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In all the hubbub these past few weeks about the Death of the Family, Throne of Atlantis, Grell Green Arrow and other collections, and then the new DC Villains Month and omnibus, there hasn't been time to recognize some significant cancellations in our midsts.

Not only did DC cancel the Legion Worlds and Starman Omnibus Vol. 3 trade paperbacks, this week they've also cancelled the first Justice League of America Chronicles collection.

Standard disclaimers apply that DC is a company and companies have to make money, and I don't necessarily expect DC to publish books that aren't going to net them a profit. Each of these cancellations is a shame, however; let's take a moment to see what we've lost.

Whither Starman?

Perhaps the most startling here is the cancellation of the paperback Starman Omnibus Vol. 3. In canceling this, DC must definitely be suggesting they no longer intend to continue paperback reprints of the original Starman Omnibus hardcovers, many of which are out of print.

Once upon a time I might have expected Starman, like Sandman or Watchmen, to remain perpetually in print at DC, essentially printing money. But any number of factors -- from writer James Robinson having left comics for a while, to (wisely) the number of Starman spin-offs being few, to the entire saga's ejection from continuity with the New 52 -- seems to have dimmed the larger public's knowledge of Starman (even as the stories themselves remain a treat).

I'm reminded of a particularly daft blog post on the DC Comics site that not mis-characterized the plot of Starman, but treated it like a bygone, forgotten relic. Though the post seems silly, I fear it's probably not far from an accurate portrayal of where Starman stands now.

The problem is that readers who already bought the paperback Starman Omnibus Vols. 1 and 2 are now stuck with two paperbacks that will likely never see their companion volumes. Some part of me expects DC might still release Starman in true omnibus format (the whole series in just one or two hardcover volumes), but that still doesn't help anyone stuck with those two paperbacks.

The Pre-Order Dilemma

On one hand, I might suggest to anyone thinking of starting to collect a series, especially a paperback series with hardcover equivalents, to wait and see if all the books come out before you do so. Readers of the classic Justice League International collections faced a similar problem when DC released four hardcover volumes, then two paperback volumes, and then the series abruptly ended. At the same time, a catch-22 -- by not buying a collection series when it comes out, readers also risk that those same low sales will cause the very cancellation they're hoping to avoid.

So, I must say again, pre-order, pre-order, pre-order. More than likely what killed the Legion Worlds collection was lack of pre-orders; this collection of Dan Abnett/Andy Lanning Legion specials followed sequentially from the Legion Lost miniseries, which itself saw a hardcover release in 2011 but the paperback, too, was cancelled by DC.

Legion Worlds was one of those esoteric collections that probably wasn't going to appeal to a large audience, but that I and others had hoped to see. And I'm telling you, I think books like Green Arrow: Hunters Moon (Mike Grell) and Deadshot: Beginnings, and even Superman: Man of Steel Vol. 8, Superman: Dark Knight Over Metropolis, and Nightwing: Old Friends, are on equally shaky ground. All of these are collections of "old" (1980s) comics and none of these are very much in continuity any more. Superman, Nightwing, and Green Arrow all have name recognition, but I'm shocked frankly that DC is even releasing the Deadshot collection after having cancelled the second collected volume of John Ostrander's Suicide Squad. If you want to see these books released, they need your support.

Omnibus Rising?

Justice League of America Chronicles was meant to be the start of a chronological reprint of the classic Justice League stories, in step with the Batman and Superman Chronicles books. I wonder if we can find a hint to Justice League's fate in the fact that DC has solicited a Superman: The Golden Age Omnibus Vol. 1 which itself collects the first four(!) Superman Chronicles volumes; perhaps Justice League Chronicles will be replaced with a Justice League of America: The Silver Age omnibus.

So, disappointed Starman fans out there? Someone other than me really looking forward to that Legion Worlds collection? Let me hear from you.

As has happened before with books like Deathstroke, the Terminator: Assassins and Justice League International Vol. 7, we know that sometimes even if DC announces a collection to bookstores, that doesn't mean they're necessarily going to release it unless they also solicit it themselves -- and even then, you can't entirely count on a collection arriving in stores until you're actually holding it in your hands.

