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  1. #16
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    People still peddling that Didio Nightwing theory in 2019?!

  2. #17
    Black Belt in Bad Ideas Robanker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by ross61 View Post
    People still peddling that Didio Nightwing theory in 2019?!
    He's admitted it several times before. Hell, he recently admitted his hate for Nightwing stems from how he makes Batman appear old. His own words.

  3. #18
    Ultimate Member Ascended's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lee Stone View Post
    These aren't concrete. Just my own observations.

    What he seems to like:
    Batman
    Dark Knight Returns
    Watchmen
    Barry Allen
    Hal Jordan
    gore and extreme violence
    DC's villains (specifically the rogues of Batman and Flash)

    What he seems to not like:
    Justice League International
    New Teen Titans
    Legion of Super-Heroes
    Nightwing
    Wally West
    JSA
    DC's b- and c-level heroes (especially those not created out of tragedy)
    Anything that was a hit before his watch (especially any non-Batman title big in the '80s, aside from DKR and Watchmen, which weren't representative of DC at the time)

    Decisions made:
    Killing off Sue Dibny and Elongated Man
    Killing off Blue Beetle
    Character assassination of Maxwell Lord
    Planned killing of Nightwing, but settled for mental damage
    Killing of Wally West (supposed)
    Killing of Arsenal (supposed)
    The running off of Karen Berger and the firing of Shelly Bond.

    When Marv Wolfman sent in his scripts for the Titans Convergence issues, Didio was reported to have said to him, "You really like those characters, don't you?", which some (myself included) have taken to have a condescending tone. Because he does not like those characters.
    This sums up a lot of it, and I agree with Lee's observations.

    I dont know Didio. I dont even watch or read many interviews he's given. I have no real idea what the man likes or doesnt like. But the stuff he approves paints a picture. And he's publicly expressed his opinions, which a more industrious poster likely has bookmarked somewhere. His dislike of Nightwing has been mentioned several times, the most recent dig being a tweet where he and a writer (Winnick maybe?) sort of laugh at their treatment of Dick Grayson.

    Now, I dont really care what a manager or creator like or dont like, as long as they dont let their biases get in the way of the job. However, in several instances (Dick being the primary one, Wally not far behind him) it seems like Didio has allowed that bias to influence business, which is amateurish BS even a unpaid intern should be above doing. If there is business logic behind these choices, I have never been able to see it.

    Quote Originally Posted by Agent Z View Post
    Didio fought to keep Jaime Reyes' solo series going from being cancelled despite sales from what I heard. I think that's something to respect.
    Didio's done good stuff, and championed some characters who deserved it. His efforts to reach new markets with same-day-digital, the Earth-1 line, and all the various imprints, etc, have all been marks in his favor. The New52 reboot was a huge, rushed clusteref**k but it pulled the entire industry out of a multi-year nose dive. He's approved stories and creators that have improved and enriched DC. He's even stolen some of Marvel's biggest names. He's also done a lot of stupid ass sh*t too.

    Quote Originally Posted by Denirac View Post
    Ric Grayson exists, thats a Horrible Negative
    like this.

    To add to his list of negatives, he exiled editor and accused sexual harasser Eddie Berganza to the Superman office. There's a whole lot wrong with that, and it seems to me there were maybe office politics going on above Didio's head that he had to contend with and likely had little power over. And I dunno if Berganza was ever tried so Im not even saying the man was guilty (I dont know, and allegations arent proof). Regardless, "exile to a office where you can't cause problems" is a solution condemned by every theory of business ethics I know of. Not to mention there's probably both State and Federal laws that have something to say about the topic.

    Didio's a mixed bag. Great in some ways, horrible in others. Largely it depends on what flavor you like your DC and who your favorite characters are.
    "We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe."

    ~ Black Panther.

  4. #19
    Obsessed & Compelled Bored at 3:00AM's Avatar
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    I think Dan Didio is a guy trying to do his job the best way he knows how while dealing with business and corporate whims beyond his control. He's made a lot of bad decisions and he's made a lot of good decisions.

    In general, I have preferred the DCU more under his tenure as DC's Head Honcho than I did when Mike Carlin was in his role.

    Didio swings big and misses big, whereas Carlin was less creatively adventurous and let Vertigo and Wildstorm lead the ship.

