Dan Didio: "We finished and cancelled and put the book out the door"
Update 2/9 Paul Newell pointed me to the updated version of the CBR report. Andy Khouri, who wrote the original report, wrote this:
"Actually, DiDio did not say "shove." That was a misquote on my part, and was been corrected in the article. The accurate quote is as follows (emphasis mine)
We finished and cancelled and put the book out the door.
I don't know if that change makes all that much difference to you, but there it is for accuracy's sake. This is a consequence of the live-reporting process, whereby we transcribe and publish as fast as we can every few minutes during the panel discussion. 99% of the time, the information is accurately conveyed -- if not exactly word for word -- but in this case it seems the substance of DiDio's remark may have been improperly conveyed, so for that I apologize to all.
Thanks for reading."
Dan DiDio, November 2008, via Newsarama:
Legion of Super-Heroes has been a key franchise to the DC Universe since the ‘60s.
Dan at the NYCC, Feb. 2009, via CBR:
Q: What happened to the end of Shooter's Legion of Super-Heroes?
DiDio: We don't cover that. It was a pseudonym at the author's request. We cancelled the book, finished it and shoved it out the door. Thanks for asking that.
Q: I was really looking forward to the end of Jim Shooter's run on "Legion of Super-Heroes." Can you tell us what happened there and why fans weren't informed of the creative change?
DiDio: Well, first of all, that is a pseudonym, it's done by request of the author and we really don't talk about it. We finished and cancelled and put the book out the door. I'm not really sure what the question is, but thanks for asking it.
Way to respect one of your franchises there, Dan...
However, playing devil's advocate here, what else could he have done? He's the executive editor of DC Comics, and his primary responsibility is getting books out on time. The book was cancelled and the writer apparently chose not to do the final issue. So you find someone who could do it; why delay it a month and get a new writer just for the final issue of a cancelled series, especially when the reason it was cancelled is to make room for a new series?
That said, it was very tactless and insulting how he said it.
Posts
9 comments:
That's probably why Legion of 3 Worlds is way too late. Because he has to make books come out on time. Sorry, I don't buy that.
The irony is, Lo3W is running so long, they probably could have let Shooter have his final four issues, and still be wrapped up before the mini-series finished...
I was there for that exchange. He also threw in a "I don't understand the rest of the question." It was during the "lightning round" so he was answering every question in a fast, brusque manner, but I still agree that it was tactless and a tad insulting.
Guess they didn't want the quesion to be asked. They sound like they were hoping it would be at the back of everyone's mind. They definately sounded like they were mad, perhaps at Shooter.
My guess is Shooter made it sound lie he had a great ending to the series then choose to not supply one at all. It just seems, the impression I get from the whole thing is Shooter acted like a child right at the end. DCidn't supply the lollipops so Shooter did a cry-fit in the middle of the street causing everyone to stare at them.
Either way, sounds like DC just wanted to forget the whole Threeboot.
But is it me, or has DC tired of Legion all together. Suddenly the LoSHs is being shoved at the back of the list of wannabe comics. I know their returning to Adventure Comics, but the price is their not in it all the time. I wouldn't be suprised, that if they thought they could let the whole team die without a fan complaint march, they would. Lets face it, the Green Latern corps, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman... All those comics can be successful without trying usually, LoSH is always doomed to failure. I note in Lo3Ws the quote about Legions 2 and 3 being cannon fodder seems to apply almost to the whole Legion.
Yeah, it's a shame that such bitterness and anger got in the way of a proper ending. None of the other books that DC are canceling right now are being forced to end at a nice round number (Birds of Prey... Robin... Nightwing... Manhunter... Blue Beetle), and all of them get to either end their storylines properly or fill time with meaningless done-in-one stories. So why the rush to shove Legion out the door, if not for personality conflict.
Now I really wanna know the dirt.
DC has been absurdly tactless over the Legion title (almost as bad as when they were jerking around Bart's Flash book) but I think Legion fans have more reason for hope than most people realize.
In Lo3W #3 Johns gave us an outline of another 3-Legion blow-out. I can't believe he isn't planning to tell this whole story at some point. He has shown the ability to bring neglected characters to high-profile status, so his having plans at all for the Legion ought to be good news. If the previous book wasn't working, let Johns build them up, and they'll have more momentum going into a solo title the next time DC has a direction for them.
This doesn't explain why DC couldn't let Shooter take another couple of issues and finish his stories, but the best we can do is hope that something even bigger is coming down the line.
I've read that DiDio is famous for taking successful companies, running them into the ground and then moving on. Shame that seems to be happening with DC right now.
Anon: that's just silly. Here's his Wikipedia article.
Changing "shove" to "put" doesn't change a lot... One just sounds less dramatic.
Post a Comment