Breaking: Dan DiDio removed from his position at DC Comics

In shocking news, Dan DiDio, longtime co-publisher at DC Comics and mastermind of the New 52 was removed from his position. What does this all mean for DC, is it the end of the world where the AT&T/Time-Warner owned company is concerned, and what happens next? Objective analysis around the removal of one of the most influential men in comics over the last 10 years.

[terrencecastonguay]

Yes he finally left hopefully Brian Michael Bendis leaves next.

[danebarrett]

Look at his numbers. Nobody's thrilled with Bendis...

[mcpics]

Dan Dido gone
Welp no more killings legacy like nightwing or Wally
He alway had a history of put his hand on things and is basically what DC editorial power over writer in some case are shown

[bretts]

This could be really good for DC. Or they could replace him with someone even worse. A little downsizing at both DC and Marvel would make me happy as a consumer, if it's paired with a streamlining of publishing, titles reduction, and the removal of ideologues. Not that I see Disney showing horrible political activists like Sana Amanat the door, but one can dream.

[estimationdepartment]

Back in the early days of the DC website they posted a notice that they would be hearing writing pitches at a convention. (These days they don't do that because of lawsuit concerns). I traveled for hours to another town to attend the event, my car even broke down on the side of the road on my trip. When Dan DiDio started the panel he announced that he didn't care what was posted on the DC site, he wasn't going to hear any pitches. (After that event DC never made another announcement like that again on their website). He then laughed at fan who was in a homemade superhero costume that was of a character he was apparently there to pitch. The costume was really sad, however I and the audience members didn't laugh at this silly looking fan, DiDio almost choked on his own laughter trying to talk to the fan when he stood up to ask a question. That was my personal experience being in the same room with him. He refused to do his job to fulfill the promise his company made and he laughed in the face of a fan. Years later he basically made public statements that caused many long time fans feel not welcomed to be fans. I use to spend almost $1, 000 a month buying DC products, but a decline in product quality and the unprofessional attitude of people like DiDio led to me no longer buying their products. As far as the New 52 goes, it was a bad reboot. The sales were higher for a year or two mostly due to the renumbering gimmick. As far as Dan DiDio as a writer, he was a poor writer. His books, even though he was a famous publisher, generally premiered low in sales and often quickly sank below to Top 100.

[computerrobots]

They should have done that over a decade ago

[Quiro]

i would love for Geoff Johns to take the reins of DC comics!

[kevintanza]

I don't think Didio is a bad person or someone that is not passionate about comics and that he doesn't care about the genre. I actually think he is a nice guy and someone who actually tried to get the most out of comics as a business. And I'm stating this before my main point:


Didio wasn't the right guy to run DC Comics because he doesn't get the characters on a human level. He was always trying to make them darker, edgier and extremely flawed when DC characters tend to shine because of their positive attributes and the fact they are deeply aspirational. That's why I think the New 52 was such a failure on a artistic and creative level (Perch, you know more about the industry than me, so you can tell me if it did well in terms of sales): he changed so many beloved characters by stripping away the core values and traits that made them so loved to begin with. And the dumb move, in my view, was creating the New 52 universe and not providing it as an alternative rather than as the sole option because if I don't like New 52 Superman, I'm stuck with him; I can't read the pre-New 52 Superman and DC loses a client on the Superman department. New 52 should have been DC's Ultimate Universe and perhaps the results and reactions would have been much more positive.


Then we have his treatment of legacy characters, which was a very dumb decision in terms of business and marketing. A lot of people from my generation (I'm 25) love legacy characters as Tim Drake, Wally West, Dick Grayson, Donna Troy, Kyle Rayner and many others and Didio decided to cast them aside because it made the main characters look "old" (as if being older makes the characters less valid or interesting). He wasted potential in terms of storytelling and business in favor of some weird perceptions that were never truly understood. I think that reached its peak (in a negative way) with Heroes in Crisis.


I think Didio is a nice guy and one that really wanted the company to succeed, but he just didn't have a good understanding of these characters. He tried to turn them into something they are not and once Johns fixed things with Rebirth, he had to go back and change a lot of things once again, which rubbed fans in the worst possible way. I think "artistic differences" could actually apply here.


I believe removing Didio is the right call, but I'm very worried that his replacement is going to be just as bad or worse. I'd go back to Geoff Johns and give him anything he wants to fix things. But let's see what happens.

[brianshawkey]

2 years in a row of decline in sales is one thing. 3 years in a row is bad news for somebody, and in this case it meant like 3% of 240 person DC workforce was laid off. 4 years of sales decline means someone at the top head's gonna roll, that's all there is too it. It's a corporate decision. And Dianne Nelson & Geoff Johns both had to step away from their DC Entertainment positions probably because the company lost or didn't make as much money on the films that came out like Justice League. Dan Didio was axed today and the company's intention I'm sure is to turn things around.

[willin]

Do you think Peter Tomasi could be the replacement?

[SuperCam-memj]

Can’t wait for tomorrow’s Comics Aficionados about this with you, Wes, Pelé and more on Thinking Critical!

[christophera]

Thank The Lord!!!! The Presence has heard our

[atomichound]

Conflicted, to be honest. His decisions drove me to the cliff many times, but my LCS owner was a big proponent and talked about how Dan was very supportive, obviously loved comics and DC in particular. On the other hand, I’ve said many times that Geoff Johns funded Dan’s 401k because he was the real creative force for DC the last two decades. Ultimately, I think he was overly concerned with his legacy and wanted to be known as the “Stan” of the next great age of comics instead of just making the best comics available at the moment.

[millernumber]

I really disliked Didio, but I was also very impressed by what he did at the Rebirth announcement - apologizing to fans for the mistakes of the n52. The problem is, two years later, he seemed to just be making the same mistakes. So I'm not sad to see him go, though I'm sure he did many good things as well as the things I'm angry with him about.

[superthorc]

The question will be who going take his position
Some say it be Bendis or Geoff John
Most people think it be Bendis because before he jump ship he lobby on getting a higher on marvel or at least that what some people came to think

[MutantsInDisguise]

I'm very happy Dan DiDio is no more at DC, but still, I feel worried because of Jim Lee and Bob Harrass.

[TheTommyoliver]

I don't want anyone to lose a job, but the management structure at DC Comics is bloated. Its leadership should be streamlined. There has to be more to this story. An executive doesn't leave a major corporation on less than 24 hours notice for no reason.

If Jim Lee doesn't want to lead, he shouldn't be the publisher either. I just hope Marvel Comics doesn't hire DiDio.

[Master_of_Merol]

Geoff Johns is the right man for the job.

[Arthirias]

Hope is back. I think DC is now no longer under siege as of dildo's firing, but yes it is still on life support and may need to do a bit more to silence the sjw element in the company. Dildo had to go 10 years ago. If I wanted to save DC, its IP, I'd IMMEDIATELY move to get Greg Weisman and his crew to start having some oversight of what is being put out by DC comics and the movies. He understand the power of continuity and how good lore will draw in fans money and staying power.

[WarrenSapir]

Excellent video. I really enjoyed your views. Thanks for some reason and sanity.