Vertigo to End House of Mystery, Scalped

Talk of DC's relaunch and the "New 52" have continuously dominated mainstream comic news cycles, whether it be about the various changes made to characters origins and designs, to rumblings about the lack of female creators. Lost amongst the shuffle were the recent announcements concerning the end of two of Vertigo's best titles, House of Mystery and Scalped.

During San Diego Comic Con last month, it was announced that Jason Aaron and R. M. Guera plan to end their long running series with the 60th issue. For those that read it in trade, that's only 7 issues left. Aaron was not available at the show to comment, but has since confirmed on his blog that this was not an editorial decision but has always been the plan. The book has never been a big seller in individual issue form, though I count myself among its enthusiastic fan base. It is a series that I recommend on a near weekly basis for fans of crime / noir comics. 

Fan enthusiasm for House of Mystery never quite got this series the attention it deserved, though the trade paperbacks have frequently debuted among the top ten sellers in the months upon their release.  No formal announcements were made concerning its cancellation; a "Final Issue" note was added to the solicitations for issue 42 in October (see the cover for the final issue above). Sadly, it does not look like we will get to see a final Halloween annual, a comic which has been a standout anthology each year it has been released.

I am especially sad to see these books end as they've each been on my "Best Of" year end recommendations; to have them both end so soon will be hard to reconcile. Expect to see a series recommendation from me for each upon their completion.

(On a side note, this is my 100th post to the blog. Here's to two years of sharing my love for everything comic book related!)