Artwork from Grant Morrison's 'Batman Incoporated'

When DC Comics relaunched it’s entire line this past August, fans began speculating on which of the 52 newly renumbered and relaunched titles would be getting the boot. Sure. There were great titles like ‘Action Comics’, ‘Aquaman’, and ‘Swamp Thing’. But then there were the titles like ‘Men of War’ and O.M.A.C. that were… not so good. It was easier to speculate on when they would be canceled rather than if.

Today, DC did the inevitable and announced that six titles from the New 52 line will be canceled after their eighth issues. The titles that are getting the boot are: ‘Men of War’, ‘O.M.A.C.’, ‘Static Shock’, ‘Hawk and Dove’, ‘Mister Terrific’, and ‘Blackhawks’. Most of these titles should come as no surprise to anyone who read the ScienceFiction.com team’s ‘Buy, Borrow, or Burn’ list where five of the six titles made our “burn” category. The only one that ranked higher was ‘Static Shock’ but apparently the sales weren’t there to keep that one afloat.

On the bright side, DC plans to keep their monthly comic count at 52 titles. So, for the six titles that are being canceled, DC is releasing six new titles to take their place. The new titles that are joining the New 52 are:

‘Batman Incorporated’

Written by Grant Morrison with art by Chris Burnham, this series will follow the continuation of Morrison’s pre-relaunch Batman storyline that sees a series of Batmen battling crime around the world and facing off against the armies of Talia al Ghul, the daughter of Ra’s al Ghul.

‘Earth 2’

Fans have been asking about the fate of the Justice Society of America since the New 52 relaunch and now DC answers. This series will be written by James Robinson with art from Nicola Scott and follows the JSA as they encounter “other worlds”.

‘Worlds’ Finest’

More Earth 2 goodness hits the New 52 in this series which features the adventures of Helena Wayne (Huntress) and Karen Starr (Power Girl) who have somehow become stuck on the main Earth of the New 52. This series will be written by Paul Levitz with art from George Perez and Kevin Maguire.

‘Dial H’

This one is a relaunching of the classic series ‘Dial H for Hero’ in which random people get super powers. The series will be written by science fiction novelist China Miéville and illustrated by Mateus Santoluoco. It is described as a “bold new take on a cult classic about the psychological effects on an everyman who accidentally gains powers to become a hero.”

‘G.I. Combat’

Looking to replace the military series ‘Men of War’, ‘G.I. Combat’ will feature some of the weird war tales out of DC’s past. Each issue will be made up of several stories including:  ‘The War that Time Forgot’ written by J.T. Krul with art from Ariel Olivetti, ‘The Haunted Tank’ written by John Arcudi and illustrated by Scott Kolins, and ‘The Unknown Soldier’ by Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray (of ‘All-Star Western’ fame) and artist Dan Panosian.

‘The Ravagers’

This one is a spin-off of the current ‘Teen Titan’ and ‘Superboy’ titles and follows a group of four super-powered teenagers as they flee from a sinister group that wants to turn them into super villains. ‘The Ravagers’ will be written by Howard Mackie with art from Ian Churchill.

 

I expect this won’t be the first tweak that DC makes to the New 52 lineup but it looks like they’re headed in the right direction. Several of these titles (most notably ‘Dial H’ and ‘Earth 2’) seem like they have hit potential, at least in concept.

Of course, this shakeup isn’t good news if you’re a fan of any of the characters that are getting dropped. But rest assured that the characters aren’t gone from the New 52 Universe. DC said of the canceled titles:

“Many of the characters from our canceled books will appear in DC Comics—The New 52 titles, and in some very surprising ways,” Harras said. “We’re developing stories that reach from cultures around the globe to parallel worlds. We’re just getting started.”

So… did any of your favorite titles get canceled? Which of the new titles are you looking forward to? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts.