What do people mean when they say "too many Bat-titles"?

Whenever I see people complain about the sheer amount of Bat-titles (not just on Comicvine but other forums, blogs, and articles), it always seems like they are complaining more about Bat-family members each having a title of their own rather than the issue of Batman having too many titles. I see nothing wrong with other members having their own title with Batman making the occasional appearance...but I do agree that Batman himself, has too many titles. I guess I find it unfair to lump the other Bat-members into the "too many Bat-titles" argument since if they didn't have their own, you wouldn't see much of them and they each have fanbases of their own.

They're complaining that they feel that there's too many Bat related titles, with the logic that if there was less Bat books produced there'd be room for their character or characters of choice to get a title.

@juliedc: I'm pretty sure when people say there's too many bat-titles, they're noy saying DC should cancel Nightwing or Batgirl. They're saying Batman, himself, has too many ongoings.

@decoy_elite: I fit in this category. Not because of "my" character or anything. But so they can introduce new books and characters, or give existing characters a solo run. I didn't read "I,vampire", but I read somewhere that it won some awards and still got cancelled. I know theres a business side to it, Batman is the most popular, so they take advantage of the craze for profit. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't like to see more creative titles written

@crouchingtiger: I understand the argument and I do kinda side with it. I wish always want lesser known characters and neat new ideas to get their time to shine.
That said I'm not really sure if the Bat titles are actively causing others to not get titles by existing.

@rdclip: when I say it, I refer to the bat family. I would do away with batgirl, batwoman, batwing, the dark night, Batman inc. We would still have like 10 bat-comics give or take

@crouchingtiger: But that is unfair. Its not the Bat-family's fault. Batman is the one who has too many titles but letting Batgirl, Batwoman, Nightwing have a title is not wrong. The Bat-family is no different than any other characters who should have titles. Heck, I think Red Robin deserves his own solo and he is part of the Bat-family. I mean it makes more sense to go after the duplicates. Does Batman or Superman need so many solos? Why go after the characters that have only one title to their name instead of the one that has more than 1?

@decoy_elite: I agree, I think the blame is being misplaced. I think it has more to do with the company's fault at not making more comics and limiting the number they are willing to put out. I guess its just easier to blame characters you don't like as having too many titles even if said characters you don't like has only 1 title.

@juliedc: Exactly, although it's not totally DC's fault either.
They usually avoid giving certain characters titles because they're unlikely to make a good profit. Bat books do make a good profit so they usually stay afloat. It's all a profit thing, and DC is in the business of making money after all.

@juliedc: I don't have a personal vendetta against any character lol. I'm just saying, there's around 15 new-52 comics currently featuring a bat-character. I think there should be more books "not related to batman at all". And anytime a series gets cancelled, they will replace it. So if they do away with some of these, they can usher in more original titles. And lastly, I WOULD NEVER DO AWAY WITH NIGHTWING!! He rules. And he blows batgirl out of the water.

@crouchingtiger: So basically, you are saying that they should cancel comics of characters you don't care for? I am not a major Batgirl fan myself, but she is to someone else what the Nightwing comic is to me. I have no problem with other characters getting comics but I think it is wrong to say that they should cancel other characters comics to make that happen. I mean just because a character is tied to Batman doesn't mean they don't have anything to offer. I don't even care for Batman that much but my two favorites happen to be tied to Batman. Each character is different and to be perfectly honest, lumping all of them into "bat-title" does them a disservice and takes away from what makes each character so great. Besides, a lot of of comic book characters are related or connected to some major superhero in some shape or form. The Bat-family has no ownership of it...if anything, they are among the few that seem proud of being connected to one another.

I just think it is odd to complain about there being so many Bat-titles but rather than point to all the actual Batman titles, instead people seem to want to focus on the Bat-family, where each member each has only 1 title and some don't have any at all.

@juliedc: because not every sidekick/partner Batman has ever had should have their own title just for being a character (IMHO of course)

And I don't dislike any of them. Just because I don't think they deserve a solo doesn't mean I don't like them. And I agree, they should keep batman and detective comics and replace his other solos. But I almost exclusively point out batgirl, batwoman, and batwing because they aren't breaking 30,000 comics sold, they are non essential, and they aren't introducing us to new characters. Have them in batman inc. And get rid of their solos lol

Also I hope you're not offended. That's not my goal and you can like whoever you want

I don't think Batgirl has dropped below 30,000, and sold around 42,000 in May. Batwoman sold just under 30,000, and Batwing only sold about 13,000. I don't get why low sales would makes them "non essential". And for the record, in May, Batgirl outsold Red Hood And The Outlaws, and Batwoman outsold Catwoman, Birds Of Prey and Talon. The only Batman Group titles that outsold Batgirl were the ones with 'Batman' in the name, and Nightwing.

Batwoman wouldn't be right for Batman Inc. She's not a member of the Bat-Family, doesn't like Batman, and stays away from them generally. She doesn't have strong links to other characters, so if you cancelled her solo series, it think it would be difficult to find her a regular place somewhere else.

@v_scarlotte_rose: I stand corrected on batgirl sales. The reason I didn't say red hod, teen titans, worlds finest, suicide squad, etc. Is because they are team ups that include more characters.

Also, if you wanna keep batwoman and batgirl, get rid of talon and catwoman I don't care about them either lol. All I am trying to say is that around 20% (maybe more) of the new 52 comics is bat characters. To me, that seems ridiculous, and DC could replace SOME of them to add more comics. Again, just my opinion.

I prefer Batman and Robin, Batman Inc.(good news for you guys, its coming to an end) and Detective comics over Batman and TDK, I don't mind having more Batgroup titles, most of them are good and they sell, although I do think the other characters deserve a chance too but that doesn't mean DC has to cancel the better selling ones, instead they can release more than 52 titles, I don't understand DC's obsession with that number. And anyways they were canceled because they didn't sell well, its not Batman's fault.

DC has put out plenty of books with lesser characters but no one is buying them so we get more books with popular characters.

BB

Omfg I hate hearing this argument because it makes absolutely no sense. DC is a business, if they believed they could make money of a character, they would put out books for that character. That is the issue, other characters don't make money, not that Batman has too many titles. The people over at DC aren't saying, "man, Captain Atom would makes tons of money, it's a shame we have so many Bat-titles that are stopping us from making Captain Atom books," they are saying, "We are loosing money by making Captain Atom books as no one is buying them, lets cancel that and stop loosing money."

In fact, I believe having more Batman titles is good for other characters because all those titles make a crap ton of money, which gives DC a bit of leg room that they can use to take risks on lesser known characters. If DC didn't have a real bread winner like Batman, do you honestly think they would be willing to take more risk?

The whole "Batman has too many titles " thing is just a statement made by haters of a successful character.

You know its ironic, Batman is supposed to be this dark and brooding, loner character and yet he has a big family of Bat people..

lol

True.

Batman sales, haters hate, the world goes on.