DC has confirmed that it will be replacing six of the titles from the new 52 when their arcs end after issue #8.
“The excitement of the initial launch of DC COMICS-THE NEW 52 was in seeing the re-imagining of these classic characters and concepts,” explained DC exec Bob Harras. “The ‘Second Wave’ is all about world-building.”
Frankly, the official press release makes it sound like this move was planned from the very start. Then again, there are a number of clues that could indicate otherwise.
First, the six lines chosen to be replaced are among the lowest selling in the New 52: Blackhawks, Hawk and Dove, Men of War, Mister Terrific, O.M.A.C. and Static Shock, a couple of which, you may recall, were on my ‘Bottom 10 of the New 52’ list a couple months ago.
Second, DC has launched several other books, which are intended to end, like the current Penguin and The Huntress lines, and those are released with issue numbers indicated as ‘# of #’, so if these had been planned to end after one arc, why the ongoing numbering?
I think they may have planned for this move, but probably didn’t know which specific lines would get the axe until after checking the popularity of the original 52. Personally, I won’t miss any of the six outgoing lines, but I’m not sure all of the incoming titles catch my interest either.
Here they are, with the synopses from the press release:
- BATMAN INCORPORATED – Writer: Grant Morrison. Artist: Chris Burnham. The acclaimed ongoing writer of ACTION COMICS, Grant Morrison, presents a fresh take on BATMAN INCORPORATED, in which the Batman brand is franchised globally in preparation for a major international threat.
- EARTH 2 – Writer: James Robinson. Artist: Nicola Scott. The greatest heroes on a parallel Earth, the Justice Society combats threats that will set them on a collision course with other worlds.
- WORLDS’ FINEST – Writer: Paul Levitz. Artists: George Perez and Kevin Maguire. Stranded on our world from a parallel reality, Huntress and Power Girl struggle to find their way back to Earth 2. Perez and Maguire will be the artists on alternating story arcs.
- DIAL H – Writer: China Miéville. Artist: Mateus Santoluoco. The first ongoing series from acclaimed novelist China Miéville, this is a bold new take on a cult classic concept about the psychological effects on an everyman who accidentally gains powers to become a hero.
- G.I. COMBAT – Writer: J.T. Krul. Artist: Ariel Olivetti. Featuring the return of a classic DC Comics series, THE WAR THAT TIME FORGOT, along with rotating back-up stories and creative teams – including THE UNKNOWN SOLDIER, with writers Justin Gray and Jimmy Palmiotti and artist Dan Panosian; and THE HAUNTED TANK, with writer John Arcudi and artist Scott Kolins.
- THE RAVAGERS – Writer: Howard Mackie. Artist: Ian Churchill. Spinning off from TEEN TITANS and SUPERBOY, this series finds four superpowered teens on the run and fighting against the organization that wants to turn them into supervillains.
Personally, I’m looking forward to Dial H and The Ravagers. Yes, World’s Finest and Earth 2 could be interesting, but alternate earth comics usually bug me. G.I. Combat will likely sell just as well as Men of War did; I think readers just aren’t looking to DC for their modern warfare stories. Batman Incorporated is just silly. Frankly, the New 52 has more than enough Batman already.
The new ongoing lines will kick off in April 2012.
