Unfortunately, people believe what they want to believe. But everything I said here is absolutely true, barring those things I labeled as speculation. If there is more to this delay in seeing Stephanie and Cass coming back than what I have said and experienced, I am not aware of it. But I am aware that the odd mythology that is so pervasive on social networks is hard to counter, no matter how completely fictional it is. If people choose not to believe, there’s not much I can say. I would like those characters unbenched. I, and others, have tried to make it happen and in some cases are still trying. It can be frustrating, but it’s not a shadowy conspiracy, either, and I never see the benefit in that stuff.Sorry, have to respond here to angrysunbird’s question here, because of FORMAT. Here’s the thing…both things are happening because they didn’t happen concurrently, or in equal amounts with both characters. An a-list writer had a plan for Cass, as has been talked about previously, while Steph was more of a “cool-down” issue, originally. I can’t really talk about what is coming for either, but both things were a factor. The good news is, I know that your voices are being heard. The relaunch of 52 books and Before Watchmen sucked up a lot of editorial oxygen. But they ARE starting to fill in some gaps.Okay, this is not going to be fun to hear, but the answer is no, from everything I have seen. This sucks, but Stephanie’s book was not at the sales level they were hoping for with a Batgirl logo on it. This gets lost over and over in the timeline, but her book was already going to…
That does sound like bollocks.
Sorry, Gail. :/
I don’t think it’s some shadowy conspiracy. I think DC really doesn’t care about either character very much. Why not include Cass in BoP? And if DC is trying to “dispell the stench” of Steph’s poor sales, what is Black Canary doing in a book? Ivy? Their last books had less than stellar sales. Were Red Robin’s sales that much better? All the male members of the bat family have a book. Cass is MIA. Steph is MIA. Helena no longer exists.
This sounds like the excuses DC made after Cass was turned into a villain. It’s great that you are open with fans and I appreciate that you don’t dismiss our concerns. But to me it all sounds like damage control. I guess I’m too jaded at this point to believe otherwise.
What damage would I be trying to control? I am not affiliated with those characters, and I have been very critical of aspects of the relaunch. I won’t defend things I think are wrong. Someone asked what my opinion was, and I gave it as I always do. Not getting the answer you want is not the same as not getting a truthful answer, you know? What I said was true to my experience and knowledge.
DC liked Steph. It’s hard to maybe get if you aren’t actually WORKING in comics, but there is no greater proof that they wanted the book to succeed than the fact that they put Dustin Nguyen on the book. Putting a star artist on a title means they really, REALLY want that book to succeed. It didn’t. At some point, the question isn’t, does DC (or Marvel, or whoever) care, the question becomes, do the READERS care? Because a hardcore small fanbase is simply not enough anymore.
I’m not sure where you are going with Black Canary, Bop sold very well and the hardcovers and trades sold like firecrackers. And I am not sure that Helena Bertinelli is gone forever…there is still a Helena/Huntress getting a book. Believe me, I am grieving over the loss of the Bop mythology too much to even talk about. But there is going to be a Huntress in a book that DC seems behind.
But as for the male Robins thing, I agree, that was really unfortunate. And I don’t know why they did all that stuff with Cass, I was out of that loop, but I do think it was a pretty terrible idea and the sooner it’s forgotten, the better.
All I know is that Steph and Cass are brought up constantly. DC is aware those characters have support. This week may actually see something resolved for one of them in a big way, if all goes well.
