If the DCU was shrunk down to just 12 ongoing titles ...

[Herowatcher]

Here goes...

1. Action Comics (starring Superman)
2. Detective Comics (starring Batman)
3. Wonder Woman
4. Green Lantern (starring Hal & featuring John)
5. Flash
6. Black Lightning
7. Aquaman
8. Green Arrow (starring Ollie & featuring Black Canary)
9. Justice League
10. The Titans
11. House of Secrets (featuring magical characters)
12. DC Comics Presents (featuring various DCU heroes)

[daBronzeBomma]

My perspective as a fan is a little different than it would be as a publisher. Which are you asking?

Preferably a mix of both.

You're allowed to play favorites and push certain characters/teams/franchises, but the overall picture should still resemble the DCU.

The whole point of cutting it down to 12 titles, which is admittedly a LOT of bloodletting that would probably not happen IRL (unless it was industry-wide, and Marvel itself also went down to say 12 titles due to rising costs), was which titles could you not do without AND which titles do you think DC could not do without, and then split the difference.

Hope that helps!

[Kaijudo]

1. Batman
2. Superman
3. Action Comics (featuring members of Super-Family)
4. Detective Comics (featuring members of Bat-Family)
5. Wonder Woman
6. Aquaman
7. Flash
8. Green Lantern
9. Justice League (nobody with a solo book would be a regular cast member; main members would be Martian Manhunter, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Vixen, Firestorm (Jason/Ronnie), Captain Marvel, Zatanna, and Booster Gold)
10. Titans
11. Swamp Thing
12. History of the DC Universe (anthology series mainly focusing on the JSA and the Legion, plus stories from Anthro to Jonah Hex to Sgt Rock).

[Jon Clark]

Action Comics- 48 pages of Clark and Jon
Detective Comics- anthology title starring The Question, Elongated Man, and other mystery solvers
Justice League Weekly: Clark, Diana, Barry and Hal recruit three other heroes each arc and save the world
Legends: Anthology of characters who appeared in Justice League at one point
Teen Titans: Anthology with stories of Blue Beetle, Firestorm, Natasha Irons, Beast Boy
Wonder Woman: Diana shows us what millennia of Amazons already know. And each month the readers get to vote on a new origin.

Doom Patrol: Writers try to come up with ideas that even Grant Morrison can't follow starring heroes that don't fit in the DCU
Robins: Keith Giffen tells tales of Jason Todd and Damian Wayne trying to escape a universe whose greatest heroes are Ambush Bug, Ted Kord, Booster Gold, Lobo, and Adam West
Swamp Thing: Is he a man who thinks he's plant? Is he a plant that thinks he's a man? We don't know and frankly we don't care. Join Buddt baker and something like Alec Holland as they trash anything that threatens the planet.
Showcase: We give one of our artists a book and limited editorial control and sit back and wait for your money.
DC Presents: Watch us totally miss the point of childhood cartoons and destroy any pleasant childhood memories. First arc- Quickdraw McGraw leads a revolt of horses, donkeys, and Mules in the Old West.

Astro City: Kurt Busiek reminds you that comics can still be good.

[Assam]

Gonna try to be semi-realistic here, but given the nature of the OP's question, I'm also going to indulge my personal biases here. I will say that I absolutely agree that this should NEVER happen, and the line should never be this small. Just too many characters in limbo (Even moreso than now) and too many pissed off fanbases.

