CBR: Inside DC With Dan Didio, Part 1

[CBR News]

The DCU Senior Vice President - Executive Editor invites CBR into his office for a lengthy two-part chat covering "Blackest Night," the future of marquee characters from Superman to the Flash, and exactly what's up with Aquaman.


Full article here.

[titanfan]

VERY impressive that the interviewer got the Aquaman Question off the top of his head. I read the last couple of series and would have gotten stuck after Manta and Ocean Master.

[_Radjack_]

Great Interview.

I cant' wait for the new Flash series to come out.
I never really liked Aquamen, and I don't think that DC can get him to the top like the "other 5".
On 2010 DC should invest a litlle more time on superman which is what it looks like it's going to happen.

I'm really looking forward to the second part of this interview.

[Mart]

VERY impressive that the interviewer got the Aquaman Question off the top of his head. I read the last couple of series and would have gotten stuck after Manta and Ocean Master.

Exactly why I came over, to compliment Kiel on showing Dan he shouldn't be so dismissive about Aquaman - did he learn nothing from the 'kill Nightwing' nonsense?

And yes, there is such a thing as event fatigue, which is why I'm buying fewer Marvel and DC comics than usual during Blackest Night/Dark Reign. I'm happy for DC that BN is a hit, but I'd love to see what creators could do with a year of freedom from events.

Oh, and don't you look suave, Kiel!

[Thad]

I like the idea of multiple Batmen. It's actually been hinted in a couple of Dini stories, including the classic Batman: The Animated Series "Almost Got 'Im" episode where Two-Face floats the notion that there's not just one Batman but that Gordon keeps a bunch of them stowed away "like a SWAT team", and more recently in Gotham City Sirens where Catwoman claims there are multiple Batmen when coerced by Ivy into giving up his identity.

It works in the current version of Batman where he's an enigma and a phantom to most of the citizens of Gotham. People who knew him would recognize immediately that there were two different Batmen walking around, but people who just saw him as a figure in the shadows wouldn't know the difference.

Something that hit me the other day about Bruce dying and Dick taking on the mantle of Batman: Kurt Busiek did this in one of my all-time favorite comics arcs, Astro City: Confession. (I hear there's a Samaritan/Confessor teamup coming in the new Astro series -- can't wait!)

[Mundungus]

Great interview. I think Dan Didio has really matured as Executive Editor. He really seems humbled by his mistakes and works to make up for them.

The DC Universe has been firing on all cylinders for the past year or so. Keep it up!

Also, bring Aquaman back even if he never becomes a "Top Five" character.

[akcoll99]

This was a fine interview, though I do take issue with part of Didio's answer that concerned Hawkman:

"What we would like to do if we brought back Aquaman, is give him the same treatment we gave Hawkman, which is to give him a very clear, concise direction that felt true to the character and his past history that also presented him with a fine interpretation to be built upon."

DC and Geoff Johns did revitalise Hawkman into a character and comic that were both very enjoyable to read. Then Johns left and the character went straight down the hole. Subsequent writers muddied up his past again. Then he disappeared. Then he came back. Then he and Hawkgirl died. Again.

So, how is that a "clear, concise direction"? Nobody "built upon" that "fine interpretation," they just made the character due for YET ANOTHER reboot and makeover...

[Utility Belt]

Cool how the interviewer managed to name 5 Aquaman villains. I don't know if I could have done that off the top of my head.
But anyway, the interview was great and leaves me with high hopes for the future of all the core characters of the DCU.

[Comicbookfan]

I like the interview (Kile you are the man) and i like dan and DC BUT i have to take issue with something. Dan said that,
1) Green Lantern and Flash are now A-List characters that are generating alot of heat. well i would say Flash and the Lantern are good characters that have an A-List writer and great artist on the books that are making people but these books. I guess its a wait and see deal but i bet Green Lantern falls a few pegs once Geoff Johns leaves. Sorry to say it but if Geoff Johns and maybe Grant Morrison are one something and they bring great artist like the do i think they could make almost any character into a top ten book. If Geoff Johns decided that he and Ivan Reis or Jim Lee where going to do a year long ark on Azrael, guarantee that book would be top ten no problem.

2) I think saying Wonder Woman is like this a-list character on par with Batman and Superman is a bit of reaching on his part. I don't think there has been a time in her history where Wonder Woman sole any where near as much as Superman or Batman. Now i think Wonder Woman is one of the most important characters in comics and she deserves a better push than i think DC has given her at times but i don't know how well she fits in that trio. But that's got more to do with sales Than with Wonder Woman the character.

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

Also, bring Aquaman back even if he never becomes a "Top Five" character.

That's something I would've been careful about saying were I Didio - although probably true, I remember not long ago when DC had a 'big seven'.
I'd be worried about admitting they'd lost two, even though the two were only big in name only.

[Will.S]

This was a fine interview, though I do take issue with part of Didio's answer that concerned Hawkman:

"What we would like to do if we brought back Aquaman, is give him the same treatment we gave Hawkman, which is to give him a very clear, concise direction that felt true to the character and his past history that also presented him with a fine interpretation to be built upon."

DC and Geoff Johns did revitalise Hawkman into a character and comic that were both very enjoyable to read. Then Johns left and the character went straight down the hole. Subsequent writers muddied up his past again. Then he disappeared. Then he came back. Then he and Hawkgirl died. Again.

So, how is that a "clear, concise direction"? Nobody "built upon" that "fine interpretation," they just made the character due for YET ANOTHER reboot and makeover...

It's almost as if they can't find anyone better than Geoff to write some of their characters. Flash was also a title that kind of went to crap after Geoff left and yet now he's writing him again although it'll be Barry. Geoff left Teen Titans and it turned into mediocre crap and it seems like they can't get anyone to write them well enough.

It's disheartening that they rely on him so much and at the same time can't find too many writers that can successfully follow him up. As for the interview, props to Kieg for doing such a good job since even Dan came off as non-irritating.

[FunkyGreenJerusalem]

left Teen Titans and it turned into mediocre shit and it seems like they can't get anyone to write them well enough.

IT didn't really turn int mediocre crap, it just stopped having 'important things happen'.
Before that, it was horrifically crap, it's just it had things like Superboy is half Luthor, Impulse decided to be boring and become Kid Flash etc.
Horrific crap, but it got people talking,

It's disheartening that they rely on him so much and at the same time can't find too many writers that can successfully follow him up. As for the interview, props to Kieg for doing such a good job since even Dan came off as non-irritating.

It's the same at most companies though - certain writers seem to have a hit on their hands with any character they write, where as others struggle to get stay afloat no matter who they write.

[another_version]

That was one of the DD interviews that doesn't have me frustrated by the end of it, he was honest in his answers, and wasn't pulling the old, "I can't talk about that now..." stuff he normally does. When the Aquaman question came up, instead of ignoring it and laughing it off as usual, he instead talked about the placement of the character in the modern DCU, which was great! Keep up these types of interviews!

[jtd]

I'm really surprised the HUGE news about DC wasn't touched on? Maybe CBR is waiting on it...or Diamond hasn't officially unveiled the numbers yet? Industry wide...it'd be the biggest story of the year (if not for the pesky Disney & Warner Bros rearrangement deals).

[Desaad]

I'm really surprised the HUGE news about DC wasn't touched on? Maybe CBR is waiting on it...or Diamond hasn't officially unveiled the numbers yet? Industry wide...it'd be the biggest story of the year (if not for the pesky Disney & Warner Bros rearrangement deals).

What are you referring to? The top 6 titles thing?