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“Captain Britain” Cancelled

May 19th, 2009
Author Troy Brownfield

Well, damn. Writer Paul Cornell confirmed on his blog today’s speculation that Captain Britain and MI-13 has been cancelled. I find this to be particularly depressing news, since it was, in my opinion, one of the most entertaining books that Marvel’s been doing (along with Incredible Hercules and Guardians of the Galaxy). Cornell assured fans that the remaining issues would indeed tell a full story. And while that’s great, I’m sure that’s probably cold comfort to fans that enjoyed the book because of its offbeat tone.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, May 19th, 2009 at 11:53 am and is filed under News & Views. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

61 Responses to ““Captain Britain” Cancelled”
  1. Monetta Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 12:04 pm

    I blame Blade. Movie sensation, but a comic book jinx.

  2. Russ Burlingame Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 12:08 pm

    I wonder if, because of Cornell’s TV street cred, he’s too expensive for Marvel to consider this as a potential backup feature in another book, since apparently they’re following suit on those now.

  3. Cisco Kid Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 12:15 pm

    First contender for Marvel Second Feature? Maybe a backup to Brubaker’s Captain America? I’d pay $3.99/mo for that.

  4. ScottyQuick Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 12:24 pm

    Damn, I wish I’d heard of it before. Just read the 1st trade and it’s lovely and THE ANNUAL HAD ALPHONA ART OMGWTFBBQRAAAAAAAAAAAAGE.

  5. patrick Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 12:29 pm

    Scotty Quick just became a Red Lantern.

  6. Terry Johnson Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 12:32 pm

    Russ Burlingame…I don’t think it would make a good feature only because it has too many characters for 10 pages.

  7. civil war vet Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 12:35 pm

    unlucky, I called this when #1 came out, they had a longer run than I expected. Damn shame, this was the best cap britain comic since the original.

  8. Lan Pitts Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 12:36 pm

    Didn’t this just come out?

  9. Jeremy Horsley Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 12:41 pm

    I can’t blame Marvel for canceling it, there just wasn’t that big an audience.

    Instead, I blame all the people buying Ultimatum and Justice League of America.

    Hopefully somebody will take the time to check in on these characters every once in a while, maybe have them pop up in a Mighty Avengers arc or something.

  10. bbiii Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 12:43 pm

    Wow now my Marvel buying goes does by 1 more. Keep this up and it will be zero

  11. caleb Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 12:48 pm

    Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!

    Does this mean Dracula wins, and gets to keep England?

  12. Anthony Schiavino Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 1:03 pm

    Only so many books a person can buy when they’re almost all upwards of $4. Unfortunately good books are going to get canceled because some of us can’t afford to give them a chance.

  13. Gail Simone Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 1:05 pm

    That sucks. Paul Cornell is a gem and everything he writes is brilliant.

  14. chrishaley Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 1:11 pm

    You have got to be kidding me! This was the one Marvel comic I HAD to buy every month. First Irredeemable Ant-Man, now this. Marvel, what is your problem? Do you not want me to give you my money? Every time you make a book I love enough to get it monthly you cancel it.

  15. Cookylamoo Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 1:14 pm

    Really, Gail. Have you read any of his personal checks? They’re practically illegible.

  16. Rick Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 1:21 pm

    This book was great, but I lost interest with the Blade/Dracula story line. I had planned on going back to it once that wrapped up, but with comic book prices these days I have to pick and choose what books to read on a given month. I miss the old days when I could afford to stay with a book thru thick and thin!!

  17. Tom Daylight Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 1:28 pm

    Blade? Uh, no. Blame Gordon Brown (who made a much-publicised guest appearance in #1). For he is a Jonah whose every endorsement brings doom to any football team or business enterprise…

  18. Lot 49 Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 1:34 pm

    Thanks, Jim McCann!!

  19. Spacedog2k5 Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 1:41 pm

    WTF??! UGH!! Maybe if it had “Dark” added to it’s title it would have sold more? I am so sick of this - seriously! The book was so much better than so much out there from Marvel currently, and it was affordable enough as did not require reading all these mega-part, wallet-hurting crossovers. I wish we had had time to get a letter campaign going. Is it too late, d’ya think?

  20. Ragy Sellurs Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 1:49 pm

    First Dollhouse is renewed, now Captain Britain is canceled.

    This is not a good week for justice or for those of us
    who love quality writing.

  21. Warren Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 2:02 pm

    DAMN. That was one of my favorite books too. Right after a month of them saying it’s not cancelled… they go ahead and do it. No fair.

