Thursday, 21 March 2013

The End..For Now?!

I felt it with Avengers: The Initiative. I felt it with She-Hulk. I felt it with Captain Britain and MI:13. I felt it with Exiles. I felt it with Young Avengers. I felt it with S.W.O.R.D. I felt it when Runaways abruptly came to an end mid-story...how come no one has asked Mrs Immonen what she had planned there anyway? SPOILERS, SWEETIE! I felt it with Slingers. I felt it with Avengers Academy. And I most definitely felt it when Spider-Girl ended. Cancellation.

This was a great series. Check it out!

Usually it's low sales, sometimes a creative team want's to finish the story, maybe the series get's demoted to a mini, or the publisher decides the concept either doesn't work or interferes with their company wide event.
Low sales can be caused by a number of things, the most obvious often sited reason-according to the internets being 'it sucks'. Other, more quantifiable reasons include problems with character, lack of a 'hook' to make it stand out in the crowd or a lack/overabundance/badly handled drama or action.

But, if the book is a critical darling and is well reviewed consistently, then why isn't it selling? This past decade is a good place to look: when a 'Big Event' title is released, with all it's myriad tie-in's and connected mini-series, chances are, people are going to by the Event stuff, because, hey! it's a big deal, apparently. It's got the hype, the marketing, the big characters and the already-proven writer and artist team. Your favorite soon-to-be-cancelled title or soon-to-be-forgotten character frankly don't stand a chance.

Six issues and cancelled. Seriously?!


The only good thing you can hope for when your little gem of a title bites the dust is a guest appearance in another title, perhaps a supporting role in one of those other team books....people like those Avengers, right?! Who knows, maybe one day we'll see a resurgence and we'll get a reboot, a relaunch, a fresh take. Question is, will it have the same magic or will it fail and leave you cold while simultaneously ending any chance of a revival for another long stretch, maybe forever....

Until I see a relaunch of all these and more, I remain

frogoat

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