DC Comics Reviews

Former Employee – worked at DC Comics full-time for more than 10 years

Pros – Worked with exceptionally talented people. Fun work. Appreciation for a job well done. Great benefits.

Cons – Umbrella of DC Comics and Time Warner. Unfortunate layoffs.

Advice to Senior Management – Don't lay off people who gave their all and worked so well with your company.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at DC Comics

Pros – Lots of free stuff: comics, cloths, merchandise, screenings, etc.

Cons – Management doesn't know what they're doing or what kind of work anyone else is doing either.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at DC Comics full-time for more than 10 years

Pros – The best licensed characters to work with and free comics.

Cons – Owned by Warner Bros. meaning its managed by business thinking people. Not artistic thinkers.

Advice to Senior Management – Let the talented comic people have creative control. Not corporate sell outs who don't know the details of the comic culture.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at DC Comics full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – In my time with DC, I was pleased to be surrounded with peers that were hard-working and dedicated, willing to do anything they could to get the books out.

Cons – Where do I start? With the well-documented sexual harassment, the inconsistent vision of the company, lack of advancement, the terrifying feeling of being fired at any minute. I do not recommend working here no matter how much you want to work in comics. You'd be happier at Marvel.

Advice to Senior Management – Please all get fired.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at DC Comics full-time for more than 10 years

Pros – Part of the Time/Warner corp giant, helps to insure great benefits and mobility if one is agile.
Who doesn't want to work for Superman and Batman
Lots of swag for those who are quick.

Cons – Culture has changed from cloistered and immobile to very corporate and immobile.
Be prepared to spend a lot of time at one position. There are people who have been at the same post for YEARS. It's a giant corporation, you can get lost in the gears of it's machine. Don't expect to
change things, but pat your back if you do.

Advice to Senior Management – There are jewels in that stack that you manage, ones that can bring you into the next century. Stop burying them, instead cultivate and inspire them.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at DC Comics

Pros – It's cool if you like comics. As part of Time Warner, they have excellent benefits.

Cons – Antiquated way of doing business, little room for growth, internal communication issues, very bureaucratic.

Former Employee – worked at DC Comics

Pros – A fun creative environment which allows the baility to work on the best pop culture icons in the world

Cons – As a company in transition there is a bit of uncertainty and change affecting the company now.

Advice to Senior Management – Learn to recognize talent and experience, reward it and let it grow

Current Employee – been working at DC Comics

Pros – The famous characters and amazing talent.

Cons – It takes years to be promoted. People on top stay there for years, so there is no room for growth.

Advice to Senior Management – Try to understand and listen to your workers.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at DC Comics

Pros – It was fun to work with people who loved the product they were producing. Most, if not all, of the editorial staff were the kids who hung out in comic shops every day. the hallways of the editorial staff is the adult version of the clubhouse they spent their youth poring over every page and swooning over every superhero pose.

Cons – The clubhouse mentality is strong there, and any new idea is quickly smashed. Editors basically act as asssistants to the writers and artists, not contributing anything of value except to keep track of schedules. New talent is avoided, fresh ideas unwelcome.

The staff is comprised of bloated middle-aged men completely out of touch with the younger generation of comic readers. They treat their characters like precious toys, not shared with new audiences.

While meaningful work is minimal, people are pressured into working long hours, recognized for how long they sit at their desk instead of the work they accomplish. The top writers and artists are given all the power while new talent that may have something more to offer, treated passive-aggressively.

Workers are expected to be profoundly grateful for the opportunity to work there and constantly reminded that there is al ine out of the door with possible replacements. There is no loyality to hard work, no respect shown to people who treat this as a career or a business. Instead, childish behavior is rewarded and promoted.

Divisions that actually make money for DC Comics, such as marketing, licensing, are treated like second-class citizens. Sitting in meetings with real business people was great theater. I still don't know how they were able to keep a straight face sitting across the table from these jokers.

Advice to Senior Management – Leave. Quit and go back to writing crappy comics and leave this business to someone who knows how to run a company. You are an over-grown fanboy who nurtured a childish mentality and drove away any real talent that could have made this company truly successful. Your greatest ambition was to keep this company second to Marvel so you could hide away and churn out worthless product.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at DC Comics

Pros – Fun, creative atmosphere. A great selection of properties to play with. Overall, a nice enough bunch of employees doing work they love. The whole world recognizes Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman. The work is great, challenging, creative, fun. Free comic books! An often warm family feeling.

Cons – Paternal atmosphere. Senior management treats staff like indulgent parents rather than intelligent creative partners. There is little room for advancement for the more competent. Management responds to credit-seekers over achievers; the feeling is that upper management is so poor because the company hires damaged goods they can get cheap. Because it attracts people/fans with a desire to be in that business, management knows they can he got cheap and held cheap.

Advice to Senior Management – Do the job of the person you're criticizing before you tell them how to do it. Learn empathy. Treat employees like intelligent adults; if they can't respond in kind, get rid of them instead of tucking them in corners. Give people the tools they need to do a job instead of penalizing them for being unable to do the job because they don't have those tools. Do your job. Let us do ours.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend