Random Thoughts 2

-DC Entertainment announced new positions. Jim Lee and Dan Didio will be co-publishers and Geoff Johns takes the position of Chief Creative Officer.

As much as I have disliked a lot of the stuff that Didio has done in the last few years, I give him full credit for being bold and innovative. That, along with one or two writers on key projects has increased the popularity of DC characters and the company as a whole.

Some of his wins/fails:

• 52- a weekly comic series; a win
• All-Star line- created to be a continuity free, new reader friendly line; a zero sum gain, split between the Silver Age inspired Grant Morrison Superman and the ultra violent Frank Miller Batman (other titles like Wonder Woman and Batgirl failed to materialize) while a commercial success neither was exactly what the line was touted to be.
• Countdown- the follow up weekly to 52; fail
• Trinity- although better than Countdown the third weekly was overshadowed by Final Crisis; fail
• Green Lantern- since Rebirth has brought Hal and Corps into spot alongside Batman and Superman in prominence including two ongoing series, minis and one shots; win
• Wednesday Comics- a weekly newsprint collection of comic strips; win
• Final Crisis/Batman RIP- plagued by lateness, continuity lapses and a densely written plot line these events sold well; just barely a win
• Infinite Crisis/Identity Crisis- brought back the event to comics; win

Jim Lee, while a great artist hasn't exactly set the comics world on fire as an editor. He has been in charge of Wildstorm for over 17 years. In the last five the Wildstorm Universe has been relaunched three times, the last two occurring within a year. Of all the DC imprints it is the weakest.

As a rule, leading by committee is a mistake. SomeONE has got to make the decisions. Whether they are good or bad, that same person takes the credit/blame. So this setup has me wary.

Geoff Johns is the single most valuable person to DC. No other writer has proven that they understand the fans connection to characters or the connections and places that those characters have within the DC Universe itself. It is because of Johns' writing that I'm such a DC fan now. I have hoped that this would happen for quite a while. I hope he can guide other writers to maximize their storytelling. It seems that seems that writers chosen to follow his runs on series (with editors making bad decisions) manage to run them into the ground.

• Hawkman- his second title as sole writer enjoyed a brief stint by Justin Grey and Jimmy Palmiotti, but was turned into Hawkgirl as part of One Year Later.
• Flash- after he left the title struggled before being canceled, relaunched by Danny Bilson and Paul DeMeo (creators of the Flash TV series) with Bart Allen as the Flash, it tanked fast
• Teen Titans- Sean McKeever (admittedly losing half the cast to editorial decisions) ruined what was left of Johns' combination of Young Justice and Titans
• JSA- Bill Willingham and Matt Sturges have divided the team in two in a move that is against the creed of the group. While great writers on other titles, neither "gets" the JSA right.

-I can't wait to see Crisis On Two Earths when it comes out Tuesday on DVD/Blu-Ray. The Crime Sydicate main story and the Spectre short.

That's all for now