Marvel’s ‘Nighthawk’ Canceled, Writer David Walker Speaks Out
Marvel’s Nighthawk is getting canceled after six issues.
The comic launched in May 2016 and continued as a monthly series. However, earlier this week, fans noticed that the there weren’t any release dates for the series passed October.
The creator, David Walker, went to Twitter to explain why it won’t be found on comic book store shelves anymore. “Some people are concerned because Nighthawk was not among Marvel’s solicitations for November. This is an unfortunate reality of comics,” tweeted Walker. “Quality is not always enough to guarantee success. Comic books are an industry that is driven by money and sales. Sad but true.” Later he added that although the series started off strong, afterwards “the numbers dropped and never picked up.”
NIGHTHAWK #5 comes out Sept. 28th. Still time to pre-order. pic.twitter.com/uRy96Fe76n
— David F Walker (@DavidWalker1201) August 28, 2016
Nighthawk, in the “All-New All-Different Marvel,” is a black superhero, Raymond Kane. After the 2015 Secret Wars event, Nighthawk joined the Squadron Surpeme, a group of heroes displaced from their original worlds and subsequently the Marvel Universe before nabbing his own solo series. Similar to Batman in terms of intellect, Nighthawk deals with psychological villains and trauma. But instead of Gotham, Nighthawk calls Chicago home, giving Walker a chance to bring in real-life race issues and race tensions to the series.
Comic book artist Ramon Villalobos and colorist Tamra Bonvillain contributed the artwork to the series.
Marvel is making a reasonable decision given the sales. We made a great book, but sales didn't warrant a longer run. https://t.co/RCvcOZ1U4G
— David F Walker (@DavidWalker1201) August 28, 2016
The news came as a bit of a surprise to fans since the series was just gaining traction with rave reviews. (It also debuted as the 50th highest selling book of the month.) Other sites also lauded the series for its stirring of a poignant dialogue on race and police brutality as well as black rage.
In another series of tweets on Monday (Aug. 29) Walker continued to explain why the series is ending as well as how comic book readers feel when there are no more issues to read from their favorite series. “Non-comic readers don’t understand the fan’s pain of the cancelled title. It’s like when Trader Joe’s stops carrying your favorite product,” he tweeted.
NIGHTHAWK #6 comes out Oct. 26th. Still time to pre-order. pic.twitter.com/OC0Xo7Uc6Y
— David F Walker (@DavidWalker1201) August 28, 2016
Later, he went into a six-part tweet about the series that ensured that it would not end with an abrupt cliff-hanger like other cancelled series. “I appreciate all the love for NIGHTHAWK. There are still two more issues to go & the story has an ending. Hang tight. I swear, NIGHTHAWK has an ending, that will be as real and raw as the rest of the series & then all SIX issue will be collected. Instead of yelling at @Marvel over the end of one series, let’s all find something positive to do – like supporting other titles. This is not the last we’ll be seeing of Nighthawk and Tilda (especially Tilda). I promise. They will be back. The Nighthawk trade paperback collection will not be called Nighthawk: Rise of the Anti-N*gga Machine. I tried, but c’mon, y’all… Final thoughts on Nighthawk – Sometimes the the star that shines brightest only burns half as long. We had our motherf*ckin’ shine,” it read.
As for what’s coming next — Walker also promises something great. “Doing my best to write what will hopefully be the single greatest stand-alone issue of a comic book to be published in 2016.”
On top of that Walker will continue writing for Marvel’s other series, Power Man & Iron Fist as well as start on a new adventure, Occupy Avengers.
The former follows the dynamic duo, who are slated to get their own Netflix series soon. Power Man, or Luke Cage, has indestructible skin and will star in a series for the streaming service set to be released on Sept. 30. Iron Fist, or Danny Rand, a martial arts expert, will also gain his own series in 2017. Along with Jessica Jones and Daredevil, they’ll come together for The Defenders series which is slated to hit Netflix in 2017.
Walker’s Occupy Avengers will follow a guilt-ridden Hawkeye after the comic book events of Civil War II on his venture to help everyday people across the U.S. It’s scheduled to be released in the fall. As for Nighthawk, the last two issues (#5 and #6) will be released on Sept. 28 and Oct. 26. The collected trade, which contains all six issues, is scheduled to be released in January 2017. It’s available for pre-order here.
[Image via Marvel]
