On Facebook, Dan Didio celebrates ten years at DC with his top 10 projects from his time with the company so far:
9) BATMAN, GREEN LANTERN, and the Five Year Plan. Or better known as, how The Sinestro Corps War and Batman R.I.P. got me through the toughest part of my career. First, some back story. In late 2007, and into 2008, we hit a rough spot. Our delivery was shaky, several series were starting to struggle for direction, and our next big event felt rushed (too many crises too soon). Yet, whatever pressure we were feeling across the line, it did not appear evident in Green Lantern and Batman. Geoff had a five year plan for GL that would see that character from Rebirth to Blackest Night, and Grant Morrison had the same for Batman, starting with Batman R.I.P. Batman R.I.P. preformed the herculean task of crossing over with an event book, Final Crisis yet positioned the story of “The Death Of Batman” to stand on its own if read separately. The Sinestro Corps War showed that you could keep the spectacle in the main title so the on-goings can have events unto themselves. On the personal side, they were the solid ground needed to regain our footing, and a reminder that consistency in story and character, and planning, will win out over the usual bags of tricks, if the usual bag of tricks is overplayed.
It’s interesting to look at the full list (Superman: Earth One makes it, but All-Star Superman doesn’t?) and see how Didio views the successes and failures of his tenure, as well as hints at admissions of trouble and disaster without coming out and just saying “Yeah, 2007 we were publishing some terrible books.” All in all, I think he’s surprisingly on point in terms of the truly successful projects of his time with the company to date – but I admit, I almost wish he’d done a Top 10 Projects I Regret, instead.
(Via.)
March 27th, 2012 at 10:42 am
The late 07 early 08 period he references is around the Countdown, Salvation Run, Death of Bart Allen timeframe of events, isn’t that right?
I’m trying to find some old solicits around that time to see what was going on in other books around then. If I’m remembering the timeline correctly, he’s spot on. Infinite Crisis and 52 were big hits and some really awful followup came after. It was polite and professional of him not to call any creators, events, or series out on the carpet publicly.
I would put Jonah Hex on his list of top 10s. It was never a big seller, but his commitment to keeping that book afloat for as long as it did was appreciated by this reader.
March 27th, 2012 at 10:48 am
I believe that the “All Star” series were Bob Schrek’s domain, not Didio’s.
March 27th, 2012 at 10:57 am
Here’s some November 2007 solicits:
http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=11260
Wow, some real gems in there.
Countdown and its myriad of spinoffs and Superman Prime Mxyzlptlk brutality
Infinite Inc – single handedly stalled any momentum Steel had after 52
Flash had a dead Bart Allen and the panned Waid run with Wally’s wonder twins
McDuffie’s justice league (where the series became a launchpad for other minis and Milestone)
Dini and Morrison’s work on Batman and Sinestro Corps War really stand out in that pack.
March 28th, 2012 at 10:32 am
Thanks for the research Cisco Kid. I’m actually pretty fond of that time period (then again, I had moved in with and proposed to my then-wife-to-be, so everything from that time had a rosy glow).
And that Didio / Grundy photo is the best thing I’ve seen all week.