No more "batgirling," back to the same old same old.

[protege]

I'm wondering what will happen to those six minis that are coming out next year..

[MadFacedKid]

Woop hope He-Man and Joan of Arc leaves the Aquaman and Wonder Woman titles

And Bunny Bats leaves as well

[Rakzo]

Yeah, checked this in Twitter already.

It's certainly something worrisome. I have been pretty vocal about my love for distinctive books like Batgirl, Black Canary, Midnighter, new directions like Pak's current Action Comics story and, while I'm not particularly crazy for Omega Men, at least I respect it because is trying something different. Sure, some of the new takes completely blow (I'm looking at you Green Arrow) but for the most part the DC You initiative has been a complete success in terms of variety.

Getting back to what we had before, especially this soon, would be a disappointment considering that I wanted to see more books with interesting and bold perspectives (I would feel especially terrible if this happens before a Stephanie Brown/Spoiler series considering I was loving Stewart/Fletcher's take on Batgirl).

Leifeld on every book.

That's no meat and potatos though, that's a steroid injection right into the heart that will inevitably kill you in a painfull way.

[FishyZombie]

All the internet does is whine about how there is too much grim and gritty (there really isn't, there are plenty of comic options for fans of both extremes) and when Dc finally does add more fun books, they are rejected by the sales. I think the reason is the art, a lot of art for these indie style comics try to make things look cartoony and a lot of people are turned off by that.

[Garbledarber]

DC is so in tune, people are always saying they should be less experimental. People don't want new things, the market is exactly the same as its always been!

[CrimsonEchidna]

Well, there is a sort of "standard" look and feel that a lot of books have. Superman, Justice League, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, etc. "Batgirling" means not worrying about sticking with that look and feel and doing something more abstract and creative. The benefit is that it can bring in an audience who doesn't care for the standard look/feel. The risk is that the people who do like the usual look/feel don't have any incentive to try the new one.

I think in terms of DC's recent direction, "Batgirling" also means fewer crossovers and letting each book just tell its own stories. Or at least not having storylines cross over between books.

Ok that makes sense. To the very least I do hope that they continue not doing the mandatory crossovers/tie-ins.

[blackbolt396]

DC is so in tune, people are always saying they should be less experimental. People don't want new things, the market is exactly the same as its always been!

It's sad that people want the same thing over and over,maybe comic books should die or after DK3 it's time to just collect and read EC comics.

[Angilasman]

This is insane. This style reboot just happened a couple of months ago and now they're getting skittish and thinking about pulling back? Maybe give everything time to settle down and not make rash decisions while we're still in everything's opening story arc!

[godisawesome]

That article was rather vague on what "stop batgirling" actually entails, and it was similarly unclear on what "meat and potatoes" qualifies as.

For someone like me, "meat and potatoes" for DC could be either more like the New 52's more gimmick and iconoclastic drive to recapture some of that industry destroying Marvel magic form the 1990s, or it could mean a more subdued output similar to Pre-Flashpoint.

I mean, most of this new wave of books was status quo twists on the big guns and a few more small scale launches. Does the article mean we'll see a complete rejection of the "continuity lite" decree of story over continuity, or are being told that those books that seem acceptable investments for strictly demographic reasons (maybe We are Robin or Gotham academy lacks sheer number of readers but excels in young readers, for instance) will survive, the miniseries won't be renewed and the questionable shifts on the main books will end?

Does it mean other books will launch that feature more traditional premises? Are we going to get more archetypal teen hero books like a Red Robin/Spoiler/Black Bat Batman spinoff miniseries or a Supergirl solo released with a mandate to try and find whatever magic makes the TV show successful? A new launch of Titans to once again try and get the magic in the bottle?

[Kuwagaton]

It's unfortunate that comic companies have such difficulty finding a new audience, because the books end up in front of the same old crowd, who typically do not want wacky, cartoony, or all new, according to numbers. They generally aren't likely to pick up an issue or continue long term. I don't put this on fans, though, since many just want the comics they like in large quantities. You want what you like, it's natural. Just glad that Prez was a mini in the first place so I don't get a half story.

Anyway, I find it funny to see batgirl used as a pejorative equating to fooling around

[RolandGunner]

I'll give you #2 but Convergence sold very well, just not as well as they wanted (which does surprise me too, as it sold way better than I thought it would).

And the counter-point to #3 is that you can't do that kind of advertising and promotion like they did for more than a couple of months. So they could have spread them out, but wouldn't have been able to tell people about them.

The Convergence books may have sold decently to retailers but all of the reports from stores that BC publishes were that actual readers weren't buying them. I know the store I go to had a tons of copies after DC You started.

[GlennSimpson]

This is insane. This style reboot just happened a couple of months ago and now they're getting skittish and thinking about pulling back? Maybe give everything time to settle down and not make rash decisions while we're still in everything's opening story arc!

Sales almost never go up past the first issues. If sales are not where they need to be for the #1 issues, it's not going to get any better from there.

[mathew101281]

Their shouldn't be a house style for the entire line. That indie friendly look and feel works for Batgirl and Harley, but to believe that would translate across the line is a mistake. Likewise turning everything dark will be ill advised for a lot of characters. You got to tailor the tone to the character not the other way around.

[Sacred Knight]

All the internet does is whine about how there is too much grim and gritty (there really isn't, there are plenty of comic options for fans of both extremes) and when Dc finally does add more fun books, they are rejected by the sales. I think the reason is the art, a lot of art for these indie style comics try to make things look cartoony and a lot of people are turned off by that.

The lesson here is that internet complaining by no stretch of the imagination correlates to success of an overall product.

Anywho, if all this means is a return to the initial New 52 mission statement then I'm just fine. Proof is in the sales, that worked better.

[GlennSimpson]

The Convergence books may have sold decently to retailers but all of the reports from stores that BC publishes were that actual readers weren't buying them. I know the store I go to had a tons of copies after DC You started.

From a business point of view, DC doesn't really care whether readers were buying them or not. They have their money already.