Well, some of my worst fears have been confirmed.
In a Newsarama interview with DC Executive Editor Dan DiDio, the big cheese revealed that Blue Beetle is being canceled.
I’ve feared the worst for a while, as the online rumor mill has been churning with speculation that this book was headed towards an early grave.
Here’s what DiDio had to say about Blue Beetle’s cancelation…
“One of the books that I’m most disappointed about in that regard is a book like Blue Beetle, which we are canceling. That’s a book that we started with very high expectations, but it lost its audience along the way. Recently, we felt that it was standing on firmer ground, and was getting a more positive response. The problem is that the firmer ground and positive response is not enough to keep the book afloat. So unfortunately, we had to cancel that series.
“But with the case of both Manhunter and Blue Beetle, those characters did not go away – they will be essential to the DC Universe, and we hope at some point, we can look at them again and present them in stories where they can stand on their own. When it comes down to it, most of it is business – in the case of both Manhunter and Blue Beetle, it is solely about the sales, because these are books that are both near and dear to my heart, and we tried everything we could to keep them alive.”
I have petitioned and petitioned and petitioned for this book (in our review column, Thursday Morning Quarterback, and on this very blog) because it’s great, but—sadly—sales weren’t enough to keep the blue boy going even though the title was—as he told Newsarama—near and dear to DiDio’s heart, as it is to mine.
Time to head home and crack open a brew and raise a toast for yet another great, under-appreciated comic going to that big, back-issue bin in the sky! Here’s to you, Jaime Reyes Blue Beetle, you’re one helluva hero!
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