DC Comics Editor-In-Chief Bob Harras and Editorial Director Bobbie Chase have been using their weekly column over on CBR to make major announcements and these days that seems to be all about dropping the axe on both books and creators. This week, the following books were announced as canceled:
- The Savage Hawkman
- Deathstroke
- The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men
- Team 7
- The Ravagers
- Sword of Sorcery
Three of these books are OG New 52 books and three debuted recently, themselves replacing a whole slew of other books that were canceled. It’s certainly getting to the point now where you can see the future cancellation notices for the new books when they get announced. Maybe DC needs to worry less about having a certain number of books out there on the market and worry more about having a certain number of good books out on the market.
UPDATE! And that’s not all! There are more writer changes! Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti are taking over writing duties on Batwing from Fabian Nicieza. Justin Jordan is taking over Superboy from Tom DeFalco, and Michael Alan Nelson is taking over Supergirl from Mike Johnson.
Also announced over on MTV Geek is that writer Andrew Kreisberg has been replaced as Geoff Johns’ co-writer of Justice League of America: Vibe by Sterling Gates. Gates will take over with the fourth issue.
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Coming in June, five new Batman books and Snyder and Lee’s Superman.
That would be wonderful!
DC reminds me of an old childhood friend you used to love, until they started taking methamphetamine and ruined their lives. You have great memories, and you’re still curious as to what and how they’re doing, but you know the truth: every time you look back and wonder what happened to them, you see the wreck they’ve become and you feel a little less sorry for their current state. It also gets easier to walk away and not look back, since they keep making dumb, drug-addled decisions. Maybe one day they’ll get clean, but you don’t hold your breath.
Or am I just being dramatic?
“Maybe DC needs to worry less about having a certain number of books out there on the market and worry more about having a certain number of good books out on the market.”
Amen.
Right, AMEN!
Thirded.
Preach!
5th’ed. —-i wonder if some readers don’t even bother to invest their time and money into these books because they can see it cancelled a mile away? Seems like a self fulfilling prophecy at times.
Co-signed.
`12 good titles with solid creative teams would be incredible for DC.
(Note that of those 12 I do not advocate 6 Bat-titles, 2 JL titles, and 4 Green Lantern titles, either.)
Stamped with approval.
Word to your mother!
Preach it!
Just reboot the reboot and be done with it!! DC just admit you made a major mistake and get back to the good old DC Universe.
Testify!
Uh…..I concur?
I just ruined it! Damn it all.
heard that…..wish i didn’t
What you all said.
Can they not see that the concept and branding has run its course?
they shouldn’t even bother with vibe and katanna !? they won’t even see 6 issues
“Maybe DC needs to worry less about having a certain number of books out there on the market and worry more about having a certain number of good books out on the market.”
Agreed, at somepoint maybe it was the previous cancellation announcement I had the same thought.
Co-sign!
I’ll add my virtual signature to that!
Signed & Cosigned!!
#NoMoreShittyBooks
I think DC’s fascination with the number 52 is left over from when Grant Morrison seduced The Powers That Be over there into believing that the number was historically magical / karmic. I also think part of the reason they have so many strange titles out is for marketing these ideas to Hollywood, just scatter-shooting tons of premises / names into the ether, in the hopes that something will take root at a studio. If they can afford it, I have no problem with this as a reader; who knows, it may yield something cool. And as long as they keep putting out enough awesome books like Batman, Wonder Woman and Earth 2 alongside other titles, I’m happy.
Team 7 and SS? Ah, I hate you DC..
Of the titles cancelled, these two were getting the most love, and sales, at my favorite LCS.
I know right? Those two books were actually decent, though Team 7 took a bad turn with Eclipso, the most recent issue was amazing.
Woo! For once nothing I am currently reading is being affected!
Looks like Rob Liefeld is generally the touch of death for books at DC.
Not including Hawk & Dove, all the other books Liefeld was given were half-dead. You’d have to call him Kevorkian instead of Manson.
It’s “The New 35-45, depending on sales”. The publicity writes itself.
“The Now 36!”
They should really take that off all the covers. At this point all it does is remind us what a creative failure this whole thing was.
Sword of Sorcery was actually quite good. In a market where My Little Pony has done well, I would have thought it wise for DC to hang on to SoS, a female-friendly book. It is the only quality book out of the above, with perhaps the exception of Firestorm. I bought two issues of each issue of SoS, thinking it might catch on and do well, but I guess it was not to be.
Yeah this book was really not given a lot of time before getting cut, but I guess the numbers weren’t picking up. It’s sad that the non cape genres DC keeps trying to push don’t work out so well.
Except that My Little Pony is most likely a male dominated audience for the comic…
In total agreement with you…they could have kept the book up and change lead story with other characters too.
Thankfully I’m not affected by any of this.
Ravagers is the only one of the six I read, and it was on the chopping block. So no biggie for me.
I will miss Sword of Sworcery, the other ones don’t really affect me.
Can we FINALLY give Lobo his own book PLEASE!
You’re joking, right?
I think the idea is to actually sell the books.
I’m not kidding at all. If they can get the right team together, say Giffen/Grant writing and Simon Bisley on art, then I think it would work perfectly 🙂
I don’t mean to insult. Every character has fans. And I’m sure you’re right; that character with a creative team might work. For a while. Until it doesn’t, and they’re back in the same boat.
