Over the course of the last several weeks, you may have heard about the cancelation of several Marvel titles. This week took the cake though, as Marvel canceled various titles that were somewhat popular with Marvel readers -- among them is X-23, Daken: Dark Wolverine and PunisherMAX. So how many titles are ending?
We'll start with X-23. Marvel recently canceled the series which happened to be their only female character self titled series. The series will be ending with issue #20. But wait, that's not all. Earlier today Marvel Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso revealed that Daken: Dark Wolverine would also be coming to an end, and that the final story arc will begin with issue #21, launching in February. According to the solicit, issue #21 is "the story the series has been leading up to" where Daken will set out to enact revenge upon "the man he hates most in the world," Wolverine.
== TEASER ==
The recently relaunched GHOST RIDER title, which temporarily had a female lead character has also been canceled. The series will, apparently, come to an abrupt end. The series' writer, Rob Williams confirmed the news via Twitter.Joining the ranks of these three books is the cancelation of BLACK PANTHER: THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN ALIVE which will end with issue #529. According to the book's solicit, this will be the series' finale and will feature Kingpin vs. T'Challa. The book will also feature Typhoid Mary, Lady Bullseye, Falcon and Luke Cage. The solicit also states that the issue will "change the status quo," implying that there is a chance that the book or the character will return.We recently reported that Marvel canceled both the DESTROYERS, VICTOR VON DOOM as well as ALL WINNERS SQUAD which will come to an abrupt end and will go from an 8-issue miniseries, to a 5-issue series.
We reported yesterday that PUNISHER MAX will be coming to an end, but won't be canceled. Other Marvel titles that we won't be seeing anymore include IRON MAN 2.0 and ALPHA FLIGHT.
Marvel's Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso spoke about the cancelations and end to many of the Marvel titles, and expressed that while it's sad for fans; it's also sad for the writers, artists and editors of the respective books.
It's always disappointing when a title comes to an end...I guarantee you that as frustrated as a fan might be, there's a writer, artist and an editor who are even more disappointed. That's just the way things go sometimes. The market won't support it.
That said, I'm proud of X-23's run. Two successful limited series and an ongoing series ain't bad. Ditto for Daken [who is also ending his series.] From a supporting role in "Wolverine: Origins” to the lead of ongoing series that included him slicing Frank Castle to bits -- enter Franken-Castle. Both were characters that gained traction in a market that, well, doesn't really have a great track record of supporting new stuff. And both characters anchored legitimate monthly titles. We don't do R&D at Marvel. We'll stick by a title for a while -- like we did with "Spider-Girl" -- but there comes a point where that title has to earn, usually sooner than later.
Maybe it really did just come down to sales. What do you think of the news? Are any of these one of your favorite titles? Hopefully we won't have to see any more Marvel books get the axe (that's a lot of books in one week!) but we will have to wait and see. That still leaves us wondering; why so many cancelations? Why the end of so many titles? Is it all about money, or is something big going to go down at Marvel starting in February, 2012?