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

[Jonathan Strange]

So... if people don't do with their money what you see as the 'right thing', that is, 'support the industry', they are idiots.

Honestly, the 'industry' is not my concern - the 'industry' is the concern of the "blue-suited penguins" at Warner and Disney.
My concern are good stories with a decent level of quality.

If the industry must fall for something better arise - so be it.

I always think that everybody that posts here owns a comic book store or shares on DC or Marvel. So much worry about the market is simply not justifiable by fear of your favorite comic being canceled. Having a big company allows your lower sales to be "held" by your bigger sales... so a good title in average can have a low time and a rise after without this need to cancel.

But sales is not the reason, come on... they wanted to revamp the title since last year. Is not even an excuse.

DC wants to make everything a fucking movie rated pg13... so they screw their own characters.

The industry doesn't need to end, what needs to end is the mentality that started in the nineties, or when sales started to happen only in comic book stores that what matters is how much comics a store asks in advance.

Without a good story it all comes to an end...

[Comicsfan101]

I had to read 10 pages to see some sense in this discussion... if Dc wanted they would call some good creators and make shorter runs of Hellblazer. It just makes clear that they wanted to cancel it all along.

So Constantine smokes in the new 52... nice... and a trenchcoat... and even the same name!!! So if you imagine an english accent and the constant use of the word "fuck" you can almost feel like you are reading a real Constantine story.

You have the perfect name, since that is a really strange idea of making something clear.

[Peter J Poole]

I'm a superhero fan, but I do think DC and Marvel going down would be the only way for the industry to evolve into a more genre-diverse, perfectly competitive market.

Not even doing any boycott, but I think that's true.

They're two thirds of the industry. If they go, the DM goes and - probably - the LCS goes too.

Not automatically a bad thing, but I do think that would move the label from 'evolution' to 'trying to build something from the ashes and wreckage'...

Cheers

[colonyofcells]

My guess is dc is planning a new Constantine movie and don't really need too much adult stuff in the movies.
Comics are also now more like superhero tv shows wherein you get a reboot about every time there is a new tv show or new comic book series relaunch. Even before Flashpoint, DC comics was already similar to superhero tv shows and the comics were already rebooting quite frequently, for example, the many reboots of the Doom Patrol after coie. We now have a new take on Green Arrow in the Arrow tv show and comics are similar in that once a new writer takes over Green Arrow, it could also look more like a reboot.
Constantine might be put to better use in the dcu titles and maybe movies and Vertigo will do just ok without Hellblazer.

[Tom Strong]

True.

But I don't think they're mutually exclusive. After all evolution stems from natural selection and survival of the fittest.

[thekeith82]

They're two thirds of the industry. If they go, the DM goes and - probably - the LCS goes too.

Not automatically a bad thing, but I do think that would move the label from 'evolution' to 'trying to build something from the ashes and wreckage'...

Cheers

The DM is on the way out anyway. It's horribly depressing, but as the digital market grows, it's not going to be worth them keeping printing and distributing floppies if that's a cost they can cut. There'll still be money in physical trade sales, but between Amazon and mainstream book shops there won't be enough money around to keep the stores around. Not as we know them, anyway. There will be a few that can diversify enough to keep going, but the next 5-10 years is evolve or die.

[jimmythebeetle]

My guess is dc is planning a new Constantine movie and don't really need too much adult stuff in the movies.
Comics are also now more like superhero tv shows wherein you get a reboot about every time there is a new tv show or new comic book series relaunch. Even before Flashpoint, DC comics was already similar to superhero tv shows and the comics were already rebooting quite frequently, for example, the many reboots of the Doom Patrol after coie. We now have a new take on Green Arrow in the Arrow tv show and comics are similar in that once a new writer takes over Green Arrow, it could also look more like a reboot.
Constantine might be put to better use in the dcu titles and maybe movies and Vertigo will do just ok without Hellblazer.

There were actually rumors to that effect, involving multiple characters in the Dark line, in the last week or two.

And frankly, New 52 Oliver could use something of a soft reboot. I've tried the series several times because I like the character, and none of it feels very cohesive or fresh.

[jyork]

I wish they could continue Vertigo Constantine in the mini-series format. The last Constantine story I read was Hellblazer: City of Demons by Sean Murphy and Si Spurrier, due to not wanting to jump on in the middle of Milligan's run (though I did pick up the two issue arc Bisley drew a few years back featuring the corpse of Sid Vicious). It was great, still want to check out Pandemonium and Dark Entries. I have about 20 issues of Ennis and Dillon's run I picked up cheap, but I don't have the opening arc so I've waited on starting it. Would I be thrown off without that first arc? I don't think Dillon drew it.

[spacedog]

I have a great deal of respect for the work of guys like Snyder, Morrison, Lemire, Cornell, and Milligan... but In DC's case - I always find awkward the fact that the majority of the people in charge of the 'new' are the same people who were behind the 'old' - with 'peculiar' additions like Harras and Lobdell in the mix.

And that's hilarious.

[Tom Strong]

Yeah the main downfall of the New 52 has been the Young Justice line. I'm going to blame the recruitment of Liefeld, Defalco, Mackie, Lobdell, etc. on Harras. Having said that though, I think Lobdell doesn't deserve to be lumped with all of them. Superman is surprisingly better than ever now.