  22. Zombozzie Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 2:25 pm

    You know, this is one book I wouldn’t mind paying $3.99 for….thanks Marvel for not even trying to keep the book going. Oh hey, thanks for that 3rd Wolverine title….

  23. Kevin Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 2:36 pm

    Wow, Marvel cancels one of their top 3 books. Stay classy, House of Ideas.

  24. jab Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 2:41 pm

    ugh and they’ll still over saturate everything with crappy avengers and dark reign tie ins. marvel you stink.

  25. Darren Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 3:05 pm

    ahhh! and it was really just getting going. still, no surprise. I’m sad though, I’m really, really sad.

  26. EvolutionAngel Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 3:18 pm

    !!!!!!! I say !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  27. Corey Henson Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 3:38 pm

    Guess they had to make room for another Deadpool book no one’s going to give a damn about.

  28. Deco Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 3:43 pm

    bye bye capt britain. hello whatever cornell writes next (yes, even dark young avengers (haven’t read it yet, but I feel dumber just typing it…)

  29. chrishaley Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 4:14 pm

    Seriously, 3 Deadpool books are necessary, but we can’t have our one high quality Marvel book?

  30. chrishaley Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 4:18 pm

    Also, is it just me, or does anyone think that if Marvel didn’t give so many comics at least one and as many as three variant covers, the people who buy the variants might support some different books?
    Is this wishful thinking on my part?

  31. U_no Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 4:28 pm

    Oh come now!

    If the book’s not making Marvel money how do they keep it going? Can somebody show us the monthly sales on the book just so we can get a better idea of how it was managing. I’m pretty sure it’s been on the decline since issue one. Additionally, I don’t blame the glut of books on the shelves or the $3.99 increase. Then again I thought the increase was supposed to help balance out the lower selling books. Somebody needs to ask Joe Q about that.

    If people think the book is good enough to pick it up monthly they will. It’s obvious that people just loved Captain Britain a little (or a lot) less than all of the other books they purchased.

  32. Dan Coyle Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 5:01 pm

    Paul Cornell.

    The Defenders.

    Think about it, Marvel.

  33. Rock334 Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 5:22 pm

    Damn. I’ve really had no interest in Captain Britain or any of his s

  34. DanielW Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 5:29 pm

    I’m sure Paul will find gainful employment as a writer, because as Gail says - he’s brilliant.
    IDW has Doctor Who (Cornell’s old stomping ground, after all).
    DC … imagine a Green Lantern book with Paul (not that Johns isn’t amazing).
    Even still are Marvel Paul’s unique style would fit wonderfully with eXiles.

  35. Ste1bro Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 5:40 pm

    *sigh*

    Damn. Best Captain Briatin book since the Alan Moore / Alan Davis run.

    Oh well, my total Marvel list now amounts to 1 comic (Amazing Spidey). They started losing me with ‘House Of M’, and provided the ideal jumping-off point with ‘Civil War’. I guess me and marvel are no longer meant to be…

    I agree with another poster - maybe if this had ‘Dark Reign’ along the top it would have sold to all the zombies..?

    Oh well.

  36. Rock334 Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 5:54 pm

    I HATE IE8!!! As i was trying to say: I’ve really had no interest in Captain Britain or any of his supporting cast until Paul Cornell gave us his take on the series. Now, it is the only Marvel I look forward to reading each month. As long as it stays away from the “Dark Reign” tripe that is being published now. I guess quality can’t stand against the dead horse Marvel is beating to death now….

  37. ablist1 Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 6:17 pm

    things marvel printed instead of this book:

    a 3rd reboot of exiles.
    a 2nd deadpool book.
    a 3rd wolverine book, besides the average 8 he is in monthly.
    dark young avengers.
    marvel divas.
    skrull kill krew (after SI has been over for months).
    fantastic force.

    seriously, what the hell?

  38. AO Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 6:36 pm

    This is very disappointing but not at all unexpected news.

    The quality of a book is 9/10 inversely proportionate to it’s sales and so this is just another in a long line of examples of that trend.

    To Ragy Sellurs, there are numerous reasons, both business and creative, why Dollhouse was renewed. Perhaps you might seek to overcome your bias and investigate why bringing it back makes quite a bit of sense.