1) Detective Comics ( 1 or 2 part stories. Different BatFam members teaming up with Bruce in each one. Think Gotham Knights but with more variety.Rotating back up features which focus exclusively on a single member.)
2) Action Comics (1 or 2 part stories. Different SuperFam members teaming up with Clark in each one.Rotating back up features which focus exclusively on a single member.(FTR, I'm including Traci)
3) Wonder Woman ( Donna and Cassie are part of the supporting cast)
4) Aquaman ( Mera has the same role she has currently, Lorena, Dolphin and Tula are supporting cast members, Garth has a back-up feature.)
5) The Flash ( Wally West leads a team consisting of Bart, Max, Iris, and Jesse with guest appearances from Jay and Jenni; various civilians would be the supporting cast)
6) Green Lanterns (Simon Baz and Jessica Cruz continue to do their thing; Hal, John and Kyle switch back and forth on back-up stories.)
7) Young Justice (Tim Drake, Cassie Sandsmark, Kon-El, Bart Allen, Anite Fite, Slobo, and, to swap out for Secret (Whose story is over) and Ray, I'd appease TV fans by throwing on Rocket, Jackson and Jaime; Cissie and Greta as supporting characters, Red Tornado and Traya would be supporting characters AND have a back-up feature. Oh, and the instant someone takes a break from the tam (Which happened often in the original book, Argent and Hot Spot would be the ones take spots )
8) Legion of Superheroes (Focused on the return of the Post-Zero Hour era Legion.)
9) Justice League International (Booster, Ted, Fire, Ice, J'onn, Guy Gardner, Scott and Barda, Dmitri, Ralph and Sue; Justice League of China as a back-up feature)
10) JSA (Take everyone from Johns's run and slap them all in here. Well, not everyone. Remove people like King Chimera and Magog (Who are the worst) and throw in Lady Blackhawk and Peacemaker)
11) Green Arrow (Connor Hawke and Mia Deadren working together in one story. Roy and Emi together in the other.)
12) Batgirls (Oracle, Cassgirl and Spoiler...because I've wanted a monthly book with that line-up for too damn long! Also Black Alice, Strix and Misfit would pop in every once in awhile.)

Also, since you mentioned other books would be getting put out, I'd have there be a Secret Six mini once a year, with Catman, Scandal and Ragdoll as the team's constant members through each one.

[titanfan]

How DC Would Do it in the Real World:

Batman
Batman & Robin
Detective Gomics
Shadow of the Bat
Batman / Superman
Trinity
Batman / Flash
JLA
Harley Quinn
Nightwing
Batman & the Green Lantern Corps

[dan12456]

Realistic guess:

1) Detective Comics (Batman)
2) Action Comics (Superman)
3) Justice League
4) Wonder Woman
5) Green Lantern Corps (all 6 of them)
6) The Flash
7) Aquaman
8) Titans (probably some combination of titans and teen titans)
9) Green Arrow/Black Canary
10) Harley Quinn
11) Nightwing
12) Suicide Squad

(Sadly diversity gets completely shafted on a 12 book line)

[Atlanta96]

Superman
Batman
Wonder Woman
Titans
Young Justice
Bat-Family or Robins
Justice League
JSA
Flash (Wally)
Green Lantern Corps
Aquaman
Captain Marvel

[Vic Vega]

Interesting thought experiment.

1. Detective Comics featuring Batman
2. Action Comics featuring Superman
3. Sensation Comics featuring Wonder Woman
4. The Flash
5. Green Lanterns
6. Supergirl
7. Batgirl
8. Adventure Comics featuring (Split Book Featuring Aquaman and Green Arrow)
9. Harley Quinn and the Suicide Squad
10. The Outsiders
11. Justice League of America
12. The Titans

[Zero Hunter]

1 - Action Comics (Superman with a Superman family back up)
2 - Detective Comics (Batman with a Bat-family back up)
3 - Wonder Woman
4 - Flash
5 - Green Lantern (Green Lantern Corps feature with a solo back up tale)
6 - Aquaman
7 - Justice League (done in the Justice League Unlimited style)
8 - Titans (done in the Young Justice animated series style
9 - Birds of Prey (Canary, Batgirl, Green Arrow, Huntress)
10 - Legion of Superheroes
11 - Harley Quinn and the Suicide Squad
12 - Showcase Presents (two features split evenly starring other DC characters)

[jamgut]

1 - Legion
2 - Titans
3 - Metal Men
4 - Justice Society
5 - Doom Patrol
6 - New Gods
7 - The Brave & The Bold (team-up with no regularly occurring character)
8 - Superman
9 - Aquaman
10 - Flash
11 - Wonder Woman
12 - Nightwing

[Ascended]

Let's see....