    Good comics happened during both men, but I think many more good comics took place under Didio.

  5. #20
    It sucks to be right BohemiaDrinker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Ascended View Post
    And he's publicly expressed his opinions, which a more industrious poster likely has bookmarked somewhere.
    That would be me, but I'm really not in the mood of a "what's so bad about Didio" thread. Sorry.
    ConnEr Kent flies. ConnOr Hawke has a bow. Batman's kid is named DamiAn.

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  6. #21
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    He loves the versions of characters he was introduced to when he was younger. For example:

    He loves Babs Gordon, because, I believe, he used to watch Yvonne Craig on the Batman TV show in the 60s.
    Hates any other version of Batgirl.

    Loves Hal Jordan. The first thing he wanted to do as Editor in Chief was bring the character back to life as Green Lantern.
    Wanted to kill both Kyle Rayner and John Stewart.

    Loves Barry Allen.
    Constantly wrestles with Wally West, and kills, or tries to kill him, or sabotage him by turning him black and making him a delinquent.

    He doesn't seem to like the idea of numerous characters running around with the same hero identity, probably because he thinks it's confusing or superfluous. If so, I see what he's getting at, but destroying, erasing, or changing the race of well established and loved characters he personally doesn't like or want around is a really risky proposition.

    He LOVES "edgy" shock value stories that showcase damaged, dysfunctional superheroes, like Identity Crisis and Heroes in Crisis.

    He loves events. It was under his watch when readers started getting endless, ENDLESS strings of events, or comics that led to events, or that involved the entire DC universe, like Final Crisis, Infinite Crisis, Countdown... and all kinds of other stuff. He seems to have special fondness for the weekly series 52, and seems to love the concept and name of "52".

    The New 52 and its tone and direction was his idea.

    He doesn't seem particularly diplomatic, open minded, or willing to accommodate or even see the perspective of people who hold views about characters he personally doesn't agree with. If you like characters he hates, you're usually just screwed as far as that is concerned.

  7. #22
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    most of the things people blame him for are actually Geoff Johns fault

  8. #23
    It sucks to be right BohemiaDrinker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by comeatmebro View Post
    most of the things people blame him for are actually Geoff Johns fault
    They are really, really not.

    (And I say this as someone who is not in liove with Johns either)
    ConnEr Kent flies. ConnOr Hawke has a bow. Batman's kid is named DamiAn.

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  9. #24
    Three Legged Member married guy's Avatar
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    He seems like a decent bloke, but he has made some decisions that have pissed me off beyond words.
    In particular, the way the entire Flash family (especially Wally) has been given the rough end of the pineapple.
    "My name is Wally West. I'm the fastest man alive!"
    I'll try being nicer if you try being smarter.

  10. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by SJNeal View Post
    I think you can add the planned killing of John Stewart to that list...?
    Why you gotta bring that up, lol?

    I was trying not to think about that pain while reading this thread.



    Although to be fair, John Stewart has been taking L's since the Post-Crisis era.

  11. #26
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    Quote Originally Posted by Robanker View Post
    Hell, he recently admitted his hate for Nightwing stems from how he makes Batman appear old. His own words.
    What gets me about something like that is that it's just ridiculous. It's comics, it's fantasy. When comic book people get too bogged down in history, ages, timelines, etc...it can become insane.

    We all know that Superman has been around since the 1930s. Do we want Superman to realistically be that old in today's comic? Of course not. We indulge in the fantasy that Superman will always be somewhere around 29 or 30 years old. No matter how many years go by, no matter how many anniversaries he and Lois share, no matter how old his kid(s) gets, Superman will never really grow old unless it's a story in the future like Kingdom Come.

    So let Nightwing become a man in his mid-twenties. Does that mean that Batman has to be late 30s or early 40s? Absolutely not. Comic book readers can look past that and not have our minds blown. I mean, Didio, please.

  12. #27
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    Quote Originally Posted by caj View Post
    What gets me about something like that is that it's just ridiculous. It's comics, it's fantasy. When comic book people get too bogged down in history, ages, timelines, etc...it can become insane.

    We all know that Superman has been around since the 1930s. Do we want Superman to realistically be that old in today's comic? Of course not. We indulge in the fantasy that Superman will always be somewhere around 29 or 30 years old. No matter how many years go by, no matter how many anniversaries he and Lois share, no matter how old his kid(s) gets, Superman will never really grow old unless it's a story in the future like Kingdom Come.

