DC Direct Shuttered Amid WarnerMedia Restructuring

DC Direct’s Batman: The Adventure Continues action figures | Source: DC Direct

After a 22-year run, the in-house toy and collectibles arm of DC Comics is no more.

Launched in 1998, DC Direct marketed a collector-focused range of action figures, statues, prop replicas, and other items. For eight years, the division rebranded as DC Collectibles prior to returning to its DC Direct name during Toy Fair New York last February. This week, The Hollywood Reporter was first to report that as part of sweeping restructuring at the parent company WarnerMedia (under new owner AT&T), DC Direct would be shuttered. The Toy Book has since confirmed the news.

DC Direct’s end comes alongside executive moves, mergers, and cuts across all of WarnerMedia, including layoffs in the entertainment divisions, the likely end of the DC Universe streaming platform (content has already moved to HBO Max), and the downsizing of DC Comics itself as more publishing moves from print to digital.

Moving forward, DC Comics characters and intellectual property (IP) will be licensed by Warner Bros. Consumer Products. Earlier this year, both Spin Master and McFarlane Toys began producing action figures, vehicles, and playsets under the DC Comics license.

A new line of DC Direct action figures based on DC Comics’ Batman: The Adventures Continue (pictured top) are still slated to arrive at retail this month.

About the author

James Zahn

James Zahn, AKA The Rock Father, is Editor-in-Chief of The Toy Book and Co-President of The International Toy Magazines Association (ITMA). He is also a Senior Editor at The Toy Insider and The Pop Insider, and Editor of The Toy Report, The Toy Book‘s weekly industry newsletter. As a pop culture and toy industry expert, Zahn has appeared as a panelist and guest at events including Comic-Con International: San Diego (SDCC), New York Comic Con, Wizard World Chicago, and the ASTRA Marketplace & Academy. Zahn has more than 30 years of experience in the entertainment, retail, and publishing industries, and is frequently called upon to offer expert commentary for publications such as Forbes, Marketwatch, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, USA Today, Reuters, the Washington Post, and more. James has appeared on History Channel’s Modern Marvels, was interviewed by Larry King and Anderson Cooper, and has been seen on Yahoo! Finance, CNN, CNBC, FOX Business, NBC, ABC, CBS, WGN, The CW, and more. Zahn joined the Adventure Media & Events family in 2016, initially serving as a member of the Parent Advisory Board after penning articles for the Netflix Stream Team, Fandango Family, PBS KIDS, Sprout Parents (now Universal Kids), PopSugar, and Chicago Parent. He eventually joined the company full time as a Senior Editor and moved up the ranks to Deputy Editor and Editor-in-Chief.