The hits just keep on coming in the super-hero biz. First, Disney scoops up Marvel and yesterday the president and publisher of DC Comics, Paul Levitz, stepped down. Levitz has been at the helm of DC since 2002 and has been at the company for over 30 years. He’s had a huge impact on the industry and is one of the main architects of the comic book market in America today. No replacement has yet been named, with several possible candidates rumored as successors.
This seems to be part of a shift to bring DC Comics and its characters closer to parent company Time-Warner. Warner looks like they’re no longer satisfied with simply marketing Superman and Batman t-shirts. With the growth of video games, cartoons, direct-to-video features, super-heroes are no longer relegated to comic-books. There’s serious money to be made from these properties if they’re marketed correctly.
Like Disney’s recent purchase of Marvel, it’s too early to tell if this is a good or bad move for the industry as a whole. That will be dependant on where DC goes from here.
Levitz won’t be leaving the company entirely. He’s going to be taking over writing duties on “Adventure Comics,” featuring the Legion of Super-Heroes, a group he’s familiar with after a much celebrated writing stint in the 80s.
