CANCELLED: Pour One Out for BLUE BEETLE, FRANKENSTEIN, AGENT of S.H.A.D.E., GRIFTER and LEGION LOST

Newly released solicitations from DC Comics today reveal that a few books won’t be ringing in the new year with the rest of the New 52 come January. Each of these books, hailing from the Dark, Edge and Young Justice groups, made it all the way up to issue #16, which can’t be said of many books from the original New 52 lineup. Someone with more of a number crunching inclination can tell us in the comments just how many of those initial titles still exist. We’ll have sunnier news of January’s offerings later this week.

Here’s the full rundown of final issues:

BLUE BEETLE #16
Written by TONY BEDARD
Art by MARCIO TAKARA
Cover by FREDDIE E. WILLIAMS II
On sale JANUARY 23 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T • FINAL ISSUE
• This final-issue epic leads into the new DCU series THRESHOLD!
• Blue Beetle is betrayed!
• What is “The Hunted”?
• The secrets of Sky Witness’s origin are revealed!

FRANKENSTEIN, AGENT OF S.H.A.D.E. #16
Written by MATT KINDT
Art and cover by ALBERTO PONTICELLI and WAYNE FAUCHER
On sale JANUARY 16 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T • FINAL ISSUE
• Don’t miss this final issue finale!
• Frankenstein and his team of misfit S.H.A.D.E. agents are sent in to stop a group of superpowered biological terrorists from detonating a
dirty bomb in Central City!

GRIFTER #16
Written by FRANK TIERI
Art by MARAT MYCHAELS and DAVE BEATY
Cover by SCOTT CLARK
On sale JANUARY 16 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T • FINAL ISSUE
• The conspiracy surrounding Cole Cash has unraveled — and you won’t believe who stands at the center of it all!

LEGION LOST #16
Written by TOM DeFALCO
Art by ANDRES GUINALDO and MARK IRWIN
Cover by TYLER KIRKHAM and BATT
On sale JANUARY 16 • 32 pg, FC, $2.99 US • RATED T • FINAL ISSUE
• Superboy and The Ravagers guest-star!
• In order to save billions of lives, the Lost Legionnaires must decide if they are willing to sacrifice millions when they detonate a bomb that will destroy the alien machine from Daggor!
• Plus, more on the origin of Harvest!

Comments

  1. CURSES! Frankenstein was really good. A shame.

    • Although, it wasn’t in my budget to collect Frankenstein, I did purchase an issue during the cross-over between Animal man, and Swamp Thing , it was good. The economy ruined the potential for this book to enter into my monthly pull list as well as many others I bet. It’ s a shame.

  2. FUCK! I loved Frankenstein, my favorite New 52 book after Batman by Snyder/Capullo! Fuck you DC, fuck you from the bottom of my black black heart! 0_o

    • Just be happy we got 17 issues out of it. A book like that surviving as long as it did in this current market at a mainstream company is nothing short of spectacular.

    • I know… Reading Franky month after month was comfort food to my brain is all! 🙁

      It was so different and bizarre from everything else on the shelves at the moment and as a book publisher myself, taking risk is the way to go forward and give something new, daring and creative, too bad the masses want the same boring stuff that came before…

      Hope Franky will be used somewhere else, he’s fun, brash and completely bad-ass!

    • I have a feeling he’ll be making his way over the JL: Dark

    • I really wanted to like that book but they just never got an artist that did it for me. I think it fell off my list around issue 8 or so.

    • Ditto. Really liked this book. Sad it’s going away but I’m glad it took place.

  3. Sad to see Frankenstein go (though it’s been all over the place recently), oh well, Threshold looks cool. JLA looks cool.

  4. not reading any of these but was think about leagion lost guess i’ll pick up the trades feel like grifter was a mistake to cancel because of team 7.

    • They didn’t cancel Grifter because of Team 7. They cancelled it because of low sales. It was the worst selling ongoing for DC (not including books cancelled with issue 0).

