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No, Dan DiDio is Not Being Fired From DC Comics – And For That Matter Neither is Mark Doyle

Published Tue, 06 Nov 2018 09:00:29 -0600

Last updated Mon, 12 Nov 2018 11:36:10 -0600

The first time there were rumours that Dan DiDio was to be fired from DC Comics, it was eleven years ago, in 2007. At the time I scotched them, writing, that despite rumours, Dan had reupped his contract with DC.

But the rumours wouldn't go away. A year later in 2008. Graeme McMillan of THR – then of iO9 – wrote,

It looks as if DC Comics Executive Editor Dan DiDio is about to be removed rather soon. That's the rumor that's been going around comic circles recently, made all the more believable by the past month being one of the more unfortunate for DC's PR department in recent memory. Declarations of tiny tyrants, the problem of being second best, and the dreaded deadline doom, all after the jump.

Nikke Finke, then of Deadline, reported the same,

DiDio, who took over in 2004, can't be happy his current contract expires soon. Or that Jimmy Palmiotti is being handicapped as his replacement. (Palmiotta is currently an exclusive writer for DC Comics and formerly the co-founder of Event Comics and co-head of Marvel's Marvel Knights imprint with friend and current Marvel Editor-in-Chief Joe Quesada. Fanboys also suggest Joey Cavalieri, a veteran of both comics companies, should be considered.) Now the question is whether DiDio will exit before Comic-Con, or after, or at all — and how much of a distraction this will be at the confab.

But at the time, I countered this, writing,

I've been told that Warners are so happy with Dan DiDio's overall performance and plan for the future that they have renewed Dan's contract, due to expire in September, for a number of years.

It was a bit scary back then, to go up against Finke over the veracity of a story. But it worked out.

Dan DiDio remained at DC Comics, where he has been vice-president since 2004, and co-publisher (and now publisher) since 2010. But ever since then, people periodically get convinced that Dan DiDio is about to be fired. No more so than when he appeared to post a supportive note regarding disgraced and dismissed comic book editor Eddie Berganza.

And every time, I check in with my sources and discover – no it's not happening.

Well, at New York Comic Con and at MCM London Comic Con, the hottest discussion that I and Bleeding Cool writers had with DC comic book creators and DC executives was the belief that Dan DiDio was to be fired over the Batman: Damned incident.

I reported that there were big changes happening to Black Label books, including art changes to Batman: Damned #2 from Lee Bermejo that saw the book slip a month on the schedules. And that some of this new puritanism was slipping into the rest of the DCU line.

We were told that DiDio had accepted full responsibility for the fuss, but that Black Label imprint editor Mark Doyle may also be let go. And the whole Black Label imprint folded away. Rumours to that effect have been posted in the usual places, but I've been trying to get some clarity on the situation.

Now, the Black Label imprint I can't speak to, though I note Batman Damned remains a monster of a seller. But what I can tell you is that Dan DiDio and Mark Doyle are not being dismissed, as heavily rumoured. The new President of WB Global Brands and Experiences (which DC is now a part of) Pamela Lifford will likely make changes at some point as a result of her new position, so what the future may hold is still up in the air. But as it stands, DiDio and Doyle are staying just where they are and getting on with things.

For now, obviously.