If DC shrunk down to just 24 monthly titles

[daBronzeBomma]

which titles would they be?

Split the difference between what is popular now and what has potential.

My two dozen books, first draft:

1. Detective Comics ft Batman
2. Batman
3. Action Comics ft Superman
4. Superman
5. Wonder Woman
6. Aquaman
7. Flash
8. Green Lantern
9. Shazam!
10. Justice League
11. Brave and the Bold ft. Black Canary & Green Arrow
12. DC Comics Present
13. Legion of Super-Heroes
14. Titans
15. Robin
16. Supergirl
17. Swamp Thing
18. Doom Patrol
19. Vixen
20. Black Lightning
21. Cyborg
22. Zatanna
23. Hawkman & Hawkwoman
24. Fourth World

Yours?

[The no face guy]

1. Batman
2. Detective Comics
3. Superman
4. Action Comics
5. Wonder Woman
6. Justice League of America
7. Justice League Dark
8. Justice Society of America
9. Young Justice
10. Titans (Legacy heroes)
11. Legion of Super Heroes
12. Green Lantern (Hal Jordan)
13. Green Lantern (Alternating Kyle, John, Guy)
14. Flash (Barry Allen)
15. Green Arrow
16. Birds of Prey (Black Canary, Huntress, Vixen, Oracle)
17. Black Lightning
18. John Constantine (Hellblazer)
19. Robin
20. Batgirl (Cassandra Cain)
21. The Question (Vic Sage)
22. Blue Beetle (Jamie Reyes)
23. Blue Beetle (Ted Kord)
24. The Outsiders (Current line up)

Forgot to put Nightwing in there, as he consistently sells.

[superduperman]

Superman.
Action (a Superman family book featuring Supergirl, Krypto, Superboy, etc.)
Batman.
Detective (a Batman family book featuring Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, Huntress, etc.)
Wonder Woman
Flash
Green Lantern.
Showcase (an anthology book featuring characters without their own books)
Hawkman.
Justice League.
Justice Society.
Hellblazer.
Aquaman.
Suicide Squad.
Green Arrow.
Teen Titans.
Zatanna
Swamp Thing.
Legion of Super Heroes.
Birds of Prey.
Jonah Hex.
Flash Showcase (featuring the Flash family. Wally. Impulse. Wally's kids, Max Mercury, Jay, Johnny Quick, etc.)
Green Lantern Showcase (featuring John Stewart, Kyle Raynor, Alan Scott, Guy Gardner, Jade, Jessica Cruz, etc.)
Captain Marvel.

[Timothy Hunter]

I'm approaching this as what I think would make the most successful line of DC titles, not the ones I would enjoy personally. I added some franchises that Warner owns to the mix to attract new audiences who might not be interested in superheroes.


1. Batman by Robert Kirkman and Stephen Platt

Would Robert Kirkman write Batman? You never know

2. Superman by Mark Millar and Joe Madureira

Although Millar is a fan of the character, this would have to be after his deal with Netflix expires.

3. Wonder Woman by Brian K Vaughan and Fiona Staples

4. Action Comics Flash by Sean Gordon Murphy

5. Detective Comics Green Lantern by Christopher Priest and Mark Texeira

6. Justice League by Greg Rucka and JH Williams

7. Legion of Superheroes by Jonathan Hickman and Steve Mcniven

Obviously after Hickman's contract with Marvel expires

8. Justice Society by Jeph Loeb and Alex Ross

Alex Ross could paint over Doug Braithwaite as he did in Justice for the sake of time


9. Infinity Inc by Geoff Johns and Clay Mann

The original sidekick generation taking over their mentor's roles in the near future.

10. Teen Titans by Grant Morrison and Chris Bachalo

A combination of the current Young Justice and Teen Titan team

11. Sandman by Mark Russell and Mitch Gerads

12. Batman/Green Arrow by Lee Bermejo

13. Superman/Shazam by Kathryn and Stuart Immonen

14. Wonder Woman/Aquaman by Paul Pope

15. Joker and Harley Quinn by Paul Dini and Terry Dodson

16. Watchmen by Damon Lindeloff and Dave Gibbons

Lindeloff has written comics before with the Ultimate Wolverine vs Hulk miniseries

17. V For Vendetta by Tom King and Tim Sale

18. Nightmare on Elm Street by Kevin Smith and Tradd Moore

What's Kevin Smith doing these days?