    • didn’t mean it was because of team 7 i meant i thought team 7 could make grifter sales better.

  5. I really wanted to like Legion Lost but it was almost a chore to read it. Let’s hope they pick up the pace on the Legion book or I could easily see it on the next wave of cancelled titles

  6. The only one I’m surprised by is Frankenstein, that book was building up some clout, I was going to give it a second go, too late it seems.

  7. That sucks, I was enjoying Blue Beetle and Frankenstein.

    Frankenstein was REALLY underrated.

  8. I was so excited for Grifter due to past fondness for the character and based on Nathan Edmondson’s prior work and Cafu’s stunning art, and was really interested in reading a Blue Beetle book, having very little familiarity with the character but thinking that the general gist was cool. Sad that both proved to be so disappointing.

  9. Nooooooooo…..Not Grifter!!! At least I can still read him in Team7…hopefully that stays around for awhile. I hope they don’t replace these with 4 more Batman books.

    • My thoughts typed out. Verbatim. I love Batman and all but I can’t keep up with all of them! And they have to cancel one of my favorites like Grifter! Suuuuuucks.

  10. NOOOOOO! NOT FRANK!

    I knew BB was in trouble especially when they didn’t work in Booser and Ted, but it was enjoyable. 🙁 🙁 🙁

    Grifter I read it for the first story arc maybe the character will due better on Team 7 for awhile it didn’t hook enough to keep reading it.

  11. i literally just dropped Frankenstein due to budget, was planning on adding it to my trade wait list, guess ill just finish it out now.

  12. Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E has been quality from #1, right therefore way through. And I was very happy with the transition with Matt Kindt replacing Jeff Lemire.

    It joins the hallowed ranks of many a quality title that couldn’t quite achieve the required sales.

  13. Odd no one seems to be lamenting the demise Legion Lost

  14. No huge surprises there.

    I’ll look for Frankie’s book in trade.

  15. No surprises here. What are they being replaced with? JLA, Threshold(whatever that is), and what else?

  16. But but….. NOT FRANKIE! T^T

  17. I thought the Frankenstein stories were not as good as the Seven Soldiers stories and the art was sub-par. I was a reader excited for it who dropped it after the first trade.

  18. Just a matter of time, I suppose.

  19. I never thought I would be glad the day a Legion book was cancelled, but I am happy here because DeFalco took it down into the dumper and I will be very glad to see those characters go back to the future and join the regular LOSH title.

    Loved Frankenstein until Kindt took, was one and done there. The other 2 titles, I never read an issue. I know someday DC will cancel a title in the new 52 that I am still reading, but luckily it hasn’t happened yet. They have dumped a few books I’ve given up on, though.

    • I’m also a huge Legion fan and delighted Lost is going – I want my characters in the 31st century, where there’s a point to them.

      By the way, that’s not the Lost cover above, it’s the ‘real’ Legion book, surely, what with Cham, Vi and Validus on there?

    • Yup, that’s the real Legion cover. Steve Lightle kicking ass as usual.

  20. Out:

    Frankenstein
    Grifter
    Blue Beetle
    Legion Lost
    G.I. Combat

    In:
    Justice League of America
    Threshold

    3 more replacements needed.

    I’m guessing Superman/Batman for sure based on Rob Liefeld’s mostly correct tweet.

    I’ll also venture that one of the others is WildC.A.T.s.

  21. God-DAMN! Two of my regular pulls…Blue Beetle and Frank?

    Frank was awesome. Nothing like it. Blue Beetle is a great character. Bedard did a great writing job on this — underrated and overlooked.

    Shit. Throughout time, most of my fave titles are peripheral titles that get cancelled way too goddamn early.

  22. Frank. 🙁

  23. Hmmmm….Maybe Booster will get another shot at a title???

  24. Grifter, cancelled? Truly the ’90s have ended.

    Frankenstein, RIP … Rest In Pieces, of course.

