CBR: Bristol: DC Nation

[CBR News]

DC Executive Editor Dan DiDio and VP of Sales Bob Wayne met with UK fans at the Bristol Comic Expo for the very first British edition of the DC Nation panel, covering "Blackest Night," the All-Star line, "Battle for the Cowl" and more.


Full article here.

[West Mantooth]

Is All-Star Wonder Woman cancelled or not? Jesus H. Christ!

[ddsave]

I have to admit that I am reading fewer DC titles than I ever been but the ones I do read know no parallel. What I have been paying attention to is the criticism with the way Didio has run DC compared to his explanations at these conventions. I have to say I am impressed with his acknowledgment of ideas that fell flat. Whether an idea had merit or not, the results are indisputable and its best not to ignore them. I think Didio's public recognition of failed plans gives me hope that DC will learn from past mistakes.

I do think he has put himself in a little bit of a tug-o-war by trying to help new characters gain traction while strengthening the core titles. It's not impossible but definitely difficult. I do look forward to the day that Wonder Woman can have sales in the same range as Superman and Batman. Otherwise, it is Trinity in name only. I think everyone thought Gail Simone was the perfect choice to finally generate the proper respect for WW, but I think everyone can agree that her best work to date is coming in the form of the Secret Six. I think she a talented writer but some things come naturally while others don't. Just because you love a particular character doesn't necessarily mean you can write the best stories for that character.

Finally, I hope DC has finally hit the mark with Blackest Night. Sinestro Corps war was a satisfying GL story but neither DC nor Marvel have done a satisfying "event" in a while. I hope Blackest Night is the exception to the rule. One thing that will guarantee that for me is if they keep Batman as far away from this story as possible. It is already a big enough headache for the Batman fans to debate whether he is dead or just displaced in time. I don't want that debate carrying over into Blackest Night and tainting the story. Bring heroes back from the dead, kill others - but don't lose sight that this is ultimately a GL story.

[West Mantooth]

I find it hilarious that the answer to the event problem was right in front of their face. The Sinestro Corp wasn't planned as this big event and turned out phenomenally. LISTEN UP DIDIO. THE HYPE MACHINE CREATES THE DISSATIFACTION. If Dc would just do several "Sinestro Corps" each year. The new one would build on the goodwill of the previous. Once you create the hype machine, it brings along the people that feed on making a giant sink about how much the event sucks for numerous reasons that ends up creating the perception the event didn't live up to the hype.

[Mart]

Yup, I'm sick of Blackest Night already and it's only just starting; all those Rainbow Lanterns have done my head in and I've jumped off the GL train for the first time since the early Seventies. I'll be back when it's not all space wars, all the time.

Oh, and what was that about the current Superman books being the first time out hero was absent - did he not notice the post-Death of Supeman books?

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

DiDio emphasized the fact that DC’s business was periodicals, not trade paperback graphic novel collections, because those comics readers who rely on trade collections make him nervous. “We have to make it feel like you can’t wait for the trade. I hate the expression ‘wait for the trade.’ It’s the thing that upsets me the most, because it means in my opinion that what we’re creating isn’t worth reading now. ‘I can pick it up a year from now.’”

Up yours right back at you, Didio!

Sorry for being part of the ever expanding part of your readership.
Stop doing big multi-part stories if you don't like people reading in trade, and go back to single issue stories - and also knock a buck or so off the prices.
OR, speed up the delivery of the trades - the first part of Sinestro corps war JUST came out in soft cover.
OR, alter your business plan to face reality, not your childhood.

Honestly, this annoys me more than it should - because of a preference of format, we're not as valuable a customer to him despite our money being the same?
Grow up fella - as spokesman for a company, you shouldn't be saying things like that.

[QUOTE=“Everybody goes ‘the Sinestro Corps War was a DC event done right.’ But actually it was just a really good Green Lantern story. That’s what it was to start – it wasn’t built to be an event book. It wasn’t built to be anything but a really strong and important Green Lantern story.” [/QUOTE]

And everyone says Infinite Crisis and Countdown were events done wrong... listen to the people.

[EmeraldCityArcher]

alter your business plan to face reality, not your childhood

Sorry but this is a great quote!

I actually feel Dan's had more hit's than misses but does frequently dig himself a hole with his comments.

Frankly asking a DC NATION panel how many are reading Marvel's Digital Comics is pretty ridiculous. Much like asking how many voted for a republican at the Democratic convention. Chances are there were many who had but didn't admit it for fear of ridicule (Common at DC Nation Panels).

in fact, Does Marvel even allow the digital comics to be purchased in overseas?

Anyway, if DC/Warner's is truly NOT looking at digital comics than they are going to be in a world of hurt in a few years.

I used to buy the complete DC line but just cannot afford to anymore. I'd love to keep up with the characters for $5 a month and continue to buy my regular titles and maybe, just maybe find some new titles to add.

I just find it hard to believe that they aren't looking that way considering the acquisition of Zuda.com.

I think he was merely pandering to the crowd and won't be surprised in the least to hear an announcement at Comic-Con.

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

I actually feel Dan's had more hit's than misses but does frequently dig himself a hole with his comments.

I usually feel the same way - I don't like some of the things I hear about him from creators ('Countdown is 52 done right' etc), but I read more DC than before he was abut, so he's doing something right - but this one just really got to me.

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

Actually...

It’s the thing that upsets me the most, because it means in my opinion that what we’re creating isn’t worth reading now.

