Last Issue Special: Introduction

Longtime comics fans might have heard of the short-lived DC series First Issue Special, a mid-70s anthology series that had the purpose of (re)introducting characters to the DC universe.

I've always been more fascinated by the final issue of a comic series--there's such a range of how cancellation is handled. In my experience, final issues can be sorted into the following categories:

SURPRISE: Neither the story nor text pages mention cancellation, and the presence of a cliffhanger or next issue box indicates the creators didn't even have time to prepare for impending doom.

DENIAL: The creators acknowledge cancellation in a text page, but assure readers that the character and concepts will continue in "another series", "graphic novels", "one-shots", "limited series", or "after hiatus." Once in a while this is even true, but even then the other format is rarely successful.

ACCEPTANCE: Forthright recognition of cancellation, with existing storylines wrapped up as much as possible.

SILENCE: No mention whatsoever of cancellation--the issue ends normally, there just isn't another one.

All good (and bad) things come to an end, and in this occasional series of posts we'll see how well it was handled.