Bought/Thought for December 2, 2010 - SPOILERS!!!

[hippie_hunter]

A 50 issue maxi series? Oh, get out of here, that thing was an ongoing. A 20-25 issue maxi-series, maybe, but 50..stretching it pretty hardcore.

Nope, Way always intended to end Wolverine: Origins with 50 issues. His story had a definitive begining, middle, and end. I remember reading an interview with Way when the book was around the half-way mark, they were doing the Deadpool arc and they announced that he was going to be the writer for Deadpool, that he always intended to end the book with 50 issues.

 

[Tron Bonne]

Was he the only one who wrote that book? I thought it had more than just one writer over its publication.

 

[hippie_hunter]

Was he the only one who wrote that book? I thought it had more than just one writer over its publication.

Way write the series in its entireity.

 

[Tron Bonne]

...I'm still going with an ongoing that ended. Seems there's a point where you have to acknowledge a series as going on for such a long time. My semantics are superior.

 

[hippie_hunter]

...I'm still going with an ongoing that ended. Seems there's a point where you have to acknowledge a series as going on for such a long time. My semantics are superior.

The definition of a limited series according to Dark Horse Comics: "a comic book series with a clear beginning, middle and end." When a limited series ends, it ends because the writer of the story has decided that the story is over. Some of these books last for a very short time (such as the four issue The Dark Knight Returns) and some of them last for a very long time (such as the 52 issue 52, Countdown, and Trinity).

The definition of an ongoing series is a comic book series that is intended to go on for an undetermined amount of time. Because of this we see books like the Amazing Spider-Man, Wonder Woman, the Incredible Hulk, and Thor reach 600 issues, books like Batman and Superman reach 700 issues, books like Detective Comics reach 800 issues, and books like Action Comics reach 900 issues. When an ongoing series ends, it is usually because of low sales (Doctor Voodoo, Blue Beetle, Manhunter), creative/editorial decisions to take the character/team in a new direction (Green Lantern, JLA, the Flash, New Avengers), production problems (Grant Morrison's WildC.A.T.S. and the Authority), or reasons that are not the result of the original creator having a definitive end for the story.

Wolverine: Origins did not end because of low sales, creative/editorial decisions to take Wolverine in a new direction, production problems, or whatnot. Wolverine: Origins ended because Daniel Way had a 50 issue story that had a set begining, middle, and end about Wolverine's struggle against Romulus and confronting his misguided son Daken. It was always meant to be a 50 issue series, no more, no less. Therefore, it falls under the definition of a limited series. And since it was over 12 issues, it falls under the definition of a maxi-series. Yeah, Marvel treated it is if it were an ongoing, because it was a book that went on for over four years and had a spin-off series with Dark Wolverine. But it really wasn't.

 

[Tron Bonne]

By this definition pretty much any creator-owned series that will end at some point is just a really long maxi, even though it's treated and referred to an an ongoing series, but eh, I don't care enough to really argue this. I'll just plea the 'Nubs with it.

Though, even if it didn't end directly due to sales, wasn't it selling pretty low anyway? If it didn't end because of that, it sure did end conveniently enough were it coincided with a new direction that included other cancellations and relaunches.

 

[hippie_hunter]

By this definition pretty much any creator-owned series that will end at some point is just a really long maxi, even though it's treated and referred to an an ongoing series, but eh, I don't care enough to really argue this. I'll just plea the 'Nubs with it.

Though, even if it didn't end directly due to sales, wasn't it selling pretty low anyway? If it didn't end because of that, it sure did end conveniently enough were it coincided with a new direction that included other cancellations and relaunches.

It was selling rather low for a Wolverine book but it wasn't selling anywhere near low enough for cancellation.

The new direction and relaunch has more to do with changing Wolverine to Dark Wolverine and making Wolverine: Weapon X the flagship Wolverine title completely screwing over and confusing readers. If Marvel simply launched Dark Wolverine as it's own title and put Jason Aaron on Wolverine instead, I doubt that we would have seen this happen. Overall, readers just don't like it when they retitle a book.

But when Marvel realised this around the time that Wolverine: Origins was ending, they decided to wait until after Wolverine: Origins was over before doing the whole Wolverine relaunch. Why relaunch Wolverine when Wolverine: Origins had only like 5 issues left?

 

[Tron Bonne]

It was selling rather low for a Wolverine book but it wasn't selling anywhere near low enough for cancellation.

You sure? I remember seeing some numbers for that near it's end, and they were pretty low.

But when Marvel realised this around the time that Wolverine: Origins was ending, they decided to wait until after Wolverine: Origins was over before doing the whole Wolverine relaunch. Why relaunch Wolverine when Wolverine: Origins had only like 5 issues left?

Would it have matter either way? They put put their plans to relaunch on hold for five months just so a maxi could end?

 

[hippie_hunter]

You sure? I remember seeing some numbers for that near it's end, and they were pretty low.

The book's sales never went below 34k.

Would it have matter either way? They put put their plans to relaunch on hold for five months just so a maxi could end?

Well yeah, Wolverine: Origins did have a major impact on the charcter through Daken and Romulus. They had to finish the storylines in Wolverine: Origins, Dark Wolverine, and Wolverine: Weapon X before you relaunch. And it's not like it still had a while to go, it was almost done. So they wrapped up Dark Wolverine and Wolverine: Weapon X to relaunch Daken and Logan in new books and let Daniel Way finish up his four year Wolverine saga.

Not letting Wolverine: Origins finish would have made a bad situation even worse. Especially since nothing warrented Wolverine: Origins to get cancelled. Just abruptly ending Wolverine: Origins at the end, or relaunching Wolverine when his previous major story is still going on is almost as bad as DC deciding not to publish the very last issue of Great Ten (even though they published 9 out of 10 of them), publishing Bruce Wayne: The Road Home before Batman & Robin #16 and Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne, or JMS just abruptly leaving Superman and Wonder Woman.

 

[Themanofbat]

Cerebus was always designated as a 300 issue maxi-series...

 

[cthulhu]

yep and a very good maxi-series it was too, by Tarim!