DC Comics released its May solicitations today providing official confirmation that five on-going comic book series are being cancelled. A check of ICv2’s Top 300 indicates that Batman and the Outsiders, Doom Patrol, Freedom Fighters, R.E.B.E.L.S., and JSA All-Stars are near the bottom of the list of DC’s titles, though there are several lower-selling titles than JSA All-Stars that are evidently still continuing.
These five titles join Azrael, Batman: Streets of Gotham, and Batman Confidential, which are ending in March. The canceling of eight series over the three-month period certainly will allow DC to focus more resources on its Flashpoint event, which kicks off full bore with Flashpoint #1 in May and will encompasses over 50 titles over several months.
Of course there is no guarantee that these titles are on permanent hiatus. Comic book series can be as difficult to terminate as superheroes are to kill. The Doom Patrol comic for example has been brought back to life at least four times since it was originally canceled.