Five Years Later Legion Book Cancelled Along With Others
I was looking forward to the rumored hardcover collection of Legion of Super-Heroes: Five Years Later. I have quite a fondness for that run, since it changed my life.
Unfortunately, it now appears to have been cancelled, as seen on Facebook. There were a number of announced DC collections cancelled as well, including the Electric Warriors trade, The Joker: Lovers and Madmen, a new edition of Absolute Dark Knight, the third book of Peter David’s Aquaman run, and Flash/Impulse: Runs in the Family, which is a shame, since those Mark Waid/Humberto Ramos Impulse comics are great fun.
The likely cause is retailers and customers complaining the market is oversaturated. There’s just too much product. DC announced last month at a retailer meeting that they had cut output by 10-15% and would not be putting out so many collections. Some chatter around this news has pointed out that, although back issues aren’t the moneymakers they used to be, when some are so ready available at reasonable prices, the market for expensive, nice-format collections may be smaller than expected. Although we should keep in mind that hardcovers may be preferred by libraries, since they are sturdier, less prone to damage, and thus lend better.
12:55 pm
Was the book solicited? I knew it was rumored but didn’t realize it had been solicited or I would have gone to one of online comic places (DCBS maybe?) And pre-ordered. Maybe if they ever get around to doing a new Legion series whether by John’s, Bendis or whomever and if it’s a hit they will try again.
I can get the single issues, but I’d much rather have nice collections of it & even Volume 3. (I’m surprised the death of Superboy issue storyline has never been collected)
1:01 pm
The book was previously available for preorder through Amazon, but it hadn’t gotten close enough to release for it to be offered through comic shops or Previews.
It may have been a tough sell, since the general public wouldn’t know why this series was significant, and it didn’t tie into anything more current, as you point out.
6:41 pm
Kurt Busiek pointed this out to me on twitter a giant Omnibus of the 5 Years Later run. Over 1000 pages!! $150 https://amzn.to/2t22PbV
7:29 pm
Ah, that might be a way to make the project more financially viable. Cool!
10:49 pm
Book can also be used for self defense in case of an intruder. lol I’ll certainly buy it if it comes out.