Okay, so first off, the business realities get thrown out the window because the market would have to change in terrible and drastic ways for a lineup this small to ever be considered even a tiny bit viable, which means all the characters we're thinking of would no longer matter and the entire line would realistically be Batman with a sprinkling of other League members (mostly in the few team books we'd see). But I'll see if I can't keep the majority of the DCU represented in some fashion. Which basically means turning every title into a team up book.

Action Comics: Staring Superman but with his various namesakes and legacies held close in supporting cast roles. Sort of like how Detective is a Gotham team-up book, Action would be a Super-team up book with strong emphasis put on Kara, Steel, Jon, and Conner (assuming he returns).

Detective Comics: Basically the same as it has been since Rebirth, but with more focus on Bruce, since not even the god damn Batman gets a solo title with a line limited to a dozen titles.

Sensation Comics: A title co-staring Wonder Woman and Aquaman (and all their supporting players) that would explore the new political alliance their two nations are building. Shazam also plays a main supporting role, and any character with ties to gods or the mythical side of DC would have a home here.

Green Lantern Corps: Pretty self explanatory.

Flashpoints: The home of all things Flash, set in the twin cities of Central and Keystone.

Justice Legion Alpha: We're going to take a "JLU" approach here and explore a huge, sprawling team of heroes. Each (2-4 issue) arc stars on or two of the Big 7 and a couple B/C-listers. Running subplots will be used to generate emotional attachment and build up a long-term narrative. We'll bring McDuffie back from the dead to see it done right.

Justice Legion Academy: Combining the Titans and Young Justice corners of the DCU; the original sidekicks and young heroes work with the Justice Legion to train the newest, youngest members of the heroic community.

Justice Legion Arcane: Staring Zatanna and Constantine; pretty much Justice League Dark all over again, exploring the magical side of the DCU. Despite the name, only some of the characters featured here (like Zee) would have ties to the actual JLA organization, but, yknow, marketing.

Suicide Squad Featuring Harley Quinn: For all your political thriller/covert ops needs. If its shady and questionable and a politician signed off on it, its in here. Slade Wilson's new home would be here as well.....and maybe just for kicks we'll explore a romantic relationship between him and Harley, just to see people's heads explode.

Tales of the New Gods: Exactly what it sounds like.

Outsiders: Staring Arrow and Black Canary, this is your more street level, dont-play-by-the-rules vigilante title, with characters like the Question, Black Lightning, Metamorpho, etc, holding supporting cast roles.

The Challengers of the Unknown!: Booster Gold and Rip Hunter lead a team of adventurers including a Legionnaire, a classic JSA member, Batman Beyond, Jonah Hex, and Vibe across time and the multiverse, keeping the more obscure corners of the DCU (including earth-2 and the 31st century) safe.

There....I think I got all the broad points of DC's vast tapestry covered.

[warzon]

Wow just 12 ok i'll play.

#1 (JUSTICE LEAGUE) with a 25 MEMBER roll call.
#2 (TITANS) with a 12 MEMBER roll call
#3 (JUSTICE SOCIETY) with a 18 MEMBER roll call
#4 (THE LEGION OF SUPER HEROES)

#5 (WONDER WOMAN)
#6 (SUPERMAN)
#7 (BATMAN)
#8 (AQUAMAN)

#9 (THE WORLD'S FINEST) feat solo's w BLACK CANARY/ZATANNA/SHAZAM/GREEN ARROW
#10(ADVENTURE COMIC) feat solo's w DR LIGHT/VIXEN/GREEN LANTERN/THE FLASH
#11 (ACTION COMIC) feat solo's w SUPERGIRL/BRONZE TIGER/YOUNG JUSTICE w a 8 member team
#12 (DETECTIVE COMIC)feat solo's w BATGIRL/HAWKMAN/THE OUTSIDERS w a 7 member team

