Here’s the second installment of my look at the prevalence of DCU miniseries in the Dan DiDio era. Part 1 of this little exercise covered the years 2001, 2002, and 2003.
Today those look like transitory years, at least in terms of miniseries. In 2001 the publisher produced 75 issues’ worth of miniseries, compared with 379 issues’ worth of regular series and 21 one-shot/special issues. Thus, miniseries were about 16% of the year’s total DCU output. With just 51 issues of miniseries in 2002 (compared to 400 ongoing-series issues), that percentage decreased to 11%. The difference may be attributed largely to the absence of 2001′s crossover events: Our Worlds At War included 11 special issues (a de facto miniseries) and Joker: The Last Laugh involved 6 issues and a Secret Files.
Nevertheless, in 2003 the situation reversed dramatically, with the miniseries number shooting to 164 issues and the regular-series number pulling back to 356. That made miniseries some 30% of the year’s total DCU output. While over half the miniseries (90 issues across 19 titles) were tied to Batman, Superman, or the Justice League, there was nary a big crossover event in sight. Instead, a mix of superhero and non-superhero miniseries provided the balance.
So, with that in mind, let’s cruise on. Thanks again to Mike’s Amazing World of DC Comics for the raw data!
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At the end of 2003, DC’s main line of comic books — basically, the “DCU”/superhero titles — consisted of 29 ongoing series. Of course, nine of these were the “foundational” titles (Detective Comics, Action Comics, Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, The Flash, Green Lantern, JLA, and The Legion). Of the 20 remaining series, the extended Batman and Superman lines accounted for nine:
The Adventures of Superman, Batgirl, Batman: Gotham Knights, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, Catwoman, Gotham Central, Nightwing, Robin, and Superman/Batman.
The balance of the line was 11 titles:
Aquaman, Birds of Prey, Fallen Angel, Green Arrow, Hawkman, H-E-R-O, JSA, Outsiders, Plastic Man, Reign of the Zodiac, and Teen Titans.
Accordingly, there wasn’t a lot of new blood. Except for four titles (Fallen Angel, H-E-R-O, Kyle Baker’s Plastic Man, and Keith Giffen’s Zodiac), everything was either foundational, connected to the Superman or Batman lines, or revamps of longstanding characters. (I didn’t really see Plastic Man as a revamp.)
Anyway, in 2004 DC added several new series, including the original characters Monolith and Bloodhound and the creator-based anthology Solo. It also offered new versions of Firestorm and Manhunter; and brought back kung-fu fighter Richard Dragon (by Chuck Dixon and Scott McDaniel) and (under John Byrne) the Doom Patrol. Here’s the in-and-out breakdown:
New in ‘04: Monolith (Feb), Firestorm and Richard Dragon (May), Doom Patrol (June), Bloodhound (July), Manhunter (August), Solo (October), JLA Classified (Nov), Legion of Super-Heroes (Dec)
Cancelled in ‘04: Reign of the Zodiac (March), The Legion (August), H-E-R-O (Nov)
Counting the bimonthly Solo, this expansion left the DCU line with 35 ongoing series at the end of 2004. Moreover, the monthly tallies were further enhanced as DC went nuts with biweekly schedules. Six series had at least one extra issue in 2004, with Birds Of Prey going biweekly for three straight months (July-September) and JLA having two three-month biweekly runs (March-May, July-September). In 2004, the publisher produced 400 issues’ worth of ongoing series, up 44 issues from the previous year and returning to the 2002 total.
However, 2005 saw a lot of volatility in the ongoing series. Although the DCU line ended the year in positive territory with 37 ongoing series (415 total issues), that number included the bimonthly All Star Batman & Robin and All Star Superman. Plastic Man also went bimonthly in 2005, and Fallen Angel only published two issues before being cancelled in May. The worst ongoing-series offender was Superman/Batman, which missed a total of four months. Still, while seven series were cancelled, nine were added, including the anthologies JLA Classified and JSA Classified. Further offsetting these losses were biweekly runs (3 months each for Nightwing and JLA, a month each for Wonder Woman and JLA Classified).
Here are the specifics:
New in ‘05: Breach (Jan), Blood of the Demon (Mar), All Star Batman & Robin and JSA Classified (July), Jack Cross and Supergirl (Aug), All Star Superman and Jonah Hex (Nov), and Hard Time Season Two (Dec)
Cancelled in ‘05: Monolith (Jan), Bloodhound and Richard Dragon (Apr), Fallen Angel (May), Breach, Jack Cross, and Doom Patrol (Nov)
The churning continued in 2006. Mostly as a result of Infinite Crisis, DC put Flash, JLA, JSA, Manhunter, and Wonder Woman on hiatus for upwards of four months. Other regular series experienced delays: Superman/Batman missed five months and Supergirl missed three. Although Infinite Crisis spun off three titles (Blue Beetle, Checkmate, Shadowpact), it cancelled Plastic Man and The Adventures of Superman (sort of) and pruned the Batman line.
