Spring Break
The Daily OrangeSU graduate named president of major comic book company
By Flash Steinbeiser
Posted: 9/22/09, 12:09 AM EST Section: Feature
Diane Nelson is not faster than a speeding bullet. She's not more powerful than a locomotive, or able to leap tall buildings in a single bound. She is not a bird, or a plane or Superman. She's better. She is his boss.
Nelson, who graduated from Syracuse University in 1989, was recently named the president of DC Entertainment, a re-done version of the popular comic book company, DC Comics, which publishes iconic superheroes like Superman, Batman and the Flash.
"She now has now got to have one of the coolest business cards," said Robert Thompson, SU professor and Director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture. "That is one cool job."
DC Comics, as well as DC Entertainment, is under the ownership of Warner Bros. Entertainment, and this is the first step toward building a creative bridge between the two companies. Nelson's job will be taking the comic book properties and finding new ways to market and distribute film, television or DVDs across the globe.
Nelson was handed the torch by former DC Comics president and publisher, Paul Levitz, who has been with the company since the 1970s. Levitz will step down to become a contributing editor for DC Comics and a consultant for DC Entertainment.
Now with the keys to DC's kingdom, Nelson has an entire universe of comic book characters to play with. While Nelson said she can't reveal which characters DC Entertainment plans on working with first, she did say that they are looking at the entire DC library, from world-renowned characters, such as Superman, to properties that have remained on the outskirts of American popular culture.
Therein lies a challenge for Nelson's new job at DC. While Hollywood has recently caught on to the fact that popular comic book heroes like Batman and Superman lead to lucrative blockbuster franchises, there are many lesser-known characters within the realms of DC Comics that might have a harder time receiving pop culture's embrace.
"It all boils down to if the TV shows and the movies will be good," Thompson said. "Culturally, there's an appetite for these types of characters. They're valuable cultural properties."
Nelson, who graduated from Syracuse University in 1989, was recently named the president of DC Entertainment, a re-done version of the popular comic book company, DC Comics, which publishes iconic superheroes like Superman, Batman and the Flash.
"She now has now got to have one of the coolest business cards," said Robert Thompson, SU professor and Director of the Bleier Center for Television and Popular Culture. "That is one cool job."
DC Comics, as well as DC Entertainment, is under the ownership of Warner Bros. Entertainment, and this is the first step toward building a creative bridge between the two companies. Nelson's job will be taking the comic book properties and finding new ways to market and distribute film, television or DVDs across the globe.
Nelson was handed the torch by former DC Comics president and publisher, Paul Levitz, who has been with the company since the 1970s. Levitz will step down to become a contributing editor for DC Comics and a consultant for DC Entertainment.
Now with the keys to DC's kingdom, Nelson has an entire universe of comic book characters to play with. While Nelson said she can't reveal which characters DC Entertainment plans on working with first, she did say that they are looking at the entire DC library, from world-renowned characters, such as Superman, to properties that have remained on the outskirts of American popular culture.
Therein lies a challenge for Nelson's new job at DC. While Hollywood has recently caught on to the fact that popular comic book heroes like Batman and Superman lead to lucrative blockbuster franchises, there are many lesser-known characters within the realms of DC Comics that might have a harder time receiving pop culture's embrace.
"It all boils down to if the TV shows and the movies will be good," Thompson said. "Culturally, there's an appetite for these types of characters. They're valuable cultural properties."
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