    So let Nightwing become a man in his mid-twenties. Does that mean that Batman has to be late 30s or early 40s? Absolutely not. Comic book readers can look past that and not have our minds blown. I mean, Didio, please.
    While it’s not how I would’ve handled the situation, I do agree with him about the old thing. It’s kinda ridiculous by this point.

  13. #28
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    One of the reasons I started this thread is not to Didio-bash as much as to understand.

    Several have talked about Didio's hate for the sidekick-emeritus characters. Any word on why he's down on Grayson and West? Is it that they make continuity messier or what?

  14. #29

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    The thing is that even if DiDio were gone from DC, Jim Lee will still be there and may even inherit Dan's position as full publisher.

    Jim Lee will always be employed by DC because they would never want to lose him to Marvel even if he can only draw 3 comics a year.

    However, Jim is even a worse editor/story guy than DiDio. Jim seems to think at the level of a 14 year old in terms of comics needing to be "cool" and I think Jim alone would only lead to more attempts in trying to be edgy or turn DC into Marvel than we're already getting. The entirety of the early Image output by him and Rob Liefeld was one shameless X-Men ripoff after another. WildStorm only put out decent stuff once he had little to do with it.

    I don't know who is out there that could take over DiDio's position, but it ain't Lee. Karen Berger is someone who springs to mind as I said in another thread, but I don't think she'd want back in. Also, the new person would have to work with Lee unless the higher ups at AT&T could give Lee some other position he'd be happy with, but where do you go after you've been top guy and still be happy?

    As far as DiDio's track record and publishing worldview, it does seem as though he's not a very artsy-fartsy guy. He doesn't seem too interested in creating the next Watchmen or the next Dark Knight that take comics storytelling to a new level.

    He's more interested in doing SEQUELS to those series rather than being innovative and seeking out talent who can make us rethink of what we know comics to be.

    Dan's biggest hits such as Infinite Crisis, Final Crisis, Before Watchmen, Doomsday Clock, Dark Knight II and III, revisiting the Death of Superman, etc. are just fanboy-pandering cash grabs. Not to mention the Crises in name only Identity Crisis and Heroes in Crisis. There hasn't been much art under DiDio, just commerce. I'm surprised we haven't gotten a sequel to Kingdom Come from DiDio. Maybe he tried, but Alex Ross wouldn't go for it.

    Even Darwyn Cooke's New Frontier, as well-received as it was, was just a love letter to the Silver Age. It wasn't the next Swamp Thing.

    So, those kind of prestige, arty projects that DC was publishing in the late 80s to late 90s that really made you feel proud to be collecting comics have all but vanished.

    That would be ok because it's not happening at Marvel either (and let's face it, it never did), but Marvel seems to be trying to reconnect with its fans and give them the Marvel style they want, but DiDio's idea of what DC should be seems based in the premise that DC needs to become Marvel with lots of sad, damaged heroes.

    What DC needs is someone who can take the core of what DC is and what DC could be and make it relevant and, yes, cool for today. That doesn't mean rehashing the Silver Age and turning Jimmy Olsen into a turtle, but it also doesn't mean making him suicidal.

    DC needs a strong, central ethos to define itself and it needs to stick with it and spin stories out of that worldview. DiDio seems to have a severe case of ADD and jumps from one new direction to another, spending lots of time setting things up and then pulling the plug abruptly when there is any fan pushback instead of trying to do a more nuanced course correction.

    I don't think Jim Lee is any more of a visionary than DiDio is, and until both are gone from the decision making process, you aren't going to get a DC that satisfies you consistently.

  15. #30

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    Quote Originally Posted by DrNewGod View Post
    One of the reasons I started this thread is not to Didio-bash as much as to understand.

    Several have talked about Didio's hate for the sidekick-emeritus characters. Any word on why he's down on Grayson and West? Is it that they make continuity messier or what?
    He doesn't like the sidekicks because they age, but their mentors don't so it seems incongruous.

    Also, I think he feels the grown sidekicks don't have a purpose. They can't replace their mentors, but as they age, they become somewhat indistinguishable from them, and therefore redundant.

    Not saying I agree, but I think that's what he thinks.

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