'Rebirth' Should Be Didio and Lee's Last Chance to Revive DC Comics

In sports, often team owners will shift personnel around when the team isn't winning. They'll fire coaches, assistants and even cut ties with star players. Eventually, though, if none of that works, the General Manager is removed from power and the organization rebuilds.

Is DC prepared to do the same with their ‘general managers’ Dan Didio and Jim Lee?

By the end of 2009 DC held a 29% dollar share*, which was about 10% less than industry leader, and rival, Marvel Comics. In an attempt to rebuild their brand, on February 18th, 2010, president Diane Nelson named Dan Didio and Jim Lee as Co-Publishers. In September of that year, Didio and Lee rebranded the DCU as the “New52” and rebooted the universe as a result of the “Flashpoint Paradox” storyline.

It was met with a lot criticism and a little cautious optimism.

Some long standing readers immediately called it quits, angered that years of continuity had been tossed aside. Their loyalty, spanning across a decade or more of readership, had gone unrewarded in favor of this company-wide reboot. But this was a business and like all businesses, money defines success; not pandering to the loud minority. With market share slipping away, the ‘status quo’ needed to be shaken up. For Didio and Lee, it was time to take a  risk.

And it paid off.

As a result of the reboot, there was a slight uptick in market share as it increased by 5%. Didio and Lee had tapped into a new generation of readers, excited to jump into new stories. Meeting these characters for the first time was a big selling point. There was buzz about the brand whose characters were considered stale and unrelatable.

By the end of 2012, DC’s market share had almost completely closed the gap and trailed Marvel by less than 1%. In spite of many complaints, the “New52” strategy was in fact working. Earlier that year, in the pages of Justice League, Superman and Wonder Woman shared a kiss that was picked up and covered by national media. It took the comic book world (and general public) by storm. As a result, DC stormed ahead to grab an 8% market share lead over Marvel. Although there was backlash from comic book fans who preferred the ‘Lois and Clark’ dynamic, the new ‘status-quo’ had proven to arouse the fans. The pairing became so popular, DC launched a title dedicated to their story: Superman/Wonder Woman.

Power Couple indeed!

Over the last 3 years, however, overall sales numbers have begun to trend downward. And by the end of 2015, DC comics fell to a 27% market share; which is 2% less than when Didio and Lee first began engineering their vision.

It’s clear their ideas have lost steam.

Meanwhile, Marvel Comics purchased the rights to publish Star Wars comic books which expanded their consumer reach exponentially. On the Indie side of things, Image Comics continued to creep up the charts, going from a paltry 3% market share in 2009 to 10% in 2015. And the growing number of Indie publishers have turned the market into a highly competitive environment. The ‘big two’ are seeing their numbers cut into by new, creator owned characters from publishers that push the envelope of what’s expected from comic books. The rise of Image, Zenescope, IDW and others have emphasized quality storytelling as opposed to surviving off the brand alone.

The honeymoon between DC and its fans is clearly over. The “New52” launched with a confusing timeline, such as the 5 year gap between flagship titles and JUSTICE LEAGUE, it was only a matter of time before problems arose. Readers were tasked with researching where everything fit into place; sometimes not even recognizing their favorite characters. Long-time fans felt betrayed as they watched decades of continuity be ripped from the pages like an order form for sea monkeys.

With more comic book options than ever before, consumers began devoting dollars to creator’s rather than characters. What good is a comic book if the story makes no sense? Between collectibles, movies and tv shows, people found other ways to love their favorites without reading comics. Many of DC’s iconic characters have been around for 70+ years. They are such a big part of pop-culture that reading the comic book isn’t a requirement anymore. So for those spending their hard earned money, content was key to keeping them buying into the market.

Unfortunately, problems continued to rise that spilled over into the offices of DC Comics.

While working under the constraints of publisher mandates, creators struggled to tell good stories. Suddenly cancellations threatened titles that had barely begun. The number of comics dipped below 52 and as new ones were announced, people scratched their heads at the choices. Creative teams were shifted and mixed up to save titles that DC wasn't ready to abandon yet. The only constant was Snyder and Capullo’s run on Batman, which it’s no coincidence that they found themselves in the top ten every month. Company-wide crossovers were annual, month long, events during September that interrupted current storylines. Variant covers were themed and even made into 3D motion covers to attract collectors.

With very little power, to tell the stories they wanted, creator's began to abandon ship. Many of whom were tired of the publisher handing down last minute adjustments to scripts and/or artwork. Last year, a new initiative called “DCYou” was launched to focus more on story and less on continuity.

However, this was met with more frustration than fanfare.

A month ago, Dan Didio and Jim Lee teased ‘Rebirth’ on social media. And more recently the CCO, Geoff Johns, took to social media as an attempt to calm the fears by adding “It’s not a reboot…and it never was”. As the co-publisher’s look to regain some of the magic they captured 6 years ago, this should be their last ‘at bat’. And to further the sports analogy, if they don’t knock it out of the park, it’s time to force these two out of the lineup for someone new.

Before Didio and Lee became co-publishers in 2010, DC was chasing Marvel. And, for a brief moment, they eventually claimed the market share crown. Unfortunately, they haven't sustained long term success. Couple that with media outlets reporting creative disarray and a lack of direction, confidence in the brand is reflected by the dip in sales.

How much longer will Didio and Lee be allowed to make important decisions for DC Comics?

If 'Rebirth' can't resurrect success for DC, then Diane Nelson should move on from the ‘Dynamic Duo’ and find a super man or wonder woman to give DC hope for the future.

*All market share statistics were provided by Diamond Comics Distributors, Inc. and can be found on their website.