10 Answers and 1 Question w/ DC's DAN DIDIO

Zatanna's new series by Paul Dini has a schedule, Ivan Reis and Geoff Johns' next project is a little more defined, and Denny O'Neill is back on The Question, if only for one issue.

As DCU Executive Editor Dan DiDio announced here on Newsarama last month, The Question #37 will be among the eight one-shot comics that will "return from the dead" during January, tying the former series into Blackest Night. While Greg Rucka was previously named as the sole writer on the Question issue, DiDio has just revealed that readers can now expect a comic co-written by Rucka and former Question writer O'Neill.

The announcement of O'Neill's involvement with the issue is part of this week's "10 Answers and 1 Question" with DiDio, in which we let the readers ask the questions of DC's top editor.

For more about this announcement and other details from DC, we turn things over to the readers...

1) tfolk33 wrote:
Mr. Didio,

I'm loving the direction of the DC Universe right now, especially pertaining to the Superman books. My one complaint would be the revolving door of artists that seem to plague the line. I know deadlines are tight, but at one point you had Julian Lopez set as the regular penciller for Action Comics and he ended up doing one issue. Is there any way to get a more set lineup for those books?

DiDio: Yeah, as a matter of fact, we're working on that right now. We did have a number of artists moving in and out, but we tried to maintain a consistency in the styles from artist to artist. I can understand why people would be concerned about that. But we are addressing that, and you'll see a much more stable team on it, I would say, by March/April. We need to get past the holiday "hump," so to speak, because things have to be done in a real hurry this time of year so we can get the books out the door with the holidays around the corner. Then once we get past that, the schedule should lighten up a little bit, and we can get everybody back on a regular delivery pattern.

2) ljacone wrote:
Hey Dan, thanks for answering our questions once again.

It seems that sales are not all that great for the two Red Circle titles, The Shield and The Web. I for one am really enjoying these titles and hope they stick around for a while. Can you enlighten us as to any plans to get these excellent titles in front of more eyeballs? And I know this is not your domain, but whom do I need send my suggestion to make www.summontheweb.com a Red Circle minisite?

DiDio: We've had multiple discussions about how to drive excitement and information about the Red Circle books online. We're working that out now, and we'll probably have announcements about that down the road.

And you'll see some exciting things happening with the Red Circle characters in coming issues. When we first set the stories up for the Red Circle characters, we made the statement that these characters would be part of the DCU, and that's going to happen. I just signed off on an issue of The Web where Batgirl makes an appearance, as does Oracle, which only seems to make sense, that the Web should meet Oracle.

And that's not just a one-time event.

Also, we saw Magog appearing in The Shield, and we're probably going to see the Shield meeting up with some of Magog's other friends, from the JSA. So there's a chance you're going to be seeing some of that.

We may also be changing up some of the second features in those books, and touching upon and re-introducing some of the other Red Circle characters. So readers should be getting the chance to see what happens with some of their other favorites that haven't appeared yet. There's a good chance they'll be showing up in the second features in both The Web and The Shield very soon.

One last thing is that we made one change on the books and we're bringing in Matt Sturges on The Web, and he's really excited about it. And that's one of the reasons why you're seeing a stronger interplay between some of the Red Circle characters and the JSA.

Nrama: When Matt comes on board, will the artist stay the same? Is Roger Robinson still the ongoing artist?

DiDio: Yes. Roger's been doing a great job on it.

3) enyggma wrote:

DiDio: Should I answer this one with a question, since his name's enyggma?

Nrama: No, that's Alex Trebek.

DiDio: OK. Then I'll take enyggma for $500, please.

enyggma wrote:
Can you give one sentence hints as to what 2010 holds for the following characters?:

DiDio: Wow, and multi-part answer. OK.

-Green Arrow?

DiDio: On the run.

-Grayson Batman?

DiDio: Coming into his own.

- Black Canary?

DiDio: Reunited with old friends.

- Superboy?

DiDio: Once again a team player.

- Raven?

DiDio: Changed, not for the better.

- Zatanna?

DiDio: Finally, a monthly series.

Nrama: Is the Zatanna monthly series being scheduled now? It's Paul Dini that's doing that, right?

DiDio: It sure is. Paul Dini's doing it. Stephane Roux is the artist to start the series, and Chad Hardin will be working with him as well. And that should be coming out beginning this coming April.

4) Nomad_GL wrote:
Is there a potential for a full-time revival of any of the books that are coming back in January for one more issue with Blackest Night?

DiDio: This is like, that one encore performance that everybody wanted to see, but I think we're going to leave everyone with a good enough feeling about it that we'll stop here. We really wanted to bring these books back for one issue.