The newest such example of this is the deluxe WILDCats Vol. 1 by Brandon Choi and Jim Lee.

We first brought you news of the forthcoming WILDCats collection back in July, shortly after the announcement of the DC New 52 relaunch. Deluxe WILDCats would be coming out shortly after a new Stormwatch collection, which made sense because both books, artifacts of Wildstorm's heyday, have resonance in the DC New 52: Stormwatch because of the new series, and WILDCats because it stars Grifter and Voodoo, among others.

The Stormwatch collection has progressed so far as to be solicited by DC, and we recently noted that a second volume is coming down the pike. A reliable source tells me, however, that the WILDCats volume is cancelled. You can still see it online for the time being, but expect it to disappear soon with orders cancelled.

Here was the original description:

For millennia, a clandestine war between two alien races, the malevolent Daemonites and the aristocratic Kherubim, has been waged on Earth for control of the world. As part of that endless battle, the ancient Kherubim leader Lord Emp has recently formed a team of super-powered Kherubim/human half breeds called the WildC.A.T.S. Covertly fighting the evil extraterrestri-als, this band of heroes has tirelessly stood as humankind's last defense. But when the Daemonites initiate a plan that will allow their warships to attack Earth, it appears all hope is lost. Now with Armageddon approaching, it is up to the android Spartan, the hulking Maul, the female assassin Zealot, the mercenary Grifter, the shape shifting Voodoo, the living weapon Warblade and the precognitive Void to stop the invasion and save the world.

It's too bad. I'm not too familiar with this era of Wildstorm, but given the appearance of these characters in the DC New 52 and the rumored Daemonite invasion, I'd have bought this. Especially for early Jim Lee art in deluxe format.

Also, eagle-eyed reader Xavier noticed that the DC/Marvel Crossover Omnibus didn't arrive in stores as expected earlier this month. This is another that was "announced" but never "solicited," and it seems like we can consider it dead, too. Joked Bob Young on Facebook, "Maybe there was a dispute over the binding," a reference to the recent comparisons of how much better Marvel's omnibus binding is than DC's.

Another day, another two collections bite the dust. My hope is that the WILDCats collection was pulled, like the Teen Titans by Geoff Johns Omnibus, maybe to deliver a fuller WILDCats collection later on.

Cancelled Trade Cavalcade -- where the Collected Editions blog looks at some trades that never quite made print. Big news last week was the cancellation of DC Comics's REBELS: Starstruck (which you can still see listed at the link on DC's site even though they've announced it cancelled).

So big was the news about REBELS that despite that we've lost Doom Patrol: Fire Away, JSA All-Stars: Puzzle Men, and the Weird Worlds collection officially, and good money says Nick Spencer's Supergirl: Good Looking Corpse is going to go soon, too, this is the first time the recent cancellations have scored mainstream comics news coverage, with an article posted at Bleeding Cool.

Fan Joe Kontor posted about the cancellation to Dan DiDio's Facebook Wall, and Dan replied, "Sorry but the sales were not there to support this book going to press."

On the Collected Editions Facebook Wall, reader Matt Adams shared anecdotally that he heard from his local comics shop that the "print slots" are being used for DC New 52 reprints instead.

I can't say if that's actually the case or not, and I do understand that DC Comics is a business that has a responsibility to make money, and that if they complete an equation that says the REBELS trade (or Doom Patrol, or Manhunter way before it) isn't going to be profitable, they have to cancel it. I don't believe anyone's out there thinking, "Let's pretend we're going to publish it and then snatch it away just to make people mad." I'm sure that's not what's happening.

Two items I'm wondering about, however:

First, why was REBELS the cancellation that seems to have brought wider attention to this, at least for the moment? Is it that while Tony Bedard has not necessarily been writing comics longer than Doom Patrol's Keith Giffen, for instance, Bedard has written more "high profile" titles of late like Green Lantern Corps and seemingly does more work for DC across the board than say Manhunter's Marc Andreyko, and therefore the cancellation of one of Bedard's trades is a larger shock (and if so, wait'll DC axes the Supergirl trade!)?

