By Todd Allen
When DC released their solicitations yesterday, the dreaded words “Final Issue” were on the listing for G.I. Combat #7. Thus far, DC has liked to cancel titles in batches and then install a new “wave” of titles. Does this mean we’ve got some unannounced cancellations and a new batch of titles will be coming out in January? The New York Comic Con _would_ be a good time to announce a new batch of titles, after all. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the bottom of the “New 52” and see what’s happening… or not happening as the case may be. We’ll also see if anything in the December solicitation sounds like a wrap up.Sales estimates from August via The Comics Chronicles. Solicitation copy via DC’s blog.
- Captain Atom 10,445 (Cancelled)
- Voodoo 11,328 (Cancelled)
- G.I. Combat 11,797 (Cancelled)
- Grifter 12,400 (” Grifter and Voodoo vs. The Suicide Squad!” | “Is Amanda Waller responsible for all the bad things that have happened to Grifter? Will he stop shooting long enough to learn the truth?” | “Former Team 7 partners face off!”)
- Blue Beetle 13,325 (“Blue Beetle is stuck in outer space, deep inside Reach Territory. That shouldn’t be a problem, right?” | “Will Jaime be pulled into the war between the Reach and…Lady Styx?!”)
- National Comics Looker 13,475 (series of one-shots, none solicited for December – read into that what you will)
- Resurrection Man 13,741 (Cancelled)
- Fury of Firestorm The Nuclear Men14,137 (“Firestorm vs. Captain Atom!” | “Two of the most powerful heroes in the universe go head to head, and things are going to EXPLODE!” | “Don’t miss this issue’s shocking conclusion as the first hints of a disturbing new force in the DCU are seen!”)
- Frankenstein Agent of Shade14,679 ( “ROTWORLD: SECRETS OF THE DEAD” finale! | “Frankenstein vs. the last of the Colossi for possession of the soul-grinder, Victor Frankenstein’s unholy machine of destruction — but it’s the only hope against The Rot!”)
- Savage Hawkman14,745 (“HAWKMAN: WANTED” continues! | “Hawkman is a fugitive — and everybody wants to kill him for his Nth Metal Armor. Good thing Carter’s always ready for a fight!” | “Guest-starring Deathstroke!”
- I Vampire14,788 (“Mary and company continue to piece together the secret of what turned Andrew evil — and the answer lies with Cain, the first vampire!” |v”More secrets continue to flow from the events of issue #0.”)
- DC Universe Presents15,138 (“The New Black and Blue team-up of Blue Devil and Black Lightning continues!” | “Blue Devil’s suit is the source of his power, and it’s out of control!” | “Black Lightning has to stop him…hey, maybe killing him will do the trick!”)
- Legion Lost16,066 (“The lost Legionnaires must decide if they are willing to sacrifice millions in order to save billions!” | “Superboy and The Ravagers guest-star!”)
- Deathstroke16,772 (“A long dead memory from Slade’s past resurfaces, looking for revenge!” | “Will the legendary assassin known as Deathstroke finally be pushed past his breaking point?”)
- Demon Knights17,295 (“EVERYTHING changes this issue!” | “Merlin, Lucifer and a connection from the past to Stormwatch are all here…right before the team enters what could be their final battle!” | “So what happens next? Or should the question be when? And whose hands will the Black Diamond fall into?”)
- Batwing18,279 (“Batwing and Dawn battle Father Lost in the streets of Tinasha!” | “Father Lost’s new powers are proving too much for Batwing and his new ally…time for a last ditch effort that might just get them both killed!”)
UPDATE: Paul Cornell has debunked this on Twitter:
@comixace Demon Knights isn’t being cancelled. Could you state that, please? Rumours like this make stores order less.
— Paul_Cornell (@Paul_Cornell) September 18, 2012
Last time out, there were 4 cancellations: Captain Atom, Voodoo, Resurrection Man, and Justice League International. JLI may have been cancelled, not so much by overall bad sales, as underwhelming sales and we may see a newer, fancier Justice League franchise replace it. Still, if DC is looking to axe another 4 titles, Grifter, Blue Beetle and Firestorm look like they’re in a real sales pit.
That said, DC has been bending over backwards trying not to cancel Blue Beetle and it doesn’t sound like an end-point solicitation. End-point solicitations sound more like Firestorm, Legion Lost and Demon Knights. Grifter could be, as well. The Wildstorm relaunches have failed to strike a chord with readers. Stormwatch isn’t exactly burning up the sales charts and cancelling Grifter would leave the DCU with just Stormwatch and the not-yet-debuted Team 7 to launch the inevitable crossover that W.I.L.D.Cats will spin out of.
Maybe axing the very low-selling G.I. Combat is just clearing the deck for a new Justice League franchise. Then again, DC’s been drawing a line around 12K-15K (in Direct Market estimates) and there are titles in the danger zone.
The “not-yet-debuted” Team 7? Team 7 #0 came out the other week.
Well, Alberto Ponticelli has moved to Dial H. Doesn’t bode well for Frankenstein.
