DC Cancels Its Longest Running Series, Hellblazer, And Replaces It With New 52 Title, Constantine

[toodoor]

From what I understand the TPBs are where DC made their money with Hellblazer. How many times have Original Sins and Dangerous Habits alone been reprinted? I guess it just finally reached a point where the TPB sales figures could no longer justify the publication of the monthly comic.

That'd be my guess too.

[Andy]

Sadness.

Constantine's one of my all-time favourite characters and Hellblazer an institution for me - I probably have more issues of that title than almost any other. Seeing Hellblazer go bothers me more than renumbering Action Comics, but only for all the silly, nostalgic, entitlement, fannish reasons.

Truthfully, when I've gotten round to reviews, Hellblazer has been iffy under Milligan (exception being whenever Bisley was doing interiors, where the writing seemed better). And I've quite liked Constantine since Lemire took over JLD, including the references to American Gothic, etc. But I'd still prefer him not to be in a team, so maybe the new version will be OK? Just not, I'd have to say, according to my gut - an irrational system which also doesn't give a toss about sales figures and bottom lines. My gut makes me buy Hellblazer even when it's weak; head will likely take over for a new series...

So it's not THE end but it is AN end. And it still makes me remarkably, stupidly sad.

[toodoor]

Nicely put Andy.

[Mad_Man_Moon]

But comic books get cancelled all the day, especially incredibly low-selling ones. Is "they stopped publishing a book that I was basically the only one reading" really a principle to stand up for? Especially when there are a number of other titles said person is already enjoying from the company?

I suspect if it was somebody dropping Marvel because Amazing Spider-Man is getting cancelled you'd have a different response. And that book isn't even suffering in sales.

You picked the wrong person to speak to about a decline in sale of ASM.
AMIRITE, Peter?

Huh?! Huh?!

(seriously, though, Peter has form here)

[SAMURAI36]

see people? booze IS the answer

Yeah, that's sooo not the one.

[SAMURAI36]

The whole argument of what's better and what isn't is ridiculous.

Constantine has been an awesome character in the New 52. And he was introduced as a character who could interact with the DCU at large. Moore planned an entire super-hero crossover around the guy, for christ's sake.
What I get out of the adventures of the John who runs around being a mild fuck-up in Justice League Dark is completely different from what I get out of the edgy, aging, cradle-robbing Constantine in the Vertigo line. If they want to reinvigorate the Vertigo version there are plenty of ways to do that. Shutting the title down just to cement him as a New 52 only character seems like a silly, unnecessary development.

Aside from the controversial nature of this issue, I am getting a bit put off by the expansion of the Dark line of titles. Granted, they put out some of the best titles of the New 52, but it just seems to negate some of the notion that they're about the creepy, dark underbelly of the DCU when they represent nearly a quarter of the line.

If people can't see how giving JC more exposure than he's had in the past 20 years (barring the movie) is a good thing for DC and for the character, then I don't know what to tell you.

Booze is great, isn't it? It puts everything else into perspective!

LOL, not even close.

I realize these things happen. That's not the issue. The issue is that a book with a long, proud history is being laid to rest and people should be able to have an emotional reaction without having others jump down their throats. I know, I know, "welcome to the internet". But just because such behavior is the norm doesn't mean we have to simply accept it.

I do understand that Constantine has been appearing in other books and will continue to do so, but just because they share the same name doesn't mean they're the same character. Myself and others are fans of the JC with an almost 30 year history. A guy who started his own punk bank in the 1970s and recorded one rather sleazy single. A guy who accidentally damned an innocent young girl to Hell and then spent time in a lunatic asylum known as Ravenscar while recovering. A guy who taught a plant elemental all about his true origins and who once smoked pot with Zatanna. A guy who tricked the rulers of Hell into curing him of cancer. A guy who fell in love with an amazing woman named Kit who was strong enough to walk away from him before she got killed.

A guy who aged in "real time" in the DC and then Vertigo universes.

This day was always coming because of that last point. There always had to be a reboot somewhere in the future. That future has become now. That still doesn't mean anyone who was a fan of this version of John Constantine and also of the "Hellblazer" title that he'll have carried for 300 consecutive issues, plus annuals and minis and one-shots, can't get upset over what's happened. It's actually pretty damn healthy behavior. I know I'll miss having that comic waiting for me once a month when I go to my LCS. Will I pick up the new book? Sure. But I also drive a newer car these days. It has four wheels, just like the previous one, a steering wheel, just like the previous one, etc. But I liked the car I had and even though the mileage was sky-high, when someone hit it and I was faced with having to get a new one it still made me equal parts angry and sad.

