Cancelled Trade Cavalcade: WILDCats Deluxe, DC/Marvel Omnibus

As has happened before with books like Deathstroke, the Terminator: Assassins and Justice League International Vol. 7, we know that sometimes even if DC announces a collection to bookstores, that doesn't mean they're necessarily going to release it unless they also solicit it themselves -- and even then, you can't entirely count on a collection arriving in stores until you're actually holding it in your hands.

The newest such example of this is the deluxe WILDCats Vol. 1 by Brandon Choi and Jim Lee.

We first brought you news of the forthcoming WILDCats collection back in July, shortly after the announcement of the DC New 52 relaunch. Deluxe WILDCats would be coming out shortly after a new Stormwatch collection, which made sense because both books, artifacts of Wildstorm's heyday, have resonance in the DC New 52: Stormwatch because of the new series, and WILDCats because it stars Grifter and Voodoo, among others.

The Stormwatch collection has progressed so far as to be solicited by DC, and we recently noted that a second volume is coming down the pike. A reliable source tells me, however, that the WILDCats volume is cancelled. You can still see it online for the time being, but expect it to disappear soon with orders cancelled.

Here was the original description:

For millennia, a clandestine war between two alien races, the malevolent Daemonites and the aristocratic Kherubim, has been waged on Earth for control of the world. As part of that endless battle, the ancient Kherubim leader Lord Emp has recently formed a team of super-powered Kherubim/human half breeds called the WildC.A.T.S. Covertly fighting the evil extraterrestri-als, this band of heroes has tirelessly stood as humankind's last defense. But when the Daemonites initiate a plan that will allow their warships to attack Earth, it appears all hope is lost. Now with Armageddon approaching, it is up to the android Spartan, the hulking Maul, the female assassin Zealot, the mercenary Grifter, the shape shifting Voodoo, the living weapon Warblade and the precognitive Void to stop the invasion and save the world.

It's too bad. I'm not too familiar with this era of Wildstorm, but given the appearance of these characters in the DC New 52 and the rumored Daemonite invasion, I'd have bought this. Especially for early Jim Lee art in deluxe format.

Also, eagle-eyed reader Xavier noticed that the DC/Marvel Crossover Omnibus didn't arrive in stores as expected earlier this month. This is another that was "announced" but never "solicited," and it seems like we can consider it dead, too. Joked Bob Young on Facebook, "Maybe there was a dispute over the binding," a reference to the recent comparisons of how much better Marvel's omnibus binding is than DC's.

Another day, another two collections bite the dust. My hope is that the WILDCats collection was pulled, like the Teen Titans by Geoff Johns Omnibus, maybe to deliver a fuller WILDCats collection later on.