MEGACON: DC NATION PANEL

The first of what could be as many as 20 DC Nation panels led by Dan DiDio in 2010 was staged on Saturday at MegaCon.

DiDio was joined by Jimmy Palmiotti, Ethan Van Sciver and Tony Bedard.

* DiDio noted that MegaCon was his first convention since August and for the first time he could introduce himself as co-publisher. "It is an incredible honor to be working with Jim," DiDio said of Jim Lee, the other co-publisher. He then joked, "Everything you like is from me, everything you don't is from Jim."

* DiDio was asked if Batgirl will be in Birds of Prey. "Not right away, but there are some new members of the team, which you will be finding out," he said.

* DiDio said he was pleasantly suprised by the response to Batgirl and that Red Robin has been the book in the Batman family "that has really taken off."

* Fans dressed as Green Arrow and Black Canary were invited to join DiDio on the panel.

* DiDio said the fact that Dick Grayson isn't changing who he is and that has been important to the success of him as Batman.

"Grant's staying for the book for the forseeable future," DiDio said of Batman writer Grant Morrison. "He's having a lot of fun with Batman and he's got some twists and turns coming up."

* DiDio asked the audience for reaction about Justice League: Cry for Justice. "The fact you got reaction both ways was because it was such a well writen story," DiDio said.

He said it will be interesting to see Green Arrow's reaction and rage to the conclusion of Cry for Justice.

* In terms of holding books for artists to finish them, DiDio said sometimes -- like with The Flash: Rebirth -- it's a case of holding on because the art is too important and the story will be of value on shelves for a long time, and sometimes it's a case of having to move the story along.

* Van Sciver said that The Flash: Rebirth is a tiny part of a much bigger story that he and Geoff Johns talked about two years ago.

* Bedard talked about The Great Ten. "It's been a lot of fun there because it's been a blank slate with the characters," he said, noting that if the characters are usable now in other stories, "Then, it's mission accomplished."

* Palmiotti noted that he and Justin Gray grabbed on to the fact that Power Girl had a voice and the character wasn't just based on her appearance.

"It's one of the best times in the DCU where the characters have their own, different voices," he said.

* DiDio said one of the big problems of the DCU is that properties get fractualized and that fans develop favorite versions of properties such as the Legion or Hawkman, creating generational conflicts. He said the goal now is to find a strong interpretation of the characters and build upon it throughout the comics and other media. "It's not just resetting the wheel every time," he said.

Bedard said there will be a new artist of Green Lantern Corps following Ardian Syaf on the first arc.

* DiDio said that in addition to a series, Batman Beyond will be appearing in Superman/Batman.

* DiDio said The Flash "will be Barry's book."

* DiDio said he's "always loved" the work of J. Michael Straczynski and that coming out of the War of the Superman, the writer will have a turn that is 180 degrees from now and will be true to Superman. He noted that Straczynski's take on Wonder Woman "will be a little radical, but necessary."

* Bedard was asking if the Starro story will bleed into other books, and he noted there will be a little more crossover between R.E.B.E.L.S. and the Green Lantern Corps.

* DiDio said that Gail Simone and Ed Benes were really excited about coming back to Birds of Prey and that it will tie into Brightest Day "a little bit."

* Asked about crossovers, DiDio said publishers are interested in building their own characters and DC looks at crossovers are on a case-by-case basis.

* DiDio noted that part of DC's plans for digital media and other venues for comics, it's important to take in consideration the royalties and payments of characters. Palmiotti noted that he feels DC treats its creators better than other companies.

More war comics from Billy Tucci? "Possible," DiDio said.

DiDio said backup features will continue, noting Coven in Teen Titans, rotating stories in Action Comics, the Question in Detective Comics and more in Adventure Comics.

* Palmiotti noted that Tucci "did an amazing job" on his issue of Jonah Hex and would be happy to work with him again.

Palmiotti said the done-in-one aspect of Jonah Hex allows him to work with many "great" artists.

* Booster Gold? Keith Giffen and J.M. DeMatteis are taking over and it will be tie into a bi-weekly series. "Something that happens in Booster Gold that will play very big in 2010 and since he travels through time, he already knows what it is," DiDio said.

* Will there be different colored corps? "I'm not saying anything," Bedard said.

* DiDio said Legion rings are a possibility.

* A Batwoman outgoing? DiDio didn't confirm, but hinted strongly through some gestures.

* DiDio noted that Blackest Night #8 will have a fold-out, in addition to extra pages, for the $3.99 price.

* DiDio said he would like to see Blue Beetle as part of a team.

* VanSciver said he has something in development with Gail Simone and a creator-owned series from WildStorm.

* DiDio said Grant Morrison is "moving along" on his Multiverse story.