And then there were three: the New 52 Originals

[nepenthes]

Today's announcement of the final issue of All Star Western marks somewhat of a milestone for the New 52. Of the entire 2011 line-up we're now down to the final three in terms of creative team and concept....

That they all happen to be Batman books is kind of interesting. Does this say anything about the current state of DC Comics, or is it simply coincidental in that they're all based around strong creative visions paired to a highly passionate writer?



For me personally, two of these three have remained strong titles albeit with wildly erratic ups and downs, bouncing from being industry-best material to at other times verging on unreadable. Books like Animal Man and Snyders Swamp Thing were far more consistent. The third has been deeply disappointing throughout (again from my perspective). That said I can quite easily see why each has maintained a solid appeal amongst certain quarters, getting us to today where we have issue 34's solicited under the same writer that relaunched the book.

I think it's likely and only fitting that Batman will indeed be the last one standing, eventually. Simone on Batgirl I give it another 6 months, B&R I think Tomasi will see out the big Damian return and then perhaps one more arc, it's hard to say at the moment.

Is this the final three you envisioned back in 2011? Which are you personally still reading? Is the New 52 showing it's age? How long until we're down to the New 02?

[MajorHoy]

To me, Batgirl doesn't count. There have been fill-ins by other writers; countless changes in artists; and there was the infamous point when Simone was removed from the book, only to be quickly reinstated when there was a loud fan outcry.

[Sacred Knight]

If this were August 2012, yeah it'd probably say something.

Three years later though, I think it says very little.

[Bruce Wayne]

Simone? No not until she got the tumblr crowd under her thumbs. It seems fear of that faction is really the only reason she is around and why the book hasn't either changed hands or been revamped. she should have been gone by #12 and replaced with a more competent writer.

Tomasi and Snyder? Yes certainly. They were more consistent, they could deliver and they had staying power. I don't think anyone for example thought the ill-thought out David Finch and Tony Daniel written Batman books were going to last.

You also forgot Azz's Wonder Woman and Johns on JLA.

[nepenthes]

Yep I should've mentioned, Justice League still has Geoff Johns however it hasn't maintained nearly the same level of conceptual consistency as any of the books above. It's been watered down in various haphazard directions along the way and its newest iteration makes it almost an unrecognisable to the first arc. Forgot to mention this in the OP.

Azzarello's end on Wonder Woman has already been announced. I believe World Finest is the 5th longest remaining book (?) however that was released as part of a Second Wave type deal.

[Kapparition]

If we are only going off of writers.. Geoff Johns on JL and Brian Azzerello on WW should also count.

[Bruce Wayne]

Should also mention, Justice League still has Geoff Johns however it hasn't maintained nearly the same level of conceptual consistency as any of the books above. It's been watered down in various haphazard directions along the way and its newest iteration makes it almost an unrecognisable to the first arc. Forgot to mention this in the OP. Azz's end on WW has already been announced.

I think the first arcs are clearly the more victim of backroom editorial writing while the newer arcs especially the post-FE arcs are closer to what I think Johns would write.

[Grayson]

Simone? No not until she got the tumblr crowd under her thumbs. It seems fear of that faction is really the only reason she is around and why the book hasn't either changed hands or been revamped. she should have been gone by #12 and replaced with a more competent writer.

Tomasi and Snyder? Yes certainly. They were more consistent, they could deliver and they had staying power. I don't think anyone for example thought the ill-thought out David Finch and Tony Daniel written Batman books were going to last.

You also forgot Azz's Wonder Woman and Johns on JLA.

Well Wonder Woman's creative team is also changing which is why he didn't include it.

[SmokeMonster]

I'm new to comics. Do creative teams usually stay on for more than 2 years?

[tako]

Well Wonder Woman's creative team is also changing which is why he didn't include it.

Chiang only took a break from a few issues, no one has said he's leaving completely.

[Colossus1980]

To be fair, most creative teams don't stick around for more than two years. Not surprising at all.

[Damos40]

I'm new to comics. Do creative teams usually stay on for more than 2 years?

Usually not, but it depends on a lot of things. Among the most common reasons for a writer staying on a book for more than 2 years or not are, if the book manages to sell well enough to last more than 2 years, if the writer doesn't get into an feud with the editor or, if the writer plans on writing the book for more than 2 years. Some writers even plan on having a book last a specific amount of issues (Superman Unchained etc...). Its rare for a book to last more than 50 issues and have the same writer for all those issues (the original Azrael comic, Geoff Johns Green Lantern and James Robinson's Starman being among the few that come to mind, that were specifically under the DC imprint).

[Bruce Wayne]

Well Wonder Woman's creative team is also changing which is why he didn't include it.

Only close to the end of this year with the end issue as of yet to be announced.

[Lee Stone]

I'm new to comics. Do creative teams usually stay on for more than 2 years?

Generally past two years is uncommon.
Unless it's a Vertigo title.

Longest stretches I know of in recent years:
100 Bullets (100 issues) -Azzarello/Risso
Sandman (75 issues) -Gaiman
Justice League International/Europe (96 issues plus Annuals, Specials and Quarterly, not counting the sequel minis) -Giffen/DeMatteis
Suicide Squad (66 issues plus Annual and Special) -Ostrander
X-Factor (120 issues and counting) -David

I'm sure there's more but those are what I can think of off the top of my head.

[oheysteenz]

It sucks that there are only 3 that have lasted this long. And really, Simone's Batgirl BARELY counts. It's hard for me to say what keeps a story going in terms of writers and their passions. Flash, I thought, was excellent until the creative team changed. But did it change because they were switched over to Detective Comics or because they didn't feel like writing the character anymore? Same with Wonder Woman. That series has been great from the beginning. But is it over because of poor storytelling or because of the way DC runs their business now? Buh. Even Superboy was good before Brett Booth got his hands on it.

Seriously, I think some of the stories started off fine. And with some time they could have been great. But the flip flopping of creative teams really hurts the sales of these books.