The Four Color Media Monitor

Dan DiDio gives another of his tired interviews to the LA Times' Hero Complex blog, the second of one he's been giving them:

GB: Tell me about the state of the union, so to speak, when it comes to the top-tier DC characters.

DD: When you look at it, really, we have what we deem to be five key franchises. You have Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and Flash...

GB: Just five? Dan, somewhere, right now, Aquaman is crying saltwater tears...

DD: [Holds up some artwork on his desk] Look, I'm doing an Aquaman story right now! This is for the Christmas special. I'm actually writing it myself, which is kind of fun. But with the five key franchises you could argue what order they fall in because you see how Green Lantern is growing in leaps and bounds right now. And for me, it was essential to get Green Lantern and Flash to be in premiere status again, to be up there in the echelon of characters where people can't wait to see and read the next story. We can look at the second tier past that, with the Aquamans and the Atoms and the Hawkmans, but the reality is those five characters can support not only their own book but series as well. When you have characters that important, you want to put as much energy into them and, more importantly, the strongest talent possible to keep them up where they belong.

But they're not putting much energy and talent into them, I don't think. And if the talent involved was ever strong, they're losing their edge now as they go along in lockstep with how DiDio wants to do things. GL, last time I looked, was doing far less well in sales, and whether they really want to put Flash in premiere status again, they don't seem to want to do that with Wally West. So, they're apparently resurrecting Barry Allen, the only hero whose death during Crisis on Infinite Earths was done decently enough.

GB: Tell me a character you would like to see revived or rejuvenated.

DD: Well we're constantly tinkering.

You don't say.

Here's the thing I try to explain properly but somehow it always gets misinterpreted: Our characters are made of steel, not porcelain. They were here before us and they will be here after us. They will survive well past our lifetimes because of what they are, how they were created and the way they are maintained.

He does not mention: their characters may be made of steel, but their recent writing efforts are what's made of porcelain. Very fragile porcelain too, I might add. Their heroes may be here for many more years, but if they don't maintain their core values correctly, there's no telling if they'll survive as well as he claims.

GB: These characters have the attention of Hollywood in an unprecedented way. How does that affect what you do, if at all?

DD: My background before coming to DC Comics was all television. I did 20 years in TV. My first inclination was to look at the TV stuff and see what was going on but the publisher, Paul Levitz, was very clear that he wanted me to concentrate on just the publishing. That's what I embrace and that's what I solely focus on.

And what's wrong with that here? He does it based more on a perspective from where he originally came from - TV. Violent television too, I must sadly assume.

But this does signal something that can't be overlooked: Levitz may have to shoulder some of the blame for hiring an editor as terrible as DiDio's turned out to be. For that, he should be looked upon in disgrace and shame. A man who once led a decent career as one of DC's leading writers and editors, possibly since he was 17 years old, a notable writer for the Legion of Super-Heroes, and now that he's ascended to publisher, he ruins everything by suggesting that he's got no understanding of how to hire people with common sense.

GB: There was a time in comics when the most exciting writers seemed to be moving away from DC and Marvel. That's not the case anymore, clearly.

DD: During the 1980s there was a completely different market, naturally. The one thing [the upstart companies] did was drive original creator-owned product, which was wonderful for the marketplace because it broadened the spectrum of the material out there. Everybody was bringing their unique visions to their own properties. It energized things. The problem is that the thing that a lot of people love about comics -- and the thing that a lot of people identify with in comics -- are the tried-and-true characters that both DC and Marvel present. This is what comics are, day in and day out. Among the creators, so many people come back to comics and they want to write the characters they grew up on. Someone like a Brad Meltzer comes in to comics because he grew up on comics. He doesn't have to be a comic book writer, he's choosing it because of those characters.

Once again, he's made a mistake in bringing up people like that, not because they aren't comic book writers, but because they have no idea what makes for decent, plausible storytelling. "Grew up on comics"? Sure.

These interviews people like DiDio give are just getting more laughable and weak every day.

Someone left a comment on the interview that answers everything perfectly:

I've cancelled all my Batman and Superman titles (including JLA). Thanks "Dido". Now I can spend more on Marvel comics.

If only I could say the same, but alas, they're not doing any better.

Labels: bad editors, Batman, dc comics, Green Lantern, Superman, Wonder Woman