DC Universe: The Source

39 Responses to “Breaking: Dan DiDio and Philip Tan the new creative team on OUTSIDERS”

1. lanternfan2814 says on October 3rd, 2009 at 2:04 pm :
   

   WTH??? DD on Outsiders? Does this mean he’s going to off as Senior Editor? I mean…really???

2. markajcook says on October 3rd, 2009 at 2:05 pm :
   

   That’s the big news?

   Danny boy, less EGO, Please!

3. jorell says on October 3rd, 2009 at 2:06 pm :
   

   What the F? I am officially intrigued. Hell, I’ll buy it just to see what’s the connection to the Superman Family.

4. Gorbunov says on October 3rd, 2009 at 2:13 pm :
   

   Oh, for eff’s sake, are you kidding? Is there really people who thinks that his Metal Men was good? WTF?

5. zombieted says on October 3rd, 2009 at 2:16 pm :
   

   What characters are on that cover? I can’t make ‘em out. If they change up the team, I hope they let Metamorpho go over to the Doom Patrol. He seems like a natural.

6. markajcook says on October 3rd, 2009 at 2:17 pm :
   

   With Jeph Loeb and Jim Lee at the Comic Con. I had my hopes up for another Batman run.

   Teasing with a BIG ANNOUNCEMENT is the same as crying wolf.

   Here’s the guest list.
   http://www.longbeachcomiccon.com/guests.html

7. markajcook says on October 3rd, 2009 at 2:24 pm :
   

   Batman: Widening Gyre #2 - SPOILERS - Silver calls Bruce “Deedee”. I thought Smith did this because he wrote Daredevil. Now, I’m wondering if he had to kiss up to Dan’s massive EGO. DD, Dan Didio, Daredevil, what does “deedee” stand for? And why do I care anymore?

8. jfgn says on October 3rd, 2009 at 2:34 pm :
   

   WoW!!! & here I was thinking it was going to be something life changing Sike

9. Gorbunov says on October 3rd, 2009 at 2:54 pm :
   

   Ok, geek’s rage mode on!

   This really shows in what a piss-poor condition DC writers pool is being nowadays. Between veterans (who write stale scripts by the rules of 20-years old cliches) and bunch of TV writers (who, according with Dan, are such proven and universal writers, so all those sucking comics they write are probably the result of some misfortunate coincidences) there shamefully small number of truly deserved guys.

   Oh, and of course there are Dan’s friends. Hey, Judd Winick just butchered two high-profile relaunches, so let give him our most popular ongoing, he’s Dan’s buddy after all. Kevin Van Hook needs something to write too, even if he can’t do it in readable way.

   But yeah, who the hell needs Jason Aaron, Jonathan Hickman, Matt Fraction, Christos Gage when we have Dan, such a master of words. It’s f**king pathetic.

   Geek’s rage mode off. F**k it.

10. khuxford says on October 3rd, 2009 at 2:59 pm :
    

    Pretty sure that’s Geo-Force and Steel on the cover (which would, you know, explain the shine coming off the Super-symbol-wearing person’s head).

    I admit to being somewhat curious about whether this means the Outsiders tie themselves to Superman instead of Batman or if Steel’s joining is more of DC’s adapting to Kingdom Come (Steel going to the Bat-Family).

11. ryaztek says on October 3rd, 2009 at 3:22 pm :
    

    I’m not sure that this announcement merits a special weekend post, I was hoping for something a little more exciting like teasers about Blackest Night in January.

    In any case, Dan’s writing talents are unproven and critics and fans alike are sharply divided regarding the state of the DCU under his watch…we will wait and see on this one.

12. asti316 says on October 3rd, 2009 at 3:43 pm :
    

    “I have orders from Dan to hunt down and skewer anyone who buys comics and doesn’t pick this up in January.”

    I dont buy the Outsiders and i won’t be buying it in January, so send whoever you want Didio.

13. Riz says on October 3rd, 2009 at 3:46 pm :
    

    Another book I can throw off my pull list. Thank you “Deedee”.

14. Astro says on October 3rd, 2009 at 3:50 pm :
    

    Not interested.

    Would have been a perfect book for Nicieza, too.

15. Gorbunov says on October 3rd, 2009 at 4:08 pm :
    

    It would have been a perfect book for Jason Aaron if somebody at DC had a brain to get him before Marvel did. Crap. It’s so sad.

16. deviantdata says on October 3rd, 2009 at 4:12 pm :
    

    There are big announcements, and there are self serving announcements. Sometimes, Alex, you have to find a way to tell the big guy “no” so that you don’t come off looking so manipulated.

17. mambazo says on October 3rd, 2009 at 4:25 pm :
    

    Could you guys seriously be a bigger bunch of babies? DiDio is taking over a D-List book that no one really cares about, because it had an opening and he likes the team.

