Robot 6
DC cancels I, Vampire, DC Universe Presents and Saucer Country [Updated]
I, Vampire #19
As DC Comics parcels out its April solicitations ahead of their full release at 2 p.m., we learn that I, Vampire and DC Universe Presents will be canceled with Issue 19, and Saucer Country with Issue 14. Update: The all-ages Superman Family Adventures also will end with Issue 12.
Launched in September 2011 as part of the New 52′s “Dark Group,” I, Vampire teamed writer Joshua Hale Fialkov and artist Andrea Sorrentino for a revival of the horror-romance serial that appeared from 1980 to 1983 in the House of Mystery anthology. Although the new series was a solid performer out of the gate, with the debut issue selling nearly 36,000, by the 14th issue that figure had slid below the 14,000 mark.
“Yep. I, Vampire is done as of 19. It’s been an amazing ride,” Fialkov wrote this afternoon on Twitter. “Thanks to all of my collaborators and stay tuned for the kickass conclusion. I’ve known For almost four months and got to write the ending I wanted. No complaints.”
Another of the New 52 launch titles, DC Universe Presents debuted with a Deadman storyline before embracing such diverse characters as the Challengers of the Unknown, Vandal Savage, Kid Flash, Blue Devil and Blue Beetle. Like I, Vampire, the anthology started solidly enough, with more than 41,000 copies but — again, like I, Vampire — it had plummeted below 14,000 by Issue 14.
Announced by Vertigo at the 2011 New York Comic Con, Saucer Country is the creator-owned series by Paul Cornell and Ryan Kelly that follows New Mexico Gov. Arcadia Alvarado who, on the eve of announcing her candidacy for president, is abducted by aliens. It debuted in March 2012 to nearly 16,000 copies, but by November’s Issue had been more than cut in half. While it’s difficult to judge the performance of Vertigo titles, as they tend to perform better in the book market, that number was clearly far too low to continue the series.
On his blog, Cornell states that he’s “heartbroken” Saucer Country is ending and knows fans will be disappointed that book’s mysteries weren’t all answered. “So I make this promise to you: I will, one day, finish Saucer Country, in one way or another, in a dramatically satisfying way,” he wrote. “That is to say, I won’t just put up the remainder of the plot on my blog or something, I’ll find a professional means to actually complete the story, ideally in comic book form, or as a novel or, hey, go on, a movie. The rights revert to me reasonably soon. We’ll work from there. “
25 Comments
Paul
January 14, 2013 at 1:06 pm
I’m still reading Saucer Country and it’s something like an X-Files wannabe. And sloooow.
Aaron
January 14, 2013 at 1:08 pm
Devastated about Saucer Country. It’s a fantastic series. Vertigo is down to scraps now.
jsf
January 14, 2013 at 1:11 pm
Really unhappy to hear I, Vampire is ending. That was such a great book.
Adam
January 14, 2013 at 1:33 pm
I was enjoying Saucer Country, but it was painfully slow and deliberate, too slow and deliberate in this comic market. Hate that it is ending.
Marc C.
January 14, 2013 at 1:40 pm
I have been hanging in with Saucer Country because of Cornell. I, Vampire was one of my surprises from the new DC…too bad it is gone…figured as much when I heard Sorrentino was heading to Green Arrow….
Tim
January 14, 2013 at 1:42 pm
Shame about I vampire ending. Book has been solid since issue one.
Not a great time for vampires with this and American vampire on hiatus. Lets see how mobius is.
Simon DelMonte
January 14, 2013 at 1:52 pm
Sort of surprised that I, Vampire never found its audience, since some other Dark books did. I guess a lot of people were so put off by that first tawdry/tacky cover that they never got inside the book to find how good it was.
Wondering if DC is ready to end the 52 Experiment and cut done to a more manageable number of titles.
Martin Gray
January 14, 2013 at 2:00 pm
Bugger.
sleepyreader
January 14, 2013 at 2:01 pm
The cancellation of I, Vampire is very very sad. I had the impression that it was building an audience would end up a strong seller in trades, like the classic Vertigo model….can’t help but feel DC made significant mistake letting several of the quirkier series go based on issue by issue sales rather than the long run of collection sales….
