Marvel Cancels Fan-Favorite Series

Marvel's Eisner-winning Black Widow series is officially coming to an end. The news was revealed through a letter from editor Sarah Brunstad at the tail end of Black Widow #15, which was released on Wednesday, and was subsequently confirmed on the Substack newsletter for writer Kelly Thompson. The Black Widow series, which was written by Kelly Thompson with art from Elena Casagrande, colors from Jordie Bellaire, and lettering from Cory Petit, first launched in 2020 and quickly became a fan-favorite, particularly in the hype up to the release of Marvel's Black Widow movie. The series subsequently won the Best New Series award at the 2021 Eisners. 

"Our legendary run is ending for now," Brunstad's letter reads. "We could not be more grateful to the collaborators who made this book extraordinary and the fans who picked up our book month after month. From the very first day I sat down next to Kelly at an editorial retreat and said "So what about Black Widow" to the day we got Elisabetta D'Amico on board to ink Elena's pencils, I've known we had a special book on our hands. We've become a close-knit group, and it's a bittersweet feeling to see our collective work realized here."

"Natasha Romanoff's had it good. Who knows what's next?" the letter ends. "Until then, true believer, stay sharp and wear black."

Thompson's Substack post also shed light on the cancellation, and revealed that there are plans of some kind for the Black Widow creative team to collaborate on another story.

"So, this IS the final issue...for now," Thompson's Substack post reads. "I'm sorry I haven't been able to talk about it, a lot of you have been asking, and it has deeply pained me to take a pass on those questions, especially since this is a book I love so much (maybe my favorite book I've ever done at Marvel), but there's a lot of stuff that happens behind the scenes and it's not always something you can talk about publicly. To be honest, I still can't talk about as much as I'd like, but what I can say is... there ARE plans for a bit more story from this creative team. Things are still being wrangled, but I am optimistic it will work out AND be worth the wait."

What do you think of Marvel cancelling its Black Widow series? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Black Widow #15 is now available wherever comics are sold.