Four Thoughts on Cancelled New 52 Titles

1. Captain Atom: This was on the chopping block and barely escaped last time, so not surprising to see it go this time around. And not terribly disappointing either; JT Krul should be lauded for attempting to right a book with broader implications on the intersections between science, religion and fate, but the book itself never really found solid grounding. It probably didn't help that the whole story was very clearly in the shadow of Alan Moore's Dr. Manhattan. It had some interesting ideas, but was weighed down by overwrought writing. Freddie Williams III art was consistently readable though, and I hope that he finds another project to work on soon.

2. Justice League International: I have to be entirely honest, I have no idea why this book is being axed, especially when it is going out with a high caliber annual story and doesn't have any real book that seems to be replacing it thematically. It is easily the best seller of this bunch, and while never knock-your-socks-off great, it had a consistent tone and provided a place for B and C list characters to live. Maybe Dan Jurgens reached the end of the story he wanted to tell and DC didn't see the need to pass the baton to someone else. I don't know, but this leaves a serious hole in the line for a B-tier team book and I think that other books could have been dropped instead.

3. Resurrection Man: Not surprising to see dropped, but also disappointing. Abnett and Lanning had a clear passion project in this title and the nature of the main character's ability to switch powers gave them a blank check on the kinds of stories they could tell. It never really established a core of what the series was about sadly (or more accurately, kept changing what it was about), but it was consistently okay to good. Like the original, this will likely hold a cult favorite status down the line...at least for those people who remember it.

4. Voodoo: Oh Voodoo. The sad strange case of Voodoo. There may have been a time when I would have been sad to see this book go, but around the time Ron Marz was unceremoniously kicked off the book and it turned into a mass killing spree of his main cast of characters, the book has taken a month-on-month downward turn. The unfortunate part is that Josh Williamson seemed to have that core idea that he wanted to play with: the dual lives of the two titular characters and their complicated familial relationship. But it was all so off-putting for anyone who had bought into the original premise of the book, and it was paced in such a way to at least give the impression it was being made up as it went along. Like Captain Atom, I hope the artist here, Sami Basri, gets more projects soon because the art was consistently high quality. But this series quickly went from "promising" to "disappointing" with the change of editorial direction and I didn't see it ever recovering. Indeed, a depressing case of "what could have been..."

@HubrisRanger: The colorist of the Voodoo comic needs to stay with the penciller/inker. That book, although tedious, was among the most beautifully drawn new 52 book, along with (imo) Supergirl, and Flash, and the colorist helped to accentuate the penciller's work.

I can only give thoughts on JLI and Voodoo, as they were on my pull list.

JLI: I don't even understand this one. It was selling 30k+ per month, whereas all the others were 18k, 13k, and 12k. I've heard rumors that Didio has never liked JLI as a general rule so I wonder if that is part of the reasoning? Otherwise, it shouldn't have been axed. It's a God Damn TRAGEDY that Booster Gold doesn't have a title now.

Voodoo: I really feel the same way as you. I wanted to embrace this title. I got on board with the premise, the gorgeous artwork and coloring, but as you say, it just never came to fruition. I can only assume that DC Editorial didn't like the direction of the book and tried to salvage it. While I didn't like the clone angle, I can appreciate that Josh Williamson was trying to salvage a story. Unfortunately it just came off as a slow moving train wreck. Hopefully, assuming she survives, Voodoo will eventually find a new home.

I guess I'm odd man out on this subject. JLI got dull for me early and I dropped it from my pull-list. All 3 of the other's are titles I couldn't miss. Captain Atom artwork is amazing and the story stands up all by itself. The Voodoo story-line ties-in very well with other books and i enjoyed the jekyll/hyde personality and all of it's possibilities. Resurrection Man is just awesome. DC should have put more into selling the story rather than waiting for the story to grow legs on its own. With 52 other books to buy, people need incentive to pick up books that are outside their normal choices. This character has limitless story possibilities and can easily be used on tie-ins any given month. Captain Atom and Resurrection Man are at the top of my favorites list right now and I'll be sad to see them go. Clearly, the ability to change to a new set of powers all the time is being picked up in Dial H. I like the death and resurrection with new powers line better than pick up a payphone and dial a number to see what you might turn into today. Payphones don't even exist anymore!

JLI- Don't care, wasn't reading it, though Fire and Ice need a mini series 
 
Captain Atom- Again, didn't read it, and never was a fan of Atom's 
 
Voodoo- UGH! I was reading it, and agree with the majority that the quality of it declined with the writer change, but it was still pretty good. 
 
Resurrection Man- Words can't describe how disappointed I am to see it go, especially when it's being replaced by another ''resurrection man'' aka Talon.