New in ‘06: Warlord (Feb), Blue Beetle (Mar), Checkmate (Apr), Shadowpact (May), Flash: The Fastest Man Alive, Green Lantern Corps, Wonder Woman (June), Justice League of America and The All-New Atom (July), The Spirit and Superman Confidential (Nov), Batman Confidential, Justice Society of America, Manhunter (Dec)
Cancelled in ‘06: The Flash, Plastic Man (Jan), The Adventures of Superman, Batman: Gotham Knights, Batgirl, Gotham Central, JLA, Wonder Woman (Feb), Hard Time Season Two (June), JSA, Blood of the Demon (July), Manhunter and Solo (Aug), Warlord (Nov)
The DCU line ended 2006 with 37 ongoing titles, the same as 2005. However, each month’s total number of ongoing-series issues never rose above 34 (January, February, July) and spent most of the year around 31. Therefore, even accounting for some books’ bimonthly schedules, and adding back biweekly issues and Annuals, each month saw at least a couple of missing books. December was particularly bad, missing Action Comics, Aquaman, Superman, Superman/Batman, and Wonder Woman. August was a close second, with Aquaman, Green Lantern, and Teen Titans failing to appear.
* * *
Meanwhile, the miniseries numbers took a step back in 2004, but not for long. In 2003 the DCU line included 164 issues’ worth of miniseries spread over 36 titles. This represented 30% of the DCU output. In 2004, miniseries made up 130 issues of 31 titles, or some 24% of the DCU output.
Of course, this included the 7 issues of Identity Crisis, the year’s can’t-miss-it Big Event. Also of note for the superhero fans were DC: The New Frontier (6 issues), the DC Comics Presents… Julius Schwartz tribute books (8 issues), Superman: Secret Identity (4 issues), the first half of Justice League Elite (6 issues), and the bulk of Superman: Birthright (7 issues). Non-super titles included Enginehead (6 issues), Light Brigade (4 issues), the starts of Elric: The Making Of A Sorceror (2 issues) and Toe Tags Featuring George Romero (3 issues), and the conclusion of Caper (9 issues). Howard Chaykin straddled the superhero boundary with an in-name-only revival of Challengers of the Unknown (6 issues). The rest of the miniseries included familar second- and third-stringers: Adam Strange (4 issues), Lobo Unbound (2 issues), The Question (2 issues), and Rose and Thorn (5 issues).
Therefore, although DC was still publishing a lot more miniseries than it had in 2001 or 2002, they didn’t fit into a recognizable marketing strategy. Naturally, that was about to change.
Not only did the DCU spend much of 2005 gearing up for Infinite Crisis, it also launched Grant Morrison’s mega-project Seven Soldiers. This pushed the miniseries numbers to 148 issues across 39 titles, with Seven Soldiers’ 22 issues exceeding the increase. The start of Infinite Crisis, its DC Countdown one-shot prologue, and its five lead-in miniseries combined for 32 more issues. There were 26 issues’ worth of the usual Batman miniseries (including the six-issue Engelhart/Rogers reunion Dark Detective), 10 issues’ worth of Superman miniseries; and 12 issues’ worth of JLA miniseries. Thus, about a third of 2005′s miniseries issues came from the two big events, with another third coming from reliable franchises.
The remaining 46 issues included the start of the backdoor WildStorm revamp Captain Atom: Armageddon (3 issues), the Green Lantern Corps miniseries Recharge (4 issues), the wannabe-superteam The Human Race (7 issues), revamps of Son Of Vulcan (6 issues) and Vigilante (4 issues), and the bulk of Space Ghost (4 issues). The only non-superhero issues came from the balance of Toe Tags (3 issues).
The miniseries numbers really took off in 2006, though, with 187 issues spread across 37 titles, representing about a third of the total DCU output. Naturally, most of the increase came from 34 issues’ worth of 52. The balance of Infinite Crisis accounted for 9 issues (including 5 related specials), and the balance of Seven Soldiers likewise accounted for 8 issues. However, that still left 136 issues’ worth of miniseries.
