Cancelled Titles

I've had a history of reading titles that would get cancelled. I lament the untimely ends of such books as Aztek, Book of Fate, Xero, Resurrection Man and Quantum and Woody.

And then there was the ongoing saga with Spider-Girl, Black Panther (by Chris Priest) and Captain Marvel. For whatever reason, these three awesome books were just not selling. You'd see ads in Marvel's comics for Captain Marvel that would say something like "the best comic you're not reading."

It was a shame - I knew that all three titles were destined to be cancelled. I'm not going to say that I knew this because I was a fan of them, but it sure seemed that way.

I think that the writers don't get the respect that they deserve.

Peter David was the Captain Marvel writer, and since he left the Hulk (a brilliant take on that character - and a long one, happily), he has taken on other, interesting, and largely ignored comic titles such as Aquaman and Supergirl. Both of which were excellent, even though I had trouble even convincing my friends that this was the case.

Chris Priest's Black Panther was a breath of fresh air. It was clever, interesting and added a layer of depth to a character that was little more than a secondary character in the Marvel Universe. Interesting that he is now a larger part of the Marvel Universe, after Priest's run was concluded. You'd be hard pressed to find people willing to admit it, but it seems clear to me that Priest's take on BP was good enough to make him a viable character - and one worthy of Marvel's current plans.

Tom DeFalco wrote Spider-Girl - and before that (from around issues 251-286), The Amazing Spider-Man. I didn't care for much else that he wrote, but I really enjoyed his work on Spider-releated titles. And this was no exception. It was everything that the Spider-Man titles weren't - it was fun, clever and interesting. It didn't take itself so seriously and wasn't all about how Peter Parker's marriage had failed, and how Peter never has any money or a good job. It was just about Peter and Mary Jane's daughter inheriting the Spider abilities, and her efforts to do good. And be coached by Spider-Man. Sounds good, doesn't it?

If you see these issues in the dollar/50 cent bins, pick 'em up. They're all excellent reads and don't require tons of backstory to keep up.