It’ll bring over some of the deadpool horde.
Wheelhands, you should really read the early Lobo stuff with this exact creative team. It was some of the funniest funny books I ever had the pleasure of reading. That and Giffen/Grant writing the one shots with various artists along the same lines as Bisley were what made me fall in love with this character. Lobo has been fairly mishandled since these glorious times, but the right crew of crazy creators could make this work 🙂
I would try a Lobo book. giffen/Dematteis/Maguire did the best Lobo in JLI 18-19. Bisley does awesome as well. It could work if handled properly. I wonder if he still has a red power ring.
I’ve tried. Believe me. It’s just not my thing. It definitely has its appeal. And you Lobo fans are a crazy bunch in all the right ways, but it’s not my drink. Outside from JLI, Giffen’s never really done it for me, and Bisley’s appeal is completely lost on me. But like I said, I don’t mean to be insulting. Everybody’s got their favorites. I hope, someday, you get your wish.
Lobo has his own title for quite a run in the late 90s or 00s and started out with this team. I think Lobo is a character for another time and, for that matter, another universe. His miniseries were great and all kind of off on their own where the universe could be goofy. When he got his regular title and he was more firmly in the regular universe, it necessitated scaling back some of the ridiculousness and lost a lot of its luster. The gag had kind of been done to death by mini after mini at that point. I think a big part of DCs problem is that when sales aren’t steller, they keep punting to comfortable, old creative teams that they know can put out a comic on time. Guys like Jurgens and Defalco (blech) and sometimes even Giffen can have a style that feels a little dated at this point.
I would definitely read a Lobo book!
It’s about time he got his own title again!
It really is sad to see SoS go – a fun, beautifully executed, female-centric title that deserved to stick around. Oh well…..
Aw, Justin Jordan was just starting to make Deathstroke readable again.
I have to say, I’m surprised that Firestorm outlived as many books as it did. I feel like most readers pegged it as a goner from issue one.
I actually liked deathstroke as well. Cool character just going on missions and I got to do Ron Pearlmens’ voice in my head.
Oh well…..just watch teen titans for my fix
DC cancel some low selling books that had little critical praise.
I did enjoy the first arc of SoS, and i know some people liked Jurgens on Firestorm.
Very interested to the what replaces them, the rumors a few weeks back of Red Robin, Martian Manhunter, Superman/Batman, DC Presents and Brave & Bold were kind of intriguing.
Martian Manhunter has a back-up in JLA so he probably doesn’t have a new series.
Anyone know how many Wildstorm character books are still going? Any?
The Savage Hawkman-This just never seemed to click for me. I think having Hawkman in a team might be the best way to go
Team 7 and the Ravagers-With JLA launching soon, maybe they decided too many team books were around.
Sword of Sorcery-Probably sales killed it, but would have been nice to stick around
Stormwatch is the only Wildstorm book left
I’d like to see a Lobo title. I’d also like to see a readable JLI. Seems like DC’s darker/weirder stuff does well. Not sure why they think boring re-hashed crossover bullshit is the saving grace of comics.
I don’t understand why they don’t bring Giffen/Dematteis/Maguire back on JLI and be done with it(i was just talking about these guys above. weird). That JLI 90’s retro one-shot right before the new 52 was fantastic. I wonder if it sold well.
@sitara119 Not gonna lie, I’d read the hell out of it, but all three creators have said that they’re done with the characters.
That said, if you do wanna get your Giffen/DeMatteis JLI fix, check out the run they had on Booster Gold.
Plus, Maguire is incredibly slow on art.
Bummer.
what’s also odd is they have an article on their 5.2 reasons to read DC Comics talking about Sword of Sorcery
I know it was a rumour last year but a Robins team book written by Jeff Lemire would be amazing.
I was typing my comment below when you posted yours.
Weird.
I’m gonna go ahead and do my best to be optimistic (never my strong suit). Since I don’t read any of these, I’m choosing to see this as a good thing. At least changes are being made. They’re aware of the problem, and hopefully doing something to fix it.
With all these Robins around, they should replace one of these with a Robin: Legacy title. Tell stories from the past and present, showcasing each Robin’s time with In the mask intertwining with present-day team-ups and individual stories with overarching threats. It would free up some breathing room in Batman’s solo titles, and give fans of each Robin some much needed satisfaction. It would also make adding the inevitable next Bat title worth something. Having four Robins already mucks up this stupid new timeline. They might as well make the most of it.
It would be a great way to humanize Damian even more. Show that he makes some of the same mistakes that the earlier Robins did.
That too. Although Damian gets a lot of attention in B&R. I just think it would be fun to spend some time with each legacy. Seeing Dick in the costume again would be fun in small doses. You might as well deepen Jason’s past beyond the “he was rash and unpredictable” flashbacks, since it appears he’s not going anywhere. I’d certainly love to see Tim kicking ass and pouch-free again. People would shit a brick to see a story or two with Steph Brown in the costume. You could even do a Squire or a Carrie Kelley story once in a while.
I think it has legs.
