Multiple series cancelled in print, will finish digital-only

[Somebody]

https://www.comicsbeat.com/marvel-going ... le-issues/

Affected series (and first digital-only issue)

Wednesday, May 13:
ANT-MAN #4
AVENGERS OF THE WASTELANDS #4
GHOST-SPIDER #9
RAVENCROFT #4

Wednesday, May 20:
2020 IRONHEART #1
MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN: THE BLACK CAT STRIKES #4
HAWKEYE: FREEFALL #5
STAR #4

[Col_Fury]

[StrayLamb]

Hopefully they will print them eventually, as they sometimes do with digital-first comics.

[Midnighter]

It would appear that they will only be printed in TPB

[StrayLamb]

Well i guess that's a way of getting everyone to buy the TPB's.

[Somebody]

Pretty crappy to do this mid-miniseries though. Doing it with new launches (like the Ironheart 2020 thing) is more understandable.

Ghost-Spider (Spider-Gwen) is really odd as well - it's an ongoing which wasn't selling terribly (over 20k orders. Star was also over 20k). OTOH, I think Hawkeye: Freefall might have been a notional ongoing, but its sales were in the toilet, so it probably wasn't long for the world anyway.

Other titles selling less than Ghost-Spider #8 in March, per icv2 which are NOT on that list, were:

• DR STRANGE #4 (21,291)
• CONAN THE BARBARIAN #14 (20,983)
• SPIDER-VERSE #6 (19,178)
• REVENGE OF COSMIC GHOST RIDER #4 (18,375)
• MARVELS X #3 (17,972)
• MORBIUS #5 (17,491)
• ROBERT E HOWARDS DARK AGNES #2 (16,942)
• FANTASTIC FOUR MARVELS SNAPSHOT #1 (16,433)
• MAGNIFICENT MS MARVEL #13 (16,329)
• AMAZING MARY JANE #6 (16,134)
• CONAN BATTLE FOR SERPENT CROWN #2 (15,416)
• 2020 RESCUE #1 (14,866)
• FALCON & WINTER SOLDIER #2 (14,813)
• BLACK PANTHER #22 (13,894)
• SCREAM CURSE OF CARNAGE #5 (13,675)
• 2020 IRON AGE #1 (12,754)
• SPIDER-HAM #4 (12,147)
• TAROT #4 (11,898)
• 2020 FORCE WORKS #2 (11,121)
• JESSICA JONES BLIND SPOT #5 (10,691)
• NEBULA #2 (10,230)
• JESSICA JONES BLIND SPOT #6 (10,109)
• 2020 MACHINE MAN #2 (9,919)
• STRIKEFORCE #7 (9,828)
• BLACK PANTHER AND AGENTS OF WAKANDA #7 (9,103)

Now, some of those have ended or are ending anyway, but it gives a precedent... (and dang, Slott's Iron Man 2020 event, it's not doing well, huh).

Of the announced books being shipped between now & the 8th of July, here are the ones in the "drop zone" list above:

• DR. STRANGE #5
• 2020 RESCUE #2
• SPIDER-HAM #5
• MARVELS X #4
• CAPTAIN AMERICA: MARVELS SNAPSHOTS #1
• BLACK PANTHER AND THE AGENTS OF WAKANDA #8

In addition, these aren't far above the "drop zone":

• BLACK CAT #11 (#10: 23,213)
• MILES MORALES: SPIDER-MAN #17 (#16: 25,157)
• IRON MAN 2020 #4 FLUORESCENT (#3: 26,670)

[Midnighter]

I noticed that Ghost-Spider was absent from the June solecits, after the number 10 was marked as Outlawed's tie-in (but the series faced the consequences of Kamala's Law as early as number 8). I think that perhaps the closure of this series and the subsequent relaunch was already planned.

[Leoparis]

I had not realized the sales were so low.

The only series absolutely worth saving is Black Cat, which I think is one of the best Marvel series with Immortal Hulk and X-Men.

Others are not bad:
Jessica Jones is well written.
Tarot was a fun throwback to the 70s with good art. I guess nostalgia does not work. Maybe the series name was ill-chosen.
I like Strikeforce, which also has a 70s occult vibe.
Conan Serpent Crown was okay as an introduction of Conan to Marvel America.
I feel bad for Waid whose Dr Strange is the worst-selling pillar of Marvel. Apparently the horror approach (inspired by Immortal Hulk?) did not work for the magician. Fantasy deserves better. The writers should stop dismantling his supporting cast.

Others are not a surprise.
Conan the Barbarian never worked. I think Aaron botched the relaunch by writing him like a videogame uberwarrior. None of his writing has clicked for some time. I hope his exclusive ends soon so he can get to DC or Image.
I notice the SJW/PC stuff is kept in print, even at very low numbers.

[StrayLamb]

My 10-15yo nieces really enjoy Ghost-Spider, and we need comics like that to keep the younger readers interested, especially since Moon Girl and Squirrel Girl have already been cancelled.

[Russ Chappell]

I notice the SJW/PC stuff is kept in print, even at very low numbers.

Let's don't go there...

[Jason Doty]

This is real disappointing. Anybody bother to purchase? I wonder how well they did. As someone who buys all of the printed Marvel books and willing to wait for them to come back. I wonder who made this decision. It seems to be a slap in the face to longtime supporters and collectors.

[Col_Fury]

I'll pick up the trades whenever they come out, to keep my print collection intact. That's what I've been doing with other digital-first/only things Marvel has put out in the past. There was that Iron Fist digital only thing with the young girl in the supporting cast that was later released only as a trade, for example. Or, remember those A Year of Marvel things? They were digital first then printed as single comics, but the last two only saw print in the trade. So, I have the individuals and the trade. Stuff like that, and that's how I'm viewing these cancellations.

I get it; Marvel's a business and has to turn a profit. If they're losing money on something, for whatever reason, they have to adjust. This is how they're adjusting for certain series, I guess. I would rather they do this than fold up all of printing and going digital only, personally. (yes, I'd rather they wouldn't be doing this at all, but we're cursed to live in interesting times)

[Jason Doty]

I don't mind Digital first. I mind them not finishing a series. Finish out what you started, then start a new plan that is nice for both forms of business. I bet Marvel makes more money on merchandise and movies, than they do on comics. The success of the comics though fuels the other two. Finishing out those other series might mean taking a loss in one area, but gaining in another. Just my opinion.

[Midnighter]

Others digital only switches: Revenge Of The Cosmic Ghost Rider, Valkyrie: Jane Foster and Scream: Curse Of Carnage, 2020 Force Works.

https://www.newsarama.com/50339-three-m ... -only.html

These are the next digital only releases:

Wednesday, June 3:
- Avengers of the Wastelands #5
- Revenge of the Cosmic Ghost Rider #5
- 2020 Force Works #3
- Scream: Curse of Carnage #6

Wednesday, June 17:
- Valkyrie: Jane Foster #10
- Ant-Man #5
- 2020 Ironheart #2
- Ghost-Spider #10

Wednesday, July 1:
- Hawkeye: Freefall #6
- Marvel's Spider-Man: The Black Cat Strikes #5
- Ravencroft #5
- Star #5

[michel]

It should be Hawkeye : Freefall #6 for July 1. Issue #5 was digitally released May 20.