C2E2: DC NATION PANEL

By Billie Rae Bates

CHICAGO -- Dan DiDio of DC Comics led the DC Nation panel at C2E2 on Friday, accompanied by Bob Wayne, senior vice-president of sales; Paul Cornell, writer of Action Comics; Scott Snyder of Detective Comics; Gail Simone, writer of Birds of Prey and the Secret Six; and Bill Willingham, creator of Fables.

The largest portion of the panel was devoted to Flashpoint, an event and five-part miniseries starting in May that will spill into a lot of the DC books.

"This is a major initiative for DC Comics," DiDio said. "Some of the things we've done, is we've actually cancelled a bunch of books that were on the cusp and weren't working as well for us because we wanted to basically have people focus on what we feel matters most right now, the changes that take place in the Flashpoint universe."

He continued, "One of the origins of Flashpoint was we saw how many people loved Elseworlds. ...One of the things we saw with Elseworlds, was that we created all these fabulous universes and worlds, and when we do that, they're there, and then they're gone. And people get excited and vested in it, and they disappear. We wanted to create what is considered -- might be -- one of the biggest Elseworlds universes, but one that works within the DC Universe and is going to be integral and important for continuity in the DC Universe."

DiDio said DC has been teasing just a few of the aspects of Flashpoint at the Source blog and in other places such as the Booster Gold series. "We've been showing a little bit at a time, because we don't want to give too much away too early on, because it's a pretty comprehensive and massive storytelling."

The series won't involve all of the DC talent, however. "We have so many great things going on, we want to make sure we're getting the most out of everybody."

Fans don't have to stress over buying every issue of every book to get the Flashpoint story. "Because this is an alternate reality, and we have a lot of storylines that we're running forward, and there's a lot of great storylines going," DiDio said. "I mean even with Paul in Action, and what Gail's got going on with Birds of Prey and Detective. There are major storylines taking place in those books. Things happening in Superman and Wonder Woman. We didn't want to disrupt that. To be honest with you. Because fans are enjoying and reading those stories, and want to continue with that and not have to have a break in what they were reading. Then I'm feeling like I'm forcing somebody to buy something, because they're keeping their regular numbering going. In this particular case, we created an entire new DC world in Flashpoint. An entire world. Something that could not be contained in a single story."

Other highlights of the panel:

* An audience member expressed thanks for Batman Beyond. "We love Batman Beyond, too," DiDio said, "and you're going to see even more of that product. We're actually going to be building out that world."

* How far is DC planning to go with the Young Justice book? "So far the show's been doing really well for us, and we're having a lot of fun with the series. ... As long as that show's on the air, you've got the comic to support it."

* Is Wonder Woman going to keep her pants on, so to speak? "Are you talking figuratively, or literally?" DiDio quipped. "Literally, yes, she will keep her pants on."

* Why does it take so long for the paperbacks to come out, an audience member asked. "For me, it's been all about the periodicals," DiDio said. "I'm a big periodical guy. I think I've said that at every panel. What I love -- what makes comics unique -- is our ability to tell stories, month in and month out. ... It's the soap opera aspect, continuity. It's the world-building. ... The hardcovers are, because when we put them out there, people feel like they want to put them on a bookshelf. ... The paperbacks come out, just the same way as the hardcovers, softcovers, in the bookstore market. Paperbacks come out at a time later because you want to be able to sell them through at a certain pace. You're right, it does take a while, but there is a plan. And for my thing, I'm hoping these stories are exciting and compelling enough for you to buy the periodicals ... We pace our periodicals so that Blackest Night comes out, it goes into Brightest Day ... So depending on which way you want to read, it will be read in an order that makes sense to you."

* Superman: Reign of Doomsday comes out in a couple months. "In this particular case, we're in a postion where we are putting out Action 900," DiDio said. "This is a book that's been on the stands consistently since 1938. And for us, we're extraordinarily proud of the fact that we're putting out this book. We're excited by the team and talents that put it together. Cornell elaborated: "We've got an enormous lead story for you. I think it's 50 pages, with lots and lots of backup with all these wonderful authors. ... It's got Lex in it; it concludes Lex's story. It's got Superman in it, coming back to take the title back. It's kinda the battle royale, and it keeps going into Reign of Doomsday."

* DiDio commented on the Comics Code: "We actually stopped using the Comics Code. When you think about it, the Comics Code has been around since the '50s. It's been on our books. And it actually stands for a real period of time of comics, and it had a level of importance for a long period. But what DC has done now, we've decided to institute our own ratings system in comics. One of the things that we want to do is make everybody aware that this is something that is not going to change the product, not going to change the way we work. But there have been requests by a number of people in the past, and we just want to make sure people understand that we're trying to do things to make this as accessible to as many people as possible as we go ahead."

* Batwoman -- when is the book going to happen? "Actually, we've got several issues in the can right now, of the book," DiDio said. "The recent delay of Batwoman, was my fault, not because the book wasn't ready, but because we wanted to position it a little later in the year. ... But again, one of the things that I'm trying to be as strong as possible on is, I can't say that enough, we've got to stop delivering late books. I used to do a joke; it's not a joke anymore. My joke used to be, as long as you guys keep on buying late books, we'll keep making them. Pretty funny, except everybody stopped buying them. And then the joke's on us. The reality is, we've got to get our delivery under control. We've got to get our business back online. ... We have to build that reader loyalty again, on the periodical side. Rebuild our periodical base, because I think that's the heart and soul of what comics are all about. We have to be in there month in and month out with our books. We want you guys to build that loyalty with those series again. And more importantly, when you walk into a store to look for a book, we want to make sure it's there. And that's what it's all about."

* Superman Earth 1: There will be a second volume, and there will be a Batman Earth 1 coming soon.

* Now that Oracle has retired her code name, will she get another one? Simone was reluctant to reveal it, adding, "Just trust me -- there are big things coming up in 2011 for the Birds of Prey, and other things I'm working on, so stay tuned."