That being said, constants like Suicide Squad are always worth revisiting at some point in our line. And The Question is still running as the second feature in Detective. So we've still got things going on with these characters. But these particular titles were just brought back for one-time special performances.

Nrama: But the Suicide Squad issue's story continues in Secret Six, right?

DiDio: Correct.

And by the way, we have a little surprise about those issues. Denny O'Neill is now involved in the writing on The Question issue.

Nrama: They're co-writing the issue?

DiDio: That's right. Greg Rucka is writing it with Denny.

5) superboy072 wrote:
Hi Dan-

DiDio: Hi.

I picked up my shiny new Sinestro Corps ring yesterday, apparently just going with sales of Doom Patrol. I'll admit, I haven't bought Doom Patrol before now, but I saw the list of what rings would go along with, and I was buying the rest, so I got it for a complete set. 

Will those color rings have anything to do with the titles they're given away with, or just trying to lure in a few extra readers?

DiDio: Just trying to lure in a few extra readers. You figured us out.

And did you pick them because they were especially strong tie-ins, or more to boost sales?

DiDio: It's actually a mix. The rings were put on key books that are tying in to events in Blackest Night. In some of the cases, it also helps us attract attention to books that we believe in that, at this time right now, aren't getting the numbers we had hoped.

Nrama: Is the ring promotion working well for you?

Didio: Well, we're happy to say already that the Doom Patrol issue sold out, which exceeded our own expectations, because a lot of people were wondering whether or not the retailers had ordered too many copies just because of the ring incentive. But the fact that Doom Patrol, which was the first issue with the rings, sold out showed us that there is a lot of interest in the rings, and hopefully that can transfer over to the books. We think Doom Patrol is one of those books that, once the readers find it, they're going to want to keep following that comic. Keith and Matt and everybody involved in that book, and I think Justiano did the art on this issue, are just doing a spectacular job on it. I'm excited that it's getting that level of sampling.

6) The_Andrew wrote:
You have stated in the past that following Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader, Andy Kubert had two more projects in the works, one he is writing himself. Any further information regarding these projects?

DiDio: There will be an announcement very shortly on one of the projects. One of them is Batman related. The other is DC Universe related.

Nrama: Is the Batman one in continuity?

DiDio: It could be. In the future.

Nrama: Oh, in the future?

Didio: One could be in continuity. One is all about continuity.

Nrama: Neither is a monthly.

DiDio: No, neither one is a monthly.

7) Ian Brooks wrote:
What's going on with Black Adam? it seems DC was really trying to spotlight and elevate his character over the past couple years and now he's been put on the shelf for an indefinite amount of time. what can we expect from the character in the future?

DiDio: Pidgeons.

Nrama: What?

DiDio: Pidgeons! He's a statue!

Nrama: Aaaah, that's right. He and Isis were turned to stone.

DiDio: Right. He and Isis, at the end of their Justice Society storyline, they had both been turned to stone. And they remain that way at this moment.

One of the things that will pick up some of those beats, although not seeing Black Adam exactly, is Osiris returns in Power of Shazam in January. I guess the Black Lantern Osiris is wondering exactly the same question: Where is Black Adam and Isis?

Nrama: There are obviously a lot of questions about the follow-up to that JSA storyline, and whether DC is going to do anything with the Marvel family. I know you've hinted about a story in the future, but is there any more information about it?

DiDio: When that storyline ended, Billy and Mary had lost their powers, Black Adam and Isis had been turned to stone, the Wizard had basically taken all of his toys and gone back to the Rock of Eternity, and somebody mysterious appeared from the shadows, looking to upset things down the line.

We're going to see Osiris in Power of Shazam, and then there will be hints as to what might be coming down the road throughout the year. But this is a story that hasn't been played out. And it probably won't be played out for awhile. There are certain things taking place in the DCU that are setting in motion where this is all heading. But it's not something that will be played out very quickly.

Nrama: So does that mean that we won't see a Marvel family story early next year, but probably post-Blackest Night, later in 2010?

DiDio: Absolutely.

8) add1 wrote:
the week of 10/28 there were approximately 16 titles released with direct ties to the DCU. Seven of these titles had variant covers, only one of which was a 50/50 split. For those DC fans who are wanna-be completists and those who enjoy the premiums offered it was a killer week on the wallet. Going forward, is there any conversation about limiting the number of DCU titles with a variant cover in a single week?

Didio: It's hard to say, because when we book the variant covers, those covers are actually booked before we balance out when the books are shipping and when the schedule's made. So it's hard for me to say week by week. We are trying to be judicious about what books carry variant covers. We are trying to be very clear about what they are. And we're also trying to make the variant covers have a level of value. But it is just like a ring incentive on Blackest Night – it's an incentive tool to get people to try a sample and purchase more books. It's been a success for us, and it will be a part of our program for awhile.

