Dan DiDio (; born October 13, 1959) is an
American writer, editor, and publisher who has worked in the television and
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. ...
industries. From February 2010 until February 2020, he was the co-publisher of
DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with their f ...
, along with
Jim Lee
Jim Lee ( Korean 이용철; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean American comic-book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. He is currently the Publisher and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work, Lee has received a H ...
. ''
Wizard'' magazine recognized him as its first ever "Man of the Year" in 2003 for his work in the DC Universe line of comics.
Career
TV work
Prior to joining DC Comics, DiDio worked in television, beginning in 1981. DiDio was a freelance writer and story editor for
Mainframe Entertainment, specifically working on ''
ReBoot
In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is phys ...
'' and ''
War Planets''.
DC Comics
DiDio joined DC Comics in January 2002, as vice president–editorial, as well as writer for ''
Superboy'' (issues #94 to 100). He was promoted to vice president–executive editor, DC Universe in October 2004. Since 2006, DiDio has written a weekly column called "DC Nation" which appears on the end page of most of DC Comics' main superhero titles. Originally, the column was tied to the yearlong weekly
maxi-series
In the field of comic books, a limited series is a comics series with a predetermined number of issues. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is finite and determined before production, and it differs from ...
''
52'', a project which he oversaw. On February 18, 2010, DC Entertainment President
Diane Nelson named DiDio as co-publisher of DC Comics, along with
Jim Lee
Jim Lee ( Korean 이용철; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean American comic-book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. He is currently the Publisher and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work, Lee has received a H ...
.
Dan DiDio returned to writing comics with short stories for the 2008 and 2009 DC Halloween specials and the 2009 Holiday special. In 2009, he returned to regular writing duties with the weekly
Metal Men feature in ''
Wednesday Comics''. In January 2010, DiDio wrote the ''
Weird Western Tales'' tie-in issue of the ''
Blackest Night
"Blackest Night" is a 2009–10 American comic book crossover storyline published by DC Comics, consisting of an eponymous central miniseries, written by Geoff Johns and penciled by Ivan Reis, along with a number of tie-in issues. ''Blackes ...
'' crossover and took over regular monthly scripting of ''
The Outsiders''. As Co-Publisher, he oversaw the reboot of all current DC titles and was the co-writer of the ''
OMAC'' series with artist
Keith Giffen. DiDio wrote a
Challengers of the Unknown storyline for ''
DC Universe Presents'' which was drawn by
Jerry Ordway
Jeremiah Ordway (born November 28, 1957) is an American writer, penciller, inker and painter of comic books.
He is known for his inking work on a wide variety of DC Comics titles, including the continuity-redefining ''Crisis on Infinite Earths ...
.
In July 2012, as part of the
San Diego Comic-Con
San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California since 1970. The name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego; but it is co ...
, DiDio and DC co-publisher
Jim Lee
Jim Lee ( Korean 이용철; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean American comic-book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. He is currently the Publisher and Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work, Lee has received a H ...
participated in the production of "Heroic Proportions", an episode of the
Syfy reality television competition series ''
Face Off
Face Off may refer to:
Film and television
* ''Face-Off'' (1971 film), a Canadian hockey romance film
* '' Face/Off'', a 1997 American action film
** Invertigo (roller coaster), a ride in Ohio, formerly known as Face/Off, after the film
* '' ...
'', in which special effects makeup artists compete to create the best makeup according to each episode's theme. Lee and DiDio presented the contestants with that episode's challenge, to create a new superhero, with six DC Comics artists on hand to help them develop their ideas. The winning entry's character, Infernal Core by Anthony Kosar, was featured in ''
Justice League Dark'' #16 (March 2013), which was published January 30, 2013. The episode premiered on January 22, 2013, as the second episode of the fourth season.
A ''
Phantom Stranger'' ongoing series written by DiDio and drawn by
Brent Anderson began in September 2012. DiDio and Keith Giffen reunited on ''Infinity Man and the
Forever People'' in 2014. DiDio,
Justin Jordan, and
Kenneth Rocafort created the ''Sideways'' series as part of DC's "Dark Matter" line.
On February 21, 2020, DiDio stepped down as Co-Publisher of DC Comics after ten years at that position. The company did not give a reason for the move, nor did it indicate whether it was his decision or the company's, though it was the latest event in a restructuring that began the previous month, as several top executives were laid off from the company. However,
Bleeding Cool reported that he was fired.
Frank Miller Presents
On April 28, 2022, it was officially announced that Dan DiDio would serve as publisher for
Frank Miller's newly-announced comic book company
Frank Miller Presents (FMP).
Inkwell Awards Special Ambassador
On August 23, 2002, Dan DiDio was officially announced as new Special Ambassador to the
Inkwell Awards advocacy group.
[First Comics News - Inkwell Awards Adds Dan DiDio As Special Ambassador](_blank)
/ref>[Inkwell Awards - Inkwell Awards Adds Dan DiDio As Special Ambassador](_blank)
/ref>Erudit - Former DC Editor Dan DiDio Named Special Inkwell Awards Ambassador
/ref>
Bibliography
Comics
* '' Adam Strange/ Future Quest Special'' #1 (2017)
* ''Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in the 27th issue of the comic book '' Detective Comics'' on March 30, 1939 ...
and the Outsiders'' vol. 2 #40 (2011)
* '' Batman Black and White'' vol. 2 #2 (2013)
* '' Batman Incorporated Special'' #1 (2013)
* ''DC Infinite Halloween Special'' #1 (2007)
* '' DC Universe Presents'' #6–8 ( Challengers of the Unknown); #0 ( OMAC) (2012)
* ''DCU Halloween Special'' #1 (2008)
* ''DCU Holiday Special'' #1 (2009)
* '' Infinity-Man and the Forever People'' #1–9 (2014–2015)
* ''Infinity-Man and the Forever People: Futures End'' #1 (2014)
* '' Justice League Dark'' # 23.1– 23.2 (2013)
* '' Justice League International Annual'' vol. 2 #1 (2012)
* '' Metal Men'' #1-12 (2019-2020)
* '' O.M.A.C.'' vol. 3 #1–8 (2011–2012)
* '' Outsiders'' vol. 4 #26–39 (2010–2011)
* '' Phantom Stranger'' vol. 4 #0, #1–8 (2012–2013)
* '' Sideways'' #1–13 (2018–2019)
* '' Superboy'' vol. 3 #94–100 (2002)
* ''Trinity of Sin: The Phantom Stranger: Futures End'' #1 (2014)
* '' Wednesday Comics'' #1–12 ( Metal Men) (2009)
* '' Weird Western Tales'' #71 (2010)
Television
• series head writer denoted in bold
*''ReBoot
In computing, rebooting is the process by which a running computer system is restarted, either intentionally or unintentionally. Reboots can be either a cold reboot (alternatively known as a hard reboot) in which the power to the system is phys ...
'' (1997–1999): season 3
*'' Shadow Raiders'' (1998–1999)
References
External links
*
*
Dan DiDio
at Mike's Amazing World of Comics
{{DEFAULTSORT:Didio, Dan
1959 births
American business executives
American comics writers
Comic book editors
Comic book publishers (people)
DC Comics people
Living people
American people of Italian descent