19. Friday the 13th by Garth Ennis and Simon Bisley

Garth Ennis will basically write anything and Simon Bisley drew a comic that was basically a beer ad in Five Floyds, so I don't think a Friday the 13th comic would be beneath them.

20. Harry Potter by Michael Goldenberg and Cliff Chiang

Goldenberg was the screenwriter of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and has dabbled in comics himself cowriting with Geoff Johns a tie in to the 2011 Green Lantern movie.

21. Game of Thrones by Daniel Abraham and Liam Sharpe

Daniel Abraham has adapted many of George R R Martin's books to the comic page.

22. The Matrix by the Wachowskis and Steve Skroce

23. Lord of the Rings by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo

24. Goodfellas by Brian Azzarello and John Romita Jr.

Martin Scorcese was actually working on a sequel to Goodfellas in the early 2000s centered around Ray Liotta's character's kids.

[MRP]

1. Action Comics (bigger book on the model of the DC Giants; 12 page Superman lead, other features including Superboy, Supergirl, Legion)
2. Superman
3. Detective Comics (bigger book on the DC Giant model; 12 page Batman lead, other features including Nightwing, Batgirl, Robin)
4. Batman
5. Sensation Comics (bigger book on the DC Giant model; 12 page Wonder Woman lead, other features including Birds of Prey, Green Arrow & Black Canary, Catwoman)
6. Wonder Woman
7. Justice League
8. Teen Titans/Young Justice (DC Giant style book with co-leads, back ups featuring solo adventures of that generation of heroes
9. Flash
10. Flash Comics (bigger book on the DC Giant model; 12 page Flash lead, other features including Hawkman, Hawkgirl, Atom & others)
11. Green Lantern
12. Showcase Comics (bigger book on the DC Giant model; 12 page leads featuring Green Lantern & Aquaman, other features including Adam Strange, Metal Men & rotating 4th)
13. Aquaman
14. Books of Magic (bigger book on DC Giant model; features include Swamp Thing, Zatanna, Hellblazer & rotating 4th)
15. Justice League Dark
16. The Brave & the Bold (bigger book on DC Giant model; lead feature of rotating team ups; other features include Jonah Hex, Suicide Squad, Harley Quinn, and rotating 4th)
17. The House of Mystery (bigger book on DC Giant model curated by Joe Hill featuring horror stories, a showcase for the Hill House type content)
18. My Greatest Adventure (bigger book on DC Giant model; curated by Gerard Way, Doom Patrol lead, other features as showcase for Young Animal type material)
19. The Fourth World (bigger book on DC Giant model; Mr. Miracle lead, other features such as the Furies, Darkseid, New Gods, Bug, etc.)
20. Batman Adventures-Batman related stories done more like TAS targeting younger or casual readers
21. Superman Adventures-same as above except Superman related
22. Justice League Adventures; again same as above but featuring the League or League members
23. Vertigo Visions-DC Giant anthology style book with a curator, featuring stories geared towards adult readers, Sandman universe lead; other rotating features
24. All Star Comics DC Giant; Justice Society lead, other features including Stargirl, Shazam! and others across the DCU)

-M

[married guy]

Detective Comics
Batman Family
Action Comics
Superman Family
Justice League
Justice Society
Wonder Woman
Titans
Young Justice
Flash
Flash Family
Legion of Superheroes
Hellblazer
Books of Magic
Green Lantern
Green Lantern Corps
Green Arrow
All Star Western feat. Jonah Hex
Aquaman
Showcase
Strange Adventures
Marvel Family
Brave & The Bold
Global Guardians

[Steel Inquisitor]

