Earlier this week, it was revealed that both Katana and Vibe were headed for their own solo series, written by star creative teams and tying into the upcoming launch of Justice League of America.The third-string characters have never had their own ongoing, monthly series, and while there was an inevitable torrent of “why them?” questions that came from fans in the immediate wake of the announcement, we’ve got to ask: Why not?Comic book fans are fickle; for months now, fans have been complaining that DC never gives any new characters a chance to succeed. “Batman has more comics being published right now than most of the rest of the DC Universe combined” is the kind of hyperbolic criticism you hear from fans put off by the release of yet another new Gotham-set series.And yet, when characters from deep in DC’s character library are given a chance to swing the bat, the fans are equally displeased.Anytime one of the major publishers take a chance on new or untested characters, it’s unlikely that the book will succeed; that’s just the comics marketplace today. It’s difficult to argue, though, that readers and the comics industry would be better served by a fourth Superman title or a twelfth Batman title than it would be by trying something new.
