So much has been going on with DC Comics the last week and a half. Now I’m kind of glad I waited to write anything about it. To be a fly on the wall over there right now, or dare I say, a Beetle, would be very interesting indeed.

Previously announced cancellations had me pretty upset but you can now add two more books to that list. Blue Beetle and Manhunter. Honestly I knew Blue Beetle wasn’t doing all that well and Manhunter didn’t have me very excited during it’s latest run but I’m sad to see them go. Dan Didio confirmed the news in a round of 20 Answers with Newsarama. He had this to say about the former:

One of the books that I’m most disappointed about in that regard is a book like Blue Beetle, which we are cancelling. That’s a book that we started with very high expectations, but it lost its audience along the way. Recently, we felt that it was standing on firmer ground, and was getting a more positive response. The problem is that the firmer ground and positive response is not enough to keep the book afloat. So unfortunately, we had to cancel that series.

Obviously the characters themselves are not disappearing just the books. Blue Beetle of course is still involved with the Teen Titans for the time being. Didio also explained that the cancellation of Birds of Prey, Nightwing and Robin did not have to do with sales but “positioning characters for future stories.” You can also read Matt Sturges feelings on the BB cancellation and what he sees for Jaime’s future. Apparently there will be a death in the final two-parter.

Over the weekend Didio had an interview in the LA Times and announced some more big news. Superman will be leaving Action Comics to make way for new characters and in the Superman book itself he’ll be leaving Earth in favor of space. In another bold move DC is bringing back Adventure Comics restarting with a #1. Apparently the Legion of Super-Heroes will be the main attraction there and they promise more from the interview later in the week.

In the sort of rumor/probably true section today, a lot of writer trouble. CBR’s Lying in the Gutters says the end of Final Crisis will be delayed because Dan Didio didn’t like how the story ended in respect to it’s implications in the DCU and asked a “rather unhappy” Grant Morrison to do rewrites. “As a result, creative teams working on a number of spinoff and affected books have also had to stop work while the ‘Final Crisis’ ending is reworked,” explained columnist Rich Johnston. Adding to the misery, Johnston talks of an argument between James Robinson and Didio that “led to Robinson quitting the Superman books and the DCU in general.”

Seems like utter mayhem over there at the moment but at least one thing has been settled. The writer for the long-discussed mini-series Battle for the Cowl had not been announced until last weeks Newsarama discussion. It will be written and drawn by Tony Daniel which came as a big surprise to some. While having illustrated Marvel and DC comics in the past he’s a relative unknown as a writer. Of course the extra well-known Neil Gaiman will be stepping in to write a two-issue tribute to the character in Batman #686 tentatively titled, “What Ever Happened to the Caped Crusader?” (ala Alan Moore’s What Every Happened to the Man of Tomorrow?). Gaiman will be working with artist Andy Kubert on that one to condense the infinite versions of Batman. He also told USA Today, “This is my last Batman story.”

Besides all the rumors and controversy it does seem that DC is attempting to break everything down so it can be rebuilt on firmer ground which is not only admirable but an enormous undertaking. Superman and Batman will no doubt prove to be the most difficult, not only in the practical sense but also in a pleasing-the-fans sense. Either way I look forward to seeing how all of this pans out.

You can also view and discuss this article at TheNerdyBird.com.

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