That’s not a bad idea. Way more promising than most of the swill DC’s been cranking out since the reboot. I’ve always been a DC fan, but Marvel has done a way better job with their “relaunch”.
It might be good but I think the 5 year old Batman timeline having so many Robins is so screwed up, they’re better off ignoring it as much as possible because there’s no way to make it make sense without just saying that each Robin only had a year or so with Batman and writing out all of the pre-52 stories.
@alexhoward: That’s what I’m saying though. Embrace it. It’s already there, stinking up the place. Ya might as well give them their own book in which to shine.
I’m actually enjoying DC’s digital first series a lot more than their regular print books.
I’m with you on that. I only read one New 52 book now, that being BATMAN. All my other DC books come from the digital line, but I wait for the print versions.
Anyone else really want to see a Plastic Man comic…………. just me………. ok.
Believe me, Timmy Wood agrees with you.
Similar to Lobo, it would be a great way to bring in some of the Deadpool fans. Humor/action, it’s selling.
Jeff is right. I do.
I would be on board for such a title!
I’d have to give it a try. Who’d be funny enough to write him?
YES!!!!! Love me some Plas!!!
@stara119 What if they could get a funny nerd comic to write it, much like Posehn writing Deadpool for Marvel? Patton Oswalt or Seth Green, maybe??
@ClasikRok
Good call.
I’m in for a Plastic Man book!
@ClasikRok – I would love, love, LOVE to read a comic written by Mr. Patton Oswalt!
I think they should try out the DCU presents format one more time but with top tier creators and characters doing single issue stories.
If they can do what they did with Wednesday Comics, why not try that?
Jumped aboard Sword of Sorcery with the first issue, because it looked like fun, and it was! Sorry to see it go. Saw at my LCS that there is a telephone-book of the original series. Anyone know if it’s worth checking out?
So we are finally getting: Blue Lanterns, Orange Lantern, Star Sapphires, Indigo Tribe and The Adventures of Arkillo books?…
The Atom: Agent of SHADE ?
I’d try that for $3.
Ryan Choi, ATOM of SHADE.
I loved how they used Palmer in Frankenstein, so I’d be interested in that, especially if DC could get Lemire or Kindt on it . . .
Nice, I’d buy that actually love it then it cancelled like all my other books.
The Shade: Atom of AGENT!
Besides a handful of books, DC is really fucked up right now. It makes me sad.
Umm, there were more creative changes. Michael Alan Nelson on Supergirl, Justin Jordan on Superboy (thank god), Palmiotti and Gray on Batwing and Ales Kot on Sucide Squad.
They mentioned P&G on Batwing in the update.
I thought Mike Johnson had done a pretty decent job with Supergirl. He and Asar put out what I thought was the most consistently good DC Comics on the rack. While it was never a 5, it was often a 4, and never a 2.
Really intrigued by Ales Kott on Suicide Squad though.
I want a WILDC.A.T.S. book
Also fold Red Hood and the Outlaws.
Take Cyborg out of JLA and relaunch the New Teen Titans.
If we’re all busy reading a good Teen Titans or some other must read title then who’s gonna read Batman? That’s their business plan now, right?
The problem with Wildcats (and Stormwatch and anything that has anything to do with Wildstorm) is that when they were in Wildstorm they were the top tier. They got the talent. At DC they are mid-to-bottom range. The characters don’t have the clout to get talent worthy of them.
Can DC be in more disarray? Sword of Sorcery and Team 7 are not even at six issues out, don’t these books deserve a little leeway?
They’re lucky to be getting to issue 8 with such lackluster sales. Nothing bounces back in sales these days except putting a top-level team on a book. Lets see how much Green Arrow jumps in sales.
I don’t wanna spoil the ending of the first arcs of Vibe and Katanna but it ends with the getting cancelled.
I’d say that’s a given.
ha!
Lol
OK – here’s what I’d greenlight as replacements if it was up to me:
– Cyborg (the only member of Justice League without his own book? That HAS to be in the next batch, right?).
– A title about all three Robins (at least a mini). Wheelhands suggested it here, but lots of people have been plugging for it on various iFanboy threads as well, so (s)he isn’t alone. The idea has massive potential.
– Midnighter. When done right, that book can be awesome.
– Metamorpho? C’mon, I can’t be the only one who loves him! A bit of irony and humour, but also a sense of pathos.
– New Gods (But only if its done RIGHT. New Gods are consistently misused by creators and so need to have top level talent on all fronts).
– A book about Bruce Wayne’s world travels, his quest to become the Bat. Can detail his training and early experiences. I actually severely want to write this book, were it not for my aversion to fanfic, I’d have done it already. Still, the idea is solid and people would buy it (with an actual writer, obviously).
I Love Martian Manhunter, but his character seems a bit diluted right now. However, he absolutely needs a book eventually.
What would your choices be?
Depending on creative teams, I’d probably check out all your ideas except for Cyborg (just not a fan). I particularly like the New Gods and Bruce Wayne Begins ideas. Midnighter (and possibly Apollo) could absolutely support their own book. I too am a fan of Mr. J’onzz, and I hope the new JLA title can help return him to the front lines.
Cyborg, the robins, and New Gods. I love Martian Manhunter not sure if there would be enough of a following.
