The mystery surrounding the exit of DC Comics Co-Publisher Dan DiDio remained conspicuously unsolved this weekend at the Chicago Comics & Entertainment Expo, where now sole Publisher Jim Lee, like the rest of the company's leadership, refused to directly address the issue.
Speaking at two panels at C2E2, Lee specifically declined to answer questions regarding DiDio's exit from DC amidst rumors he had been fired or forced out on February 21st. DiDio had served as Publisher alongside Lee since 2010, and was a prime creative force behind the direction of the entire publishing house. Perhaps best known for his implementation of The New 52, a 2011 initiative which saw a complete revamp across 52 titles to encourage accessibility to new readers, DiDio leaves a complicated legacy at his former company. While certainly a dedicated storyteller with a vision of how the company might thrive in the digital age, rumors instantly suggested his micromanagement style may have rubbed AT&T -- who purchased DC Entertainment along with Time Warner back in 2018 -- the wrong way.
Lee provided no answers on DiDio's abrupt disappearance from DC, so abrupt it caused the cancelation of a Friday panel at C2E2 he was scheduled to speak at. While that means the rumors will persist, Lee did seem to confirm that his role would not be refilled, according to Newsarama: "I look at being sole Publisher now and the team I'm working with, much more in trenches now than ever before," said Lee, speaking at a Spotlight panel originally intended to be shared with his former Co-Publisher. "The actual strategy for DC is to put publishing at center of what we do. It's the engine of all the movies, TV, cartoons, we do. And so its my intent going forward as the Publisher, to lean into the collective years of my team."
Now one of the last men standing from the pre-Time Warner/AT&T merger, Lee will now have to guide DC's future without DiDio in directing creative strategy across the company, including the Generation 5 event which reportedly features a new set timeline for the DCU. Generation 5, initially conceived under DiDio's guidance, is set to become the definitive correction to DC's often convoluted timeline: a correction many see as one too many ten years after the major retcon of The New 52. DiDio is only the latest high-level DC employee to exit the company following its acquisition by AT&T, following Executive Editor Pat McCallum and DC Entertainment President Diane Nelson among others.
DiDio leaves a track record both sparkling and innovative, but also controversial. Perhaps this serves as a reflection of not only Dan DiDio's DC legacy, but the field of comics publishing during his tenure. While his decision to implement The New 52 opened up the company to new readers by freeing their characters from long continuity, it was also criticized by long-time fans for simplifying far too much of the storytelling (a failure even he eventually accepted). Whether or not his vision for the DC Universe will bear out following Generation 5 now that he is no longer at the helm is in doubt. Regardless, DiDio will be remembered by fans for his many contributions to the DC mythos, his dedication to the craft of writing comic book stories, and his enthusiasm for the characters he worked with.
Source: Newsarama