Many of these sought to bridge the gap between Infinite Crisis and whatever Big Event was coming next. The Battle For Bludhaven (6 issues) and The Spectre (3 issues) were “Crisis Aftermath” titles. More general spin-offs included Ion (9 issues), Mystery In Space (4 issues), Secret Six (6 issues), Tales of the Unexpected (3 issues), and Omega Men (3 issues). 2006 also saw the bulk (6 issues) of Captain Atom: Armageddon. Finally, the Brave New World sampler launched a handful of miniseries: The Creeper (5 issues), Martian Manhunter (5 issues), Trials of Shazam! (4 issues), OMAC (6 issues), and Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters (6 issues). That’s a total of 66 issues to attract the crossover-minded.
By way of comparison, the Batman line got 30 issues’ worth of miniseries (including 4 issues of Paul Pope’s Year 100). Apparently this didn’t leave much room for the usual Superman or JLA miniseries. The former got only the 4 issues of Superman Returns prequels; and the JLA saw only six issues’ worth of Alex Ross’ Justice, plus the concluding issue of the Cold Steel two-parter.
2006 did see 4 issues of an Elfquest miniseries (The Discovery) and 2 issues of the Elric miniseries which started in 2004. It also had a 6-issue Sgt. Rock miniseries (The Prophecy) and the 4-issue car ad Rush City (featuring a guest appearance by Black Canary). The miniseries numbers were rounded out by stories featuring Connor Hawke (2 issues), Guy Gardner (2 issues), the last issue of Green Lantern Corps: Recharge, the last two issues of Vigilante, and the fringes-of-the-DCU tale The Next (6 issues). Those 29 issues’ worth of 9 titles were comparable to the year’s Batman-miniseries output, but were fewer than half of the issues spun out of Infinite Crisis. Perhaps more significantly, they were fewer than 52‘s output for the year.
* * *
In 2006, the DCU line produced 384 ongoing-series issues, 187 miniseries issues, and 4 one-shot/special issues, for a total of 575 issues. While that number is in line with previous years (543 in ‘03, 545 in ‘04, 575 in ‘05), it’s an increase of about 100 issues from the 2001 and 2002 totals (475 and 468, respectively); and it all pretty much comes from miniseries. My first thought is that 2003′s miniseries expansion tested the capacity of the DCU’s readership, so that subsequent years could use that capacity for more specific goals. Certainly, once everything got going in 2005, the various miniseries tended to fall into recognizable categories, even without considering how interconnected everything was supposed to become.
We’ll pick up next week with 2007, when the “branding” and the interconnections really took off. See you then!
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Appendix: The TItles
2004 DCU miniseries
Adam Strange (4 issues, Sep-Dec)
Batman/Catwoman: Trail of the Gun (2, Aug-Sep)
Batman: City of Light (5, Jan-May)
Batman: Death and the Maidens (4, Jan-Apr)
Batman: Harley and Ivy (3, Apr-June)
Caper (9, Jan-Sep)
Catwoman: When in Rome (4, Sep-Dec)
Challengers of the Unknown (6, Jun-Nov)
DC Comics Presents … (8, July-Aug)
DC: The New Frontier (6, Jan-Mar, May, July, Sep)
Deadshot (1, Dec)
Demon: Driven Out (2, Jan-Feb)
Enginehead (6, Apr-Sep)
iCandy (2, Jan-Feb)
Identity Crisis (7, Jun-Sep, Oct-Dec)
JSA: Strange Adventures (5, Aug-Dec)
Justice League Elite (6, Jul-Dec)
Justice League of America: Another Nail (3, May-July)
Light Brigade (4, Feb-May)
Lobo Unbound (2, Jan, Mar)
Majestic (4, Aug-Nov)
Michael Moorcock’s Elric: The Making of a Sorcerer (2, Sep, Dec)
The Question (2, Nov-Dec)
Rose and Thorn (5, Jan-May)
Scratch (5, Aug-Dec)
Smallville (5, bimonthly Jan-Nov)
Space Ghost (2, Nov-Dec)
Superman: Birthright (7, Jan-July)
Superman: Metropolis (1, Jan)
Superman: Secret Identity (4, Jan-Apr)
Toe Tags Featuring George Romero (3, Oct-Dec)
2005 DCU miniseries
Adam Strange (4, Jan-Apr)
Batman and the Monster Men (2, Nov-Dec)
Batman: Dark Detective (6 biweekly, May-July)
Batman: Gotham County Line (3, Oct-Dec)
