DC buries six titles, digs up six more and I go 4-2

Posted: January 14th, 2012 | Author: | Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: , , | No Comments »

DC Comics announced the inevitable earlier this week and released a statement saying six issues from its New 52 line-up were doomed to cancellation.

Let me say right up front, it’s not like I’m all giddy about the cancellations. I’m generally not happy about any comic books being canceled. And while some are getting the ax, DC also announced plans to launch six new titles to replace the ones being dropped, and some of them sound great. But I also think some of the canceled books — and others down the line — are hindered by poor planning in terms of writing and art teams, lack of promotion and in some cases half-hearted attempts at change for change’s sake that come off half-baked.

Way back in August, when the New 52 had just relaunched, I made some predictions on which comics would get the chop and when. So how’d I do? Let’s take a look: The DC-canceled books include Blackhawks, Men of War, Static Shock, Hawk and Dove, Mister Terrific and O.M.A.C. Using an awkward “thrive-survive-die” system, I had originally picked a number of books I thought would be canceled, and four of those are also on DC’s hit list:

Mister Terrific

  • Mister Terrific
  • Blackhawks
  • Men of War
  • Hawk and Dove

Not bad, not bad. But that still leaves two that missed the mark. I put these titles on the “Survive” list, predicting they would last at least a couple of years. Oops. Those books were:

  • Static Shock
  • O.M.A.C.

Well, that’s still pretty good for Vegas. Of the six books on their way out, I’m most sorry to see O.M.A.C. go. It was a comic that was fun, eye-poppingly illustrated and seemed to channel pure Kirby Krackle. Best of all, it really gave a sense of building up to something more; I think O.M.A.C. had only just laid the groundwork for a much bigger story, and I’m sorry we’ll never get to see that now. (I’m also sorry that with the loss of O.M.A.C., Mister Terrific and Static Shock, DC just seriously cut into the number of characters of color leading any of its books.)

Dial H

But like I said, the news isn’t all bad. The new titles are supposed to kick off after the others reach the end with issue #8 in April, and some of them have a chance at being pretty good. Dial H by China Miéville looks like it might be some Animal Man-style horror from one of the modern masters of weird fiction, and I love that World’s Finest will feature Power Girl and Huntress in place of Clark and Bruce. The so-called Second Wave (ugh) will be rounded out by G.I. Combat (please, please, please let that mean Joshua Dysart’s version of the Unknown Soldier will make a comeback), The Ravagers, Earth 2 and the fanboy-pleasing return of Batman Incorporated (with Grant Morrison back in the driver’s seat, no less).

For the record, Earth 2 worries me a little bit because it’s hard not to think it’s  just a shuffling step back toward the ol’ Multiverse status quo. The Ravagers — a Superboy/Teen Titans spinoff — sounds terrible, and writer Howard Mackie’s Marvel-in-the-90s pedigree doesn’t exactly give me confidence.

Oh, well, at least now that Hawk and Dove got the boot it’s not like we’re going to be subjected to massive amounts of Liefeld or anything.

Aw, crap.