Which DC ongoings will remain?

[Factor]

So it looks like DC is cutting at least 20% of their line, if the Jim Lee interview is correct (https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/he...comics-1307413).

We already knew there would be some type of relaunch after Death Metal, so a lot of the current ongoings have already been canceled, but now it's clear that not all of the titles will actually return, or at least not in print, as DC seemingly starts focusing more on the digital market and OGNs.

So it's likely that the highest selling ongoings will get to stick around in print, but other titles will become digital-first or be published as OGNs like Hellblazer's last arc.

Analyzing DM sales in February and March, I made this list of the best-selling DC ongoings (or maxis in GL's case) so we could speculate on which books might still be in print when DC's new plans are implemented:

Batman
Justice League
Detective Comics
Batman/Superman
Superman
Action Comics
Green Lantern (ending at 12)
Legion of Super-Heroes
Flash
Wonder Woman
Catwoman
Shazam (canceled)
Nightwing
Justice League Dark
Harley Quinn (canceled)
Suicide Squad (canceled)
Young Justice (canceled)
Aquaman (canceled)
Supergirl (canceled)
Batman Beyond
Batman & Outsiders (canceled)
Justice League Odissey (canceled)
Teen Titans (canceled)
Batgirl (canceled)
Red Hood (new direction announced)
Hawkman (canceled)
Terrifics (canceled)

I only considered main DCU titles. There are 27 in total, so I think we can expect around 20 to still be around as regular ongoing books.

[Factor]

My speculation:

22 Titles still in print:

Justice League
Justice Society (the only "new" launch)
Young Justice or TT
Batman
Detective Comics
Batman/Superman or Trinity
Superman
Action Comics
Legion of Super-Heroes
Supergirl
Wonder Woman
Aquaman
Flash
Green Lantern
Legion of Super-Heroes
Shazam
Justice League Dark
Harley Quinn
Suicide Squad
Catwoman
Nightwing
Green Arrow

Books they should try as digital-firsts, based on media exposure and the digital audience:

Black Lightning
Stargirl
Blue Beetle
Birds of Prey
Batgirls (Babs, Cass and Steph working together)
The Titans
Naomi: Season 2
Far Sector: Season 2
+ Keep Injustice and the continuity-light series starring the Big Guns from the print line.

Characters that should be/remain the focus of their Kids OGNs:

Bumblebee and others from DC Super-hero Girls
Cassandra Cain as Batgirl and Babs as Oracle
Doctor Fate (Khalid)
Titans Spotlights (like Raven)
Supergirl
Supersons
Billy Batson/Shazam
Amethyst

[Nick Miller]

I don’t see how Legion, Shazam, JSA can get the audience they need (sorry)

9 batbooks
5 superbooks
2 Justice League books
2 GL cosmic books
WW
Flash
Teen Titans

And 2 open slots to run 4 issue minis every month. So we end up with 24 stories for the year, ... these will be used to tell stories that writers bring to editorial, including new heroes.

Scattered among the bat and Sups books will be all the characters from those franchise, I am not saying Batman in all 9 books.

It’s nice to get a schedule down, and artist can finish the book and everyone will know what’s coming, for example, each week in November we get a Martian Manhunter book, each week in December we get a Shazam Christmas tale, etc.

[Ascended]

You got a couple backwards; Harley's book is ending with 75 (I think?) but as far as I know nothing says Nightwing is cancelled.

I don't really know what to expect. This is supposed to be the biggest books that sell the best, right? That's the idea for the direct market, and everyone else will be used in digital or maybe OGN's or something. Right? If that's the goal then I'd guess just take the lowest selling books (across a multi-year average), whatever they are, and cut them. But I doubt DC is going to do that; they've played favorites for way too long for me to think they'll do something like that.