Batman: Jekyll and Hyde (6, Apr-Sept)
Batman: Journey Into Knight (5, Aug-Dec)
Captain Atom: Armageddon (3, Oct-Dec)
Catwoman: When in Rome (2, Feb, June)
Day of Vengeance (6, Apr-Sept)
DC Countdown [counted here as an Infinite Crisis tie-in] (1, Mar)
DC Special: The Return of Donna Troy (4, June-Aug)
Deadshot (4, Jan-Apr)
Green Lantern Corps: Recharge (4, Sept-Dec)
Human Race (7, Mar-Sept)
Infinite Crisis (3, Oct-Dec)
JLA Classified: Cold Steel (1, Dec)
JSA: Strange Adventures (1, Jan)
Justice (3 bimonthly, Aug-Dec)
Justice League Elite (6, Jan-June)
Lex Luthor: Man of Steel (5, Mar-July)
The OMAC Project (6, Apr-Sept)
The Question (4, Jan-Apr)
Rann/Thanagar War (6, May-Oct)
Seven Soldiers (1, Feb)
Seven Soldiers: Bulleteer (2, Nov-Dec)
Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein (1, Nov)
Seven Soldiers: Guardian (4 bimonthly, Mar-Sept)
Seven Soldiers: Klarion the Witch Boy (4 bimonthly, Apr-Oct)
Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle (2, Sept, Dec)
Seven Soldiers: Shining Knight (4 bimonthly, Mar-Aug)
Seven Soldiers: Zatanna (4 bimonthly, Apr-Oct)
Son of Vulcan (6, Jun-Nov)
Space Ghost (4, Jan-Apr)
Superman/Shazam: First Thunder (4, Sept-Dec)
Superman: Strength (3, Jan-Mar)
Toe Tags Featuring George Romero (3, Jan-Mar)
Vigilante (4, Sept-Dec)
Villains United (6, May-Oct)
Year One: Batman/Ra’s Al Ghul (2, June-July)
Year One: Batman/Scarecrow (2, May-June)
2006 DCU miniseries
52 (34 weekly, May-Dec)
Batman and the Mad Monk (5, Aug-Dec)
Batman and the Monster Men (4, Jan-Apr)
Batman: Journey into Knight (7, Jan-Jun, Sept)
Batman: Secrets (5, Mar-July)
Batman: Year 100 (4, Feb-May)
Captain Atom: Armageddon (6, Jan-June)
Connor Hawke: Dragon’s Blood (2, Nov-Dec)
Creeper (5, Aug-Dec)
Crisis Aftermath: The Battle for Bludhaven (6, Apr-July)
Crisis Aftermath: The Spectre (3, May-July)
Day of Vengeance: Infinite Crisis Special (1, Jan)
Elfquest: The Discovery (4 bimonthly, Jan-July)
Green Lantern Corps: Recharge (1, Jan)
Guy Gardner: Collateral Damage (2, Nov-Dec)
Infinite Crisis (4, Jan-Mar, May)
Ion (9, Apr-Dec)
JLA Classified: Cold Steel (1, Jan)
Justice (6 bimonthly, Feb-Dec)
Man-Bat (5, Apr-Aug)
Martian Manhunter (5, Aug-Dec)
Michael Moorcock’s Elric: The Making of a Sorcerer (2, June-July)
Mystery in Space (4, Sept-Dec)
The Next (6, July-Dec)
OMAC (6, July-Dec)
The OMAC Project: Infinite Crisis Special (1, Mar)
Omega Men (3, Oct-Dec)
Rann/Thanagar War: Infinite Crisis Special (1, Feb)
Rush City (4, July-Oct)
Secret Six (6, May-Nov)
Seven Soldiers (1, Oct)
Seven Soldiers: Bulleteer (2, Feb-Mar)
Seven Soldiers: Frankenstein (3, Jan-Mar)
Seven Soldiers: Mister Miracle (2 bimonthly, Jan-Mar)
Sgt. Rock: The Prophecy (6, Jan-June)
Superman Returns Prequel (4 weekly, June)
Tales of the Unexpected (3, Oct-Dec)
Trials of Shazam! (4, Aug-Nov)
Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters (6, July-Dec)
Vigilante (2, Jan-Feb)
2004 DCU special issues/one-shots
Batman/Danger Girl
Batman/Poison Ivy:Cast Shadows
Batman: Roomful of Strangers
Batman: The 12-Cent Adventure
Batman: The Order of Beasts
Catwoman: The Movie
DC 100-Page Super Spectacular Replica Edition
Elfquest: The Searcher and the Sword
Mighty Love
Superman: True Brit
Teen Titans/Legion Special
Weird Secret Origins
World’s Best Comics: Silver Age DC Archives Sampler
2005 DCU special issues/one-shots
All Star Batman and Robin Special Edition
Batman Allies Secret Files 2005
Batman Begins Movie Adaptation
Batman Villains Secret Files 2005
Batman: The Man Who Laughs
JLA/Cyberforce
Superman: Infinite City
Teen Titans/Outsiders Secret Files 2005
2006 DCU special issues/one-shots
Amazing Adventures of the JLA
DCU Infinite Holiday Special
DCU: Brave New World
Superman Returns: The Movie Adaptation
July 3rd, 2008 at 12:31 pm
I’m sorry, but who lied? What was the lie? I admit I started to skim the articles because I got pretty bored with it all and I might have missed that. But honestly what’s your point with all this, that DC changed product strategies?