  25. Poor Frank, you had the most badass book on the market. I thought it got even better since Kindt come on board too.

    On the bright side, it looks like he’ll be in Justice League Dark now so at least the character is still around.

  26. Between the canceled titles and those they have been completely retooled from their premise we’ve got to be getting up to a 50% fail rate after 17 months

    • I believe it’s 15 out of 58 relaunch & 2nd wave titles cancelled, so just over 25%. that said, i don’t quite know what you mean by retooled.

    • Retooled = tossing the creative teams out after a handful of issues and/or changing the direction of the series. See Hawkman, Firestorm, Superman, Green Arrow, Stormwatch, Justice League Dark, Catwoman, Dark Knight.

    • I think you can also count Deathstroke, Superboy and Demon Knights in that “retooled” mix

    • i wouldn’t say Lemire taking over Justice League Dark is the same as Hawk and Dove as getting canned after 8 issues.

  27. I also get the feeling that Green Lantern:New Guardians has an expiration date as well once the Third Army storyline is over. Just a feeling of course

  28. I’ll join the legions of mourners for Frankenstein. I love that book, and I’m devastated that it’s being pulled. On the other hand, though…maybe I’ll have enough money to check out Jason Aaron’s Thor or Mark Waid’s Hulk now.

  29. I, Vampire is hanging in there! Feel like I missed out on something with Frankenstein first issue just didn’t grab me

  30. Shame to hear these books are going since all of them seem to hit a nerve with the fans (especially for Frank and Blue Beetle).

    But it is a miracle in itself that Frankenstein and Blue Beetle lasted as long as they did.

  31. No surprises here.

  32. I get this is about low sales, but Frankenstein doesn’t belong on the cut list. I’ve been enjoying it since issue 1.

  33. How is it possible that Hawkman still an ongoing?
    And I thought Firestorm was canned . . . but I see it still has legs . . .
    Mysteries abound!

    • Hawkman, Firestorm, Deathstroke, Green Arrow… Lots of titles still in DC’s arsenal that have never appeared to have clicked on any level in the New 52, yet decent titles like Frankenstein and (yes, I know I may be the only one who really liked it) Blue Beetle get the axe.

      I fear for I, Vampire’s future…

  34. Man, Frankenstein was easily my biggest pleasant surprise of the new 52. I’ve loved every single issue of that series and I’m really sad to see it go. Lemire and Kindt both did excellent work and I hope to see Ponticelli on something else soon, he’s great with monsters.

  35. They didn’t really promote any of these titles. Frankenstein was probably the one with the biggest potential. The whole SHADE thing had some promises, but the lack of continuity with the rest of the DCU didn’t help anything either.

  36. Bummed to see Frankenstein go, a book I truly loved, but I’m glad it lasted as long as it did.

  37. Real shame to see Frank and the guys get canned!!!!!!

    And on to the new…..

    What new and exciting delights are DC tempting us with, oh wait……

    Another Superman book, a lantern book, a justice league book!!!!!

    They may be the best books ever written, but sooner or later we’re going to end up only getting Batman, Superman, Lantern or Justice League books on the shelves and nothing else!!!!!

  38. LEGION LOST — Read one issue. As much as I wanted to like the concept (considering I really enjoyed both the original Legion Lost and the period when the “Archie” Legion was trapped in the present day), the first issue just drove me away, and I never looked back.

    GRIFTER — I actually liked the book at first. But when Rob Liefeld came on board, all my interest quickly dissipated, unfortunately.

    FRANKENSTEIN — I liked this book, but I never loved it like so many others. The art was definitely a factor for me, but the stories have never really grabbed me as well. Other than Frankenstein and Lady Frankenstein, I never really felt connected to any of the characters in what I had presumed would be a more ensemble-focused cast. Even though it only lasted for four issues, I actually really enjoyed the Flashpoint Frankenstein series more. Still, I’m sorry to see this title go, as it definitely had potential to keep growing and hooking me bit by bit.