Or did REBELS achieve a level of fan favoritism greater than Doom Patrol (or, certainly, JSA All-Stars) with its Starro storyline and the inclusion of Lobo, Starfire, Adam Strange and others? I know I enjoyed the space opera and the chance to see the LEGION characters in action again; you can read all the Collected Editions reviews of REBELS at the link.

Second, DC solicited REBELS: Starstruck in August for December release; the book came available in most stores for pre-order in September, and then was announced as cancelled at the end of October. That's not much time for readers to get their acts together -- and literally no quarter given to what I'd imagine are the large majority of readers who don't want to pay ahead of time for a book they won't receive until four months later, and instead want to walk into a comics shop or bookstore like a normal person, see what's out that week, and then make their purchasing decisions.

We all know the old chestnut that "pre-ordering is your friend," but now it seems more like "pre-order or die" -- apparently, the only guarantee that a book will reach the shelves is sufficient pre-ordering ahead of time. Is this tied to reprintings of the DC New 52, as Matt Adams suggested? Or have DC's benchmarks for sales levels of trades changed (and does that suggest greater difficulties on DC's part)? Certainly, I don't believe we've seen such week-to-week, higher profile cancellations previously.

I'm not sure I like a system where I have to put down my money early in order to certify a book even gets printed (like the Groupon approach to comics buying), especially when book contents have had a tendency to shift and change sometimes from solicitation to arrival.

Quick glance at the latest DC Comics solicitations, for January 2012 ... anyone want to place bets whether Hawk and Dove: Ghosts and Demons, Power Girl: Old Friends, Justice Society of America: Monument Point, Xombi, or Titans: Broken Promises won't make it to the stores?

UPDATE: Another fatality from DC's November 2011 solicitations -- along with Weird Worlds, REBELS: Starstruck, and Supergirl: Good Looking Corpse, David Hines and Matt Sturges The Spirit Vol.2: The Clockwork Killer is also on the chopping block.

Frequently bought together? I don't think so ...

Cancelled Trade Cavalcade -- where the Collected Editions blog looks back at some trades that never quite made print. Today we've got an interesting item called Nightwing: Target. Here's the description:

Dick Grayson, the first Robin and teen sidekick to Batman, stepped out of the Dark Knight''s shadow to become Nightwing. This is the story behind that transformation and how it affected Batman, the Teen Titans, and Dick himself.

Nightwing: The Target (note difference) was a Nightwing one-shot by the early Nightwing title team of Chuck Dixon and Scott McDaniel (some would argue McDaniel's art never looked as good as it did on Nightwing), published after McDaniel had left the title. Whether this was a leftover stock story from the Dixon/McDaniel days on Nightwing or if DC just saw some profit in getting the band back together, I'm not sure.

The story involves Nightwing taking on the identity of the Target (almost as bad as "the Insider") to clear his own name after Nightwing's accused of a murder. I recall the story was briefly mentioned during the Bruce Wayne: Murderer/Fugitive days (as in, "Batman made Nightwing clear his own name when accused of murder, but won't do so himself," etc.), but it didn't otherwise have much consequence and was never collected, as one-shots often aren't (or weren't in those days).

Solicitations for the Nightwing: Target trade list as the writers both Chuck Dixon and Peter Tomasi, suggesting that this trade would have potentially collected some of Tomasi's Nightwing run from issues #140-153. Those stories were later collected on their own in Nightwing: Freefall and Nightwing: The Great Leap.

Not many details in the description as to what Nightwing: Target might've been about, versus what DC eventually published. Could be the Tomasi stories ended up being enough to fill a trade on their own, or the change could again relate to the fallout between Chuck Dixon and DC (promise, every "Cancelled Trade Cavalcade" will not be about DC/Dixon!). Either way, Nightwing: The Target remains uncollected, the kind of thing we might see in a DC Comics Presents sometime alongside some other Nightwing issues.

In other cancelled trade collection news ... DC announced the official cancellation of the Weird Worlds paperback this past week (via ComicList). I'm not surprised; the only established character in this six-issue miniseries was Lobo, and I never heard much acclaim for Weird Worlds the first time around, so it's not a shock that trade pre-orders were low.

DC has already released the first issue of the sequel miniseries, My Greatest Adventure -- this one has the character Garbage Man meeting Batman, so that's something, but in all I'm not optimistic about a trade for that one, either.

