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Thoughts on Publisher Dan DiDio’s Abrupt Exit from DC

February 22, 2020 | Posted by Steve Gustafson

In a bit of a stunner, Dan DiDio has departed DC, according to The Hollywood Reporter. DiDio has been a DC staple, having served as publisher of DC along with Jim Lee since 2010. Before that he did a six-year stint as VP executive editor and, prior to that, VP editorial.

His tenure at DC has been a point of contention between fans and like anything, no one can agree on if he was a positive or negative force there but his impact on DC will be felt for years to come.

As publisher, DiDio was a big factor behind DC’s 2011 line-wide relaunch “The New 52,” which had the publisher implement an updated make-over to its entire superhero catalog. While it started out as both a sales victory and garnered favorable reviews, the relaunch soon lost its steam and flatlined in sales. 

This brought us another relaunch in 2016 under the guise of “DC Universe Rebirth,” which restored many of the elements that had been dropped in the reboot.

The timing of DiDio’s leaving comes soon after the announcement of another relaunch DC has coming that is said to bring back even more continuity that was dropped as part of the 2011 reboot. A reported tie-in include DC’s Free Comic Book Day release Generation Zero: Gods Among Us. No word on if DiDio’s leaving will impact this relaunch. 

Reaction on social media is a mix of praise for DiDio, celebration that this is a good move for the publisher, and wonder of what’s going to happen next. No matter what your feeling, DiDio was in a tough position of guiding DC through an ever-changing comic book market. 

DiDio was the face of DC and took risks to spread DC’s reach, most notably pushing DC books into Walmart and Target via exclusive 100-Page Giant issues.

Now that DiDio’s gone, Jim Lee becomes sole publisher at DC, in addition to his role as the company’s chief creative officer.

Expect more as this story develops. 

article topics :

Dan Didio, DC Comics, Steve Gustafson