...is it just me, or is he a little miffed that people are waiting to see what the overall quality/fan reaction/critical reaction is to the books rather just buying the one's they really want us to buy?

I think he's blaming that format for people not jumping on board the series editorial decided would be big events and buying all the tie-ins, when the reality is closer to the fact that books editorial push and big events and tie-ins are generally of a lower quality, and so people stay away because of that.
It's over twenty years of customers getting burnt you've got to beat if you want it to go that way Dan.

[HaroldAllnut]

Is All-Star Wonder Woman cancelled or not? Jesus H. Christ!

Unfortunately, I think it's all gone. This saddens me, since garbage like All-Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder remains on the stands.

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

Unfortunately, I think it's all gone. This saddens me, since garbage like All-Star Batman & Robin the Boy Wonder remains on the stands.

Hughes was too slow.

[Retro315]

I do think he has put himself in a little bit of a tug-o-war by trying to help new characters gain traction while strengthening the core titles. It's not impossible but definitely difficult. I do look forward to the day that Wonder Woman can have sales in the same range as Superman and Batman. Otherwise, it is Trinity in name only. I think everyone thought Gail Simone was the perfect choice to finally generate the proper respect for WW, but I think everyone can agree that her best work to date is coming in the form of the Secret Six. I think she a talented writer but some things come naturally while others don't. Just because you love a particular character doesn't necessarily mean you can write the best stories for that character.

I'm actually really curious about this. I mean, technically there's nothing wrong with the writing of Wonder Woman, but the plots feel kind of not epic, and fall flat.

But I know Simone can do just that ... I saw the Wonder Woman animated movie ... it was freaking awesome, juggled all the right questions and had some good humor. Of course, a very large chunk of that greatness was from Steve Trevor's POV, he's really capable of being the "Lois Lane" of Wonder Woman. (And Nathan Fillion kicked ass).

[Mr Wesley]

I normally let Didio's and Quesada's hype roll off my back. That is, after all, their job. Or part of it, at least. But Didio's suggestion that Superman has never been pulled from his own books is probably the most asinine thing I've ever heard either him or Quesada say. Especially when you consider that the Death of Superman/Reign of the Supermen was basically the birthplace of the Event Comic as we know them (I'm not including COIE or Secret Wars because they were special, one-time events that weren't a part of the annual budget).

I'll echo what other people have said: the Event Comic is killing superhero comics as we know them. Forcing me to choose between buying 15 titles to get the whole story (and, yes, when information critical to Infinite Crisis is buried in Batman, you're forcing me to buy it to understand it) and dropping the whole affair--that's not a gamble worth taking. It frustrates the older readers and confuses the younger. That doesn't bring new readers in; it, by definition, drives them away.

Which is why I collect mostly through the trades (and that's probably the second most asinine thing I've ever heard him or Q say). The book trade is one of the few lines of business that is really thriving today. But in addition to the savings, which is becoming negligable, the main reason I collect trades is because they self select. If I have $20 and I have to choose between Infinite Crisis and Showcase Presents Warlord, that's an easy choice for me, because I've paid attention, done my research and decided that Infinite Crisis was an ugly, jumbled mess that made no logical sense. Since nearly everything that passes through the monthly funnel eventually gets collected (if Captain Carrot and Ambush Bug can, anything can), I can make educated choices and support the titles I want, instead of buying everything, because everything is hyped.

I know this is one of the pillars in the platform I'm always shouting from, but you know what I think is really killing the monthly industry? Event Comics is the symptom, but the root is issues that don't have a complete story in them. Sure, you can have continuing plotlines, but they don't require you to read 3-4 other issues to enjoy the one you're reading.

I blame Frank Miller and Year One for starting the "mini-series within a series." Since then, it's practically de rigeur for splash pages to have something like:

TITLE!
Chapter ___ of ___:
Subtitle

That's why I enjoy Jonah Hex so much. They've had multi-part storylines, but most of them are either single issue stories or can be enjoyed as such. Right now if you cut Batman in one title, Superman bleeds in another. I know if DC separated the titles a little more and emphasized the monthly aspect, I'd be much more likely to start buying monthly issues again.

Okay, rant over. Deep breaths. Deep breaths. In and out, in and out.

[JubileeFan]

This strengthening of the core books was important to DC, as DiDio felt that all of their main titles had been impacted negatively by the “One Year Later” storyline that followed “Infinite Crisis.” “We had great creative teams but nothing came out. The three major franchises sputtered at a time when they should have been on fire.” DiDio also admitted that the inconsistency in delivery had squandered any good will generated by “Infinite Crisis.” “We wasted any positive momentum that we had going. Now we are rebuilding that.”

What are the "three major franchises" that he's talking about here? I thought the Superman One Year Later story "Up, Up, and Away" was great and the Batman OYL story by James Robinson was enjoyable too. Not sure what the third one would be, is he talking about Wonder Woman?

[Phantom Druid]

Hmm, sounds like there is hope for the Marvel Family yet.

DiDio says "For the Marvels, their current storyline was finished with “Justice Society of America” #25, and following this they will be reset to become an important part of the post-“Blackest Night” DCU

But then he says this, wich cofuses me..."with Freddy Freeman in the role of Shazam and Captain Marvel Jr. playing a part in “Justice League: Cry for Justice.”

I thought Freddy Freeman was Shazam now? and he is also in cry for justice, but they make it sound like they are talking about two different people.