The new senior executive team includes Jim Lee and Dan DiDio, who have been named co-publishers of DC Comics, and Geoff Johns, who will serve as chief creative officer of DC Entertainment. Additionally, John Rood has been named EVP Sales, Marketing and Business Development, and Patrick Caldon will serve as EVP Finance and Administration.
Prior to his current post, Lee served as Editorial Director, where he oversaw WildStorm Studios and was also the artist for many of DC Comics' bestselling comic books and graphic novels, including "All Star Batman and Robin, The Boy Wonder," "Batman: Hush" and "Superman: For Tomorrow." He also serves as the executive creative director for the upcoming DC Universe Online massively multiplayer action game from Sony Online Entertainment.
Lee is an award-winning comic book illustrator/creator/publisher who started his professional career at Marvel Comics where his work on the X-Men continues to hold the all-time sales record for single issue sales at eight million copies sold in one month. At Marvel, he also drew the Punisher and co-created many characters, the most popular being Gambit, featured in 2009's "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" feature film. In 1992, he started his own production company, WildStorm Productions, and co-founded Image Comics, an independent comics company which quickly grew to become the number-three North American comics publisher. His most notable creations, "WildCats" and "Gen 13," saw life beyond comic books as a CBS Saturday morning cartoon and as a direct-to-video animated movie distributed by Disney, respectively. In 1998, he left Image Comics and sold WildStorm to DC Comics.
DiDio most recently served as SVP and executive editor, DC Universe, overseeing the editorial department for the DC Universe imprint, including the ongoing adventures of Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and scores of heroes and villains. He also worked to develop new titles with the industry's premier writers and artists. At DC Comics, DiDio has spearheaded such bestselling projects as "All Star Batman and Robin, The Boy Wonder," "Identity Crisis," Green Lantern, Teen Titans and The Outsiders.
Before joining DC in 2002, DiDio was with Mainframe Entertainment, where he most recently served as SVP Creative Affairs, overseeing the development, distribution, marketing and promotion of all Mainframe's television properties. Prior to that, he served as executive director of Children's Programming for ABC, where he was also a publicity manager, having started his television career at CBS, working in a variety of positions.
Johns builds on his current role at DC from being one of today's most prolific, popular and award-winning contemporary comic book writers with this new executive role. He is a New York Times bestselling author who has written highly acclaimed stories revitalizing Green Lantern, Superman, the Flash, Teen Titans, and the Justice Society of America for DC Comics.
Johns began his comics career creating and writing "Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E." for DC Comics while at the same time working with film director Richard Donner. After acclaimed runs on Flash, Teen Titans and the bestselling "Infinite Crisis" mini-series, Johns co-wrote a run on Action Comics with his mentor, Donner. Johns has also written and produced for various other media, including the acclaimed "Legion" and "Absolute Justice" episodes of Warner Bros. Television's "Smallville" and Adult Swim's "Robot Chicken" and "Titan Maximum." He also wrote the story of the DC Universe Online massively multiplayer action game from Sony Online Entertainment.
Rood returns to Warner Bros. after 10 years with the Disney ABC Television Group, where he most recently was Senior Vice President of Marketing, ABC Family. While at ABC, he also consulted for ABC News during the recent transitions at "Good Morning America" and "ABC World News with Diane Sawyer."
Prior to Disney, Rood worked for six years at Warner Bros. Consumer Products, negotiating promotional deals with national advertisers using Warner Bros.' properties, including the DC Comics characters. He has also worked in promotions for Equity Marketing on the Burger King account and in advertising for Leo Burnett on the McDonald's and Miller Brewing accounts.
Caldon most recently served as EVP Finance and Operations of DC Comics and MAD Magazine. Before that, he served as SVP Finance and Operations, and his other posts at DC include VP Finance and Operations, and Controller, the position in which he joined the company in 1985. Prior to joining DC Comics, Caldon spent a decade at Warner Communications in corporate accounting and as SVP and CFO of the Cosmos soccer team (owned by Warner Communications at the time).
DC Entertainment, a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment, is charged with strategically integrating the DC Comics business, brand and characters deeply into Warner Bros. and all its content and distribution businesses. DC Entertainment utilizes the expertise the Studio has in building and sustaining franchises to prioritize the DC properties as key titles and growth drivers across all of the Studio, including feature films, television, interactive entertainment, direct-to-consumer platforms and consumer products. The DC Comics publishing business is the cornerstone of DC Entertainment, releasing approximately 90 comic books through its various imprints and 30 graphic novels a month as well as continuing to build on its creative leadership in the comic book industry.
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