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Introduction

Introduction to "Comic Book Numbering"

Comic book numbering used to be a very simple issue - each issue was incremented one number from the preceding issue in a simple natural number sequence starting at issue #1 until infinity.

Occasionally there would be some complications when a series was re-named (often when a key character in an ongoing anthology becomes popular enough for their own title), such as "The Incredible Hulk (1968)" taking over the numbering from "Tales to Astonish (1959)" or "Captain America (1968)" taking over the numbering of "Tales of Suspense (1959)".

However, DC Comics started an inadvertent trend when John Byrne re-structured the Man of Steel in the mid-1980's. All Superman comics (Action Comics and Superman) were taken offline for a few months, and a re-launch re-started Superman (1987) with a new #1, and continued the pre-existing Superman (1939) numbering with "Adventures of Superman (1987)". Superman (2006) re-merged Superman (1987) and Adventures of Superman (1987) to a single title.

Both DC and Marvel comics insisted on the occassional oddly numbered comic (0, -1 for Marvel, 1,000,000 for DC) which made continuity of numbering strange.

Marvel had a mathematical psychotic break and sold off key characters (e.g. Hulk, Avengers, Iron Man, Captain America and the Fantastic Four) to a group of artist/writers in the ill-fated "Heroes Reborn" period of about a year in the mid-1990's, each series being re-started as a new #1. This experiment lasted about a year from 1996 to 1997, where the characters were re-introduced into the "real" (616) universe of Marvel in "Heroes Return".

Marvel's marketing department, realizing that "#1" issues had extra purchase value, began randomly re-starting series to generate new #1's. Later, someone woke up and realized that they were missing the chance to capitalize on significant milestone issues (500, 600 etc.) and began to re-number the ongoing series, with mixed success. Some re-numbering was simply the inclusion of series X and series Y of the same character, with the new numbering being the sum. However, with other series, the effect was somewhat confusing (see Hulk).

This site is an attempt to make sense of the numbering issues.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Update on Series and Cancellations for DC's "New 52"

I've been reading the odd "New 52" series from DC, and have been generally liking them.  I ran across an article on Comic Vine (Comic Vine Link) which outlined the launches and cancellations, which I though was great.

I pulled the info into a table, posted here:

Title Launched Cancelled
Action Comics  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
All-Star Western  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
Animal Man  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
Aquaman  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
Batgirl  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
Batman  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
Batman and Robin Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
Batman: The Dark Knight  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
Batwoman  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
Batwing  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
Birds of Prey  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
Blackhawks  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010) Cancelled (2nd Wave)
Blue Beetle  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010) Cancelled (4th Wave)
Captain Atom  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010) Cancelled (3rd Wave)
Catwoman  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
DC Universe Presents  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010) Cancelled (5th Wave)
Deathstroke  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010) Cancelled (5th Wave)
Demon Knights  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
Detective Comics  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
The Flash  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
Frankenstein, Agent of S.H.A.D.E. Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010) Cancelled (4th Wave)
The Fury of Firestorm: The Nuclear Men  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010) Cancelled (5th Wave)
Green Arrow  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
Green Lantern  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
Green Lantern Corps  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
Green Lantern: New Guardians  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
Grifter  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010) Cancelled (4th Wave)
Hawk and Dove  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010) Cancelled (2nd Wave)
I, Vampire  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010) Cancelled (5th Wave)
Justice League  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
Justice League Dark  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
Justice League International  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010) Cancelled (3rd Wave)
Legion Lost  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010) Cancelled (4th Wave)
Legion of Super-Heroes  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
Men of War  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010) Cancelled (2nd Wave)
Mister Terrific  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010) Cancelled (2nd Wave)
Nightwing  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
O.M.A.C.  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010) Cancelled (2nd Wave)
Red Hood and the Outlaws  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
Red Lanterns  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
Resurrection Man  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010) Cancelled (3rd Wave)
The Savage Hawkman  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010) Cancelled (5th Wave)
Static Shock  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010) Cancelled (2nd Wave)
Stormwatch  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
Suicide Squad  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
Superboy Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
Supergirl  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
Superman  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
Swamp Thing  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
Teen Titans  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
Voodoo  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010) Cancelled (3rd Wave)
Wonder Woman  Launched (1st Wave - Aug 2010)
Batman Incorporated Launched (2nd Wave - Jan 2012)
Dial H Launched (2nd Wave - Jan 2012)
Earth 2 Launched (2nd Wave - Jan 2012)
G.I. Combat Launched (2nd Wave - Jan 2012) Cancelled (4th Wave)
The Ravagers Launched (2nd Wave - Jan 2012) Cancelled (5th Wave)
World's Finest Launched (2nd Wave - Jan 2012)
The Phantom Stranger Launched (3rd Wave - Aug 2012)
Sword and Sorcery Launched (3rd Wave - Aug 2012) Cancelled (5th Wave)
Talon Launched (3rd Wave - Aug 2012)
Team 7 Launched (3rd Wave - Aug 2012) Cancelled (5th Wave)
Justice League of America Launched (4th Wave - Feb 2013)
Threshold Launched (4th Wave - Feb 2013)
Justice League of America's Vibe Launched (4th Wave - Feb 2013)
Katana Launched (4th Wave - Feb 2013)
Young Romance: A New 52 Valentine's Day Special Launched (4th Wave - Feb 2013)
Constantine Launched (4th Wave - Feb 2013)
The Movement Launched (5th Wave - April 2013)
The Green Team Launched (5th Wave - April 2013)
Batman/Superman Launched (5th Wave - April 2013)
Larfleeze Launched (5th Wave - April 2013)
Superman Unchained Launched (5th Wave - April 2013)
Trinity of Sin Launched (5th Wave - April 2013)
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