In my opinion DC made a misstep with the New 52 in trying to bring in new readers. Dozens of expensive titles featuring confusing only sorta new continuity is a lot to ask of the uninitiated.
I think they should have totally wiped continuity and released a smaller number of more focused titles using only their very best talent and not releasing a million Batman/Superman/etc titles.
I’m hoping Firestorm holds on as we finally are getting close to a Firestorm the fans want.
But I’m so sick of hearing that Continuity is a turn off. Does anyone remember when they got into comics? None of us knew continuity, but we sought out back issues (which is easier today than ever with Trade Paperbacks) and learned what we needed. Continuity never took away from the enjoyment.
I think the Continuity excuse is for lazy writers who don’t want to deal with it. They just want to write whatever comes in their heads. The good writers can work within continuity and make a fun, entertaining story.
Paul Cornell has said that DEMON KNIGHTS is not ending with this issue–the solicitation sounded more final than the actual story.
I would hate to see FRANKENSTEIN or DEMON KNIGHTS canceled–they’re 2 of the most interesting, entertaining of the DC main imprint titles and are open-ended story engines. I also like I, VAMPIRE, but I can’t see that continuing forever, just because of the nature of the narrative conflicts.
Rob Liefeld just tweeted “Legion Lost, Blue Beetle, Grifter, Frankenstein”. He didn’t say what it was in reference to, but with BB and Grifter where they are, sales-wise, Ponticelli officially off Frankenstein, and Legion Lost going nowhere fast, it wouldn’t shock me to learn that these are the next canceled titles.
Surely you can stick a fork in
Grifter
Firestorm
Hawkman
Blue Beetle, probably yeah, DC does everything to support the character but at this level of sales the writing is on the wall.
Frankenstein… I still hope that Rotworld crossover will bring enough additional sales to delay the doom for another half-year but Frank in JLD and Ponticelli on Dial H do not foreshadow bright future.
Batwing… Winick’s gone and Nicieza aka DC’s go-to fill-in guy isn’t most assuring chice.
So I think DC will axe 7 series. And I can bet my kidney that Vamp and Knights are safe for this wave… and thank god for that.
P.S. Legion Lost probably survive too. And it really shouldn’t. LSH franchise has irreparably fell beyond relevancy and it’s time to completely change the oil… even if it means to cut Levitz’s retirement package short.
Keeping my fingers crossed for Demon Knights too. Best book DC is putting out right know. So sad everybody seems to like it but so few seem to buy it. Hope it’s doing better here in Europe saleswise. Kinda seems to belong more in the old world anyway.
The problem why Stormwatch/Wildstorm isn’t resounding with the comic reading is because DC Comics does allow the original creators (ie. Paul Cornell and Nathan E) the time and space to create the entire world from scratch and allow the story to grow.
DC Comics cannot expect a new characters/storyline to immediately become JLA like levels of sales in under 6 months. That’s just bs.
And when DC Comics decide to jettison it’s original creators for Rob Liefield. That’s just stupid.
>>>LSH franchise has irreparably fell beyond relevancy and it’s time to completely change the oil… even if it means to cut Levitz’s retirement package short.
Yep, it was good when Levitz came back. Then they had the bright idea of bringing in half a new team and they pretty much got rid of the Legion that fans love. The Legion Academy stuff was ok by itself, or if they worked it in bit by bit it might have worked. I don’t know if this was part of the ‘diversity’ initiative or not, so I don’t know if they’ll “bend over backwards” to keep Legion like they are for Blue Beetle.
Nicieza is doing a 2 issue fill-in for Batwing. The new writer will pick up after that. So Batwing is safe.
@Jackie Sales of Deathstroke, Grifter and Savage Hawkman were cratering under the original writers. Giving it to Liefeld was just a tad better than cancellation.
I only purchase an issue here and there. It’s all story and art and whether I am getting my money’s worth.
Right now I am trying to keep track of where Travel Foreman will turn up next. I buy all his work. It was Animal Man, Birds of Prey, 1 issue of Action, then what? Anyone know?
otistfirefly, If you look back at Levitz’s classic long run on LSH in the 1980s, he was always cycling in new characters to keep the book churning. With a half-dozen classic characters hijacked into the less-interesting LEGION LOST, he had even more in-story incentive to feature the newbies.
kevin j. maroney
Yes, you’re right he cycled in new characters. But not 3 or 4 at a time… and a lot of times they were like rookies on a baseball team – their “playing time” was limited.
And there were PLENTY of the actual team left to carry these stories!
When was this article written? It talks about a new JL book/franchise but doesn’t mention the new JLA comic coming out soon and Team 7 has been on sale for a week. Also, the writer for I, Vampire responded to the Paul Cornell tweet and said the comic isn’t being canceled.
Legion Lost could have been so much better…and the parent title has never been worse…my favourite DC franchise (Legion) needs serious help! :(
Earth 2 is by far the most creative/dynamic title DC is putting out there. I hope they stick w/ it despite the fact it seems to be stacking up at my comic store.
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