So I fully expect the new lineup to be very Bat heavy. Thanks to years of mismanagement the Bats are one of the few IP's that DC manages to make reliable money on. I think we'll see a chunk of team/ensemble books; they'll use a popular character on the cover for sales, and populate the pages with other characters who can't carry their own books in this new normal. So I'm guessing something like this:

Detective
Batman
Action
Superman
Wonder Woman
Flash
Green Lantern
Aquaman
Justice League
Harley Quinn.

Those are all a given, I think. And it's already half of your proposed 20 book line. Then the bottom ten;

Suicide Squad (using Harley to prop up sales)
Young Justice (or some other teen team, using Damian to hold up sales and surrounding him with the rest of the teen heroes)
JSA
Justice League Dark (with Diana still in the lead)
Green Arrow
Batgirl & The Birds of Prey
Batman & The Outsiders
Nightwing & The Titans
Red Hood & The Outlaws
Batman/Superman (or Trinity, as Factor suggests).

And that's assuming the bottom 4-5 slots aren't just used to rotate through different miniseries and Events. Some of those books don't sell well, like Batgirl and Red Hood (and Nightwing these days) but DC has never seemed to care before and with everyone's attention on digital I'm not sure if they'll start to care now. But something like this, presumably with higher end talent because all the other guys got fired, would still leave the direct market with easy access to *most* aspects of DC (street level, magic, cosmic, etc) while using popular characters (or DC's pet favorites) to draw readers in.

[skyvolt2000]

And that's assuming the bottom 4-5 slots aren't just used to rotate through different miniseries and Events. Some of those books don't sell well, like Batgirl and Red Hood (and Nightwing these days) but DC has never seemed to care before and with everyone's attention on digital I'm not sure if they'll start to care now. But something like this, presumably with higher end talent because all the other guys got fired, would still leave the direct market with easy access to *most* aspects of DC (street level, magic, cosmic, etc) while using popular characters to draw readers in.

Those two have had run last to 50 issues. So it's not like they weren't selling.

If you are going to keep flooding the market with Batman-didn't learn your lesson. That is pandering to a market that claims certain books can't sell but somehow they find audiences.

If all those "can't sell" books go to other venues-that less books for the direct market.

It will eventually become-why buy floppies for X when I can wait for the trade to go along with the OGN of JSA.

[Ascended]

Those two have had run last to 50 issues. So it's not like they weren't selling.

Eh, surviving to issue 50 and being successful aren't necessarily the same things. I think Red Hood has struggled to maintain 20K in sales, from what someone told me on the Bat forum. That's not "horrible" but not what I'd call "successful" either. But you're not wrong; those books have managed to survive when a lot of others haven't (I'd guess pet projects and personal favorites among management, which shouldn't be allowed in a proper run business). But if they did what I suggest and just cut the bottom selling titles regardless of what they are, I'm guessing Batgirl and Red Hood (and now Nightwing, but not traditionally) would be among them.

If all those "can't sell" books go to other venues-that less books for the direct market.

Go check out that interview from Lee. Fewer books in the direct market is *exactly* what is happening. It seems like the direct market will mostly just be the big name, classic characters, while digital will have the big name classics but also secondary characters and licensed products like Injustice.

Right now, it's the direct market getting most of the effort and focus, with trades/OGN's after that and then digital. Sounds like they're about to flip that around and the direct market will get the least amount of attention and effort.

It will eventually become-why buy floppies for X when I can wait for the trade to go along with the OGN of JSA.

From the sounds of that Lee interview, not every direct market book is going to get a trade collection for every six issues. They'll do a trade collection when the story is big enough to deserve it, but otherwise you'll have to buy the floppies. That ensures the direct market retains a product only they can provide, but it sounds like digital (and maybe OGN) will have plenty to offer as well.

[Konja7]

I am pretty sure Batgirl was selling better during Hope Larson's run, and DC thought enough of the title to have Joshua Middleton drawing the fantastic variant covers for a very long time.

