Polite Dissent

When a comic company publishes a series, is that a promise? Are they telling their readers that they will continue this series no matter what? No, of course not. A comic publisher is first and foremost a company. They need to make a profit. Unprofitable series are subject to cancellation.

For a standard episodic series, cancellation is regrettable, but understandable. There aren’t many, if any, loose threads to tie up.

What about a mini-series? Starting a series is a promise. It’s a promise to the reader that the mini-series will be finished. Certainly, sometimes bad finances rear their ugly head and a mini-series has to be shortened. Regrettable, but understandable. But what about when the company simply does not deliver? Is it the writer? The artist? The publisher? Certainly a comic company should not start a series unless it knows it can finish it. Yes, I’m talking to you Marvel Comics and Kevin Smith. This was a broken promise.

Then there are the series that have an underlying concept. These series have too many loose threads to simply end abruptly. Would it have been right to have ended Sandman in the middle of A Dolls House? Sojourn was one of these books with such a theme: Arywn was searching for the magic arrow with which to slay Mordath. It was not a perfect book, by any stretch of the imagination (as I stated earlier). It was a fun read, however. Those of us who started the series in the beginning have been following Arwyn’s adventures every step of the way. Now comes the news that Sojourn will be ending prematurely. Issue #34 will be the final issue (although it has been solicited through #37). This is a broken promise. There was an understanding from the beginning that Arwyn would finish her quest, one way or another. It may not have been put in writing, but it was a promise understood by both sides. If the series had to end early, they owed us a real conclusion, not some clich頦amp;#8220;to be continues?”. Hell, Arwyn doesn’t even appear in the final issue.

I’m tired of broken promises and I’m making a stand. I’m voting with my dollars. I will not support CrossGen anymore. Before I buy any new Marvel mini-series, I will be sure that the creative talent can actually complete it. I will not support Kevin Smith projects anymore.