Six New 52 Titles Get Old w/Readers

Some of you may have heard the news... DC is canceling six of their New 52 titles. This is in no way surprising. In fact, I'm surprised they aren't canceling more. Since late last year, I've been saying that I like what DC is doing with their newly reinvented super hero universe, but I haven't liked all of the books. DC and its creators would like us all to believe everything they put out is hot, but let's be honest... it just ain't so. Go into any comic shop and the owner will tell what's hot and what's not. Here are the six facing execution:

Men of War- The art on this book is cartoony to mediocre at best. The visual style is nowhere close to fitting with the atmosphere of the story and the writing isn't all that interesting. DC thought they could sell a dull war comic on the name Sgt Rock alone. It's a good thing it's being cancelled.

Mister Terrific- This title has been hit and miss. The art is interesting most of the time and the writing is usually ok. But people still don't know who this character is and reinventing someone nobody knows isn't going to draw more interest. Axing this book is just like cutting dead skin off the bottom of your foot. It just needs to go.

O.M.A.C.- I reviewed O.M.A.C. #1 back in September and said, “Didio and Giffen's script reads like a comic from the era when writers would dumb down dialogue and plot and fill it with big things crushing other big things.” That book never got better. In fact, the art was even more painful to look at and the lame diologue harder to trudge through. Read what else I had to say about this re-hashed relic: “This reader isn't one to be suckered into something being labelled an “homage” when really all it is is a half-assed attempt at refreshing a character from the 70's most people don't remember. In my honest opinion, I think DC would do better if they cancelled O.M.A.C. within the first four issues and brought back someone like the Phantom Stranger.”

Hawk and Dove- I actually wanted to give this one a chance. I liked Hawk and Dove from the late 60's and Hawk and Dove in the 80's. I was interested to see Rob Liefeld back at DC and drawing these characters. I really don't like Liefeld's art but he's been the butt of so many jokes over the years, he's stepped in so many piles of career damaging crap, I just thought he deserved a break. So I went into this title hoping the art had matured since the days of cheesey massive guns and physically impossible body shapes, but it hadn't. His art still looks the way it did in 1988. And I'll be perfectly straight with you... I have no idea how good or bad the writing is on Hawk and Dove. I get so distracted by that awful art, that I can't even see words on the page.

Blackhawks- The art and writing on this title aren't so bad. The reason it is going south is that it's basically DC's version of S.H.I.E.L.D. Blackhawks is a team of stock characters who wouldn't make it to print in titles of their own. There's the Irishman, the one with the eye patch, the tough guy and the cute girly girl. The Blackhawks have been in the DCU since forever but they're better off as peripheral characters in better known titles, rather than the main characters in a book nobody reads.

Static Shock- Static was originally a part of DC's Milestone Comics. Milestone was an imprint created by a group of African-American writers and artist who wanted to correct the imbalance in an industry where minorities were underrepresented. I'll be one of the first to agree that the comic book industry is sexist and racist, but the great minds behind Milestone made some bad decisions in fixing that problem. The imprint was criticized for being “too ethnic” and lacking caucasian characters, with exception of the occasional Superman cameo. It only lasted four years but, through clever character development, Static rose from the ashes as Static Shock and found a place in the DCU by way of his own animated series. As one of the New 52, Static Shock should have been a good choice for DC. He gained enough popularity in his own cartoon series and Young Justice on WB for the folks at DC to think he could drive a title by himself. Unfortunately, most of the readers who buy the New 52 aren't the children who watch those cartoons. They're the readers who were buying comics back in 1993, when Milestone was trying to change the world. I have to say that I'm disappointed by the cancellation of this book. It didn't come off as “too ethnic” and the writing and art were very nice. Static Shock is just not famous enough for mainstream readers to care. I am hoping he shows up again in other books.

So those are the six titles getting axed from DC's New 52. As I mentioned, there will be new books taking their places and I'll get into that when they come out. I'm particularly excited in Batman Incorporated, the continuation of what Grant Morrison started in Batman, Inc. And I really hope Phantom Stranger turns up somewhere...