How do you rate Dan Didio's tenure at DC Comics?

[Vampire Savior]

F. Will explain more later...

[Godlike13]

We only see a limited side, so hard to judge.

[kingaliencracker]

We only see a limited side, so hard to judge.

???

He was more or less in charge of DC for nearly 20 years. I'm not asking you to grade him as a person. But I certainly think there's enough body of work to grade him as a professional.

[Citizen Kane]

Right around Flashpoint was where I became rather disinterested with the DC comicscape. The Batman and Superman I grew up with is being replaced by younger, "updated" versions? No thanks. What was supposed to be a a fresh new start for new readers ended up being a jumping-off point for older readers and a confusing turn-off for the newer ones. It seems the more control Didio exerted, the worse things got. Can't say I enjoyed his involvement much at all.

[Godlike13]

???

He was more or less in charge of DC for nearly 20 years. I'm not asking you to grade him as a person. But I certainly think there's enough body of work to grade him as a professional.

And we don't actually see all sides of his work. From a sales perspective we see limited data, from creative perspective how much and what was he actually responsible for. Good or bad. Take new 52 for example. Creatively i didn't care for most of it, but it seems to spike sales. So was that good or bad? Its hard to say from this side.

[DragonPiece]

And don't actually see all sides of his work. Form a sales perspective we see limited data, from creative perspective how much and what was he actually responsible for.

Gail Simone was just saying on Twitter there is a lot that Didio gets blamed for that he didn’t do, he’ll just take the blame to be the easy fall guy. Makes me feel bad for him a bit.

[LordUltimus]

Not feeling much sympathy for the guy who let Eddie Berganza keep his job and showed jubilation when Identity Crisis' "rape pages" were in.

[Lee Stone]

In contrast, with Dan DiDio, we didn't get groundbreaking classics that rewrote the rules of comic book storytelling. We got "let's do rehashes of the stuff that was popular before I joined the company."

If it was just that, his tenure would have been just mediocre, at best.

The kicker was that he had no respect for the things he was rehashing, saying his was "(name of original) done right".

He had no respect for the characters (see 'the hitlist'), and no respect for the established readers and fanbase (comments at cons and New52 in general).

And I don't know if it's just that I'm older and seeing the publishing side more since he came in, but the whole 'Inner Circle' type clique that formed under him couldn't have been good for the morale of the creators that were not included.
(See Didio's comments correcting the writer of Convergence about his own story in an interview.)

He got an F from me.

[DragonPiece]

Not feeling much sympathy for the guy who let Eddie Berganza keep his job and showed jubilation when Identity Crisis' "rape pages" were in.

Is that something Didio deseves 100% of the blame over? Didn't WB have to let eddie stay because of legal contract obligations? He already left a few years ago, if I remember coreectly.

[Dazai_Osamu]

It was the worst, the last years Pre-Flashpoint were dark and a bit lost until my most loathed reboot arrived New 52, the only good things were Aquaman, and Superman and Wonder Woman's relationship and he ruined my favorite characters Tim Drake was completely wrecked until the point I'd have prefer if they had killed him, Superboy (Kon), Cassie Sandmark and Bart Allen were destroyed, it had been better if the core four would've been wiped out of continuity, they nullified them as characters and made them fake shells of what they were. Wally West was made a coward, after being the best and most interesting Flash who managed to have a family against the odds, DC made him frame others and even kill his future self WTH and Dick Grayson who I liked him less now he decided to make him Ric Jerkson and the worst amnesia arc ever. The batfamily was a great victim of his, almost all their bonds are empty and their family interactions are reduced to pander. Moreover, Batman is greatest ******* (for a while) and abuser (now) thanks to DiDio and his decisions, honestly Lee is also responsible but I think first of DiDio.

I don't know sometimes I imagine DiDio, Lee and the editors made meetings only to see how could they ruin X character and in general the darker and angstier is better idea happened when he had control and well thanks to DiDio I became a Marvel fan, honestly for me his rising as vice president-editorial in 2002, later as president-executive editor in 2004 and co-publisher in 2010 until now it’s the decline of DC in general, the only good point is Rebirth art which is nice most of the time when they remembered how the characters are supposed to look e.g. Artemis of Bana-Mighdall (who now looks more like a Barbie) and Tim Drake who sometimes looks more like Dick Grayson than himself, Damian's lips in Teen Titans which are really annoying, ect.

[Green Goblin of Sector 2814]

Ultimately, Dan DiDio's tenure at DC wasn't very good.

I say this because when it all comes down to it, he simply didn't have the literary aspirations that Jeanette Kahn and Paul Levitz had. When they were running the show at DC (also with Dick Giordano as EIC), DC really made a commitment to changing the perception of what a comic book could be.

We got absolute classics like Frank Miller's Dark Knight Returns and Batman: Year One. We got the post-Crisis relaunches that, yes caused more continuity problems than it solved and ruined the Legion, Hawkman, and Donna Troy irreparably, but it gave us the best Superman and Wonder Woman we had in my lifetime -- among many other great comics.

Then, of course, there was spinning out their more mature titles into the Vertigo line.

Plus, Watchmen.

And on, and on.

In contrast, with Dan DiDio, we didn't get groundbreaking classics that rewrote the rules of comic book storytelling. We got "let's do rehashes of the stuff that was popular before I joined the company."

So, we got Infinite Crisis, Final Crisis, this Crisis, that Crisis, Flashpoint, what's the point -- that couldn't hold a candle to the original.

We got Before Watchmen and Doomsday Clock -- that couldn't hold a candle to the original (in spite of how DClock was fairly well-received)

We got more Frank Miller Dark Knight -- that couldn't hold a candle to the original.

Several "the villains win" events.

Revisiting Bane and Doomsday over and over.

Convergence, Divergence, Regurgence.

Completely botching big-gets like JMS and others.

Basically, DiDio's tenure was overpromising and underdeilvering to the point where you just knew that when his next big bright idea was announced (5G, anyone?) that he just wouldn't be able to stick the landing.

I think the only true evergreen project created under his watch that wasn't a rehash of a previous event was Darwyn Cooke's DC: The New Frontier. This was something that could have been published during the Kahn/Levitz years.

He kept complaining of reader apathy, but then gave readers every reason to be apathetic -- and apprehensive -- of each of his radical changes of direction for the company.

How did you know what was in my soul???

[skyvolt2000]

Gail Simone was just saying on Twitter there is a lot that Didio gets blamed for that he didn’t do, he’ll just take the blame to be the easy fall guy. Makes me feel bad for him a bit.

Well until someone lists those things that was not his doing-he gets a D from me.

I don't really know if anything Dan had a hand in brought me in as a fan, I do know he's done a lot that has driven me away as a fan.

4th....

He kept complaining of reader apathy, but then gave readers every reason to be apathetic -- and apprehensive -- of each of his radical changes of direction for the company.

THIS THIS THIS

[CSM101]

I voted C. Average. The 2000-2010 period had some great stuff, but it took a sharp turn downhill after Flashpoint. Neat concept for an event, but it unlike COIE or Infinite Crisis, it completely screwed things up, rather than fixing them

Basically, once they gave Dan the reigns, he took continuity and Old Yeller'd it.

[Vampire Savior]

Dude was the effing worst. All he did was one long, extremely tiring, bad, nonstop event, which began with Identity Crisis, and then whatever story had all those Omacs everywhere. Countdown, 52, Infinite Crisis, Final Crisis, Blackest Night, Brightest Day...it NEVER stopped with this guy, and ALL the stories were terrible. He was always peddling some bad event, and I was unfortunate enough to start reading DC Comics regularly right around the time he took over. I hated every minute of his stuff and escaped into back issues. It's such a wonder I stuck with this hobby considering how much I actually loathe the stuff that was going on all throughout the time I've been a fan of it. I wouldn't have had I not found the comics medium fascinating. I spit on his era. I poop on it. I literally hate it, and I hope that mainstream comics get better from here, and if they don't that's fine. I really don't think I "need" them anymore. The hope is more so for their own sake.

[Starter Set]

Hmm, D or F? Cause for me the new 52 era was indeed the worst time ever to be a DC fan.

Ah well, D. I'm in a good mood.