Sometimes you love something beyond all reason, taste or commercial success. Sometimes they're even comic book series.

What series were cancelled, but you keep cherished in your collections and why?

CODENAME: KNOCKOUT -- loved Rodi's writing, even if the art was inconsistent (oddly, i tended to like the artists, just not their work on this title) ... let's face it, the premise - super-spy thriller/coming-of-age divorced parents melodrama combining equal cheesecake parts for boys & girls - is definitely a 1st ... i ate it up

SPIDER WOMAN and MS. MARVEL -- these 70s gems follow me everywhere ... for some reason, i loved the adventures of these women who could go toe-to-toe with Iron Man and Captain America ... they were Marvel's answer to Wonder Woman, and they really worked for me ... unfortunately, most of their successive adventures were not so great ... i'm glad that Bendis intends to bring Jessica Drew back to greatness as SPIDER WOMAN (I just hope he can)

ELEMENTALS and NEXT MAN - I enviously regarded these Comico offerings in my brother's collection (we had a strict no-overlap rule in our sibling rivalry when it came to tastes) ... each series had stunning art, solid stories and MORE seemed possible in them (at least as far as characters and plots) ... boy, was i happy when my brother 'grew up', got married and gave me his collection (BWA-HA-HA-HA)

YOUNG ALL STARS and INFINITY, INC. - when it was hot, it was ridiculous! while the writing and art clearly went straight DOWN on both series, they started strong and introduced a ton of great possibilities and hot artists to the comics field

NEGATION - i covered it in the crossgen thread in this section ... just wanted to put it down again

BLOOD SYNDICATE - I might be alone on this one, but this short-lived series/company holds a big spot in my imagination ... it was the first time i saw some similarities between the worlds i knew and the one in comics ... sure, the writing and art also took a monstrous crapper, but the 1st 20 issues were solid

EXCALIBUR, even though it was only really good during those couple years where Alan Davis did both the writing and art. His last issue was the last issue I read. I liked his portrayal of the Rachel Summers Phoenix, he understood her better than Chris Claremont or anyone else; and I loved the origin of Meggan, where she finds out her true form is beautiful and magical.

Mystique -- It was just... awesome. Pure and simple. The art, the writing, the... everything. Frio still refuses to believe it's been cancelled. Or that the stupid Mystique that showed up in adjectiveless was actually her.

Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E. -- Geoff's first book. I think that says it all, really...

New Teen Titans (a most of the other incarnations) -- The Titans have always been my team. I mean, I the X-Men and the JLA's pretty chill and the Fantastic Four's sweet as but... the Titans were my age, y'know? That meant something to me...

Runaways -- It was sooo good. I don't even remember why I picked it up but after I did... couldn't put it down again. Absolutely amazing. Go BKV!!

Sleeper -- The first comic in this style that I read... and I absolutely adored it. Seriously. It was amazing. I'm sad they only did two 'seasons' of it. But, alas, right? It was just... good writing, fascinating characterizations, interesting twists... I looked forward to every issue.

Ultimates -- It was only 13 issues but it was 13 amazing issues. I really, really enjoyed their first run and I'd be sad if I ever lost those issues. Ironic since I really never got into the Avengers... ever. But I love them in the Ultimate-U.

Mmm... that's all I can think of for now.

ROM Spaceknight
'cause its my fav!!!! Also it was the first series I seriously collected

Nexus -- by Baron and Rude. A real high water mark for American comics. Perfect on all levels. Such well-realized characters...

Badger -- by Baron and Reinhold. Well written; very funny. And Reinhold is one of the most underapprecialted artists of our time. When he inks himself, it is beautiful...great brushwork.

Grimjack -- by Ostrander. Take some Moorcock and a lot of Chandler, stir for 30 minutes.

the Question -- by O'Neil and Cowan. Another super high water mark for American comics. The best thing O'Neil has ever done, imo, and Cowan's art is perfect from beginning to end.

I love the concept of a 36 issue series that takes place over the course of 3 years in the comic's world. We watch Vic Sage (the Question) better himself through training, meditation, give up smoking and coffee... until midway through the series, he is one of the most formidable detectives and fighters in the DCU (he can almost fight Lady Shiva to a draw).

Then... he starts backsliding! He gradually stops meditating, starts drinking coffee again, gets lazy in his training, until by the end of the series, he's not very much above the level he was at the beginning. I don't think I've ever seen that kind of journey in a comic before. It felt very real.

Supreme -- by Alan Moore. Better Superman stories than anything DC published from the time John Byrne took over, on. Superboy, Supergirl, Bottle city of Kandor, Krypto, LSH... all the cool elements Byrne thought were too corny for his Superman relaunch... they all appear in Moore's Supreme.

Major Bummer -- by Arcudi and Mahnke. So original and imaginative, in both story and art. Mahnke's art had so many subtle and naturalistic touches to it. I like his work here much more than on JLA.

