DC Comics recently cancelled their longest running Vertigo title, Hellblazer, in order to bring the warlock John Constantine into The New 52 fold.
On March 13th, 2013, John Constantine returns in Constantine #1 – a new series penned by Jeff Lemire & Ray Fawkes and illustrated by Renato Guedes.
DC has cancelled Hellblazer with its 300th issue in February 2013. Hellblazer, which is currently the longest running title that hasn’t had its numbering changed, will be replaced by a new title – Constantine.
Again, it seems that DC, like Marvel, is employing a tactic that, in effect, just lowers the number on a title to make it more appealing to new readers. Usually, this has a short term effect on increasing sales; in the long run though, sales tend to slip back to the usual number or trend lower. This is especially true with Marvel Comics’ constant relaunching of titles.