Woo!
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This was mentioned in Brad Meltzer’s The Book of Lies and I always thought it was something he made up to move the story forward.
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It’s a tough question to answer - the challenges we face are real and they are the obvious ones. The biggest obstacles we face are changing tastes, cost and sales. But I can say first hand that I’ve seen my ability to utilize our history on our behalf increase since I’ve been at DC. And on so many levels comic history has never been more respected inside and outside of comics.
On a positive note - I recently uncovered Peter Sanderson’s notebooks that you mentioned. I sent a picture of them to Peter and he confirmed them.
But to turn the tide - we need sales and eyeball data to back up our belief that there is still a future for all of the comic material we have produced these past 85 years.
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I’d read his notes if they were ever released.
dream job of mine, being paid to read DC
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I just got a copy of that very book and it pleases me so. Not sure what the path was to it - my uneducated guess is that the DVD is what pushed it. Which means that one of the best way fans can see great forgotten material reprinted is to become filmmakers, etc… and use those great characters and properties.
We have lots of Golden Age Material left (so many of the JSA members have solo stories somewhere that haven’t been reproduced yet).
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Hi Benjamin!
Before the transition to DC Universe Infinite I made sure to watch the Young Justice Enhanced commentary episodes one last time on the DCU video service. Really enjoyed the episodes you were on with Brittany Holzherr and Bernard Chang.
Sure it was so long ago but what was the experience like providing commentary for those YJ episodes? Did you as a team get to decide which episodes you did commentary for or were they randomly assigned to you?
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Can’t speak definitively - but this should mean that we files that are in good shape and possible to be offered digitally. I think both Grell (who doesn’t love Grell Green Arrow) and Secret Society of Super Villains will get there.
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I have pitched the need for that on a number of occasions. It might not be everyone’s favorite Event Series – but it was one of my firsts and I like it and it has clearly been neglected for far too long. I don’t have any direct information on it – but I think both could happen. But I think digital is going to be the easier way to share that.
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Yup – I do love Young Romance and Young Love, Heart Throbs, Falling in Love, Secret Hearts, Girls’ Love Stories, Girls’ Romances, the gothic love story titles like Dark Mansion of Forbidden Love and Sinister House of Secret Love… and the romance western Romance Trail…
But to answer your question – I think the prejudice against the non-superhero genres is waning. There is still a societal prejudice against older comics or art that works against a lot of the material – but like all prejudices one has to only actually see it to realize it’s nonsense. Anyone at anytime can be wowed by the art they will find there. And I think digital doesn’t have the same barrier to entry that an expensive Hardcover or Omnibus edition might. So I think that is the future (for our past) that we all have to work for and can obtain.
I think I’ll answer the COVID part of your question down below in greater detail. But absolutely we have all been impacted by it and are working from home.
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Thank you, I’m deeply touched by that.
Comics and archiving are tough rackets – but they are noble ones and we are at our best when we do what we love. So best wishes on your studies and future career. I think there is ever growing need for comic knowledge and history in Libraries and universities (it’s my great hope in a post Covid world to take a look at the collection they have at Michigan State).
Unfortunately, the reduced current headcount here at the DC Archives is down to well, just me. We used to be a 2-person department and throughout our history – it’s always just been 1 or 2 people involved. Not sure what our world looks like when you are out of school – but remind me that we’d met this way when you do and I’ll let you know if we got any openings.
But thank you again and best wishes on your journey of knowledge and preservation.
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They are in Pencil - hard to read, but makes me feel more connected to Peter.
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We’re currently missing comic copies (but not files) for Showcase #4 and 2 early issues of Action Comics - I think those are the most embarrassing holes for me. The barrier to replacing those is just budgetary and we will eventually acquire them when the time is right. But I am most anxious to acquire the rest our our pre-superhero/Platinum age comics before they disappear forever.
Thanks for the compliments on DC Tales form the Vault, both I and Insung (my director and editor) would love to produce more. And barring that or in addition share more images or artifacts of the Archives here with you and our dedicated community of fans.
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Mr. LeClear, let me just say that you’re being here is awesome.
I recently watched the film Snow in August in which the OG Captain Marvel and Whiz Comics were featured as inspiration for the film’s young protagonist. I wondering if and how you were involved with supplying materials (wich looked to be from Fawcett and Quality).
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Hello Benjamin!
How old were you when you started to become a fan of comics (specifically DC Comics*) and how exactly did you get your foot in the door to work for DC and Warner Bros?
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Thank you for mentioning these.
Truth be told, I’ve seen them, read entries about them, but I hadn’t actually read these (and I think it’s important for us all to be able to admit things like this and view them as opportunities instead of things to be ashamed of) – so thanks to your question I now have and I agree with you it’s kind of crazy that we haven’t put these out. There are some great comic talents, beautiful images and important connections to other events and characters here.
So, it’s now on my radar and something I hope to put on other people’s radar as well.
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There are the obvious tasks that I think most people know of like adding the never ending amount of New Inventory (and hunting down the comics we didn’t receive or need) to the collection. But so much of it is research based. We really are the resource for any historical questions about DC for all of DC and Warner Media. Which could mean on any given day confirming or uncovering character first appearance or creator information. Hunting down the source of requested images. Reviewing and confirming the historical accuracy of various licensed books or home videos.
But as it pertains to DCUI - one of the neatest things I’m currently working on is providing the story synopsis blurbs for the new backlist titles we are offering. Now some I have to write myself, but wherever possible I’ve been researching and using the text we provided in materials like our Direct Currents magazine in the 80s… or the Direct Currents feature for our old comics… like this one:
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Cameron Cuffe was one of the loveliest guests we’ve had in the Vault. It was a lot of fun to talk Krypton with him.
Now if we were in the vault with me and you asked that question – I’d take you straight to the Bound Volume of Brave and the Bold with the first 3 tryout issues in it. Hold and view the issues where it all began. Similarly, I might also show off the volumes of All-Star Comics with the JSA in them.
But that said – the Justice League of America really becomes that for me, when Dick Dillin takes over the penciling on that series.
For FLASH…
I’d want to show you the birth of the Multiverse. But I’d cheat and use it as a reason to show you the Golden Age Flash Comic and then completely skip the Flash and show you the knockout Golden Age Hawkman art by Sheldon Moldoff.
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I didn’t find one with a recipe - but it’s not a WWII era comic without mention of those Baby Ruth Cookies.
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I am living for these snapshots from the archives! 
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Rest assured - they already are. We strive to have a copy of every comic we’ve ever published (or that is co-published by someone else and carries our Logo on it and IP).
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