Nicole
January 14, 2013 at 2:47 pm
They should have developed a ongoing Deadman series. It’s the only one of the “Presents” stories I ever bought.
Evan Meadow
January 14, 2013 at 2:57 pm
Add Superman Family Adventures to your headline.
JoshF
January 14, 2013 at 3:15 pm
Man oh man Vertigo seems to be circling the drain. I know there are books in the pipeline but those could just as easily be moved to DC proper. Poor Shelly Bond didn’t she do this at Comico already? And editing a Willinham written book no less!!!
Andrew Collins
January 14, 2013 at 4:13 pm
Wow, so that leaves 3 ongoing Vertigo books, 4 if you count the on-hiatus American Vampire. And even then, two of those are Fables books and I believe the Unwritten is coming close to ending too, isn’t it? Sad days at Vertigo…
Andrew Collins
January 14, 2013 at 4:13 pm
“Add Superman Family Adventures to your headline.”
Crap, I missed that. And I just started buying it too…
GARY
January 14, 2013 at 4:15 pm
I Vampire is a really good book and I have enjoyed it very much.now that it’s cancelled I will replace it with another DC book.
Bully
January 14, 2013 at 4:27 pm
It always seemed that lower-selling Vertigo titles at least had more of a pass because they’d make their money back later and continuously as trade collections. Looks like that thinking may be over.
Kenozoic
January 14, 2013 at 4:35 pm
DC Universe Presents was a favorite of mine.
Perhaps they should do a space anthology, or a Brave & Bold team up book with one headliner for 6 months plus a different co-star each month. Complete story 6 issue trades with one consistent character, plus spotlight partners. They can rotate the ‘star’ every half year for the best combo of stability and variety. Genius!
The Boy With A Herve Villechaize Tattoo
January 14, 2013 at 6:46 pm
Been enjoying the hell out of I, Vampire and sad to see it going.
GenghisFrog
January 14, 2013 at 8:38 pm
I’d love to see Brave and the Bold come back. If Avenging Spider-Man can be successful, so can B&TB.
Thad
January 14, 2013 at 9:37 pm
Sure hope another publisher picks Saucer Country up. Good luck, Paul!
edge
January 14, 2013 at 10:35 pm
since he currently on Marvel,why not bring it to Icon
Stephen Conway
January 15, 2013 at 9:10 am
Very sad to hear about all of those cancellations. I, Vampire has been a very interesting book and I guess Andrew Bennet will be wrapped into JL Dark soon.
DC Universe Presents had some great stories.
I’ve only read Saucer Country in trade form as is my preference for Vertigo books so it’s sad to see that one go before it could build up a real head of steam.
Adam
January 15, 2013 at 10:08 am
Hmmmm, I’m mixed on the loss of Superman Family Adventures. My daughter and I religiously read Tiny Titans every month, and we loved the regular running gags. We never quite made the transition to Superman Adventures–I think we bought one issue out of curiosity. It didn’t seem to have quite the same feel as TT, and I think it even made a reference to the Donner films that I found annoying. (Something about Otis becoming the Parasite.) Were we missing out?
(I did meet Franco at Baltimore Con, and got him to do a TT sketch for my daughter. Awesome guy.)
Wil
January 15, 2013 at 8:11 pm
Wherever Saucer Country goes next, I’ll follow it there. Too many comics fans want books with fast action that explain everything right away, rather than ambiguous mysteries than are slow to evolve. I prefer the latter, because they rely on being thought-provoking rather than on feeding you the easy answers, and Saucer Country was an excellent example. The artwork was gorgeous, too!
Pete
January 17, 2013 at 3:45 pm
I really enjoyed Saucer Country but one interesting book after another started coming out. I’m overwhelmed by all the great books out. A bit hard to decide what to drop/add and I feel like this affecting a lot of books. Just my opinion and not sure if there are any facts to back this up.