DC's Dan DiDio Out as Co-Publisher

[skyvolt2000]

Not just you.

After 4 decades of buying DC comics, I'm down to 4 titles...and soon down to 2 titles. (Two 12 issue maxi-series are ending.)

DC does not excite me anymore.

I'm afraid to try a new comic because I'm so tired of being disappointed.

THIS

Because you expect someone to SCREW it up somehow.

Of the last set of DC books I bought-

Batman & Outsiders & Far Sector were the only ones I paid cover price.

Naomi, Shade The Changling Woman & Wonder Twin trades-I got FREE via buy 2 trades got 1 free.

About 30 books came via 25 cent or dollar sales. Majority were for the covers (curse you Young Justice, Supergirl & Wonder Woman).
Dial H, Teen Titans & Jimmy Olsen are not that bad. Dial H deserves BETTER.

[Johnny]

People as in the parents of kids who watch Justice League and saw a black GL. The same black GL that was made into merchandise that was sold in Target & Wal-Mart. The general public who don't waste time in comic book stores are going to go by what they see on the shelves and in tv.

From 1986-2011-Hal Jordan was MIA in mainstream media. WHOSE FAULT IS THAT?
If stuff with Hal was comic book store exclusives and never sniff Wal-mart-WHOSE FAULT IS THAT?
If you had ZERO stuff in the mainstream public that made it 100% clear that John Stewart was one of MANY GLs beyond their cameo on Superman with Kyle-WHOSE FAULT IS THAT?

DC COMICS is to blame. Because they did NOT do their JOB to EDUCATE the public. The public's knowledge is limited to what they SEE-generally.

Like I said, "the public" that you're talking about is not defined by a small minority of uninformed individuals who yelled "whitewashing" without knowing what the hell they were yelling about. They do not speak on behalf of the mainstream public no matter how hard they tried to act like they did. That's why today that seems just as dumb as it did in 2011. It's not about being a comic fan or being a casual fan, it's about people trying to pretend like it was something so much bigger than it actually was. It wasn't. The fact that people still try to use this nonsense to prove a point all those years later is baffling to me.

[scary harpy]

Because you expect someone to SCREW it up somehow.

Yep, that's it.

[Lee]

This "segment of the mainstream audince" was a lot smaller than people still try to make it out to be. And they were not unformed because they weren't comic readers, they were uninformed because they apparently didn't even know the name of the character they were watching on that cartoon and still decided to yell "whitewashing" anyway. Like I said, if they had done a quick google search or actually paid attention to the cartoon they were watching, they'd remember that Green Lantern was a mantle and not one single character.

They were ordinary people (non-comic fans) voicing their immediate reactions. Most people react to film trailers and form opinions on what they just saw without going to Google.

Warner Bros. spent years telling them Green Lantern is a black man, then suddenly made a big budget movie where Green Lantern is a white man. If any part of the audience is confused or frustrated by that, that's on WB, not the audience.

[Holt]

Said films have also backpedaled a lot from the New 52 stuff.

That doesn't really change what I was saying, though. Even if it's waned, it was clear they were very hot on adapting parts of the New 52 for a while. In fact, it wasn't just the animated movies. It was even in some of the recent cartoons and (as mentioned) films. I still remember cringing at Justice League Action trying to make the Superman/Wonder Woman relationship a thing.

Anyway, point is, the idea that WB would be looking at something like 5G as more IP farming for TV, games and movies is entirely consistent with their recent history as a company.

[Johnny]

They were ordinary people (non-comic fans) voicing their immediate reactions. Most people react to film trailers and form opinions on what they just saw without going to Google.

Warner Bros. spent years telling them Green Lantern is a black man, then suddenly made a big budget movie where Green Lantern is a white man. If any part of the audience is confused or frustrated by that, that's on WB, not the audience.

But you keep referring to those people as "part of the audience" as if this was some major controversy instigated by millions of people worldwide when it wasn't. It doesn't bother me that they were confused about why GL was white, what irritates is me is that almost a decade after the fact people still try to bring that up like it was some enormous whitewashing backlash when it never was. That small minority of complainers were irrelevant, they had nothing to do with why the Green Lantern movie failed at the box office. Why keep bringing this up then.

[Comic-Reader Lad]

Now that DC may be gaining new blood at the top, let's talk about what we HOPE will happen rather than what we FEAR will happen (5G sucking, DC shutting down or going all-reprint).

What do you WANT to happen with DC regarding:

- their superhero comics line - in terms of what titles they should publish and how they should deal with continuity and legacy replacements
- their mature titles
- their kids line
- what imprints should they have / not have
- their OGNs
- any co-ventures with other comics companies or entertainment companies
- their back catalog reprints - what should they reprint, how should they reprint it (i.e. full series, best ofs, themed reprints), what formats do you want (e.g. trades, archives, omnis, etc.)
- any other shake ups in management / editorial needed?
- anything else you can think of

Even if some of the above wasn't under DiDio's purview, tell us what you want from DC in all areas going forward in order to make it the company that fulfills its potential in your eyes.

Who knows? DC might be watching fan reaction to the recent shake up and decide to make further changes to the way they do business.

[JBatmanFan05]

Definitely a recommitment to DC trades (focusing on non-collected material), not using Amazon pre-orders to decide everything, like to decide what trades NOT to cancel at the last minute.


In terms of continuity, keep Rebirth, just focus on better creative teams, better events, better runs, etc. Get Scott Snyder doing more.

DC and Marvel should try for "Secret Crisis" at some point. It'd be a huge needed intercompany crossover.

[Ascended]

So they pay for an office, it, editorial, a board, pre production, advertising, licensing dept, press dept, about 200 artists and writers and all their royalty payments out of $10m.... yes of course they do.

They wrote two cheques of $250000 each to gibbons and moore just to get before watchmen off the ground.

Jim lee charges 250k for a commission- hes not sat on that DC board earning chump change

Cool. So how much does DC spend in overhead then?

[scary harpy]

I do not have any hopes or dreams left.

I have read DC comics for 4 decades...and I can not remember the last time they were pure fun.

To paraphrase another poster (who I can't remember), reading DC comics is like enjoying a playground built on a cemetery.

[MoneySpider]

I hope DC finally starts doing significant and fun things with Vixen.

[Lee]

But you keep referring to those people as "part of the audience" as if this was some major controversy instigated by millions of people worldwide

I didn't quantify anything.

[DragonPiece]

convterversial I know, but I hope they stop focusing on the direct comics market and focus on digital and trades, stop deciding whether a book lives or dies on how much it sells at comic shops.

[dornwolf]

convterversial I know, but I hope they stop focusing on the direct comics market and focus on digital and trades, stop deciding whether a book lives or dies on how much it sells at comic shops.

Definitely this. Get that old material out there and easy to find for people. Not everything needs to be a fancy hardcover or massive omnibus.

[superduperman]

Do something with Earth's 1985 and 52.

Work out a stable continuity. What happened when.

JSA book.