By Charly SHELTON

Last summer, DC relaunched all of their comic book series back to issue one. There were 52 new titles that were launched and 46 of those comics were really well received. The other six didn’t do so well.

In an effort to always give the readers what they want, those six titles (Blackhawks, Hawk and Dove, Men of War, Mr. Terrific, O.M.A.C., and Static Shock) were cut after their first story ended, after only eight issues. There are   six new titles coming in to replace them debuting in May. The new titles are Batman Incorporated, Earth 2, Worlds Finest, Dial H, G.I. Combat and The Ravagers. Let’s break it down.

Batman Incorporated franchises the Batman brand under the original Dark Knight, Bruce Wayne, in an effort to make Batman a global presence of defense for the coming doom. He brings together all of the Batmen and Batwomen to fight a common evil that will be too strong for any of them to face alone.

Earth 2 is set on a parallel earth where all of the greatest heroes have died fighting a global invasion force. This is the story of the world after heroes, how it recovers and how it moves on. Who steps up to the plate to be the next great heroes? Find out in this series, a reboot of the classic Earth 2 series from before Crisis on Infinite Earths.

Following the path of Earth 2, World’s Finest follows Huntress and Power Girl from Earth 2 as they are trapped on our version of Earth. The story unfolds in our reality as they try to find a way to return to theirs.

Dial H is another new relaunch title that brings the classic cult sci-fi comic to the modern setting. What happens when someone gets super powers? Of course there are the physical effects – flight, laser vision, etc. But how would they handle it? This comic delves into the psychological aspects of a newly minted super hero who was just an Everyman before that.

G.I. Combat combines two soldier stories: The War That Time Forgot, a classic DC series, and The Unknown Soldier. These two will cycle out, along with other smaller stories, to build into one monthly comic that fills the niche left by the cancellation of Men of War.

And finally, The Ravagers. This is a spinoff of Teen Titans and Superboy as they are followed by an evil organization that is trying to turn them over to the dark side of super villains. Finally something original. It seems like this is the only one not based on a remake of a classic DC series.

DC Entertainment Editor-in-Chief Bob Harras spoke to MTV Geek News recently regarding the characters that are being cut.

“Many of the characters from our canceled books will appear in DC Comics-The New 52 titles, and in some very surprising ways,” Harras told the source. “We’re developing stories that reach from cultures around the globe to parallel worlds. We’re just getting started.”

Earth 2 is going to be amazing. It opens at the end, if that makes sense. The opening of the first issue is the breaking point from our world. It is no spoiler, so I’ll tell you – Batman, Superman and Wonder Woman all die. It is truly something to see. Their last valiant act to save Earth 2 is epic. Then the whole premise of the comic is built on that. Definitely pick this one up.

For all these comics and more, visit Comics Factory in Pasadena, comic provider to CV Weekly.

  Charly Shelton