18. burro787 says on October 3rd, 2009 at 4:36 pm :
    

    THANK YOU Mambazo

19. Stage3evolution says on October 3rd, 2009 at 5:27 pm :
    

    I’ll be checking it out just to see what can be done with it..perhaps he can do something to bring the lesser characters to the forefront a bit

20. hhbx says on October 3rd, 2009 at 5:33 pm :
    

    Oh my GAWD! Such EGO! He tossed off the creative crew on this TOP SELLING BOOK that’s so beloved that everyone on the planet can read just his writings which he did just to placate his ego!

    Wait? He didn’t do that and the book wasn’t that and he did for to have a little fun and he’s not the only one out there doing that sort of thing ever at DC or any other companies?

    Oh, nevermind then.

21. kennypick says on October 3rd, 2009 at 5:44 pm :
    

    @mambazo…

    “DiDio is taking over a D-List book that no one really cares about, because it had an opening and he likes the team.”

    If that was really the truth, why wouldn’t the book be canceled instead of passing it off to somebody that is not well known for their writing prowess? Better yet, why not bring in a tried-and-true team of creators? I’ll keep reading, but if the writing isn’t better than the Metal Men story from Wednesday Comics, I’ll drop it.

    I like Dan as an editor, but this sounds like a conflict of interest. It’s like letting a cashier audit their own cash register.

    I’m also a little worried that the recent DC shake-up may lead to a follow up on this story… Like the Levitz demotion. I hope I’m wrong. Dan’s editorial decisions are not always popular, but he’s brought us some killer books in the last several years.

22. mambazo says on October 3rd, 2009 at 5:49 pm :
    

    “If that was really the truth, why wouldn’t the book be canceled instead of passing it off to somebody that is not well known for their writing prowess? Better yet, why not bring in a tried-and-true team of creators? I’ll keep reading, but if the writing isn’t better than the Metal Men story from Wednesday Comics, I’ll drop it.Z”

    I think a lot of people are confused by what actually happens when a creative is selected. DiDio just can’t go up to Jason Aaron or Jonathan Hickman (You really think that if DC actually could get these guys to write a book, they’d set them on Outsiders? Get real), and tell them hey, wanna write Outsiders? No, what most assuredly happened was that Tomasi’s schedule conflicted with another title he had accepted, so he had to drop from Outsiders, and since they couldn’t get anyone else to take on a let’s say it, very unimportant book, DiDio took it on himself because he had fun writing Wednesday Comics and he enjoys the team.

    It’s ridiculous how people are acting like he’s made some kind of pact with Satan because of this. I’ll be frank when I say I have absolutely no interest in, but you don’t see me throwing a hissy fit, now do you?

23. gwor says on October 3rd, 2009 at 5:52 pm :
    

    It’s too bad they couldn’t get Mike Barr back on the book, maybe it’d actually be worth reading …

24. RockinRich says on October 3rd, 2009 at 7:11 pm :
    

    SFW.

25. kennypick says on October 3rd, 2009 at 8:45 pm :
    

    @mambazo…

    “It’s ridiculous how people are acting like he’s made some kind of pact with Satan because of this. I’ll be frank when I say I have absolutely no interest in, but you don’t see me throwing a hissy fit, now do you?”

    It has you interested enough to defend a book you don’t care about

    I agree that people shouldn’t throw a hissy fit, but there are plenty of writers out there other than Didio that could use the work. If the book is “unimportant” they should work to make it more important.

26. kalorama says on October 3rd, 2009 at 9:28 pm :
    

    “mambazo says on October 3rd, 2009 at 4:25 pm :

    Could you guys seriously be a bigger bunch of babies?”

    ==============================

    This is the Internet. So, of course, the answer to that question is “yes.” (Be careful what you ask for.)

27. SageShinigami says on October 3rd, 2009 at 9:44 pm :
    

    Mark me down as one of the “Stop whining” people. Almost certain most of you don’t even read Outsiders, and are just looking for yet another reason to talk about Dan Didio.

    I DO read Outsiders, and while I’m admittedly NOT happy that Pete Tomasi is leaving Outsiders, this obviously means he’s got something else (hopefully bigger) down the pipeline. Outsiders lost/never really had a purpose many issues ago anyway. At this point its just going because its not selling poorly enough to be canceled.

28. Gorbunov says on October 4th, 2009 at 3:26 am :
    

    “DiDio just can’t go up to Jason Aaron or Jonathan Hickman (You really think that if DC actually could get these guys to write a book, they’d set them on Outsiders? Get real)”

    The question is not why DC doesn’t hire big-name Marvel-exclusive writers but WHY DC couldn’t hire them BEFORE they became big-name Marvel-exclusive writers? Why Marvel can give them ongoings just based on strength of their Vertigo/Image works while DC sees writing “talents” of Tony Daniel, Scott Kolins, Andrew Kreisberg, etc as better fit for DCU.
    I’m whining not becouse Den decided to write title which nobody care about but becouse it’s another step in the trend of giving writing duty to anyone who want it but not to those who can do it right.