Yeah, you guys are totally right about Martian Manhunter – he needs rebuilding rather badly. I’m glad those ideas went down well, that’s what I’d pitch if I were at that stage.
@Wheelhands – An Apollo book would really compliment the Midnighter book, you could see the relationship from two sides! That’s a great idea.
Oooh, I would totally buy a Midnighter title! I love Midnighter & Apollo but I don’t really care for the rest of Stormwatch/Authority anymore, so I stopped buying. But if a book starred these two guys then it’d have my money every month.
As for New Gods… it would appear they are being utilized by Azz’s current Wonder Woman.
Yes they are in Wonder Woman, but I’ve not been reading it, so I don’t know how they fit into the new status quo.
The original ‘New Gods’ run by Jack Kirby is truly awe-inspiring, however. I’m in the process of tracking it down in single issues (despite having the collected edition). It is a mind-expanding story, a contemporary super-mythology and possibly Kirby’s best ever work. I’m sure you’ve read it, but if not, then I cannot recommend it strongly enough.
Midnighter & Apollo are potentially great characters who aren’t always well handled, just like the New Gods. Would you buy the Midnighter/Apollo books as separate books that frequently told the same story from different points of view? Just asking, as that’s how I’d pitch it if it was me.
Failing that, would you buy an ‘Apollo/Midnighter’ joint title in the vein of ‘Batman/Superman’?
Also: Jim Starlin is taking over the Stormwatch book in April, that will certainly get me back on board. Does that change anything for you, SW-wise? I’m just curious.
As a long time DC fanboy that really isn’t enjoying much of their product these days, I’d rather see them axe a failing book then try to ride it out. I remember them saying at the beginning of the New 52 that they wouldn’t wait long to cancel a book that wasn’t selling well. I actually think it’s a good strategy. Whether that strategy is part/result of a bigger company issue is another thing. But I really don’t care.
I say they just go with mini series instead of ongoing titles. That would keep the line fresh and maybe everyone wouldn’t freak out then a book is cancelled.
I’m also disappointed to see Sword of Sorcery go so soon.
I loved Flashpoint, and was excited to see what would come with the New 52. Since the initial debut of the New 52, DC has steadily canceled almost every book I liked. I get that sales weren’t there for a lot of them, but I’d hoped that books like OMAC and now Sword of Sorcery, would have been given a bit more chance to flourish.
Gates on Vibe?
I may have to try that title now.
It’s good to see him back. His run on Supergirl kicked butt. But his work on Hawk and Dove was kind of lame, and then he disappeared.
DC made it pretty clear when the new 52 launched that they were moving away from minis. They would put titles out there as on-goings with creative teams that a solid idea for one arc and see what happened. As the numbers hit a certain low mark they would get replaced. They would also try to get bumps out of new creative teams on sagging titles they believed still had sales potential. Its not disarray – its a pretty straightforward business plan.
Lots of titles I loved (OMAC, Frankenstein, even Blackhawk) have been cancelled, but in the old 52 I would have been happy with a mini from any of those characters. I can’t believe I still get more issues of AS Western and Dial H; and it took 16 issues but Superman is finally decent! I say things ain’t half bad.
Yet within a few months of launching they had Huntress, Penguin, & the Ray.
And they saw those sales were low. Only Huntress still had over 20k sales by the end. Penguin was the critical hit. They learned their lessons. Minis don’t sell.
I appreciate DC cutting my pull-list for me, but i wish it would stop cutting books I actually enjoy.
First, I, Vampire and now Sword of Sorcery?
Same, I Vampire and now Sword Of Sorcery were both books starting along with I Vampire with the new 52 relaunch my girlfriend and me have read together and was used as a way for my girlfriend to get into reading comics as finding some titles she enjoys.
It’s nice to see Justin Jordan getting some more work with the Big 2, but I’m beginning to think he’s with the Wrong 1.
About this whole mess though, I can only hope that once this is all over that DC will undergo a golden era of rebuilding fostered by the creativity of new independent creators and a focus on telling great stories just as Marvel did in the early 00s after had Harras exited…
I have a question: where would DC be if there was no flashpoint and It was still in the pre new 52 times?
Probably exactly where they are now.
I didn’t mean that as a snide comment. I just mean that they are pretty much where they were before the New 52 anyway. They are putting out a bunch of books, most of which are floundering and have zero buzz. Then they have some Batman books that everyone loves. Conor said it best. Hey need to jot worry about the amount of books thy are putting out and just put out GOOD books.
I don’t know where they’d be with print sales, but I bet their digital initiative would not have been as popular without a slew of #1s to launch it.
This is clearly a sign of how poorly DC is running their business right now, but the optimistic side of me also has to say that they wouldn’t cancel this many titles (these six plus 3-4 more that were cancelled last month) if they didn’t already have ten more titles to replace them.
I’m hoping they’re cancelling everything at once in order to have one strong Fifth (or sixth or seventh or whatever it is) Wave Launch all at once. None of these titles were really any good (to me) so I’m not sad to see any of them go. This is actually a somewhat promising move to me just because whatever titles they introduce have to be stronger than these titles they’ve axed.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that these all feel like moves made in an effort to strengthen their line.