9) scarletneedl wrote:
Hi Dan!

DiDio: Hi scarletneedl. I'm afraid to ask how you got that name, by the way.

scarletneedl continues:
Is the next project for Ivan Reis a team book?

DiDio: No. It is not.

Nrama: But it is with Geoff Johns, correct? Newsarama has talked to Ivan twice in the last year, and both times he indicated his next project wasn't Green Lantern related, but it would be Geoff writing.

DiDio: Yes. He has a major project with Geoff that he's working on, but it's also my hope that he might take on one or two special issues in the DCU in the early- to mid-portion of 2010 once he completes Blackest Night. We're also going to need to give him a long rest after this, because he's probably the hardest working person in comics right now.

Nrama: Not a team book. So it's a single hero kind of thing?

Didio: Yeah! It's only one character's name in the title.

Nrama: Is it a character that likes to get wet?

DiDio: [laughs] No, it's not Aquaman. It's not Aquaman. But it is a character with a single name in his title.

10) Zetaomega00 wrote:
Hi Dan, I always wonder how far ahead are the writers, artists and others to produce a monthly book, a mini series, an event or any book. The delays of book often make readers mad or loose interest in these book. How far ahead do you schedule things to avoid delays?

DiDio: We only have one or two books late right now, so I think we're scheduling things pretty well.

That being said, a lot of times the story drives how the books are produced. Certain books we have a certain level of leeway with because of how they fall within the rest of the DCU continuity. Books like Flash: Rebirth, books like Superman: Secret Origin, had long lead times and they still ran into some problems toward the end. But because of the consistency of the look and the consistency of the team and the consistency of the vision of that material, we're willing to wait for those books because they don't have an impact on other series that are rolling out at that time.

But when we have other books like Green Lantern and Green Lantern Corps, it's essential for them to come out in conjunction with Blackest Night, and for those, we know to plan differently.

So every book has a different scenario. We have different plans in place for every series, depending on how essential they are to the overall story. And we're always planning things out, and we're always trying to work ahead. But occasionally there are problems. People might get sick or sometimes things even get lost in the mail or things get lost from someone's desk. But for the most part, we put a lot of time and effort in this question. And I keep on pointing to the fact that we've improved our delivery to the point that we went almost three months with 100 percent delivery. We only have two points with scheduling problems right now. And one's only a few weeks late, while the other's a little longer than that. So for the most part, we heard what people were concerned about a couple years ago about lateness, and we've gone to extraordinary levels to make sure we don't get into that hole again.

Nrama: That's it, Dan, unless you're ready to announce that Wonder Woman postcard tally.

DiDio: Not yet. We'll announce that the second week in December. We closed all balloting on October 31st. There are some spectacular cards I've received in response to Wonder Woman. We have a bunch of them on the wall right now, although we're taking them down because the wall's being repainted. But we put up nearly every card on the walls. We've gone through every card and we've pulled out some of our favorites. Some of them, we're actually going to try to find a way to print. Some of them I would love to print. And I'm just going to take a bunch home. [laughs] But the level of excitement and support that came in on the Wonder Woman cards surprised most of the people here at DC. And I mean pleasantly surprised. There were some cards that were used as a template that others sent in, but others were from some of the craziest places you've ever seen. And it made it a very fun thing to do. I was personally excited by the turn-out.

Nrama: Did you look at the costumes people had for Halloween in last week's question? And did you end up doing anything for Halloween?

DiDio: Yeah! There was a lot of fun stuff in there. I just ended up staying home and watching old horror movies on DVD. It was a lot of fun. I had a little horror film jamboree.

Then we had one of the longest weeks we ever had. It felt like we had four Fridays in a row here.

Nrama: Why was that?

DiDio: We just have a lot of stuff going on and we're trying to get it done, and we have the holiday schedule breathing down our neck. Because of the holidays, we have to push the books out about a week and a half earlier than normal so they'll hit their dates, because of press time and vacation days. So it's been pretty intense trying to meet the deadlines over the last couple weeks.

Nrama: And I don't think we've talked about it, but you guys have an issue coming out the week after Christmas, right? When Diamond isn't shipping any comics?

DiDio: Exactly. We have Blackest Night #6 coming out on Dec. 30th, on a special order shipment to all the retailers. And that puts another level of anxiety not only on that issue but every issue that has to come out before it.

Nrama: So what is your question for everyone?

DiDio: Well, on the subject of Blackest Night...

What has been your biggest surprise in Blackest Night so far?