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, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...
industries. From February 2010 until February 2020, he was the co-publisher of
DC Comics
DC Comics (originally DC Comics, Inc., and also known simply as DC) is an American comic book publisher owned by DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. DC is an initialism for "Detective Comics", an American comic book seri ...
, along with
Jim Lee
Jim Lee (; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean-born American comic book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. As of 2023, he is the President, Publisher, and Chief creative officer, Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work ...
. ''
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'' and ''
War Planets''.
DC Comics
DiDio joined DC Comics in January 2002, as vice president–editorial, as well as writer for ''
Superboy
Superboy is an identity used by several fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. These characters have been featured in several eponymous comic series, in addition to ''Adventure Comics'' and other series ...
'' (issues #94 to 100). He was promoted to vice president–executive editor, DC Universe in October 2004. In 2006, DiDio began writing a weekly column called "DC Nation" which appeared on the end page of most of DC Comics' main superhero titles. Originally, the column was tied to ''
52'', a project he was overseeing. On February 18, 2010, DC Entertainment President
Diane Nelson named DiDio as co-publisher of DC Comics, along with
Jim Lee
Jim Lee (; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean-born American comic book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. As of 2023, he is the President, Publisher, and Chief creative officer, Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work ...
.
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
The Metal Men are a group of robot superheroes that appear in DC Comics. The characters first appeared in '' Showcase'' #37 (March–April 1962) and were created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Ross Andru. Debuting in the Silver Age of C ...
feature in ''
Wednesday Comics''. In January 2010, DiDio wrote the ''
Weird Western Tales'' tie-in issue of the ''
Blackest Night'' 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
Keith Ian Giffen (November 30, 1952 – October 9, 2023) was an American comics artist and writer. He was known for his work for DC Comics on their ''Legion of Super-Heroes'' and ''Justice League'' titles as well as for being the co-creator of ...
. DiDio wrote a
Challengers of the Unknown storyline for ''
DC Universe Presents'' which was drawn by
Jerry Ordway
Jeremiah Joseph 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 E ...
.
In July 2012, as part of
San Diego Comic-Con
San Diego Comic-Con is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, at the San Diego Convention Center. Founded in 1970, originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fant ...
, DiDio and DC co-publisher
Jim Lee
Jim Lee (; born August 11, 1964) is a Korean-born American comic book artist, writer, editor, and publisher. As of 2023, he is the President, Publisher, and Chief creative officer, Chief Creative Officer of DC Comics. In recognition of his work ...
participated in the production of "Heroic Proportions", an episode of the
Syfy reality television competition series ''
Face Off'', 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
Forever People are a group of extraterrestrial superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They first appeared in ''Forever People'' #1 ( cover-dated February-March 1971), and were created by Jack Kirby as part of his ...
'' 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
''Bleeding Cool'' is an Internet news site, focusing on comics, television, film, board games, and video games. Owned by Avatar Press, it was launched by Rich Johnston in 2009. Avatar Press also publishes an associated magazine, also called ''B ...
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, 2022, Dan DiDio was officially announced as new Special Ambassador to the
Inkwell Awards advocacy group.
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 who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. Batman was created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on M ...
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
Forever People are a group of extraterrestrial superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They first appeared in ''Forever People'' #1 ( cover-dated February-March 1971), and were created by Jack Kirby as part of his ...
'' #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
The Metal Men are a group of robot superheroes that appear in DC Comics. The characters first appeared in '' Showcase'' #37 (March–April 1962) and were created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Ross Andru. Debuting in the Silver Age of C ...
'' #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
''Sideways'' is a 2004 American comedy-drama directed by Alexander Payne and written by Jim Taylor and Payne. A film adaptation of Rex Pickett's 2004 novel, ''Sideways'' follows two men in their forties, Miles Raymond ( Paul Giamatti), a de ...
'' #1–13 (2018–2019)
* ''Superboy
Superboy is an identity used by several fictional superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. These characters have been featured in several eponymous comic series, in addition to ''Adventure Comics'' and other series ...
'' vol. 3 #94–100 (2002)
* ''Trinity of Sin: The Phantom Stranger: Futures End'' #1 (2014)
* '' Wednesday Comics'' #1–12 (Metal Men
The Metal Men are a group of robot superheroes that appear in DC Comics. The characters first appeared in '' Showcase'' #37 (March–April 1962) and were created by writer Robert Kanigher and artist Ross Andru. Debuting in the Silver Age of C ...
) (2009)
* '' Weird Western Tales'' #71 (2010)
Television
• series head writer denoted in bold
*'' ReBoot'' (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
21st-century American publishers (people)
American business executives
American comics writers
American comic book editors
Comic book publishers (people)
DC Comics people
Living people
American people of Italian descent