Flash(silver age series) -- By Cary Bates, Infantino, Norvick. Super-imaginative stories (aka "silly"). I began to get into this as I started to really burn out on Scott Summers agonizing for 10 thought balloons, about whether he should cross an intersection against the traffic light. Bates' Flash was pure escapism, without any of the angst or grim-and-grittiness that was overwhelming every other comic in the mid-'80s.

Micronauts -- by Mantlo, Golden, Guice, Jones, Broderick, Kane, and others. Just a great, mostly unkown series featuring some really great art. Butch Guice and Kelly Jones, two of my favorites, both got their start here.

Corto Maltese -- by Hugo Pratt. One of the very best comics ever made. It would take me all day to do it justice in description.

I'm sure I'm forgetting a bunch...

Strikeforce:Morituri and D.P.7.

Plus my whole CrossGen collection, of course.

Vext - Probably my favorite of Giffen's post-Legion work. I wish it could have lasted just a bit longer.

Secret Society of Super-Villains - I liked it. What can I say?

Chase - ditto.

I'm in the process of culling my collection to the "currently collected" and the "runs to keep", so here are my keepers thus far:


70s stuff:

SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS (full run)
FREEDOM FIGHTERS (full run)
ALL-STAR COMICS (58-74-- full 70s run)
TEEN TITANS (44-53-- full 70s run)
CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN (full 70s run)
THE INHUMANS (full 70s run)
THE CHAMPIONS (spotty run)
THE AVENGERS (selected 70s issues)
MARVEL'S GREATEST COMICS (reprints old Fantastic 4)
FANTASTIC FOUR (selected 70s issues)

80s stuff:

X-MEN (sizeable run, incl. the PMS and JRJR runs)
JUSTICE LEAGUE (the Giffen/DeMatteis full run)
NEW MUTANTS (the graphic novel to right before Liefeld)
THE FUTURIANS (graphic novel, issues 0-3)
T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents (Perez, Giffen, Bierbaums!)
L.E.G.I.O.N./R.E.B.E.L.S. (full run)
CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN (Loeb/Sale mini)

90s to Present:

X-FORCE/X-STATIX
THE ATOMICS
CODENAME: KNOCKOUT
VEXT
THE HECKLER
YOUNG HEROES IN LOVE
CHASE
MAJOR BUMMER
SUPERGIRL (the final Peter David arc, issues 75-80)
SHE-HULK (Dan Slott)
GREAT LAKES AVENGERS
Giffen/DeMatteis JLI minis
YOUNG JUSTICE

The Suicide Squad and Infinity Inc

Ooops-- I forgot to include Infinity Inc under my 80s stuff. it's a KEEPER for sure!

Platinum Grit...Its Australianm and online now (but that just aint the same) www.platinumgrit.com

I wish I hadn't sold those. Out of all the New Universe stuff, that one really deseved to continue. (Pre-Byrne Star Brand was not bad, either)

Which reminds me: Harbinger from Valiant Comics, which seemed somewhat reminiscent of D.P.7.

Yeah, Chase was awesome... I loved it.

I can't think of any right now...unless you count the Avengers and Legion v3.

Regarding Corto Maltese...I never heard of him but I was interested by the title. I gotta check this out! I looked it up on Wiki. Which I am sure doesn't do it justice either but...i want it now. thanks.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corto_Maltese

The Ray! One of my all-time faves...

Power Company

Infinity Inc.

New Warriors (first series)

In my case, they're mostly DC :

-Hawk and Dove when written by Karl and Barbara Kesel.
-The Huntress by Joe Cavalieri and Joe Staton.
-Omega Men
-Hawkworld
-Atari force
-New Mutants

I forgot to add Infinity Inc., All-Star Squadron, and Young All-Stars.

I liked Earth-2.

Oh yeah. I miss those infinite earths...

Firearm
Starman
Sandman:Mystery Theatre
The Flash (Barry)
The Legion of Super Heroes (Originals)
Infinity Inc.
All-Star Squadron
Young All-Stars

There's more...

forgot to mention the original Alpha Flight series as well. I'll be a-keeping that one

'Mazing Man, Black Condor and Captain Carrot and His Amazing Zoo-Crew are three series that won't appear in my big donate- and sell-off.

'Mazing Man was just amazingly sweet, and I just adored it. Billy Joel is one of my favorite singers, and two of the main characters are named after people in one of his songs (though they have a much happier fate).

Black Condor was cool, and I was detecting the possibility of a relationship between him and his ranger friend (forget the name offhand, but I expect to reread those since I'm keeping them).

Captain Carrot was just silly fun, and I kept it for the nostalgia value.

Speaking of Captain Carrot, wasn't there an issue where the Carrot crew met up with parallel world animal versions of the JLA?

"ZOT!": Quite possibly my all-time favorite series! Also one of the best high school based dramas in any medium.

Alien Legion: gritty stuff without being "kewl" (well, until they overexposed Grimrod, the "Wolverine" of the crew). It was like a comic version of "The Dirty Dozen" - anyone was always in danger of buying it on any mission.

Grendel: The evolution of the concept of Grendel from assassin in a mask to the concept of evil itself was extremely exciting to read.

