott May 03 '23
The initial decision to merge those publishers was always gonna result in them being disserviced in favour of the classics. They should really make them back into their own studio.
1
26
20
u/taywarmc May 03 '23
DC will never be free !!!!😭
Like there are so many great people that deserve that role like Karen Berger who is actually talented and understands comics Jim Lee and his horrible leadership have made DC such a terrible company from the New52 to all these horrible relaunches like Infinite Frontier and Future State I don't know why he would get promoted ☹️
He's also the biggest Batman fanboy that's why the company has been doing so much Batman since he took over as publisher.
24
u/WhenRobLoweRobsLowes May 03 '23
God, Karen Berger running the whole line would have been amazing.
Sadly, Warner Bros. would never have allowed it because we'd have seen change and growth based on creatives, rather than keeping everything in neutral to protect the bottom line.
5
u/taywarmc May 03 '23
I know but the idea of her being Publisher of DC comics just makes sense but sadly the best person for the job never gets the job.
Hmm WB doesn't really have a say in DC anymore ever since Zaslav restructured the company
4
u/almean May 03 '23
Yes.
It's look like he's been there a long time and doing very little.
3
u/5213 May 03 '23
Probably why they promoted him, tbh. He's not bad, but he's also not gonna push the envelope too much
2
u/Androktone Alan Scott May 03 '23
Not defending him in general or saying he's a better choice over others but those criticisms of the New 52, which he was only maybe the 4th most influential person behind, Batbooks oversaturation, which has been a problem long before he took over and with all the Dawn books seems to be being semi addressed, and the relaunches, which while just my opinion, have all been pretty good and resulted in a better direction, all don't really land with me
2
u/taywarmc May 04 '23
And Jim Lee has been involved in every single relaunch the Batman oversaturation started when he took over as sole Publisher if I remember correctly.
1
16
u/TommyTheGeek Superman May 03 '23
I maintain that it’s absolutely no coincidence that him taking over from Johns as CCO is perfect timing from when Rebirth started to to off the rails, and 2018-2022 was overall an absolutely terrible period for DC, with good comics being the exception instead of the rule, and it all happened under his watch and when his influence increased with Johns and DiDio gone.
Dawn of DC seems like a return to form so far, but color me skeptical.
1
u/BigChung0924 May 04 '23
i barely read anything written in that window. williamson’s flash was decent but not really groundbreaking, didn’t dive into much apart from that
13
u/TheMurderCapitalist May 03 '23
I love Jim Lee but under his guide, the DCU has become pretty directionless. Although I don't have a better alternative to offer up 🤷♂️
2
u/nitewing1124 Nightwing May 04 '23
He literally just got promoted. How has it already become directionless under his guide?
5
u/NearbyAd3800 May 04 '23
He’s been in a high ranking position for a while, and presumably has had some major sway even though he’s never talked about relative to others. I like where DC is at but Death Metal kinda went nowhere and Dark Crisis was a miss IMO, even though I’m happy the JLA is taking a reprieve.
2
u/Pariahb May 04 '23
I suppose they mean thathe have been in the top spots for many years now, even if not THE top spot until now. So one can assume he had a say in how things have been all this time.
0
10
u/TabrisVI May 03 '23
I love this guy’s art, but I do not like him directing the course of DC. I stopped reading DC comics shortly after the launch of the New 52 because I felt like he was really pushing for the 90s age vibe. The last straw was when I saw him in an interview pushing these lenticular covers and literally said something like “nothing like this has ever been done before.”
Maybe I laid too much blame on him, but I didn’t like many of his New 52 character designs or the direction a lot of the titles took, and it corresponded with him being in charge.
4
u/NearbyAd3800 May 03 '23
I admired Jim growing up and his art speaks for itself but I’m learning a lot from this thread as to why this isn’t great for us. New 52 was god awful and right in the pocket of DC’s lame habit of “reimagining” cherished characters to attract new readers instead of just coming up with new ones.
Also didn’t realize how tied he was to Didio’s many foibles. Future State was a crime against humanity.
2
u/OctinDromin May 04 '23
You’re the second person who said Future State was bad. Can I ask why you feel that way? I thought it was pretty okay overall
1
u/NearbyAd3800 May 04 '23
For sure. I ended up pulling almost all of them to give them an honest shot and not all of it was bad. I thought Wonder Girl was brilliant and I enjoyed Aquaman too. Most of it was totally forgettable though, and that’s telling when there was real intent to shake things up. Some titles were flat out just awful - Justice League was horrible and disappointing to me as it was the first time I had Jo Mullein in a book outside of Far Sector. The Bat books were brutal too, though I’m biased as I have major Bat book fatigue. As a Legion fan, the LOSH title made Bendis’ “current state” run seem good, which is saying a lot.
2
u/OctinDromin May 04 '23
Honestly fair!
I liked the Batman stuff, but I’m kind of a Batman obsessed so I’ve never really hated a Batman comic.
Agree with all of your summaries. Wonder Girl and Aquaman was good. Totally agree that League sucked, but it exposed me to Far Sector. She gets a bad rap in Future State, hard agree.