  39. AO Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 6:40 pm

    U_no, here are the most recent figures available from The Beat:

    108. CAPTAIN BRITAIN & MI-13
    05/08 Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #1 - 43,281
    06/08 Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #2 - 37,986 (-12.2%)
    07/08 Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #3 - 39,100 ( +2.9%)
    08/08 Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #4 - 36,826 ( -5.8%)
    09/08 Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #5 - 32,999 (-10.4%)
    10/08 Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #6 - 28,033 (-15.0%)
    11/08 Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #7 - 22,189 (-20.8%)
    12/08 Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #8 - 21,236 ( -4.3%)
    01/09 Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #9 - 18,483 (-13.0%)
    02/09 Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #10 - 20,627 (+11.6%)
    03/09 Cpt. Britain & MI-13 #11 - 17,757 (-13.9%)
    6 mnth (-46.2%)

  40. KevinGarcia Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 6:44 pm

    Bloody hell… this is my first read every time it comes out.

  41. KevinGarcia Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 6:46 pm

    (computer posted before I could finish)

    Maybe this could be a temporary thing? Cancel it and re-launch it as “MI-13 #1.”

    I almost didn’t pick up the first issue because I thought it was just another Secret Invasion tie-in (I ignored most of em), but after giving it a quick glance, I couldn’t put it down.

    Maybe if they re-launched it as it’s own creature, instead of an unneeded 13th wheel to a bloated crossover.

  42. Matthew Raleighaikenbaconburgerfarley Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 6:54 pm

    First deny, leave’em hanging..THEN KILL THEM! Good, I’d rather not see any more British-verse Marvel. Can all of Claremont’s junk too…NOW!

  43. ejulp (John) Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 7:38 pm

    This is the consumers’ fault for not buying it, not Marvel’s, why would they want to cancel a book if it was profitable by a writer their giving more and more work to…readership wasn’t there. Same reason we won’t see another Hellcat mini…god that one would make a great backup though.

  44. Bryan Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 7:43 pm

    “The quality of a book is 9/10 inversely proportionate to it’s sales and so this is just another in a long line of examples of that trend.”

    You know, with all the analyses and speculations that so many comic book blogs and columns present, I’m wondering if someone’s bothered to look into this hypothesis.

    I mean, we could reduce it to the position that ’since all things are subjective,’ this is merely the explanation of a small group of people who need someone to blame for the termination of something they find enjoyable.

    But I don’t think that’s it- I think there’s something in what you’re saying. Even though “low grade” narratives have their share of cancellations as well, it feels as though “high grade” narratives seldom benefit from the quality of their work.

    Not enough Captain Britains, but lots of room for even more Wolverine.

    And yet, at the end of the day, I suppose we should remember that Marvel is concerned with the units pushed, not the conceptual measure of quality ascribed to a text (which is of course very disappointing.)

    “Then again I thought the increase was supposed to help balance out the lower selling books. Somebody needs to ask Joe Q about that.”

    I was under the distinct impression that although that was the official PR statement, that most people understood that not to be the case. Again, at the end of the day, quantity is more important than quality.

    Whatever the case, this is none too pleasant news.

  45. Jamie Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 7:44 pm

    It would be nice for once to see a headline like 3rd Wolverine book canceled. But no, every dark character and his pet gets a book but not something with substance. Keep it up Marvel and you’ll have the same 10 characters in 100 books each month.

  46. RockLTSD Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 7:52 pm

    Terrible news. I look forward to every issue each month. If only people would buy good books sometimes instead of books that have wolverine on the cover smh

  47. BriGuy03 Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 9:06 pm

    Bummer. I really dug the first trade. So we should see a total of 3 stories from this series? I’ll be getting all the trades.

    I hope this doesn’t hurt chances of seeing another Alpha Flight or a Winter Guard book any time soon.

  48. GregoryD Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 9:12 pm

    Meh. I read about 8 issues of this book and it was full of the same nonsensical crap that ultimately dooms most magic based books. There has to be more to magical storytelling than simply pulling shit out of thin air and going with it. You have to have a strong narrative to tie it all in, and the Captain Britain books had NONE.

  49. The_Mort Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 9:48 pm

    That really sucks, I loved the series and enjoyed Cornell’s writing and Kirk’s art. I have always been a Captain Britain fan and once again Marvel just treats him like crap. Well at least Cornell will be working on the Wildcards series which is a plus.

  50. Ortiz Says:
    May 19th, 2009 at 10:02 pm

    I don’t blame Marvel or Joe Q, I blame US (not the United States, I mean you and me), Marvel or any company just care about books that sell, no matter if they are good or bad, if sells you can bet is gonna be in the shelf every month. Too bad, well at least I’m gonna save some money. Peace.

