Marvel giving coal for Christmas with at least 8 cancelled series announced...more to come?

When the solicits came out for March 2017, there were several Marvel books MIA.  This led to a lot of speculation about series being cancelled.  Over the last few days, various creative teams have confirmed the cancellation of several books, and there are rumors of more to come. CAPTAIN MARVEL was one of the books now solicited for March, but series riter Margeret Stohl tweeted out, ""Concerned Citizens: nope Captain Marvel has not been canceled & we are hard at work on all things Carol Danvers even now!"

Confirmed Cancelled:

• Generation X - Writer Christina Strain revealed she had turned in her final pages for Generation X. “Guys, I just want you to know I'm overwhelmed by the incredible amount of love we've received today in regards to Generation X," she tweeted. "We put so much of ourselves into this book, and your kind words are reminding us that it was worth it. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”

• Hawkeye  -  “Yeah, as some of you are guessing from that cover, #16 will be our last issue of Hawkeye,” tweeted writer Kelly Thompson. “Obviously I'm disappointed, but I'm really proud of our book & 16 issues is a solid number in modern times. And there's maybe something interesting coming next? We'll see!”

• Iceman  - Iceman writer Sina Grace tweeted a handwritten note explaining the difficult situation, reading, “Yup, Iceman is coming to a close. I am supremely bummed out, but was given plenty of notice (and even a Hail Mary or two). Everyone at Marvel has been super supportive but at the end of the day, solo X-titles are a hard sell for retailers...”

• The Unbelievable Gwenpool  - Marvel Editor Heather Antos tweeted out: "So the news is out - GWENPOOL #25 will be the Unbelievable finale. I won't say my goodbyes just yet - there are still two amazing issues yet to come. I will say you do NOT want to miss out."

• Luke Cage - Series writer David F. Walker tweeted, "Sad but true...LUKE CAGE (the comic book, not the TV series) has been cancelled. Issue #10 is the last (and best) of the series. Oh well, on to other adventures. Thanks to everyone who supported the series." and "Time to get real...LUKE CAGE was cancelled because it sold poorly. VERY poorly. There are various factors that contributed to those poor sales, but they all add up to the same conclusion."

• Royals - Announced last month.  No real surprise.  Inhuman books have never really been big sellers.

• Jean Grey - This series seems like it is basically being replaced by X-Men Red.

• Guardians of the Galaxy - While Marvel did announce GOTG was ending at #150, it seems very likely that after INFINITY COUNTDOWN it will be back in some capacity.

There are a few other books rumored to be on the chopping block:

• America - One of Marvel's lowest selling books, and one that has gotten a lot of backlash from fans.  Marvel hasn't said much about this book, but there as no solicitation for it in March 2018, so that has fueled a lot of speculation.
• Defenders - Another book missing in March, but this one is a little more complicated.  Series writer Brian Michael Bendis has been dealing with a lot of health issues. He also recently signed an exclusive contract to DC comics.  This actually is a strong book, sales wise and critically, but no one knows what the future holds for it.
• Secret Warriors and Champions have also been rumored to be cancelled, but series writers (Matt Rosenberg and Mark Waid respectively) have said that both books are still going.

My thoughts?

Cancellations happen.  Most of the books that are ending were pretty low sellers or books that are ending to launch big events.  I am curious if this has anything to do with CB Cebulski taking over as Editor-In-Chief and looking to cut these books as a fresh start, or was it just time for these books to run their course.   I actually love GWENPOOL, but never expected to get 25 issues from it anyway.  The only other book on that list that I am really going to miss is David Walker's LUKE CAGE.  Real shame since that book just relaunched again. 

If nothing else, Marvel is going through a really interesting time.  New editor-in-chief, Bendis is gone, Dan Slott is bringing his ten-year run on AMAZING SPIDER-MAN to an end.  Not to mention the impending return of X-Men and Fantastic Four to Marvel Studios which could certainly have an impact on how Marvel markets these characters again.  2018 is shaping up to be really interesting for the House of Ideas...and of course, Critical Blast will be there to cover it.

Some of the research for this story came from ComicBook.com, Newsarama, and CBR.