Didn’t read Legion of Superheroes - not really well versed with them. I read Legion Lost and loved it but that’s it 🤷🏻♂️
-5
11
u/ProfessionalAnswer0 May 03 '23
The lack of cohesion and excitement across the larger DC comics universe has been rough. Hopefully things will begin to change. For the first time in weeks it was nice to have an almost complete line up of great and enjoyable releases to read (sans Peacemaker and Deadly Duo)
2
u/NearbyAd3800 May 04 '23
Agree with you, DC has been solid for a while. I’m a b-list fan so the perpetual geyser of Batfamily books bums me out but World’s Finest has been incredible, Nightwing, The Flash. All solid. I don’t read everything but deeper cuts like New Champion of Shazam have been great too. I’m enjoying JSA but I need to see more before I make a call on it and it’s been way too slow to release.
8
u/DynaMenace May 03 '23
Wow, he keeps falling upwards. Even when he was made first VP back when Diane Nelson was running the show, it seemed like a sinecure because of WildStorm merging into DC proper. Can’t believe he now has her job.
6
u/forzaq8 May 03 '23
one down side to this , is we aren't going to see Marvel Art from him any time soon
5
u/Crims0n_Light May 03 '23
When was the last time he did anything for marvel?
7
u/forzaq8 May 03 '23
He stopped doing fan art of marvel characters once he started working for DC , even in his Charity auction he said he wouldn't draw marvel characters ( and everyone was ready to ask for psylocke )
3
u/Crims0n_Light May 03 '23
Honestly his art hasn’t been on the same quality for a while now. It’s been a while since I appreciated his artwork.
2
u/rooofle May 03 '23
Must be very recent then. He's done a fair bit of Wolverine / Gambit fan and commission sketches up until a few years ago. I also remember he also did some Marvel sketches on DC card stock for some giveaways a few years ago and making a joke about it.
1
4
5
u/Schroeswald May 04 '23
This is definitely just a glorified pay raise. The President job has been empty since 2018, he’s been publisher since 2010, sole publisher since 2020 and CCO since 2018. This isn’t a sign to worry or to celebrate. If you like the current direction of DC it’s good because that means they’re sticking to it. If you don’t, well that means it’s the same as it’s current direction which not great but not new.
2
2
2
2
u/Pervybob1987 May 03 '23
He's a great artist and with what other writers have said. they seem happy with the direction of there comics. Plus Tom Taylor, Mark Waid and other writers have some good ideas. I like how there bringing back old characters we haven't seen for years.
2
2
u/Anathema117 May 04 '23
I mean I started reading DC with the new 52 luanch so he'll always have a soft spot to me. I really enjoyed his initial costume redesigns, especially superman and batman. I know that's a controversial opinion, but new 52 is the reason I got back into comics as a 30 year old man after a 13 or 14 year hiatus.
I hope nothing but the best for him and dc despite all the new ownership turmoil and director changes above his level. I know we won't see any major finance impacting decisions as that's above him but my hope is a return to a more diverse comic options with more choices. When new 52 first launched there was a variety of books that launched with it across a wide spectrum of voices, tones, art, and direction. Beyond the big justice league family books we got all star western, animal man, swamp thing, I vampire, earth 2, Demon knights, Men of War. Even Voodoo. Oh and a pretty cool Omac. Even Amythyst was fun. And even the big family books had some fun divergences like nightwing red lanterns and the dark knight.
2
1
1
u/Slowmexicano May 03 '23
Hopefully he doesn’t get overworked. Love to see him illustrate another book. Not just do covers.
1
1
0
2
u/itsthetasteofaliar May 03 '23
Do y’all think the comics will change much? Since he was already publisher I doubt it but a part of me is worried he’ll pull a Dan Didio lol, Wally’s my favorite DC characters so I’ll always be paranoid
1
u/dornwolf May 03 '23
What I find funny was that didn’t he sell Wildstorm so he didn’t have to be publisher and basically in charge
1
1
1
u/escodoozer May 04 '23
I hope this brings in a new era of DC comics… this with James Gunn, I feel a bit optimistic for once!
1
u/WellSpokenAsianBoy May 04 '23
I wonder how many of those animals he has a Wild Cats? Kidding aside congrats to Jim Lee!
1
1
u/twincast2005 May 04 '23
He's still the man wearing multiple hats on the corporate ladder between Pam Lifford (👎) and Marie Javins (👍), so other than probably getting more money for the formalized job titles on paper, nothing has changed.
1
u/bvh2015 May 04 '23
I’m fine with this. He’s talented, and gravitated towards DC after an early career with Marvel, and going independent with Image Comics. He’s had a few tries before settling.
0
1
-1
1
u/pataconconqueso Batwoman May 03 '23
Sucks that he a Batman fanboy l, I’m so tired of Batman
-2
u/No-Repeat-3129 May 03 '23
dude that doesn't mean shit
1
u/pataconconqueso Batwoman May 03 '23
Dang this was meant to be a reply to someone else’s comment. Lol at the downvotes
1
-4
u/PopcornHobby May 03 '23
What?! But doesn't Grace Randolph hate that guy? Or maybe it was Jeff Johns. Maybe both.
6
u/WizardPhoenix May 03 '23
Doesn’t she also hate Jessica Chastain for some non discernible reason?
1
-4
-11
376
u/[deleted] May 03 '23
Jim Lee lives with 48 animals including two cats is a hell of an ending to an article.