Yes, Batgirl of Burnside was a controversial characterization. So, the creative teams were changed (twice), Barbara was aged up and given a more traditional costume (with the weird bunny ears though), and -- sales fell. The writers (Mairghread Scott and then Cecil Castellucci) were stuck with a ton of editorial interference and yet not enough information, but apart from that I think their writing was disappointing. I also think the artists weren't a great fit, though both Paul Pelletier and Carmine Giandomenico do have tons of fans.

It looks like the most recent story drawn by Robbi Rodriguez finally got Barbara's age back to around where it should be, somewhere in between the teeny-bopper Burnside version and the nearly middle-aged political operative she briefly became -- but he's only doing 3 issues and then with #50 the book is gone. But I think a Batgirl title or teamup will definitely be back.

Batgirl comic has fallen on sales before the change of suit and "age up".

The sales for floppies in Burnside Batgirl weren't good either. That's why they change the suit and tone of the story.

[CaptCleghorn]

I don’t see how Legion, Shazam, JSA can get the audience they need (sorry)

I so want to scream and disagree with you, but the slow infrequent JSA teases don't seem to be lighting a fire for the series' return. As for Legion, the current version is pure Bendis and if Bendis leaves the Superman titles, I'm not sure if a new Legion writer would want to carry on with the book as is. Would a cutting back DC go through another revamping of the Legion title?

[Holt]

Stargirl just got renewed for a second season and the JSA will be in the Black Adam movie, so there's a reasonable chance a new title is attempted. Just like how I'm pretty sure there'll be a Green Lantern title and maybe Justice League Dark.

[CaptCleghorn]

Stargirl just got renewed for a second season and the JSA will be in the Black Adam movie, so there's a reasonable chance a new title is attempted. Just like how I'm pretty sure there'll be a Green Lantern title and maybe Justice League Dark.

I'd bet my own money there will be a Green Lantern title. The ending at 12 is only due to Morrison finishing his story.

[seismic-2]

What will become of Black Label? The current Hellblazer title was the only continuing series from DC on my "must buy every issue" list, and now it's cancelled. Without that and some of the Black Label mini-series, I shall be giving DC less money and attention than I have been. Sorry, but I'm just not a Bat-person, and that is apparently DC's core audience now.

[9th.]

Trinity and their satellites
Flash
JL
Harley Quinn
GL
Mini's/Maxi's based on their upcoming series like Stargirl/JSA

Outside of that I don't see anything else.

[BatmanJones]

I can live with a lot of the already-announced cancelations but I hate to lose Hawkman and I especially hate to lose Tom Taylor's Suicide Squad. It's become one of my very favorite titles.

[LifeIsILL]

It's probably a good thing they're cancelling the titles. With just 20 or so titles they can actually put good writers on almost all the books and just focus on concentrated stories, and with this it can only help the company.

I don't need 2 different Green Lantern books a month
Or 3 or 4 different Justice League books
One JLA book or one GL book can actually make everything seem a lot more important.

[Factor]

I don’t see how Legion, Shazam, JSA can get the audience they need (sorry)

9 batbooks
5 superbooks
2 Justice League books
2 GL cosmic books
WW
Flash
Teen Titans

And 2 open slots to run 4 issue minis every month. So we end up with 24 stories for the year, ... these will be used to tell stories that writers bring to editorial, including new heroes.

Scattered among the bat and Sups books will be all the characters from those franchise, I am not saying Batman in all 9 books.

It’s nice to get a schedule down, and artist can finish the book and everyone will know what’s coming, for example, each week in November we get a Martian Manhunter book, each week in December we get a Shazam Christmas tale, etc.

Shazam and Legion were both in the top 12 of ongoings DC published in February. Much better than Teen Titans.
Their numbers might not sustain ongoings for 2 more years if sales keep falling, but DC would be dumb to cancel books that are doing well currently.
The JSA's eventual return to an ongoing has some buzz around it, so I think it could do well if given a good creative team. Heck, Earth-2 lasted for quite a while even when DC seemed intent on completely destroying any potential that book might have had. A proper JSA book would probably do a lot better.