29. dl316bh says on October 4th, 2009 at 7:44 am :
    

    “But yeah, who the hell needs Jason Aaron, Jonathan Hickman, Matt Fraction, Christos Gage when we have Dan, such a master of words.”

    Most of those are Marvel exclusive writers and have been for a while. Several have never even so much as glanced at DC. Get a freaking grip, would you?

    “The question is not why DC doesn’t hire big-name Marvel-exclusive writers but WHY DC couldn’t hire them BEFORE they became big-name Marvel-exclusive writers?”

    Half of the people you mentioned have not only never even written for DC, but are either loyal to Marvel or were COMPLETELY unproven before Marvel grabbed them. Seriously, who even knew who Matt Fraction was before Immortal Iron Fist or Invincible Iron Man? Maybe a few indy readers, but aside from that? What was Jonathan Hickman doing before Secret Warriors? Christos Gage? The fact is, Marvel discovered them first. It happens. DC’s gotten to talent before Marvel on several occasions before as well.

    Sweet jesus, The Outsiders are obviously serious goddamn business. You’d think Dan had taken over the Justice League or something the way some of you are reacting. Unbelievable.

30. Gorbunov says on October 4th, 2009 at 9:24 am :
    

    “Seriously, who even knew who Matt Fraction was before Immortal Iron Fist or Invincible Iron Man?”

    Ugh, I guess people who’s read good comics. Marvel noticed him when he made big splash with Casanova, DC probably was busy feeding Bruce Jones.

    “What was Jonathan Hickman doing before Secret Warriors?”

    Same as with Matt Fraction. Pax Romana, Transhuman and Eisner nominee Nightly News were big enough measure of his talents.

    “Christos Gage?”

    That’s even sadder, since he came on the radar with DC’s Deadshot mini. Andy Diggle too, btw, lost four non-productive exclusive years with DC. Severe case of mismanagement of talents.

    “The fact is, Marvel discovered them first.”

    The fact is, Marvel didn’t discover them first, but was the first who was smart enough to bring those most unique new voices of industry under exclusive.

31. holycrappe says on October 4th, 2009 at 3:39 pm :
    

    yah…this announcement was a little anti-climactic for me cuz im not as familiar with Dan as a writer…

    the real shocker is…

    DAN IS A BLACK LANTERN!! BOOGA BOOGA BOOGA!!!

32. nomoredidio says on October 4th, 2009 at 4:16 pm :
    

    Didn’t care for this book before, and I now have all the reason in the world to continue not caring.

33. lanternfan2814 says on October 4th, 2009 at 7:05 pm :
    

    Ok what I still don’t get is does this mean that Dan Didio is stepping down as Senior Editor? I mean, why would he write a comicbook if he is Senior Editor? Wouldn’t you think that would take up most, if not all of your time?

34. kauffinbauchser says on October 5th, 2009 at 1:33 am :
    

    I’ll miss Tomasi, but I’ll still read it.

35. markajcook says on October 5th, 2009 at 5:41 am :
    

    Dan meddles waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much!

    I was liking what Tomasi was doing with the Outsiders but, in Dan’s view, that doesn’t rate the chance that Andrew Crapsberg gets on GA/BC.

    Whose is Andy’s buddy at DC anyway? He’s from TV, just like Dan.

    Here’s what Andy & DiDio’s buddy Judd Winick have done to GA/BC saleswise and yet NOTHING has been done yet. Creatively, it’s fanboy hell.

    18 consecutive sales declines. 21st sales decline of a series less than 2 years old. Only blip up was the wedding redux in #5.