Moon Knight: (Meonch/Seinkevicz) This run showed why MK was more than just "Marvel's Batman".

I jusr reread DP7 a few weeks ago. Such a shame this was cancelled with so many plot-threads unresolved. Is Lenore really dead? This was such a good series. *sigh*

Yes, they were the Justa-Lotta Animals, or something very similar to that. They're buried beneath the donate boxes right now, or I'd go look it up.

Alpha Flight
West Coast Avengers
L.E.G.I.O.N
Green Lantern Corps
ROM
New Adventures of Superboy
Booster Gold

Hurrah!!! another ROM fan!!!!!
who reminded me of L.E.G.I.O.N. as well. That series will stay with me too.

Seymour, i could kiss you...I was wracking my brain trying to remember what that group's name was!

What??? West Coast Avengers got cancelled?? Why? How?

Trying to limit my list, as best I can, to ongoing series that ran less than 30-40 issues:

ALL-STAR COMICS (70s run)
ALL-STAR SQUADRON (pre-Crisis issues)
ARROWSMITH
ATARI FORCE
BAT LASH
BATMAN AND THE OUTSIDERS/ADVS. OF THE OUTSIDERS
BLACK CONDOR
BLACKHAWK (Evanier/Speigle run)
BLACK LIGHTNING (70s run)
BLOODSTONE
CHALLENGERS OF THE UNKNOWN (early 90s run with the "other" team)
THE CHAMPIONS
DOOM PATROL (current run)
EL CAZADOR
1st ISSUE SPECIAL: DINGBATS OF DANGER STREET
THE FLY (Impact Comics)
FREEDOM FIGHTERS
HATE
THE INVADERS
JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA (early 90s run)
KARATE KID
LEAVE IT TO CHANCE
MICRONAUTS (1st series)
MOON KNIGHT (1st series, up to direct only)
NIGHT FORCE (1st series)
SECRET SOCIETY OF SUPER-VILLAINS
SECTION ZERO
SHOCKROCKETS
STARS AND S.T.R.I.P.E.
STEEL, THE INDESTRUCTABLE MAN
SUPERSTAR
TEEN TITANS (70s run)
THE THREE GEEKS/GEEKSVILLE
TOMORROW STORIES
WOLFF & BYRD/SUPERNATURAL LAW
X-MEN: THE HIDDEN YEARS

Ah...Teen Titans the seventies run. Is this when Nick Cardy was still drawing or the later short-run edition that introduced the Titans East-Titans West conglomerate?

titans east-titans west .... ahhh, those were the days/daze
remember the two-face twin villain crew? flamesplasher, sizematic and darklight? (i think that was their names)

Yep...I remember the Joker's Daughter (was she really?), Bumblebee and other heroes too...Too bad the east-west crews didnt merge - it would have been nice to have a teen version of the Justice League...

I always liked the Invaders from back in the day...Firestorm ( I don't think you can count the new series because it won't be around much longer I doubt...). I enjoyed the Rocket Raccoon mini back in the eighties but I guess that wasn't cancelled...

Was going through my collection this weekend and saw several titles I loved and would hate to part with.

Ressurection Man- this was an awsome series.
Starman- the last 2 series
Stars and S.T.R.I.P.E
Darkstars
L.E.G.I.O.N. and past Legion series (of course)

Tons of mini series but that is another string.

Michael Kaluta's Shadow & Carson of Venus series.

Howard Chakin's Fafhrd & the Grey Mouser & Iron Wolf series.

The Spectre series that ran in Adventure Comics in the 70s.

The Star Spangled War Stories Dinosaur issues.

Wonder Man. I just can't let it go.

New Mutants/X-Force

Busiek's Avengers run. Does that count as cancelled?

All-Star Squadron

Add:

Peter David's run on Hulk

X-Factor

I am going to throw the latest Invaders in there. The art the first few issues was horrible but after that it took a turn for the MUCH better.

IMO this was a successful modern update for an old team. Had elements to the old, had the tradition, etc. But it was very edgy, new, kick ass.

I miss it.

In Crossgen Ruse. Specifically Waid's Ruse.

*bump*

Spawn: have the first 50.

only 11 more steps to go.

Xero - for some reason, I was fascinated by the art and the plot, twisty as it was. I also had a bit of a crush on the main character

Young All-Stars - LOVE the retcon characters and - for the first 15 or so issues, it was tight. Ended on a low note

Blood Syndicate - Yeah, this was my jam when it was coming out. The action, the characters, the diversity. I'd never seen anything like it. Again, super solid for the first 15 or so issues. Also, ended on a low note.

I'm not sure I'd ever say "never." I've recently completed a huge shake-out of my old comics: boiled two full milk-crates' worth down to just one.


That being said: Dylan Horrocks' *Pickle* comics and most of the first half of Roberta Gregory's *Naughty Bits* have all stayed on.

Marc Andreyko's MANHUNTER. Starlin's WARLOCK.

Sojourn.

I loved this series, especially the first 2 years, with Ron Marz writing it. Just outstanding. Shame it never got to finish...