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DC Relaunch: Six Comics Canceled and Replaced With ‘Second Wave’
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DC Comics announced on Thursday that they would be setting up the second wave of “New 52” releases while also canceling six ongoing comics that were released in the initial run of the DC Relaunch.

Resting in peace are six comics that were quite good and enjoyable or had a lot of potential to be great, so they will definitely be missed. Those comic books are Blackhawks – a war comic focusing on a group of militaristic mercenaries in the vein of G.I. Joe; Hawk and Dove – the only DC book written by the extremely talented Sterling Gates with art from Rob Liefeld (more on him in another article); Men of War – a war book that was one of my favorite comics of the relaunch that took a realistic approach to the military in a world full of superheroes; Mister Terrific – one of the very few DC comics with a person of color as the leading role. Also, the main character was highly intelligent and, interestingly enough in a comic, atheist. O.M.A.C. – this to me is a tragedy considering that it was a fan favorite even in the light of poor sales. Sure it’s bizarre and nutso, but it was a complete blast to read. And finally Static Shock – one of, if not the only book that could be considered “youthful” and “fun,” and also one of the few books starring a person of color. All of these titles will see their last issues in April.

This is the first real loss from the DC Relaunch, and we’re starting to see what chances the company took have paid off and what seem to be succeeding. It’s sad to see a lot of those comics go, especially for me considering the fact that I was enjoying a large percent of them, but it’s not all bad news. Most of it is bad news, but we’re getting some new comics, and those comics are:

Batman Incorporated Writer: Grant Morrison, Artist: Chris Burnham. Continuing where Batman Incorporated: Leviathan Strikes left off, it was originally called Batman: Leviathan, but in the face of the DC Relaunch, I assume that everything can change. While Leviathan Strikes took place prior to the events of Flashpoint, this second volume of this series will indeed take the events of the summer event of 2011 into consideration. So, I’m assuming we’ll be seeing the involvement in Batwing, Batwoman and many others that have already addressed the Incorporated aspect of the Bat-verse. Also, it’s worth noting that since Grant Morrison will be writing it, the characterizations of Bruce and Damian will be far more enjoyable than that of the current volume of Batman and Robin. What can I say, I absolutely love Grant Morrison and his Batman comics, so I’m really interested to see how Incorporated will be changed post-Flashpoint. This is supposedly Morrison’s last leg of Batman comics, but in the words of creepers everywhere, I hate to see it go, but I love to watch it leave.

Earth 2 Writer: James Robinson, Artist: Nicola Scott. We had heard a few rumblings about this series prior to the events of New York Comic Con, but we had never heard any hard details about the series other than the creative team and that it would feature the antics of the Justice Society of America. So, it’s my understanding that this series will indeed be that book. I’m excited about pretty much everything about this, so it will definitely making it to my pull list.

Worlds’ Finest Writer: Paul Levitz, Artists: George Perez and Kevin Maguire. This is the classic concept of teaming up characters from the families of DC’s most popular superheroes: Batman and Superman, but this won’t be featuring those two heroes. Instead, in at least the first arc, the series will star Powergirl and Huntress. And they’re the characters from Earth 2, so it appears that we’ll be seeing Helena Wayne make her triumphant return from pre-Crisis obscurity.

Dial H – Writer China Miéville, Artist: Mateus Santolouco. Dial H For Hero, that’s what this is, you guys. The last issue that I can remember featuring this regular guy who gets super powers through a special device was in an issue of the most recent series of Brave and The Bold (speaking of which, when are we going to see that again?) in a team up with Batman. Dial H is bound to be at the very least an interesting read since it’s the first ongoing series from an acclaimed novelist and that the hero is a strange, strange character. There’s a lot of potential here, so I will at least pick up the first issue to get a feel for the comic.

G.I. Combat Writer: J.T. Krul, Artist: Ariel Olivetti. Cancel two war comics, replace with one. Not entirely sure of the need to cancel Men of War, but that’s a personal thing. Basically, this is another war comic that doesn’t have a huge chance of succeeding. That’s not to say that it won’t be good, a lot of people really love Krul and Olivetti is extremely talented, so it could be good. But the creative teams on both Men of War and Blackhawks were exceptional, so I’m not totally getting this move. The other part of this book is that it’s obviously going to be a $3.99 comic because it does feature second features. The back up stories are what make this comic interesting to me. The concept for the back up features are that DC will be utilizing the idea of All Star Western by taking war characters that DC owns the rights to and feature a host of these characters. Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray are just two of the names attached to these back ups, so you know at the very least that those stories will be worth reading. I’ll be passing on this series, but as always, I’ll keep my mind and options open to eventually pick this book up. But honestly, based on the sales of the previous war comics, I don’t see this book lasting.

The Ravagers Writer: Howard Mackie, Artist: Ian Churchill. This book is supposed to be a spin off from both Teen Titans and Superboy (I’m reading neither), and based off of the name, I assume it has something to do with the character Ravager, but I’m honestly not sure. The book is solicited to be about two teens on the run from and fighting against a corporation that wants to turn them into super-villains. So, if that sounds good to you, pick this up. I’m not attached to the characters and I honestly am not interested at all. So, there’s that.

So, this is the second wave! I’m sure DC will cancel some of these and keep others while also canceling more of the initial run, so make sure to keep your eyes glued to this site for more information. There’s a lot of potential for these comics to be great, but when you’re really enjoying books that they take away from you, you tend to lose faith in a comic’s greatness determining success. It’s all about numbers, and really? These books don’t seem like they can pull that much more than the books that they’ll be replacing. But that’s just my analysis as a bitter comic book fan that’s seen too many great comic books meet their final resting place. It’s not a guarantee, and I’m honestly excited by a couple of these books.

If you’d like to see the original release, comic book descriptions and some preview art from Batman Incorporated and Dial H, head over to DC’s official site.

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