July 3rd, 2008 at 1:27 pm
Sir, if you’re not going to read the article, please do not comment.
Tom, I’m looking forward to part 3 – I assume you’ll be coming to the present. I’m curious about Jack Cross – it always seemed odd to me that series was solicited as an ongoing, when it clearly fell into the mini-series mold. I believe Warren Ellis has said it was an ongoing that was set in the DCU and canceled, but when I read it, it worked just fine as a four-issue series. It’s a same there wasn’t more, it was quite enjoyable.
Cheers,
B
July 3rd, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Obviously DC wants its readers in the comics shops every week buying as much DC product as they can. It seems to me that one of the simplest ways to keep them coming back is to get them hooked on the ongoing series.
However, lately I have been noticing that DC is putting out a lot of miniseries, and that seemed to signal a shift away from the ongoing series. Therefore, I wanted to see what kind of role the miniseries was playing in the overall DCU line, and the first place to start was to see how many and what kinds of miniseries and ongoing series the publisher was putting out.
So yeah, it’s about a change in strategy. There were no lies, as far as I know — I was just trying to be clever with the title. Don’t worry, all this will be out of my system before you know it.
July 3rd, 2008 at 1:47 pm
At first glance Jack Cross looked like a miniseries to me too. Warren Ellis was doing enough minis for WildStorm that it would have fit right in. In the course of doing this, I’ve been surprised frequently to see what got classified as miniseries and ongoing.
July 3rd, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Okay, as a discussion of business strategy, I can understand and appreciate that, but with the title (and especially recent news/blog commentary about DC) I was looking for an accusation of some kind and support of an accusation. No big, it just confused me.
And Brian, sir, I asked questions for clarification, which I’m glad to see that Tom answered, and I believe is still allowed on the internet and blogs. I’m sorry that upset your sensibilities.
July 3rd, 2008 at 4:18 pm
Wow, that was a lot of research. Yeah, I didn’t read the article and am still commenting, so what?
July 3rd, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Wasn’t Seven Soldiers 30 issues, not 22? 7 times 4 = 28, plus two one-shots.
July 3rd, 2008 at 5:16 pm
Rob S: 22 issues in 2005, 8 in 2006.
July 3rd, 2008 at 7:07 pm
Ah. *smacks forehead*
July 3rd, 2008 at 10:45 pm
Brian said:
“Sir, if you’re not going to read the article, please do not comment.”
Brian, you know that’s not the way of the internet.
I have noticed a couple guys in recent comic book threads saying how much they think Marvel and DC are screwing up. In another thread, they were asked what they read or gave the information freely. Turns out they get less than 5 comics a month. They are dabblers, and trying to tell the world how to act.
To the subject at hand, I think having more miniseries is a good idea. That way, the series is completed, as opposed to an ongoing comic that lasts 23 issues with the final issue being crammed full of exposition to finish the story. If the miniseries is a success, then they can schedule another about the same subject. Isn’t that similar to what is happening with Manhunter? It comes back for 5 issues at a time. Would it have been any less of a story if it had been 6 different miniseries?
July 4th, 2008 at 12:39 pm
Well, for one thing, I hope I don’t come across as a dabbler.
I agree generally that more miniseries are good for the reader. However, I am starting from the premise that DC wants to lead its readers — by whatever means, including minis — into its ongoing series, because they require more of a commitment. A series of Manhunter miniseries might not get the same numbers as a continuation of the ongoing series, because those miniseries might seem to be aimed at fans of the (cancelled) ongoing.
For example, I look at the upcoming Batgirl mini (fairly or not) as addressing the changes to her character during “One Year Later.” I have no real investment in examining those changes. However, if DC had announced a new Batgirl ongoing series, I’d judge whether to pick it up by a different set of criteria. You’re right that a miniseries can tell a single story, but that also requires you to be interested in that story. By contrast, an ongoing is more setup-dependent than story-dependent, because you’re committing to the setup, not a particular story.
July 14th, 2008 at 7:06 am
Ah, so basically you’re hankering for a return to the “good old days” of comic book publishing. Am I correct?….