[WonderScott]

1. Superman
2. Batman and Robin (Bruce and Damian)
3. Wonder Woman
4. Justice League (Superman, Wonder Woman, Batman, Aquaman, Green Lantern (John Stewart), Flash, Hawkwoman, Vixen, Zatanna, and the Wonder Twins)
5. Justice League of America (Hawkman, Shazam (Billy), Shazam (Mary), Atom, Mera, Star Sapphire, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Isis, Batwoman, Black Lightning, Fire, and Ice.)
6. Titans (Nightwing, Troia, Arsenal, Starfire, Raven, Changeling, Cyborg, Supergirl, Pantha, Bumblebee, Tempest, Flash, Extraño, and Rose Wilson)
7. Gotham Knights (Nightwing, Batgirl, Red Robin, Spoiler, Onyx, Jason Bard, The Question (Renee Montoya) and Flamebird)
8. Green Lantern Corps
9. Teen Titans (Superboy, Wonder Girl, Red Robin, Miss Martian, Black Bat, Impulse, Zatara, Artemis, Aqualad, Traci 13, and Natasha Irons)
10. Crime Syndicate of Amerika (Set on Earth 3 - Ultraman, Superwoman, Owlman, Talon, Volthoom, Johnny Quick, Atomica and their cronies vs the heroes of Earth 3.)
11. Secret Society of Supervillains
12. The Outsiders (Sapphire Stagg, Frankenstein, The Bride, Looker, The Creeper, Man-bat, Rampage, Element Woman, Black Orchid, and Clayface.)

[daBronzeBomma]

So lemme try this again, this time using as many older titles as possible as anthologies, 32-page titles each:

1. Action Comics, anthology, main story Superman, 1-2 backup features for the rest of the Superfam like Supergirl, Power Girl, Connor, Jon, Mon-El, Steel, Krypto, Lois, Jimmy, Perry, etc.

2. Detective Comics, anthology, main story Batman, 1-2 backup features for the rest of the Batfam like Robin, Nightwing, Tim Drake, Damian, Huntress, Azrael, Selina, Alfred, Gordon, etc.

3. Sensation Comics, anthology, main story Wonder Woman, 1 backup feature for the rest of the Wonderfam like Cassie, Donna, Artemis, Hippolyta, Steve Trevor, etc.

4. Flash Comics, anthology, 3 equal-time stories featuring Barry, Jay, Wally, Bart, Jesse and Johnny Quick, Max Mercury, XS, John Fox, Iris, Linda, Joan, etc.

5. The Green Lantern Corps, anthology, 3 equal-time stories featuring Hal, John, Guy, Kyle, Alan and Jade Scott, Simon Baz, Jessica Cruz, the Guardians of the Universe, the entire GLC, etc.

6. Adventure Comics, anthology, main story Aquaman, 1-2 backup features for Swamp Thing and Vixen (nature theme)

7. The Brave and The Bold, anthology, main story featuring Black Canary and/or Green Arrow as well, 1 backup feature for Suicide Squad and/or Task Force X

8. More Fun Comics, anthology, main story featuring Shazam and the rest of the Fawcettverse, 1-2 backup features for Plastic Man and Blue Beetle & Booster Gold (comedy theme)

9. Justice League, anthology, main story Justice League, 1 back-up for team members not appearing elsewhere (Atom, Hawks, etc)

10. All-American Comics, anthology, three equal-time stories featuring the Titans, Teen Titans and Young Justice (youth theme)

10. DC Comic Presents, anthology, three equal-time stories featuring Zatanna, Doctor Fate, Phantom Stranger, John Constantine, Deadman, Spectre, etc (magic theme)

12. Showcase, anthology, 3 equal-time stories, strictly for any characters who do appear in any of the other 11 titles (LOSH gets one of these 3 slots every issue)