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Marvel cancels Luke Cage's new solo comic weeks before release, despite first issue being done
The Hero for Hire will have to wait a little longer for his next solo series.
With just weeks to go until its planned release, Marvel Comics confirmed Monday that it has unscheduled Luke Cage: City of Fire, a new miniseries that marked the first Luke Cage solo book since 2018. The confirmation from the publisher comes days after the series writer, Ho Che Anderson, announced the cancellation on Instagram.
"No easy way to say this. I got the word Luke Cage got cancelled this morning, one month away from its premiere," Anderson wrote last Tuesday. "The scripts are all written. The first issue is done and is a thing of absolute beauty. Issues 2 and 3 are deep into production. Covers have been drawn. People have gotten excited, and with good reason as far as I’m concerned. I remain as proud of this as any work I’ve ever done. Maybe someday it will be seen. But as of today this comic is dead in the water."
A Marvel spokesman confirmed to SYFY WIRE Monday morning that the series has been removed from the release schedule due to Marvel production and scheduling issues, but could not comment on any future plans regarding the comic.
First announced back in July and originally scheduled to debut in October, City of Fire was set to follow what happens as "a shadowy rogue group named the Regulators are terrorizing ordinary citizens in New York City, and Luke Cage is called to action when a Black man in his community is murdered by a crooked police officer." The plot was also set to heavily involve Daredevil and the Kingpin, Wilson Fisk, who in current Marvel continuity is Mayor of New York City, and set to embark on a new reign of terror in the Devil's Reign crossover event.
City of Fire, written by Anderson with art by Farid Karami, was originally set to run for three issues, and if the original release schedule had held, it would have wrapped up just as Devil's Reign was getting underway.
Following the cancellation news last week, Anderson reached out again on social media later in the week to thank fans for expressing support, and to offer hope that the series could still have a future someday.
"I am genuinely touched and so so appreciative y’all have my back, it means the world to me," Anderson wrote. "And who knows, maybe the comic book gods will see fit to rain their grace down upon us and eventually release the work of myself and my incredibly talented collaborators. Onward and upward."
