"Happiness, n. An agreeable sensation arising from contemplating the misery of another."
--Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary

My heart belonged to DC Comics, the home of Superman, the Batman, and the Justice League of America, long before I started reading comic books in the summer of 2000. DC is currently ruled by a corrupt despot named Dan DiDio (DDD), whom I liken "the Matt Millen of comic books." (I know of no greater insult.) I oppose everything he stands for and everything he has done at DC; hand to the Good Book, I would rather DC Comics go out of business and cease publication of all comics posthaste than see the company lurch from folly to folly as it has under DDD's ham-fisted stewardship.

Quality is by no means anathema to popularity, but more often than not a work's quality has naught to do with its popularity, e.g., the CSI television franchise. The rarest and loveliest spectacle in popular culture is the immense popularity of a work of significant quality, e.g., the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film series. And it was only the commercial success of the first two Star Wars films that allowed the production of Raiders of the Lost Ark. Likewise, the publication of comic books is a business, and no monthly book, regardless the quality of its content, can endure without some degree of popularity. I would like to think the following reflects a dissatisfaction with DiDio's policies at DC Comics that is far broader than my own dire threats and festering ire:

Marvel recorded 48.42% of the Unit Market Share, nearly 20 percentage points above DC’s 28.57%. Both the size of the “spread” between publishers and DC’s percentage of share are perhaps both historic figures in the Diamond/single distributor era.

For the article from whence the above passage was cherry-picked: Newsarama. The "Diamond/single distributor era" goes back approximately ten to twelve years. Suffice to say, the mid '90s. In a phrase that I feel is some small measure of just retribution for DDD's vendetta against the membership of the former JLI, Bwa ha ha ha ha! DDD's short-sighted methods and sycophantic cronies have lead DC to new lows; here we see hope, for DDD's superiors at the Warner Bros. and Time-Warner corporate levels have a vested interesting in seeing DC Comics prosper. With DC falling ever further behind bitter rival Marvel it is only a matter of time before a palace coup either sacks DDD or laterally promotes him to a empty portfolio. Either result would see the liberation of DC's characters and few surviving writers and artists of well repute. Liberty!

Let us hope that DC's fortunes continue to decline and decline that we may all the sooner say good riddance to bad rubbish and begin the difficult, worthwhile project of restoring the once and future grandeur of the DC Universe.