    BLUE BEETLE — I never really read Jaime’s pre-52 series, so I can’t compare. However, this was one title I consistently enjoyed month to month, and I was really looking forward to seeing this title grow and thrive. I wonder if this is just a character who consistently needs a “superstar” creative team in order to get the attention he deserves. I know Geoff Johns wrote the pre-52 version. It’s a shame he couldn’t have had a hand in giving this book a little more exposure.

  39. hmm… if it’s all based on sales then I understand… I mean, if one likes it, but a thousand don’t, then it really is a bummer…

    what I don’t get – and I am lacking numbers to back my statement – why are there not more “direct digital” comics… I mean, when you consider the costs and the payments of artists and writer, but you pay nothing for print production and distribution (though I guess there is an amount of money to spent for using the different plattforms like itunes and so on), but in no way it would be that costy as a print magazin… because if you got low sells, nobody pays for ads anyway… and seeing how one ad shows up in many books, I guess DC sells them in bundles anyway…

    I mean, if you could get ads working in your digital books (who would bother?) and kinda establish an “long tail” production, you could make books profitable with lower sales… I mean, it’s pretty bad if you produce 20.000 issues and sell 2.000… bad for your production budget and bad for your ad selling department… but if you could make dirkect digitals more, then you reduce the risk of money loss…

    Might be naive, but I guess you can get lots of people actually doing your books… or are artists cost so high that it just not makes up for it? I mean, I can’t imagin you would get Jim Lee for those low interest digital books, but some young and hungry guys telling great stories for decent pay and some royalties should be possible… and if it sucks, you quit… not 5 issues more and loss.. you just cut the rope…

    • My understanding (I think I heard this on Word Balloon?) is that digital sales currently average about 5-10% of print sales.

      So if a book is not profitable in print, the digital market doesn’t yet offer enough (if any) cost savings at it’s current volume to make it a viable option (especially for a publisher as large and entrenched-in-print as DC).

      DC has been trying digital-first releases with Legends of The Dark Knight and the Batman Beyond stuff, but I don’t think those are anywhere near successful enough to indicate that the time is right to try to “save” certain print books by making them digital-only.

    • I guess it would depend on how much cost savings there are on the print side. Maybe a digital only approach would work for some of these. I don’t think comparing something that is available in print AND digital to something that would only ever be digital is a fair comparison.

    • hmm… I wonder if it’s a distribution thing then… I mean, digital comics are largly dependend on the availability of the consumers reading device… if I have no tablet… less funny to read on my PC or lap top.. and guided view is nice for a qucik read on the phone but it lacks the impact of a full page (in my opinion)

      But seeing that ebooks have great growing rates and onyl books that really offer a high quality set up in prit are doing okay, makes me think if comics as a medium itself are not the perfect fit for digital reading… because to be honest, the print quality of (at least American) books is really not a reason for buying it (I mean hardcover trades and so on, can be a reason… but the monthlyaverage book… no)

      And I think that lots of publishers have not realized their potential there… also for getting there stuff to whole new markets… I amean I know Europe and so on is not great in sales bute hey, there are a lot of people living there… if I can squeeze out another 10k people and have NO distribution costs… it seems crazy not to think about it (maybe they already did and it’s not working, but I doubt it)

      I mean, I completly switched to digital reading simply because I wait almost 10 weeks for books you guys get in the US to read them in Austria… digital… Ijust have to live with the fact that my wednesday starts earllier than yours 🙂

    • and I higly doubt, that they thought about it… I always shake my head about some stuff with DC.. e.g. my subscrition is running out… you pay for a year and in month 10 or so the letters start pouring in… I mean, I have 6 books orderd and I get SIX letters therefore.. all include a prepaid envelope to renew my subscriptions… I get them from that point on monthly… that is a lot of money wasted considering that I NEVER ordered by mail and do everything by internet… but oookay…

      and what about “same day as print”… make it a day early… hey, incentive that costs nothing… you could even sell it as a marketing gag for subscriptions… could help get a lot of stuff published that otehrwise would find no audience… and you could still make a “exclusive print edition” available… high quality prints always find their fans.. and you can easly do it digitally ( I am a grafic designer and you can do high quality prints with digital production already… no fear)…

      You could probably even give stuff away for free if you reach enough people and sell high paid ads and so on… personalized ads and merchandise and so on… I guess there is something missing in all those strategies… can’t tell you why cuz I am too far away but it certainly seems so

  40. The cover shown for Grifter is incorrect. That is the Team 7 #4 cover. The actual Grifter #16 cover is way more badass.

