DC makes some more changes

DC's second round of cuts was announced recently. I didn't even get around to referencing the 1st wave of cuts that took effect last month, but let's address what the fall season brings, shall we?

Incoming:


Sword of Sorcery: Originally an anthology series when DC initially published the book in the early 70's, it's being revived now as an outlet to revive 80's heroine Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld. Speaking of the 80's, writer Christy Marx is better known for her television work in the 80's & 90's, including Jem and some of the Transformers cartoons.

The Talon: Spinning out of the "Night of the Owls" event in the Batman line. I guess writer Scott Snyder hit a chord with the fanboys who are still into dark & gritty characters with a weird edge to them.

Team 7: Originally published at Image in the 90's, this is another series from Jim Lee's now defunct Wildstorm studio and being knitted into the fabric of the DC Universe.

Phantom Stranger: On the one hand, he's a legacy character whose history dates all the way back to a short-lived series in the 50's, but the Stranger didn't really become an icon until the 60's, when he was reintroduced in Showcase, DC's premier anthology mag, then given his own book. However, in 2012, the Stranger is being rebooted and linked to 2013's premier event, "The Trinity War". Dan DiDio, whose first attempt at writing a regular series bombed out when OMAC was cancelled 2 months ago, now tries to reinvent another classic character with no regard to the character's storied past. He just doesn't get it.

Outgoing:


Resurrection Man (2nd series): Writers Dan Abnett & Andy Lanning introduced the seemingly immortal Mitch Shelley some 15-odd years ago, and thought they could find the audience that carried the book's 1st run. It didn't happen.

Voodoo:: Like Team 7, Voodoo, formerly with the WildC.A.T.S., came from Image. They thought she could carry her own book, but today's readers, unfamiliar with her past, thought, "Who is she?", and passed.

Justice League International:  (2nd series): Since the Justice League line of books are not linked together in terms of continuity, editorial decided one of the secondary books was deemed expendable.

Captain Atom (2nd DC series, 3rd series overall): Originally published by Charlton back in the 60's, acquired by DC in the 80's. DC tried to recapture the success of the late 80's series, but it didn't click with readers this time.

The four new books begin with issue 0, in September as part of a "Zero Month" promotion for the "New 52"   as it marks its first anniversary. There are, I believe, some skeptics thinking that "Trinity War" may be the beginning of the end, and things will ultimately revert to what they were.

As long as DC and corporate parent Time Warner put profit margins before comics history, it's going to be a mess that can never be cleaned up without someone else coming along and rewriting history yet again. The vicious circle will never be broken. Today's readers don't understand the legacy and history behind some of their favorite characters, and long-time fans, such as myself, find a greater disconnect, and there is no middle ground to be had. Yet.