Spoiler Alert

OK, I'm not trying to split hairs here, but something Dan DiDio said in his most recent interview column over at Newsarama gave me pause. Regarding the revelation that Nekron is the antagonist of Geoff Johns's Blackest Night event, DiDio explains his stance on spoilers:

We also put out information to drum up and excite readers, and to get people interested. And that Nekron issue is at the halfway mark of Blackest Night. So we wanted to get out there and show people there's a big change and something occurring within the series, and it's not just repeating the same beats over and over again. There is progression in the story. That's why you get information released like with Nekron.

In essence, DiDio is arguing that spoilers increase interest. Fair enough. That's why people read them: because they are interested. Cynically, one could add that one might seek out spoilers because the stories in question are not worth reading in themselves but a lifetime of continuity-fetishization has created an addiction to the minutiae of the ongoing adventures of certain characters or universes.

But then Mr. DiDio adds this:

This is part of an argument we had back when I had stated there were 52 multiverse worlds as part of the ending of 52. What did that mean? What did that give away? What did that spoil? Not really sure. But it did generate a lot of interest in the end of the book. And that's what we were hoping to do.

I think DiDio is playing some word games here. A little Clintonian "It depends on your what your definition of the word 'is' is." He's clearly playing coy because a spoiler, in his newfound sense of the word, is the story itself. If telling readers that one of the endings of 52 would involve the return of the multiverse isn't a spoiler in his mind, then what is? If I told him that Hamlet dies at the end of Hamlet, but not how or why, it's still a revelation that is housed within the plot. Whether or not it diminishes his/my/your enjoyment is secondary. Mr. DiDio didn't disclose the means by which the universes would be restored, or what alternate versions of DC characters they would house, but he told fans what the ending would be. That Hamlet would die.

It's clear why, though, from his earlier statement. "What did that spoil," he asks - disingenuously, I think. Mr. DiDio is a smart man. He knows that he gave away a significant plot point for the purpose of generating interest in the hopes that the interest would translate into sales. The battle between art and commerce once again. I agree with his implication that certain spoilers won't significantly affect one's enjoyment of their entertainment of choice. And I am also aware that he's dealing with a particular, and peculiar, niche market - if you're the type of person who reads interviews with Dan DiDio (guilty!), you probably were the type of person who figured out that the multiverse would be coming back at the end of 52. And if you're reading super-hero comics (guilty!), you're already in a pretty small niche. Revealing the Nekron is the baddie behind Blackest Night isn't actually a big deal. Some people probably really enjoy the hunt for his appearances back issues, or trying to piece together his current evil plot from previous evil plots. That would signify, certainly, some interest that wouldn't have been there otherwise. But it's also a spoiler. It spoiled the plot, so it's a spoiler. It would be nice to get some candor and not hair-splitting rationalizations of business decisions, but what can you do.