It’s inexcusable that they are canceling series so soon and replacing writers so early (before their issues can be read by the public). All of these moves should have been made earlier and in private. They shouldn’t have needed to change their minds at all, they should have had their shit together already.
But this does feel like a series “get our shit together” type moves.
Gray and Palmiotti on Batwing feels like an upgrade.
Lemire on Constantine feels like an upgrade.
Hackman, Ravagers, Deathstroke, and Firestorm being cancelled feel like good moves.
I never read DC until the New 52 got me to really like the company. I went back and fell in love with old DC while growing to dislike much of New 52.
The optimistic side of me sees that these have potential to be strong moves from a company trying to right its ship.
I hope they come back strong and launch good new titles. I’m not holding my breath, but there is a hopeful side to this for DC fans. I really want to hear what those of you who know more about comics then me have to say in response.
Thanks.
This was a well-written and enjoyable observation. Thanks. Its nice to see a bit of optimism on this subject for once.
Personally, I believe that DC is trying to respond to reader demands as quickly and decisively as possible. The received wisdom about DC has always been that they were slow to react and somewhat ‘out of touch’ with their fanbase. ‘The New 52’ was, in part, a response to this. Regular culling of low-selling books such as this latest batch of cuts is a part of their long term business plan, and clearly has been since the reboot. They’ve done this a couple of times already.
If people don’t buy it, DC cancels it and replaces it with something new. No questions asked. This allows for regular transfusions of fresh blood in the form of new, hopefully interesting books. People can perhaps question the quality of these books, but at least its a strong reaction from the publisher itself.
I also think that DC is trying to shine a light on some of the neglected corners of their universe, so now characters like Vibe and Katana are being given a chance to shine, which is, in my view, largely a good thing. DC has an incredibly strong roster of characters, nearly all of which are awesome when written well. There are lots of options to try. It just doesn’t make sense to run a book like ‘Deathstroke’ into the ground if people don’t buy it (although, IMHO, Mr. Liefeld shot that particular bird out of the sky).
Honestly, I don’t think any of these books will be much-missed after the initial cancellation, just like ‘Hawk & Dove’, ‘Mr. Terriffic’ and whatever else was cut out earlier in the initiative. I don’t see canceling the books that weren’t selling as a bad move either. If DC kept ‘Firestorm’ running with a few different creative teams in an attempt to jump start reader interest, they might have to wait a long time and it would ultimately be harder to bring in new readers to ‘Firestorm’ Issue 53 than to a relaunched Issue 1 with an all-star creative team. Just cut the book and have done with it, make way for something that readers might enjoy more.
Overall, I think that DC is attracting an unfair amount of bile on this subject. OK, not all the books are great and maybe the promise of the New 52 hasn’t been delivered upon as well as it could have been, but we’ve still seen some impressive stories and runs and I’m optimistic for the future, same as you. The Post Crisis world took a couple of years to get going as well, don’t forget.
Maybe bob harras wasn’t The right choice for eic
Ya think?
Published on DCcomics.com today as 5.2 Reasons to Read DC Comics If you Don’t like Superheroes, reason 1 is Sword of Sorcery. I guess the writer didn’t get the memo early enough.
http://www.dccomics.com/blog/2013/02/07/52-reasons-to-read-dc-comicseven-if-you-dont-like-super-heroes
How many issues did Team 7 and Sword of Sorcery last?
DC Comics is a hot mess!
OK, there was nothing on this list I was actually reading, though I was curious to try Team 7 — the concept was intriguing. Except for Sword of Sorcery, I had never really heard many good things about any of these titles; honestly I thought that Ravages had already been canceled. As for the creative changes, I didn’t see anything shocking. Maybe I’ll give Batwing another try now; I’ve been meaning to since I dropped off around #10. Jordan jumping onto Superboy may motivate me to purchase the book regularly. We’ll see, my budget is tight these days. I have been enjoying Supergirl, and hope the new writer works out.
I agree with those above who would like to see some sort of Robin book. How about a Red Robin/Spoiler book written by Mr. Q Miller? I’d buy that immediately . . .
So far these have been announced as cancelled:
DC Universe Presents
I, Vampire
Team 7
Deathstroke
Hawkman
Sword of Sorcery
Fury of the Firestorm
Ravagers
Am I missing any?
I think ABC cancelled “Don’t Trust the B—-“
This is so bad. What the hell is going on with DC? They usually never go this overboard when it comes to cancellations. I really am concern on how this company is being run right now.
Dial H is going to be next on the chopping block I just know it!
I buy Dial H as well and really enjoy it, but I agree that it’s probably the next to get cancelled.
I wonder how much longer All Star Western has as well.
@TooLoudASolitude “I wonder how much longer All Star Western has as well.”
Shhh! Don’t tempt DC! The fact that a non superhero anthology has lasted this long is a miracle. I firmly believe that DC’s spreadsheet truncates after “All Star” and the bean counters think this is All Star Superman.
Sad to see SoS and I’vampire go but have been expecting it as sales have been bad. I don’t know what books may be coming up but have heard rumors of more work for matt kindt and joshua hale fiaklov, so hopefully they get put on cool books, maybe jim zub will get a book for real as well.
Not sure about Fialkov, he’s been writing stuff for Marvel recently. I would rather Zub not take any work at DC after the Birds of Prey fiasco. Maybe there’s something at Marvel for him if he really wants Big 2 work.