1. Batman (anthology - 4 main Bat titles in one)
2. Superman (Batman format)
3. Manhunter (Kate Spencer)
4. Blue Beetle (Jaime Reyes)
5. Green Lantern (main + Green Lantern Corps. anthology)
6. Teen Titans (younger generations)
7. Titans (older generations)
8. Outsiders
9. Shazam! (Batman format - anthology with stories about Billy, Mary and Freddie separate "series" anthology)
10. The Brave and the Bold (Jaime Reyes is the lead)
11. JLA
12. Aquaman
13. Wonder Woman
14. Batman Family (Catwoman, Huntress, Birds of Prey, Robin, Batgirl (Cassandra Cain), Azrael anthology)
15. Green Arrow
16. Superman Family (Steel, Superboy, Supergirl, Legion of Super-Heroes anthology)
17. Secret Six
18. Suicide Squad
19. Black Lightning
20. Static Shock
21. JSA Confidential (JSA, Stargirl, Hawkman, Infinity Inc., Jesse Quick, Power Girl anthology)
22. Fourth World
23. Legends of Tomorrow
24. WildStorm (Authority, StormWatch, and other titles anthology)

[Lvenger]

I'm approaching this based on what titles would sell the most, whether a character can hold their own series and trying to cover as much variety as possible within those two guidelines. So I've included some titles I wouldn't read or don't like and excluded some titles I would love to see return.

1. Batman
2. Detective Comics (Featuring Batman Family characters without a series)
3. Nightwing
4. Harley Quinn
5. Batman/Superman
6. Superman
7. Action Comics (Featuring Superman Family characters without a series)
8. Wonder Woman
9. Green Lantern (Starring Hal Jordan with Jessica Cruz & Simon Baz in a supporting role)
10. Green Lantern Corps (Featuring Kyle Rayner & Guy Gardner)
11. The Flash
12. Aquaman
13. Shazam (Featuring Shazam or Captain Marvel as I prefer him and The Marvel Family)
14. Justice League
15. Justice League Dark
16. Justice Society
17. Teen Titans
18. Titans
19. Hellblazer
20. Suicide Squad
21. Birds of Prey
22. Showcase (an anthology book featuring characters without their own books)
23. The Brave & The Bold (Rotating team up stories featuring various characters across the DCU)
24. Doom Patrol

[Jekyll]

1. JSA
2. Shazam!
3. The Flash
4-24 really don't care because I wouldn't read it.

[9th.]

Batman
Detective comics (team title for Batman characters)
Superman
Wonder Woman
Flash
Aquaman
Green Lantern Corps
Green Arrow
Justice League
Shadowpact
Young Justice
Titans
Hellblazer
Doom Patrol
Legion of Superheroes
Blue Beetle
Black Lightning
Vixen (Maxi series)
Sword of Atom (mini)
Amethyst
DC Presents: Brave and the Bold
Harley Quinn & the Sirens
Nightwing
Shazam

[scary harpy]

Wow.

These lists are impressive in idealism and optimism. I usually don’t see a lot of either on these boards.

If DC reduced to 24 titles, then 5 or 6 would be Batman Family titles and 5 or 6 would be Superman Family titles…

1. Batman
2. Detective
3. Batman: Tales of another Dark Knight cash grab
4. Nightwing
5. Batgirl
6. Various 12 issue maxi-series (starring: Batwoman or Luke Fox or Red Hood)

1. Superman
2. Action
3. Superman: Man of Tommorrow’s cash grab
4. Supergirl
5. Superboy/LSH
6. Various 12 issue maxi-series (starring: Jimmy Olsen or Krypto or Lois Lane)

Next is the Justice League and related titles…

• JLA
• Justice League Dark
• Wonder Woman
• Green Lantern
• Flash
• Aquaman
• World's Finest (Batman & Superman team-up)
• Showcase (Either Batman or Superman teams up with someone…maybe Krypto…)

The last 4 titles will probably be plagued with cancellation due to poor sales…

[Digifiend]

You've completely ignored the kids. Surely either Teen Titans or Young Justice would be there?

[scary harpy]

You've completely ignored the kids. Surely either Teen Titans or Young Justice would be there?

of course, they would.

As I said:

• Showcase (Either Batman or Superman teams up with someone…maybe Krypto…)

...and...

The last 4 titles will probably be plagued with cancellation due to poor sales…

[Ascended]

Well, the smart business would probably be to take your 20-ish most profitable books and leave the last 4-ish slots open for miniseries and Events.

