As a comic book fan, the biggest question I had after the Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery merger was: who was going to be in charge of DC Comics? Yeah, I know. Literally nobody else covering the merger was talking about DC Comics. We finally have an answer.
The newly merged company, which is simply called Skydance, has folded DC Comics into a new division called Skydance Products & Publishing. This will conveniently hide the financial numbers from DC Comics’ publishing alone by wrapping it up with other divisions that can make money to cover DC Comics’ publishing losses. Josh Silverman leads the group and now holds the title of president of global products and publishing. Silverman’s LinkedIn already lists him as President, Global Products, Publishing, and DC.
For comic book fans, the most important part of Silverman’s résumé is the ten years he spent at Marvel Entertainment, from 2001 to 2011. That’s the stretch when Marvel launched the MCU with Iron Man and got bought by Disney. He worked in global business affairs, business development, and strategy during that run.
After Marvel, Silverman held senior licensing roles at Disney, then became chief franchise officer at Mattel, where he oversaw more than 165 consumer product partnerships tied to the Barbie movie. He joined Paramount in 2025 before the merger closed.
I think that given Silverman’s background at Marvel Comics, comic book fans can probably rest easy that DC Comics is not going to be stopping publishing monthly comics any time soon. Now, I would not at all go as far as to think that this indicates that monthly comic books will still remain an afterthought under Skydance as they did under Warner Bros. Discovery and before that Time Warner. I still believe that DC Comics’ value to Skydance is in what it can deliver in the form of movies and TV shows.
To be clear, Silverman’s division is massive. Alongside DC Comics, it covers Paramount Global Publishing, Paramount and WBD licensed publishing, both companies’ consumer products groups, brand partnerships, and retail and e-commerce. Skydance says the combined company is now the world’s second-largest entertainment licensor behind Disney, with an estimated $22.5 billion in global retail sales.
The brand list is impressive. There is no doubt about that. It includes: DC Comics, Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, The Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Hanna-Barbera and Looney Tunes.
Comics fans will notice right away that Star Trek and TMNT, two of IDW’s biggest licensed lines, now sit under the same executive who oversees DC Comics. Nothing has been announced on that front, and licensing deals don’t change overnight, but it’s an interesting wrinkle to keep an eye on. It would not surprise me if DC Comics acquires those licenses at some point. Of course, to be fair, Disney still licenses Star Wars to Dark Horse Comics and the Classic Disney characters to publishers like Fantagraphics and Dynamite Entertainment. So, nothing is guaranteed to happen.
Comic book fans will be interested to know that in a memo to the division sent the day the merger closed, Silverman made a point of calling out DC Comics by name:
“I also want to welcome Anne DePies, Jim Lee and all of DC and celebrate the incredible way they have continued to engage audiences for generations.”
He also told staff that “your day-to-day work and processes won’t change immediately” and that integration “will be approached thoughtfully.”
Skydance president Andy Gordon also singled out DC in his own leadership memo last week, saying the company sees “opportunities to build on DC Comics’ storytelling and expand our e-commerce offerings to connect fans with the brands they love.”
Yeah, I know, there is not a lot to take away from those quotes for comic book fans. Silverman’s hat tip to DePies and Lee felt more perfunctory than any sign of true interest and belief in publishing monthly comic books. Gordon’s comment felt more geared to how Skydance can use DC Comics’ IP for licensing and merchandising.
Long-time comic book fans are acutely aware that corporate shake-ups are usually bad news for comic book publishers. I mean, we all remember how much better Marvel Comics was before Disney got their hands on them. DC Comics already went through the trauma of the 2020 layoffs during Time Warner’s massive corporate restructuring.
But things are a bit different in 2026 with the birth of Skydance, as DC Comics is in a far greater position of strength than they were back in 2020. The Absolute Universe has been the best thing to happen to the publisher in years, Batman is as strong as ever, and NYCC just brought big news like Absolute Justice. Unlike in 2020, Skydance is inheriting a comic book company that’s working. DC Comics is not a dysfunctional mess like it used to be.
Of course, the real test will come once integration starts in earnest. You never know what machinations corporations are going to engage in until the dust settles from the merger. Comic fans will need to keep an eye out for any changes to DC’s licensing, its direct market strategy, or its digital plans. For now, long-time DC Comics fans like myself have to hope for the best with this new direction for DC Comics under Skydance.