Source for that was the I’vampire cancellation interview I read that said he had more work coming down the pike at DC that was cool but he couldn’t talk about yet. Robert Vendetti has more work as well I believe. As for Jim Zub I think what happened now is that they gave Cristy Marx Birds of Prey since SoS was cancelled and Jim Zub was the odd man out.
From reading Jim Zub’s blog posts after it happened he sees working for them a big step forward for his career and it probably could be. What I gather and at this point is as a indie creator you want to work with the big 2 at some point to get your name out there, even if you don’t want to end up staying with them long term.
I mean look at hickman sales after marvel, when I talked to Rick Remender at NYCC he said he writes it like he owns it in regards to X-Force. If you write a bad big 2 title no one is going to go back and check out your indies.
Just heard that Ales Kot and Timothy Green II will be taking over Suicide Squad in May.
It’s a constant fucking train wreck. I sit by and watch until it has to be called for what it is. So few books have quality and nothing makes sense like a cohesive universe should. It’s an epic failure all the way. I’m a life long DC fan, but I’ve had enough.
It’s crazy when it’s ” this guys book” Ethan the next day it’s that guys book. For god sakes, do you think we don’t notice that? It’s not like the books ar even good! For god sakes put out good books with characters we care about…it’s sad at this point.
Thought the writing was on the wall for Mike Johnson on Supergirl when his co-writer disappeared.
I’m at least an issue behind, it was stuck in the middle of a crappy crossover and I was probably going to drop it anyway but… is anyone familiar with this Michael Alan Nelson guy?
I guess running one company into the ground just wasn’t good enough for Harras.
After the last round of writer changes and cancelations I dropped all my DC books. I have decided that change won’t come unless people vote with their dollars so I’m spending my elsewhere.
I am unaffected by this as I have been all of DC’s cancellations.
I like this because DC has the opportunity to present new books that I may like.
I would suggest:
Justice League International with the original creative team of Giffen/Dematteis/Maguire(3 times in one thread. I must be obsessed 😉 ). They=hot cakes
Lobo. A galactic bounty hunter book. Just him hunting people and/or delivering them alive despite how much they annoy him. Like that story about his 4th grade teacher. Classic. They could even throw in Vril Dox.
Gotham Central. Bring back Rucka. No elaboration required.
Wally West Flash book.
New Gods book written by Azzarello. He has a knack for mythology and pantheons.
Arkham Asylum. With no Batman cameos or VERY little. Just patients(a lot second stringers like Zsasz, Ventriloquist and Maxie Zeus) corrupted guards, creepy doctors, hidden passages and rumors of being haunted by ghosts of patients past. Kinda like American Horror Story season 2.
Would love to see that Arkham series one day, Rucka and Brubaker would be great on that.
Huzzah! With DeFalco off of Superboy I can give it a shot.
More exclamation points, please.
!!!
Just announced from DC: new politically themed books from Gail Simone & Art and Franco. Interesting.
DC gives me ulcers. Also they need to stop putting THE NEW 52! on all the books.
Good riddance to bad rubbish! The new 52 is a mess, time to reboot!
I, Vampire and Sword of Sorcery are the two biggest losses.
I forgot Superman Family. Damn.
Oooh! I look forward to Justin Jordan on Superboy.
I just don’t understand all of the hate. I still have a large chunk of books in the DCU that I love every week. I like their methods here with the books. Cancel books that aren’t performing, replace them with new ones. The ones that stick, stick. The ones that don’t get cancelled in the next round and another crop of books has a shot to succeed. I’d rather they kill off the weak books instead of bloating up their line of series with stuff no one is buying/enjoying anyway.
That said, I am said I, Vampire is gone. I loved the crossovers with Justice League Dark.
People like to pile it on DC lately. I’ll miss Sos and I’vampire but I understand, most the rest of these books were either not good, didn’t sell or both. Deathstroke was a creative revolving door and i’m much more interested in Justin Jordan writing Superboy even if he was starting to fix that title. Batwing is probably getting an upgrade and I wouldn’t mind suicide squad changing hands at this point, current is starting to get stale for me.
4/6 of the second wave are still going and are decent books: worlds finest, dial h, batman inc, earth 2.
2/4 of third wave are left: phantom stranger and talon
fourth wave appears to be threshold, jla, vibe and katana although they haven’t called it a forth wave, at least 2 of those books are probably DOA.
WTB martian manhunter by matt kindt.
Bring on the fifth wave.
This is a reply to Arathi411.
To me Threshold is doomed already. I was not really impressed with the origin story in the Annual and the first issue still has me questioning it. The only thing I found good about the book was the LarFleeze back up story.
I most likely will not give Vibe a shot or Katana. I loved Katana in Birds of Prey, but just don’t see her as a strong enough character to hold it’s own title.
They are doing some good things, but they are creating the bloat that you are talking about. instead of launching titles just to have 52, they should let the market naturally determine what it can support. It is good they cut bloat, but they should first not create said bloat.
That being said, they do have some good titles going right now. The problem is that most of the good titles are because of the creative team, and most of the bad titles are because of editorial/DC. So people are frustrated because things could be so much better.
