Having just covered our reactions to the news that Dan Didio had left DC (which you can listen to in the previous episode), we felt that it was necessary to take a short break from Frank Miller’s tragic sequels to the Dark Knight Returns universe, and focus our attention briefly on some of the worst stories to be published under Didio’s watch. Thankfully, we didn’t have to put too much extra work into it, since we had already recorded and handful of unpublished episodes that we decided were too rough to ever see the light of day, but now seem pretty relevant, and among them were 2009’s 7-issue superhero tribute to misery porn, Justice League: Cry for Justice by legendary writer James Robinson, and it’s follow-up Rise of Arsenal by JT Krul.

As we touched on last episode, following fan outcry to DC comics putting the kibosh on Batwoman’s marriage, Dan DiDio took to the forums and responded to fans thusly:

“Heroes shouldn’t have happy personal lives. They are committed to being that person and committed to defending others at the sacrifice of their own personal interests. That’s very important and something we reinforced. It’s wonderful that they try to establish personal lives, but it’s equally important that they set them aside. That is our mandate, that is our edict and that is our stand.”

For my money – and yours – there’s no series that better exemplifies DiDio’s Decree and how horribly it can backfire than Justice League: Cry for Justice. So join Bruno and I as we cry, shout justice, and cry while shouting justice in the series that is destined to stand out as the crown jewel in your longbox of cursed and forbidden comics on this week’s episode of…

OH GOD IT BURNS!!! A Buyer's Guide to Bad Comics.