Senior vice president and general manager of DC Daniel Cherry III has left his post after less than two years managing the comic book company.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, sources claim Cherry's exit was a "quitting," though his reasons for abruptly leaving are still unknown. Cherry joined DC in September 2020, shifting from his previous role as an esports executive at Activision Blizzard. Before that, he served as the chief marketing and innovation officer for the New Jersey Devils.
Cherry's role was a newly created one, overseeing business affairs editorial, talent services, marketing, sales, and other areas within the comic book giant. His hiring came amid major executive layoffs and the exit of DC co-publisher Dan DiDio. The goal was for Cherry to help expand the global reach of DC as a brand, and during his time, the company saw a number of gains thanks to various hit media adaptations of its work.
During his tenure, Cherry oversaw former executive editor of global publishing and digital strategy Marie Javins being named DC's new editor-in-chief. He also oversaw DC and Webtoon's first partnership deal in August 2021, helping to bring the comic company's stable of characters to the hugely popular webcomic publisher. The first title to debut, Batman: Wayne Family Adventures, became a massive hit, even surpassing the monthly sales for DC's main Batman title.
All told, Cherry seems to have seen the company grow and expand during his reign, though there have been rumors that DC is on rocky footing when it comes to its comic book arm. While the company has found success on the big and small screen, rumors have swirled that parent company WarnerMedia actually wants to shutter the comic book arm.
In August 2021, DC chief creative office Jim Lee shot down these rumors, saying, "Occasionally you will run across that article or tweet and I have to bite my tongue to not jump into the conversations. It’s the furthest thing from the truth. If anything, it’s the exact opposite. The comics that we publish, the core canon we establish in comics, is driving everything that we do across DC in media. We are constantly referring to the characters as we built DC beyond the publishing world."
Source: The Hollywood Reporter