Recent cancellations of note:

• Doom Patrol: Fire Away
• JSA All-Stars: The Puzzle Men
• Weird Worlds
• Supergirl: Good-Looking Corpse

Read earlier Cancelled Trade Cavalcade columns.

By the way ... remember when you used to be able to click a link and see Justice League International Vol. 7 ... ?

Cancelled Trade Cavalcade -- where the Collected Editions blog looks back at some trades that never quite made print. You were going to see a different Cancelled Trade Cavalcade today, but in light of the fact that Suicide Squad Vol. 2: The Nightshade Odyssey suddenly disappeared from DC Comics's release list, we interrupt your regularly scheduled cavalcade.

The 1980s Suicide Squad series has had a long, strange collection history of late. In 2009 or earlier, DC solicited a black-and-white Showcase Presents Suicide Squad that would have collected the series' first eighteen issues plus some crossovers; they cancelled this (twice, I believe) and ultimately released the color Suicide Squad: Trial By Fire, collecting the series' first six issues.

I, for one, considered getting the collecting of the Suicide Squad series in color to be a victory, and I was excited to hear about the forthcoming second volume, collecting issues seven through twelve plus more crossovers.

Except, the week that DC had scheduled the release of Suicide Squad Vol. 2: The Nightshade Odyssey, the book disappeared both from DC's site and from Amazon, at least. There's no cancellation notice so far in DC's release lists, but the book didn't come out as planned.

This is a disappointment, first, for those of use eager to read this Suicide Squad series. It's a disappointment also, however, because each successive Suicide Squad trade would have moved us closer to a collection that included Suicide Squad #23 -- the first appearance of Barbara Gordon as Oracle.

Suicide Squad Vol. 2: The Nightshade Odyssey is only the latest in a string of trades that have recently been cancelled by DC: Doom Patrol: Fire Away, JSA All-Stars: Puzzle Men, and brand new -- Supergirl: Good-Looking Corpse, the collection of final pre-Flashpoint Supergirl issues by Nick Spencer, James Peaty, and Kelly Sue DeCconnick, now appears cancelled.

To be sure, pre-ordering is your friend, to create order numbers such that DC will actually print any given trade, but frankly I'm not sure what could save some of these, these days.

Next week, another Cancelled Trade Cavalcade, and new reviews tomorrow! Don't miss our great discussion going on about the merits of continuity, and also breaking news about the DC Retroactive collections. Thanks for reading!

Cancelled Trade Cavalcade -- where the Collected Editions blog looks back at some trades that never quite made print. First up, from the annals of DC Comics's solicitations, Robin: The Final Fight:

All of Robin''s training and crime-fighting by Batman's side comes to a head in this spectacular volume as Batman goes missing and the Boy Wonder becomes the new Dark Knight.

Tying into the events of "Batman R.I.P." continues here as Robin and the Bat family search for their leader while engaging in all-out battle with Gotham City''s underworld. And with his once-dead girlfriend Spoiler now back among the living, Robin also has his hands full with a not-so-happy family reunion between his lady love and her father, Cluemaster!

The trade was supposedly written by Chuck Dixon, and appears to fit just after Dixon's Robin: Violent Tendencies trade paperback.

Dixon, however, left the Robin title after Tendencies in a much-publicized but still very hush-hush spat with DC Comics (see "My Unsolicited Take on the Chuck Dixon/DC Comics Split") and Fabian Nicieza saw the title to its conclusion with Robin: Search for a Hero.

What's interesting here is not only the hints at a certain Spoiler story, but also the solicitation's statement that "the Boy Wonder becomes the new Dark Knight." Granted, Tim did put on the cowl for a while in Batman: Battle for the Cowl, but this suggests a much different end to the story, with Tim Drake as the new Batman and not Dick Grayson.

To me, I think DC got it right -- I can't see Tim Drake becoming Batman without Dick Grayson being severely incapacitated; if Bruce Wayne isn't around and Dick is, it's Dick who deserves to be wearing the cowl before Tim Drake. Still, this is a glimpse at what might have been.

Tune in next week for another Cancelled Trade Cavalcade. See you then!