Summary
- Marvel's cancellation of Avengers Inc. highlights a flawed business model that doesn't consider fan interest beyond single-issue sales.
- The decision to cancel the series prematurely overlooks factors such as collected editions and international readership.
- Marvel needs to reevaluate its business model to accurately gauge fan interest and avoid prematurely canceling promising series.
The cancellation of reviving the previously deceased Hank Pym.
Unfortunately, Avengers Inc. will need to rush into wrapping up its many story threads as the series has been canceled by Marvel as of issue 5, per series editor Tom Brevoort via his Substack newsletter. It appears as if Marvel is judging Avengers Inc.'s success on single-issue sales, but as further evidence will go on to explain, there are other ways to gauge fan interest that Marvel is overlooking.
The way that Marvel is deciding which series live and die before they have time to flourish is speaking to a larger issue that needs to be corrected. Marvel is cutting too many stories off at the knees before they have time to grow just because the publisher's brass are looking at incomplete data that only seems to tell a fraction of the truth.
The Marvel Universe is Getting Sick of Marvel Heroes
The everyday people of the Marvel Universe are starting to get tired of the very superheroes who have fought for years to protect them.
Why Marvel Canceled Avengers Inc.
Avengers Inc. editor Tom Brevoort explains the situation in his newsletter when responding to a question from a fan named Cathal. "Unfortunately, Cathal, there weren't enough like you, so we will be wrapping up the series with issue #5," Brevoort says. The series just released the third issue a the tail-end of November. Avengers Inc. #4 is currently slated to release on December 27, with Avengers Inc. #5 coming on January 31. Brevoort's words suggest that Marvel's decision ultimately boils down to sales. Additional context can be found in a tweet from @RoliverQueen_, showing a drop between single issues.
The first issue debuted strong on the charts at #29, while the second issue dropped to #89.
However, clearly, there are factors that are not being considered in the decision-making process here. As @C0SMlCFLAME points out, collected editions aren't being factored into this.
It's common for some fans to wait until 4-7 issues are collected into a single paperback volume months later, as not all fans consume comics on a bi-weekly or monthly basis as each issue is released. Fans who are interested in a series but wait for the collection to release are being actively ignored in these cancelations, essentially ignoring purchases outside of dedicated comic stores. The same can be said for readers outside of America, as @nerdoladehq notes that issues take longer to get overseas.
This means that a series may be long canceled before a curious fan can even begin reading it.
What Marvel Needs To Change About Its Business Model
It's clear that judging a series' success by its first couple of single issues is a poor indicator of wider interest, while foreign interest doesn't have enough time to before such major decisions are made at Marvel. It's easy to look at data and blame readers for not buying issues for series like Avengers Inc., but clearly it's never that simple. In fact, it's more the business model that's to blame than the readers themselves. It's why readers like @Bassaluna997 remain so frustrated because their voices are shut out of major decisions like this but still held under scrutiny when a series needs a scapegoat to explain its cancellations.
In the case of Avengers Inc., one look at social media will tell Marvel how vast fan interest stretches for the series. An intriguing premise, consistent storytelling, and a collective faith in writer Al Ewing as a storyteller from fans like @RobertSecundus is enough to win over readers willing to dedicate their time and money to a series like this. Unfortunately, none of that factors into Marvel's data.
What is reflected in the data are factors that at the end of the day prove to be at best incomplete and at worst irrelevant. There's also the fact that Marvel's habit of canceling series so early becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy - why should fans pick up series like Avengers Inc. when the publisher is likely to cancel the story after its very first arc? Fans have been taught that if they stray beyond Marvel's most mainstay titles, they're courting disappointment.
If Marvel wants to change that narrative and stop itself from repeating mistakes that come from Avengers Inc.'s cancelation, Marvel Comics must reevaluate its current business model to assess new series' chances of success before publication, and the results with marketing and the appreciation that a comic needs to release at least one collected volume before fan interest can be gauged in a meaningful way. Avengers Inc. proves that even with a beloved creative team and a unique premise, Marvel isn't prepared to offer anything beyond the bare minimum of good faith - with readers and creator alike paying the price.