I don’t get it, either. Cancelling low selling books? Isn’t that normal.
The problem is always having 52 books per month. It’s forced and unnatural. But doesn’t Marvel have a lot more than 52 regular books per month?
The complete lack of surprise engendered by these cancellations is telling. I can’t speak for ‘SoS’, but every other title in that list has been dire.
The shame is that it’s not necessarily the property that’s been below par. It’s the execution. Again!
So, Dan & Bob are relying on titles like ‘Katana’ & ‘Vibe’ to recover lost ground? Tragic.
I think that Dan, Bob & Jim Lee need to leave the company before there’s a genuine reversal of fortune.
I think an editorial management re-boot is the solution.
NOOOOOOO not Sword of Sorcery!!!!!
At least announce that Christy Marx will be writing something else she clearly is an awesome writer who DC NEEDS to keep her around. I actually excepted this announcement to say All Star Western and Demon Knights I guess I should feel happy its only one of my books this time around. To think I just made the case to my buddy that DC gives every book a chance to succeed after such a short run I guess I’m proven wrong.
I really didn’t read any of these, but it’s sad to see the company in the shape it’s in. We can talk about all of these lower-tier titles, but keep in mind how much flux Superman has been in (and it’s still mediocre at best). DC has big problems on hand. They really need to trim more books and get all of their best talent on 15-20 titles.
Green Team by Art and Franco; The Movement by Gail Simone; both come in May. These actually sound interesting.
So who was it that kept saying DC wasn’t in upheaval?
I thought the Amethyst story in Sword & Sorcery was just OK, but I loved the Beowulf story and really wish I could have seen more of that. Much like the Shazam story in JL, if I could have bought the backup only as a digital comic, I’d have done it immediately. I think DC really wants an anthology title to succeed but people just don’t seem to care that much. SoS seemed to be taking the track of trying to do one by having a main story and backups. I wish sales were viable enough to publish these backup and anthology stories as digital only to give them a chance to keep living. Maybe follow the LotDK path of publish them for $1 a week digitally then collect them in print later if it seems like there’s interest. I really wish Comixology would come up with a subscription model and pull system. Maybe knowing that X number of people were planning to buy a comic long term would help the publishers make decisions about what to keep around.
Yeah, I thought Beowulf was a million times better. But it wasn’t good enough for me to keep on buying the book for me.
After sleeping on this, I back tracked on my earlier thoughts. If the book isn’t selling, then it should get canned. At the launch of the new 52 they said books that don’t sell would get canceled quickly. My beef is the hiring and firing of creators and shuffling teams so often. If it sells and your willing to publish it then let a team make a run of it. Well my main beef is the low quality of the majority of the line. In my opinion…
I agree. The problem is not the business model. Low selling books should get culled, which creates the opening for new books.
The issue is editorial. Editorial control has prevented good writers from telling good stories with their last minute story changes and mandated crossovers. Editorial has dictated writers add more (pointless) violence to their stories and have characters act in ways that are out of character. Editorial has pissed off so many professional writers with their unprofessional behavior that many established writers will not work with DC any more. Editorial has burned many upcoming writers by taking them off books before they even launched, probably souring those relationships forever and giving other new writers pause.
Bob Harras and his yes (wo)man, Bobbie Chase, have to go. Dan Dido probably has to go to. It’s time for change at DC.
Hey where’s all the DC defenders from Jimski’s post the other day?
I still consider myself more of a “DC guy” but I think any fan would have to admit that DC is flailing more than a little. Or at least it feels like it.
What’s wrong with cancelling books that don’t sell well? Maybe they will be replaced with better books than sell better.
I will say, I’ve picked up the first few issues of Team 7. It’s…okay. Nothing fantastic. And honestly? It felt like maybe it should have been thought out as a mini anyway what with being primarily about the NuDCU past.
Honestly, this is the probably with most DC books. The vast majority are only middling. There’s no reason to pick up most.
What’s also annoying is that I feel moderately compelled to buy issues of Red Lanterns and New Guardians because of the GL events. Otherwise those would be long gone too. As it is, I’m only buying them on a per issue basis. But this whole First Army thing is dragging it’s heels. If the payoff isn’t there… I suspect I won’t be either.
Oops! Meant Third Army….I had the First Lantern in my head!
I read issue 0 of Team 7 and thought it was incredibly dull. I was pretty bummed. So can’t say I’m sad to see it go.
Wow! I have not read Firestorm, Hawkman or Deathstroke, but I do read Team 7, Ravangers and Sword and Sorcery.
I can see why Team 7 is being cancelled, it was a nice book, but did not really fit into the DC current timeframes.
Ravangers I will miss as I thought this was well done. Lots of things to explore with the characters there.
Sword and Sorcery, to me this is just to quick. I know this may not appeal or sell very well, but it was well done and had an interesting story line going. I will miss this title as well.
I don’t need five more Batman books, I love Batman, but enough is enough you will make him the X-Men with a bazillion titles going on. To me this is going degrade the story telling of the Batman mythos.
These are the new DC lines I would like to see:
– Booster Gold
– The Atom
– Shazam
– The Question
– The Elongated Man
Yes my friend you are right on the mark with this.