  51. ian33407 Says:
    May 20th, 2009 at 12:06 am

    I appreciated reading Cornell in interviews, it looks like he had great projects for this title…
    To me, it was one of the best written comics regarding character’s interactions, something I don’t find anymore in the current X-books ( excepting X-Factor of course ) but I think the title deserved one or two shorter stories or self-contained ones, to show more the MI13 aspect - Alan Davis was great for that on Excalibur. And I wasn’t comfortable with so many sworded characters. I’d prefer to see Blade into New Avengers, but I’m glad mR Cornell brought back the Black Knight and Meggan…

  52. ian33407 Says:
    May 20th, 2009 at 1:13 am

    I appreciated very much the interactions between characters in this book, but I wasn’t comfortable with so many sworded characters. Paul Cornell looked to have a lot of ideas for this title, but I think it needed one or two shorter story-arcs or sel-contained tales to really show the MI13 aspect instead on jumping into the super-heroes routine…I owe Mr Cornell the return of Meggan and the Black Knight who are two of my favourites characters ever ; I’d rather prefered seeing Blade into New Avengers that said.

  53. christian Says:
    May 20th, 2009 at 2:58 am

    My main concern is we’ll not see the end of the Meggan story that was being set up
    I really hope we get her back before the run ends but i’m not holding out hope

  54. Uncle Jawa Says:
    May 20th, 2009 at 3:50 am

    I gave this series two tries. I jumped on right from the beginning and liked the first arc, but it wasn’t enough to keep me reading. I ended up checking out the third arc, because it just sounded so cool with Dracula and all of that, but unfortunately it didn’t grab me. I really wanted to like this book, too. I’m a huge Black Knight fan, and I loved seeing him back in the spotlight at Marvel (and not in some ridiculous giant cumbersome armor, either). I just hope this means he’s free to join Dan Slott’s Mighty Avnegers soon.

  55. Matthew Says:
    May 20th, 2009 at 5:32 am

    Uncle Jawa, I was in the same boat. I gave the book a shot when it started, and while I liked it, there were other books I was buying I liked much more. So, I only got the first 4 issues…ended up finding issues 5 and 6 for $1 at a local store. A friend of mine still buys the book and says it’s gotten much better, I just haven’t found room in the budget to try it out again. Regardless, I’ll be looking for the remaining issues in cheap bins, I guess.

    Oh, and I totally agree about Black Knight…love the character, put him in Mighty Avengers down the road!! :)

  56. VoltronShakespeare Says:
    May 20th, 2009 at 6:35 am

    How could you blame Blade?! The book only got better once he joined the team, in my opinion. Not to say it was bad beforehand. I truly believe it to be one of Marvel’s best publications in the last few years, and certainly undeserving of cancellation. I can’t believe so many people slept on this. A damn shame.

  57. Cory Says:
    May 20th, 2009 at 7:14 am

    This book was doing so well, things were starting to really unfold. I find it quite strange that this title would end so soon. But then again with Paul being all over the place and so busy, I don’t think is was up there with his main priorities. It would be great if someone would take the wheel on this one and make a real go at the title. There are lots of young writers and artist that Im sure wouldnt mind taking over where Paul left off. Hope something transpires over the next little bit.

  58. steviecool Says:
    May 20th, 2009 at 12:07 pm

    Cool - now I have money for Dark Reign: Jack O’ Lantern, Dark Reign: Wong, Dark Reign: Peter Parker’s Neighbor’s Visiting Cousin.

    I didn’t read Claremont’s Excalibur, but I really got into MI13. Shame.

  59. Richard Says:
    May 20th, 2009 at 12:38 pm

    Why the hell does marvel even bother starting new titles anymore? Everything but the flagship titles are doomed to fail.

  60. Jayms Says:
    May 20th, 2009 at 3:03 pm

    Such a shame as this is one of the best comic book series ive ever read and is the only one i have brought every month without fail. I assume it will be continuing to the end of the “Vampire State” storyline then ending. :( bad show marvel

  61. Sean Jenner Says:
    May 26th, 2009 at 12:45 pm

    Told the depressing news this afternoon by my friendly nighbourhood comic shopkeeper, and I am not impressed at all. I love this book - the writing, the artwork, the characterisation of the MI13, the return of Dracula (long overdue) and the potaential return of Megan Braddock. I have been a keen follower of Paul’s work for many years, and really enjoyed the direction that M13 was going, and looked foward to reading what was to happen to the superhero community in Britain, but now we’ll never know. A terrible, terrible waste.

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