DC Comics
DC Group Editor Eddie Berganza was suspended from his post following sexual harassment allegations. In this photo, Excited Fans at DC Comics’ Midnight Madness Event Celebrating the release of New No. 1 issue of 'Justice League' at Mid Town Comics in New York City, Aug. 30, 2011. Getty Images/ Michael Loccisano

DC Comics has announced plans to consolidate all its titles under one brand and will be shutting down several publishing arms.

The announcement came on Friday with plans to restructure its publishing strategy to provide a clearer separation in titles ratings. Going forward, DC will be establishing new publishing labels that will reflect the age of the audience certain comics are appropriate for, akin to film and game ratings.

The new labels DC has announced will be DC Kids, which will focus on readers ages 8 to 12, DC, for ages 13 and older, and DC Black Label, for readers 17 and above. On the flip side, it means that DC is shutting down long-running publishing arms that some readers associate with the more “out-there” properties under DC.

Titles from DC Zoom and DC Ink, which have long produced books for children and younger teens, will be reassigned appropriately to DC Kids and DC. DC Vertigo, which was responsible for titles such as “Preacher,” “Y The Last Man,” and “Sandman,” will largely be reassigned to DC Black Label.

“We’re returning to a singular presentation of the DC brand that was present throughout most of our history until 1993, when we launched Vertigo to provide an outlet for edgier material,” DC publisher Dan DiDio told press in a statement. DC chief creative officer Jim Lee added to this, saying that “these new labels not only bring greater consistency and focus to our characters, but they also open up a wealth of new opportunities for the talent working on our books.”

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