The Big Question with Georg Brewer: 1-7-03
The Big Question with Georg Brewer of DC Direct
Interview with: Troy Brownfield
Fans of fine action figures have become very familiar with DC Direct. An extension of DC Comics, DC Direct produces figures, posters, statues, props and other high-end collectibles. Their wide character selection and constant growth are always the subject of conversation, particularly in the DC Direct forum at DC’s Message Boards.
To get some more inside information, we went straight to the top. He’s the man that’s been giving diligent answer-seekers like Sdcomics, Julius Marx, and The Toy Detective the inside line for quite some time. He’s the VP of Design and Retail Product Development, Georg Brewer!
THE BIG Q&A
Q1: What are your title and duties for DC Direct?
A1. VP-Design and Retail Product Development. Along with Senior Art Director Ed Bolkus, our group is responsible for the creative development of the entire DC Direct line of product and packaging. We work closely members of the DC Direct team including Cheryl Rubin, VP-Licensing & Merchandising, Syndee Barwick, Director Product Development, and Christine Napolitano, our production manager.
Q2: How did DC Direct get launched? What’s its mission statement?
A2. What is now DC Direct started as collectible products and posters to support our publishing program. When Paul Levitz, our publisher, challenged us to get into the action figure market the line quickly grew and became DC Direct. Our mission statement is to bring the greatest comics characters to life by providing authenticity, innovation and quality direct from the source.
Q3: DC has literally thousands of characters in its library. How do you go about determining which characters get made into action figures, and when?
A3. The entire DC Direct team plans out the product line together incorporating new ideas from the creative team, input from fans and retailers, knowledge of upcoming media and publishing events, marketing plans and business needs.
Q4: Let’ s say, for example, that you decide to produce a Ma Hunkel Red Tornado figure. Take us through the process of how Ma Hunkel would go from a drawing on a page to a figure on my shelf.
A4. This is a pretty long and involved process. We start with visual research in our library, followed by creating “control art” which are turn drawing of the character. From this we create a quote request that is sent out to or manufacturers to be priced out. Next come sculpting, painting and then off to China for tooling and manufacturing. The entire process takes about a year start to finish and would fill an entire column with all of the details.
Q5: DC Direct has made an effort to recognize the sculpting talent involved by giving credit on the packaging. Please explain the importance of this step.
A5. It has always been a goal for us to credit the creative efforts of the talent involved. Without their hard work and talent we couldn’t do what we do. Credit where credit is due.
Q6: I quite like the new resealable packages. What motivated you to go in that direction?
A6. Resealable packaging has been something that I have worked on off-and-on for a few years. Knowing that there were a number of collectors that liked to display their toys in the package I wanted to give them the option of playing or displaying. It provides a level of innovation that meets one of our core goals, and as an experiment I think it worked well. We are still trying to decide how best to use this tool on future product.
Q7: The message boards for DC Direct at www.dccomics.com are furiously active. Some fans have nothing but good things to say; some are passionate over the tiniest flaws. How helpful do you find the constant stream of feedback, and are changes ever made based on what you read on the boards?
A7. Our team does watch the boards, and any feedback from the fans is useful. There have been instances where we made “course corrections” based on their input. One example what a color “mistake” on the Power Ring figure that was fixed due to fan response.
Q8: While the traditional action figures were a more obvious route to take, some people were surprised by the Pocket Heroes. How did those come about, and how has the reaction been?
A8. This idea came up from an internal suggestion to make “tiny versions” of our characters based on the popularity of other similar product out there. Creatively we have been vary happy with the way the line has evolved, and general > reaction has been good. As with anything new, it takes a while for new things to catch on. We hope that as more of them get out in the world demand will continue to grow.
Q9: Though a lot of fan discussion focuses on the action figures, DC Direct makes many fine props, posters, and other pieces. How important are these other segments to the identity of DC Direct as a whole?
A9. The action figures do seem to have the most vocal and active fan base. Statues, props and other categories are very important to us, in they allow us to reach a number of different consumers, and a variety of price points. We pride ourselves on a diverse line of products for a diverse universe of collectors. Who wouldn’t want a life-size Power battery?
Q10: Have the PVC sets officially died, or will we see any more in the future?
A10. We have no plans right now to continue this line as we did before; though we are looking at ways to possibly bring it back at some point in the future.
Q11: Alex Ross seems to have indicated recently that he’ll be doing more of his single-character portrait posters. Any thoughts on the character selection, and will he be doing any teams images based on that series?
