The Impossibility Of Me With 4 DC Ongoings

Late January of 2011, I noted that adding Batman Beyond to my pull list meant I was buying 4 ongoings from DC.simultaneously. This was a rare occurrence that had only happened once before, a 2 to 6 month period in late 2004/early 2005 when Batgirl joined Robin, Teen Titans, and JLA (which was the book that got dropped first).

As it turned out, the second occurrence didn't last any longer than the first. Flashpoint came along, R.E.B.E.L.S. was canceled, and I was back down to three, after only 5 months. Which is where it hovered most of the past year. There was a month where I was down to Resurrection Man, but things gradually built back up, to the point where Dial H made 4 ongoings.

Things being what they are, that couldn't last, and so Resurrection Man ends in September. Which would knock me back down to 3 ongoings after - survey says! - 5 months. Which is probably just coincidence, but I do find it kind of funny. Not Resurrection Man being canceled, that's disappointing, if unsurprising, but the fact I don't seem to pick the books that can last. There's always something on the verge of being axed these days. It started at Marvel, really in 2009, and crept over to DC in the last year or so. Prior to that, most books left my pull list because I finally lost patience with them after an extended period of dissatisfaction. It took a long time, usually about 2 years, but it would happen, eventually. Now most titles don't last 2 years before being canceled, rebooted, getting a new, less appealing creative team, whatever.

I'm not sure whether that's a better or worse development. If it was only titles I wasn't enjoying, it'd be saving me from myself, which would be good, but obviously the axe isn't so discerning.