Worldwatch

[kelly_warrior_princess]

I just go a chance to read an indi book that my friend has called Worldwatch. Three issues of it were released prior to its cancellation & i thought it was brilliant... Kind of a "Game of Thrones" style comic, but for Superheroes. So what the hell exactly happened to it, that it got cancelled after 3 issues? It just kind of vanished with no apparent reason. Was it a creative team falling out, or was it something else entirely?

i kind of want to see it finished, even if its just released as a trade.

[The Valeyard]

The series creator, Chuck Austen, decided to stop doing the comic. At the time, Austen was one of the most reviled writers in comics. Fanboys were up in arms whenever he got hired to write a new book for Marvel or DC. I believe he decided to give up and return to television.

I enjoyed WorldWatch as well and was disappointed to see him end it. Only the three issues were released.

[kelly_warrior_princess]

Thats a shame. I thought it was intelligently written.

[Arvandor]

I only ever managed to get the last issue. It was good.

Shame about Chuck. He was a decent, underrated writer. I especially loved his Exiles run.

[The Valeyard]

I enjoyed Austen's work too and could never understand why so many "fans" spoke out against him. In the history of comics, there have been worse comic book writers. I don't know why Austen was everyone's focus. I really enjoyed his U.S. War Machine title from Marvel's Max line.

I hope he'll finish WorldWatch at some point.

From Wikipedia:

During his Marvel/DC stint, Austen invented the expression "Seven Deadly Trolls". In Austen's point of view, they are a small and not representative group, who use internet message boards, blogs and newsgroups to attack Austen on a professional and personal level. Multiple comic book critics though, have panned Austen's Marvel and DC work. Austen admitted that he took online criticism of his work personally. On a professional level, the criticism also led to hostility between himself and certain comic book store owners.

[kelly_warrior_princess]

So no chance we'll be getting more of this.

[The Valeyard]

Extremely doubtful.

[nickmarino]

Worldwatch was pretty cool. It didn't rock my world to the core, but I enjoyed it at the time. I could see Austen reviving it at some point in the future, but last I heard he was still really burned out on comic books.

But... remember, his Big Two departure in the late 00s wasn't the first time he stopped doing superhero comics!!! He used to draw Miracleman, and then he did some quicky indie books (including a baseball porn comic). Then he skipped comic books for most of the 90s, so maybe he just needs a little time off and then he'll give superheroes another shot.

I'd like to see him work on a Worldwatch style book. Or maybe revisit U.S. War Machine!!! The first 12-issue mini was fucking awesome.

[kelly_warrior_princess]

Might just have to give his book "Like Warm Sun On Nekkid Bottoms" a read. It looks amusing if a little juvenile.

[nickmarino]

Might just have to give his book "Like Warm Sun On Nekkid Bottoms" a read. It looks amusing if a little juvenile.

For the record, I like his Hard Ball comic (the aforementioned baseball story) :)

And I heard good things about Boys of Summer, his more recent baseball manga.

[Arvandor]

Like I said, his run on Marvel's Exiles was very good.

And I enjoyed hs JLA story, Pain of the Gods.