People become emotionally invested in all sorts of things. It's not right or wrong. It's not a sign of weakness or strength. It just is.

It's fine to feel that way. But a better example, is to say that you will never drive another car again, because the car you loved broke down. That's essentially what some people are saying here, and it sounds bat-shit ridiculous.

A handful? That's being generous.

But no, anger doesn't answer it. Most of the ridiculous posts come from the same people who act the exact same way at every single announcement. That's not anger over an emotional investment. It stops being just an angry outburst somewhere around the dozenth time. For some of these people, we're talking hundreds, at least. You want to believe it's something else, that's fine. That's your business. As for as I'm concerned, some of these people are the reason comics fans have the reputation we have, and no, there is no excusable reason for adults to behave thay way.

I've been saying this for YEARS now. Good to see that I'm not the only one that thinks that way.

It's not ridiculous at all, HBR.
If this is done to HB, what is stopping it being done to Fables, the unwritten, etc or andsoon?

Yet another example of people not approaching this intellectually. Fables, Unwritten, etc are not DC-specific properties. Never have been, and most likely never will be.

Joe, as stated before, if people believe that series that appeared to be absolutely, perfectly, fine, can get canned ... well ... then they probably believe that any of their other favourite ongoings could get the boot. I'd rather jump off at a convenient point from everything (like I have, by the way) than carry on paying over the odds for content that shrinks, or is not what I signed up for in the first place.

It's about as emotional and at the same time coldly logical as it gets, frankly.

If you think there is a shred of "cold logic" in that, then have fun.

That if you disagree with a company strongly enough you vote with your wallet, even if that means foregoing something you enjoy.

If you disagree with it in this instance/just don't get it as a way to behave in general, fair enough. But I think it explains why some people would say/do it.

Cheers

Like Toodoor said, if it mattered that much, then they woulda voted for their dollars to keep the damn thing going in the first place. Ah, human contradiction, gotta love it. :-\

[toodoor]

If people can't see how giving JC more exposure than he's had in the past 20 years (barring the movie) is a good thing for DC and for the character, then I don't know what to tell you.

To be fair, it's probably bad for the character because within the DCU vital aspects of what make the Vertigo book so great will be watered down.

But I agree with most of what you say there. Especially where you agree with me, that bit was excellent.

[SAMURAI36]

To be fair, it's probably bad for the character because within the DCU vital aspects of what make the Vertigo book so great will be watered down.

But I agree with most of what you say there. Especially where you agree with me, that bit was excellent.

LOL.

I'm still content to play a wait-and-see position with all of this. Who knows, they might press the limits in what they will do with the character in the New 52. Granted, he's not gonna be this whole cussy fellow that people seem to love, but I see no reason to chant down Babylon over this whole thing.

But, I still can admit that I don't have the emotional investment that people seem to have over this character.

Nonetheless, I can still relate to the sentiment. I had to wait YEARS for DC to do anything with my fave character (Shazam/Captain Marvel), and now that I've gotten my wish, I couldn't be happier.

[Peter J Poole]

I don't totally disagree, but a few more people maybe should have voted with their wallets and bought the damn book then.

Catch 22, you put out a book that's general appeal/not your monthly cape fix, your money will come back in the long tail of trade sales, but the monthly numbers suck. Possibly.

I suspect if it was somebody dropping Marvel because Amazing Spider-Man is getting cancelled you'd have a different response. And that book isn't even suffering in sales.

There are people who ditched Marvel over OMD. I just ditched Spider-Man. Though I have weakened slightly since BigTime kicked in...

Honest, it's the exact same principle. People taking action because something annoyed them that badly.

If people can't see how giving JC more exposure than he's had in the past 20 years (barring the movie) is a good thing for DC and for the character, then I don't know what to tell you.

Hmmm... I think you're arguing quantity as better than quality with that view...

Which is probably right from the business perspective.

But having Wonder Woman moonlight as a pole dancer would get more sales too.

I suggest it's the same gag reflex that made me quit after OMD. If you're doing something that far off key with how I see the character, I'm not interested. Even if it is rationally premature to say that.

Some things seem so heinous that you don't give second chances...

Cheers

[Joe Kalicki]

There are people who ditched Marvel over OMD. I just ditched Spider-Man. Though I have weakened slightly since BigTime kicked in...

Honest, it's the exact same principle. People taking action because something annoyed them that badly.

But that makes sense - if you don't like what happens to the character, you drop that character. Dropping the other books you like from the same company makes no sense whatsoever. Especially given the sales of the cancelled book. You're basically dropping a whole company for not publishing a book just for you personally.