The New 52 – Six Titles to Be Cancelled, Six Titles to Replace Them

As speculation surrounded possible cancellations of various New 52 titles, USA Todayyesterday posted an article confirming it by speaking with Editor-in-Chief Bob Harras. And today, DC’s blog The Source gave further confirmation expounding on the breaking news.

In DC’s “Second Wave,” which begins in May of this year, six titles will be getting the ax while six other titles will launch to keep the line at a tight 52. Though it was previously said they wouldn’t necessarily stick to that number so rigidly going forward, apparently for now they are.

The titles that launched in September as part of the New 52 that will be getting canceled are Men of War, Mister Terrific, O.M.A.C., Hawk and Dove, Blackhawks and Static Shock. For anyone keeping track of all the New 52 titles, these particular series’ cancellations come as no real surprise. The characters in these titles will be sticking around though. Harras commented that they are “going to be popping up in places you don’t expect. These characters’ stories will continue. It’s all part of that world building we’re very keen on here.”

All six of these titles last longer than so skeptics predicted, though, as they will each reach 8 issues before cancellation. Not quite a year, but longer than the 3-6 months many gave the entire relaunch.

The six titles replacing them are as follows:

• 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 Mieville. Artist: Mateus Santoluoco. The first ongoing series from acclaimed novelist China Mieville, 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.

USA Today elaborated a bit further on what each of these titles would entail, including Batman getting more emotional, more on Earth 2, crossovers and more.

Bob Harras expounded on the upcoming shuffle in an interview with Newsarama, talking more about the inclusion of other worlds, 52 being the “magic number” for DC right now, a bit more about some of the creators on these books and so forth.

So when all is said and done, 8 months into the New 52 launch and only 6 titles are being canceled, and will promptly be replaced with 6 other titles. Only time will tell if the line will continue to be as successful as it has been thus far. Come September either a lot of people will be saying “I told you so” or a lot of people will be eating crow.

What do you think of this upcoming shuffle to the New 52 line? Leave your comments below or discuss in our forums.

Comments are closed.