As of February 2009, comics readers will no longer have to flip past Robin, Nightwing and Birds Of Prey to get to the books they actually want to read. All three Batman-related titles have been cancelled by D.C., for reasons unspecified by the publisher. Are the cancellations related to developments in the "Batman: R.I.P." storyline? Or is it because none of them sells more than 50,000 copies in any given month (and in the case of Birds Of Prey, barely cracks 20,000)?
Though all three titles have been largely irrelevant for most of the '00s, in the '90s—especially when the likes of writer Chuck Dixon and artist Scott McDaniel were involved—the peripheral Batman books were part of a welcome return to old-fashioned action-heroics, after a decade of grim 'n' gritty superhero comics. While Batman himself was enduring an endless cycle of life-changing special events (having his back broken, witnessing Gotham City destroyed by an earthquake, etc.) and becoming ever-more remote and psychotic, the adventures of his sometime partners Nightwing, Robin, Oracle, Black Canary, The Huntress, Spoiler and Batgirl were more down-to-Earth and relatable. Here's hoping that D.C. can find some way to revive the characters and bring them back to their roots. May we suggest something like the following?