    http://www.icv2.com/articles/home/1850.html

    10/2007: Arrow/Canary #1 — 52,183
    11/2007: Arrow/Canary #2 — 42,827 (-17.9%)
    12/2007: Arrow/Canary #3 — 40,321 (- 5.9%)
    01/2008: Arrow/Canary #4 — 35,039 (-13.1%)
    02/2008: Arrow/Canary #5 — 36,662 (+ 4.6%)
    03/2008: Arrow/Canary #6 — 32,621 (-11.0%)
    04/2008: Arrow/Canary #7 — 32,033 (- 1.8%)
    05/2008: Arrow/Canary #8 — 30,864 (- 3.7%)
    06/2008: Arrow/Canary #9 — 30,330 (- 1.7%)
    07/2008: Arrow/Canary #10 — 29,604 (- 2.4%)
    08/2008: Arrow/Canary #11 — 28,694 (- 3.1%)
    09/2008: Arrow/Canary #12 — 27,896 (- 2.8%)
    10/2008: Arrow/Canary #13 — 26,890 (- 3.6%)
    11/2008: Arrow/Canary #14 — 25,599 (- 4.8%)
    12/2008: Arrow/Canary #15 — 24,526 (- 4.2%)
    01/2009: Arrow/Canary #16 — 24,419 (- 0.4%)
    02/2009: Arrow/Canary #17 — 23,392 (- 4.2%)
    03/2009: Arrow/Canary #18 — 22,699 (- 3.0%)
    04/2009: Arrow/Canary #19 — 21,933 (- 3.4%)
    05/2009: Arrow/Canary #20 — 21,445 (- 2.2%)
    06/2009: Arrow/Canary #21 — 20,807 (- 3.0%)
    07/2009: Arrow/Canary #22 — 20,571 (- 1.1%)
    08/2009: Arrow/Canary #23 — 19,452 (- 5.4%)

    Instead of letting the book’s creative team and their editors do their job, Dan has to micro-manage. DC was better before Dan came along, I’ve given him a few years. Since 1983, DC Comics overall has never failed me. DC’s 2009 has surpised me as a complete failure. What does that say about Dan?

    Batman in exile during his 70th Anniversary. Superman not even in his own monthlies. If DC really loved their characters, they would feature them prominently instead of hiding them. There was a DC Nation a few years ago that displayed Dan’s rejection letter, signed by Paul Levitz in 1978. Paul was right the first time, Dan. DC’s icons are characters that won’t disappoint unless you put forth too much effort to make it so.

36. ljacone says on October 5th, 2009 at 6:49 am :
    

    Well, I am of mixed feelings about this announcement.

    I’m one of the evidently few of the online community who enjoyed DD’s Metal Men strip. Admittedly part of that was a general enthusiasm for the Metal Men as well as José Luis García-López’s art. But I thought he did a good job of capturing the old Silver Age Metal Men in a fun story. Dan says he is an Outsiders fan, so I am optimistic that he has some good adventures in mind for the team.

    However, I am disappointed that this title is getting another new creative team. Since Winnick left towards the end of the left volume, this title has been pushed and pulled in various directions, first with the Bedard false start, then Dixon’s sudden departure, to Tomasi’s new approach. (I am leaving out Frank Tieri’s fill-in work, since it clearly was a fill-in situation.) I have enjoyed each of these writers but I want them to last for more than a handful of issues! It really seemed that each of these men had a clear vision of the team that we have not been able to see since they can’t stay on the book more than a couple of story arcs. Since Tomasi took over, Outsiders has been my favorite DC title. Will it stay that way under DiDio? I don’know, I have to wait and see.

    Either way, I’d really like the title to settle on a creative team and direction and STICK WITH IT for a few years. I mean, how long did Mike W. Barr write the Outsiders? (Nevermind how long Aparo did art for them.) I know the industry is different but by virtue of having that strong overarcing vision of the team, the 80s Outsiders books are some of my absolute favorite superhero comics. I for one would really like to see the team hit that level again.

    The other side of this announcement: Phillip Tan on Outsiders? Sounds good to me!

37. joao_miranda says on October 5th, 2009 at 7:03 am :
    

    Everybody complains that DC doesn’t have Jason Aaron, Matt Fraction, Jonathan Hickman and etc. Why don’t you mention that DC has Gail Simone, J.T. Krull, Peter Tomasi, Tony Bedard, Matthew Sturges and David Hine, among several others? And let’s not talk about artists, with guys like Philip Tan, Francis Manapul, Ardian Syaf, Rafael Albuquerque, Nicola Scott, Jesus Merino and Andy Clarke were also “discovered” by DC.

    Stop whinning. Of course one company can’t have all the great talent. DC has a few (most of my favourite) and Marvel has others. That’s how it is, that’s how it was, that’s how it will be.

38. seansd says on October 5th, 2009 at 2:56 pm :
    

    When DC can beat Marvel in #’s then let Dan write a title, until then we are still realling from awful titles like Countdown and Final Crisis that emptied our pocketbooks and gave us nothing in return. While the quality on some titles wasn’t as great, I bought quite a bit more from DC before Dan’s arrival.

    I used to love Outsiders as a team, but with the hundreds of useless deaths in DC’s recent years, it’s just another title I could care less about. Also if Tan’s art on B&R is any indication of what we have to look forward to, then pass. He needs to clean it up a bit and work on storytelling.

39. Everything Nerdy » Blog Archive » Dan Didio & Philip Tan To Team-Up For Outsiders says on October 17th, 2009 at 9:47 pm :
    

    [...] For more info, check out DC’s official blog The Source. [...]

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