    As for the cancellation, I’m so pissed that more people couldn’t get behind the Grifter book, if for nothing else other than the art by Scott Clark, Dave Beaty, and Andrew Dalhouse for most of the series was gorgeous. Story was mediocre, but sometimes style over substance works for me and this was one of those cases. GRIFTER SOLO SERIES WILL BE GREATLY MISSED (by me at least).

  41. i hope alberto ponticelli is on something new right away.
    his art is the real star of Frankenstein.

  42. I liked the Frank book but never loved it on a consistent basis. I was never sorry I read it, but I was never eager to read it either. I dropped it about 3 months ago and haven’t really missed it, but I am sorry to see it cancelled. I think it had great potential.

    I know BB is a fan favorite but it never clicked with me. Still, sorry so many will miss it.

    Grifter, for me, was too different from the old Wildstorm universe to enjoy. I just didn’t like it.

    Also, I think there was at least one Legion book too many at launch! 😛

  43. I need more Frankenstein! Can we get a HC Graphic Novel after the series? A good, where all the parts came from story, would be great to go along with the flashbacks Frank has been having. Or a follow-up on Lady Frankenstein? Back-ground on Khali? With all the reboots from the “Evil Empire”(Marvel in case you couldn’t guess) that I have 0 interest in, and the canceling of Frankenstein, I’m saving a ton of money! Thanks…I guess.

    • Oh, and how about follow-up on Ray Palmer running out on SHADE. Too many good stories going to waist. Maybe they should have left him out of Rotworld (as much as I like the event) and given us some of the stories they set up for us.

      Happy, I am not. Sorry, my inner Yoda kicked in. Now my brother and I are going to have to connect over another book. It was the only one we both read on a regular basis.

  44. Really sad to see Frankenstein go but am looking forward to Justice League of America and Threshold. My guess or hope for other 3 books are. Booster Gold, Global Guardians and a Cyborg solo book.

    I think the Snyder / Lee Superman book is a maxi series so will probably not be counted as a New 52 title.

  45. Bah, I hate it when people sit here and bash books. If it isn’t your thing, cool, then it isn’t your thing. We get it. These artists work really hard to make these books great. Maybe I’m saying this because I genuinely am enjoying Grifter. Regardless of who the artist is. So he doesn’t draw it like you’d want it to look like, who cares? Pass it up at your local comic book store and don’t think twice about it. Let us who are enjoying these books actually enjoy them and don’t make the artist feel like crap because it doesn’t look like what you think it should look like. Rant over.

    But really though, I am going to miss Grifter.

    • I feel your pain about Grifter, but I guess since issue #8 (and after Edmondson just completely ran the book into the ground with his incoherent story and complete lack of character progression) I knew the title wouldn’t last too long. I’m just happy that we did get 17 issues, which I never thought would happen.

      My hope is that Tieri finished the last 3 issues with a bang, and they tie up all of the previous plot elements nicely by the end of issue #16. Also, I hope that Mychaels can keep his current level of detail and finish strong with the art as well.

  46. Grifter sort of floundered a bit, IMO. There was something there, but it just never seemed to quite find its footing. Feel very similar with Legion Lost.

    Blue Beetle was fun though it never matched the levels of the first time around (I really loved that first Jaime series). And Frankenstein? Well, that was just a crazy cool book.

    I guess enjoy ’em while you can. ‘Cause what else can you do?

  47. And with the cancellation on Legion Lost, I am now down to 2 DC books.