So knowing what little I do about DC's processes and accounting systems, that's probably what I'd do if this were a real situation where I had to worry about the company's bottom line. Now, you never know which D-lister might get a show or movie next and become more profitable, so you need to keep those smaller characters around to ensure some visibility and legal ownership, so team rosters would probably be expanded, some lesser known characters might get rolled into the supporting casts of solo books (like putting Elongated Man and Vibe in the Flash book for example), stuff like that.

If I had to create an actual line-up....well I haven't looked at sales lately but I'd probably do something like this:

1. Superman: solo adventures of Clark Kent.
2. Action: A Superman family team book with Clark, Kara, Conner, Jon, Steel, Power Girl, etc.
3. Batman: solo adventures of Bruce Wayne.
4. Detective: A Bat family team book with Bruce, Kate, Babs, and the rest of the Gotham army.
5. Nightwing: solo adventures of Dick Grayson.
6. Harley Quinn: solo adventures of Harls.
7. Wonder Woman: solo adventures of Diana.
8. Sensation: A bit risky; a team book with Diana and the Wonders; Donna, Cassie, Artemis, and some other female heroes like Vixen and Fire & Ice.
9. Flash: The whole Flash family; Barry, Wally, Jay, Wallace, Max, Bart, Jesse, etc.
10. Green Lantern Corps: The whole GLC; Hal, John, Guy, Kyle, Jess, the Guardians, Killowog, etc.
11. Aquaman: Arthur and Garth and Mera and Kaldur.
12. Justice League: using a JLU cartoon approach where the roster includes tons of heroes and 1-2 of the Big 7 are used in each arc along with the lesser known heroes. A place for virtually every adult hero above the age of 25 to show up.
13. Titans: same thing as JL; the regular faces mixed with a lot of secondary characters. A place for virtually any hero in their 20's to show up.
14. Young Justice: same as above; the core roster as well as any/all teen heroes.
15. Suicide Squad: pretty much what the Squad has always been; a bunch of villains in black ops stories.
16. Justice League Dark: hate the name, but a place to explore the darker, magical side of the DCU. Swamp Thing and Constantine and Raven, all those people.
17. Shazam: Billy and the family, with space made for some characters from Fawcett and Charlton.
18. Challengers of the Unknown: (working title) With Booster Gold in the lead; a time travel book featuring characters and eras from across the DCU; Jonah Hex and the JSA and the Legion and everything in between.
19. Outsiders: Lightning and Arrow and a lot of other heroes who don't want to play by the Justice League's rules.
20. Birds of Prey: Canary and Babs and some other badass women; a covert group that works with, but apart from, the League.

The last 4 slots would rotate through different miniseries; whoever has a good story to tell with characters not featuring in a solo or as a regular part of a team.

[Superfly Frankenstein]

1. Superman (twice a month)
2. Action Comics (once a month, double sized, 22 page Superman story, then two 11 page Superman family story)
3. Batman (twice a month)
4. Detective Comics (same as Action, but with Batfamily)
5. Flash (twice a month, adventures of Barry)
6. Green Lantern (adventures of Hal, twice a month)
7. Wonder Woman (twice a month)
8. Aquaman (monthly)
9. Titans (Monthly, a mix of former and present Titans)
10. Justice League (Big seven: Supes, Bats, WW, John Stewart, Wally, Aquaman, Martian Manhunter. Twice a month)
11. Justice League Dark (current team. Monthly)
12. Brave and the Bold (Monthly. Extra sized. Batman Team up book for first 22 pages, rest of book with stories featuring Martian Manhunter and The Question)
13. DC Comics Presents (Monthly. Extra sized. Superman Team up for first 22 pages, rest of book with Black Lightning and Lobo)
14. Young Justice (monthly)
15. Suicide Squad (monthly)
16. Justice Society (monthly)
17. Showcase (monthly. Extra sized. Featuring stories of Hawkman, Atom and Red Tornado)
18. Green Lantern Corps (monthly Guy, Kyle and the Corps)
19. Strange Tales (monthly featuring cosmic tales of Adam Strange, Capt Comet, and others)
20. Justice League International (monthly Booster, Beetle, Fire, Ice, etc)
21. Legion of Superheroes (Monthly)
22. Green Arrow (monthly)
23. Justice League America (monthly. Hal, Barry, Dinah, Firestorm, Green Arrow and Vixen. Monthly)
24. Speed force (monthly. Tales of various Flashes. Monthly)