Y’know, I can’t really argue with DC’s decision to cancel the titles. I’m not reading them, I’m not supporting them, so for me to complain about their loss is bogus. What I will complain about is missed opportunity. With the New 52, DC had a shot at wiping the slate clean, simplifying things, and doing comics differently. None of these things has happened. I’m down to two DC books at this point, one of which I’m convinced hasn’t been cancelled because DC has forgotten it’s around.
While I risk being an echo, I’ll say what everyone else seems to be saying. Put out good books, consistently, and let creators create. On the other hand if, as Jimski suggested, you want to scare away long time fans then keep doing what you’re doing. Because the only thing that makes fans less likely to pick up a book besides “not mattering” is a title that’s going to be cancelled after two issues.
New Gods
Doom Patrol
Martian Manhunter
Make Teen Titans not suck
Also agree on Shazam and Booster Gold
I also agree that quite a few of DC’s titles are middling and have been. They aren’t terrible reads but not as much seems to be happening as it should be, I think they realized this and maybe this is the reason for WTF april, they just went about it the wrong way. Meaning they should have been doing stuff all along, and they shouldn’t do marketing like that to a fairly mature fan that is probably rifiling through previews.
I have defended some of DC’s books but yea an editorial overturn sooner rather than later may benefit the line for sure.
While it makes sense to cancel books that aren’t performing rather than keeping them around for the sake of it, the optics of the cancellations are going to start affecting other new books going forward. Commenters above have already started marking books like Vibe and Katana for death before the first issues even hit, and who can blame them? As a prospective reader/buyer, I’m wary of any new DC title that isn’t a big name (either character or creator) or isn’t getting significant pre-release buzz, because there’s such a high chance the title won’t make it out of the cradle.
I think that’s because a book about Vibe, a very hated character, and a Katana book written by Ann Nocenti, who has been stinking up the new 52, are not exactly what anybody is looking for these days.
Yea I basically got evicted from Catwoman. Take away Guillem March on art then take away Judd Winick on writing and give Ann Nocenti, I hear you DC i’ll cancel the book, just stop.
I will be reading Batwing again!
I’m happy about that.
*Sigh* I really liked “Sword of Sorcery” and “Firestorm”. Now I LOVE the classic Hawkman, but that new 52 Hawkman blew dead goats. I hated it with a passion. Why can’t they “retry” like they have with Green Arrow? Oh yeah, he has a TV show and Hawkman doesn’t… poop.
So how long ’til DC just kind of forgets the new 52 ever happened and Superman goes back to being Superman and Hawkman is Hawkman and not early 90’s Image Hawkman, “Shazam” can be Captain Marvel, and so on and so forth? Yes, I know… never. *Sniff*
I generally agree with the sentiments regarding missed opportunities. At the start of this thing (new 52) DC had buzz and momentum, but it seems like they lacked a real focus and long-term vision. Make the heroes younger? Cool. Fresh start for old favorites? Good idea.
But then they clearly never took the time to determine the timeline and status of each character- so we have in idea what the history is between major characters, and in most cases introductions are treated poorly. For example, the whole four robins in five years problem.
I generally have no trouble with DC experimenting with new kinds of books and pulling the plug if they fail to take off (RIP Omac, Frankenstein, etc). I think my frustration as a long-time fan is the lack of foresight and consideration for these larger issues. In the end wasn’t the whole point of the flashpoint to clean up the issues of messy continuity? Not make more which has arguably been the result.
I am still reading a healthy number of DC books, but it is down to about 15when I gave a solid majority of the new books a try. And they have some great books, but I find myself less invested in the universe as a whole when these things keep happening. For example, Batman appears to have an extensive (5-year) history with all his villains, but Aquaman never battled Ocean Master until now? Things just do not add up in a satisfying way. I say go all in, or just call it all off, undo the flashpoint and get things back to where we were. It may not be much of an improvement, but it t least does away with these kinds of silly questions that should not trouble me as a reader.
In the grand scheme, both of the big two could learn from the kind if books that Image is putting out. There are new ideas out there and interesting concepts to explore.
Bring back Secret Six!
Not surprised about Hawkman or Deathstroke.That’s what happens when you let Liefeld take over three books and run them into the ground for months.
Didn’t Team 7 come out like 6 months ago? Damn i really liked that book.At least the concept.It was supposed to tell the “secret history of the new 52” and bring in a whole bunch of ex-Wildstorm characters like John Lynch and tell us all about what was happening during the 5 years we skipped over.BUT we didn’t get that.I was actually letting those later issues pile up at the store because i knew that i wasn’t missing any BIG plot twists or revelations.The writing was meh and seemed to only serve as a supporting book to Deathstroke and Suicide Squad.
I think someone above mentioned it but the problem is that DC is canceling books that sell badly and replacing them with books that have bad press going in.Take Constantine.They cancel Hellblazer, a book with a lot of dedicated fans, and replace it with a New 52 spun Constantine book.I never read Hellblazer and thus have no definite opinion on it but i appreciate something that ran for 300 issues.They made room for Katana,Vibe, JLA and Constantine because Geoff Johns is hoping to pull an Aquaman on Vibe and make him “awesome”.
Here’s my Wish List:
-Cyborg
-Black Canary
-Robin
-Superman/Batman