A11. Alex is taking some time to focus on his big new book project, Liberty and Justice. We have a number of products that will come out in support of this to keep the Alex Ross fans happy. After that is done he and I will decide what we do with the existing series.
Q12: Back on fan discussion. There are very vocal segments calling for DC Direct to ” finish the teams” ; that is, to add the final missing character or two that would complete certain team rosters. The most obvious here would be The New Teen Titans, The Authority and the Golden Age JSA. Obviously, the opening of the Superman and Batman licenses had an impact on the 2003 schedule; beyond that, is there a conscious effort in place to complete those teams for the fans?
A12. As I have said several times, it is hard in some cases to decide when a team is really “complete”. That said, I sympathize with the fans’ desires, but some characters wouldn’t sell well enough to justify creating an action figure. Never say never, though - anything is possible.
Q13: DC Direct seems to be expanding in a slow-but-sure fashion. We’ ve got the ” main line” , a line based on Kingdom Come, and the Super Friends. Is your intent to essentially reach DC fans at every generational level?
A13. Any popular incarnation of our characters is open for inclusion in the line. Our goal is to bring all of the classic versions the fans want onto their shelves.
Q14: On the topic of Kingdom Come, that’s a line that could potentially last for hundreds of figures. How much of that plan can we be privy to?
A14. We have two waves planned in ‘03, and if they do as well as we hope, more will follow.
Q15: Respecting the Super Friends, the main comment that I hear over and over is “Where’s Apache Chief? What about Samurai?” Once the main DC-originated characters have been released, do you intend to tackle those animation-only characters?
A15. If the line does well, we are likely to expand with other core DC characters. At this point we do not plan to include the characters that did not appear in our comics.
Q16: Amazingly enough, DC Direct has been around for several years without lines devoted to Batman, Superman or the JLA. Of course, this has been due to licensing issues. Now, the 2003 schedule is packed with DC’ s Big Guns. How excited are you about that prospect, and what do you say to the fans that are worried that the more obscure characters might fall by the wayside?
A16. We are obviously very excited about being able to play with Superman and Batman, and there will be a period where we try to play “catch up.” There is an entire universe of related characters no one has touched that the fans will enjoy. That said, we still strive to keep a balance in the line by offering a wide assortment of characters.
Q17: As you know, many characters have had multiple incarnations. Any chance that we’ ll ever get to see, for example, the Perez JLA-era Zatanna, the Golden Age Black Canary, or a JLI Black Canary?
A17. There is always a chance we will do “alternate” versions where it makes sense. Did you see the “modern” Black Canary in the Birds of Prey three-pack? [Editor’s Note: Yes, I did. And yes, I’m getting it.]
Q18. Not that I’ m complaining, but why the Silver Age incarnation of The Legion? And does that preclude modern versions of the characters? And as a matter of fact, where are the ladies?
A18. We made a decision to start with the classic version of the group. There have been a number of other interpretations, but this one was around for quite a while. Additionally the similar nature of the costume designs made it easier for us to produce the line, knowing it wouldn’t be as big a seller as some of our others groups.
Q19. Multiple points of articulation vs. the look of the figure. Is it a compromise?
A19. Always. For the regular line of figures, after some experimenting, we have moved to a standard of sorts, averaging 9 to 13 points. For a line like Kingdom Come, however, what makes these unique and special is style of Alex’s work. We worked very hard to get the look down, and a more conventional set of articulations would have detracted from this. We have spent a great deal of time discussing this and generally decide on a case by case basis depending on the goals for the piece.
Q20. At the end of the day, what do you hope fans think of when they hear the words “DC Direct”?
A20. Quality, authenticity and some really cool toys.
Q21. Okay, this is killing me. We’ve got Blue Beetle, Mr. Miracle, Big Barda, Oberon, Martian Manhunter, and Power Girl. You’re giving us Batman, Metamorpho, The Flash and Guy Gardner. What do we have to do for Booster Gold, Fire, Ice, Rocket Red, and Captain Atom?
A21. I would tell you, but then you would add Ma Hunkle to the list. Best I can say is keep the faith and watch our site; you never know who will be next.
We at Shotgunreviews.com would once more like to thank Mr. Brewer for answering our questions. Check out www.dccomics.com for the official DC Direct site and the DC Direct Message Board, located the DC Universe topics section.
As always, if you have someone that you’d like to suggest for a Big Question, let Troy know at psikotyk@aol.com.
