Dan DiDio.
To fans of DC Comics who pay attention, DiDio is the man responsible for the greatest travesties in the company’s history since the early 2000’s. As his influence and power grew, DiDio brought in more and more darkness and grit to the DCU as a whole. Sue Dibny raped and murdered, Jean Loring turned into a killer, members of the JLA mind-wiping other members to protect dark secrets, Ted Kord, Earth-2 and Lois Lane Superman killed, Barry Allen’s mother sacrificed so he could become more like Batman, the various crimes of the New 52 like the erasure of the Super Marriage and the original Wally West, undoing Rebirth and turning Wally West into a murderer, Roy Harper killed, Dick Grayson lobotomized, beloved 10 year-old Jon Kent Superboy abused for years by a man who looks and sounds just like his father and almost killed by a woman who looks and sounds like his mother.
All this and more are the handiwork of Dan DiDio, a man many fans and professionals have long held in contempt. How did a man with no comic book experience become head of the oldest publisher in the industry? How did he continue to remain in power despite plummeting sales and reader and retailer disinterest? Thanks to Patrick Gerard, a former DC employee who worked with Batman The Long Halloween and Superman For All Seasons scribe Jeph Loeb, we now know why DiDio was hired and remains employed, what he truly thinks of DC Comics and its fans, and just how truly destructive his outlook on the medium has been to DC and its iconic heroes for almost twenty years.
Below, I break down Gerard’s revealing comments, originally shared on CBR.com’s message boards before being shamelessly used without citations in an “article” by Bleeding Cool shyster, Rich Johnston. Chris explains why fans of DC Comics must know this information and what it means for the DCU’s future.
