Manhunter: a tale of grass roots and second chances

Early yesterday afternoon on the Manhunter forum at Comic Bloc, writer Marc Andreyko coyly asked, "Wizard World Philly -- so ... any surprises announced?"

Within a few hours, puzzled fans discovered what he was hinting at when Newsarama reported that Manhunter, which was to be canceled with August's Issue 25, was getting a second chance.

In other words, their grass-roots efforts to save the series worked.

"I've cancelled a lot of books in my day, but the thing that struck me the most about Manhunter was that this was the most vocal and organized response that we've gotten to any of our cancellations since I've been here," DC Executive Editor Dan DiDio told Newsarama. "It actually made me pause for a moment, because Manhunter is a favorite of mine, and when I had to cancel it, it was really against my own personal choices. But when I saw the fan response ramp up, it was enough to make me think it might be worth it to go back, and give this book another shot."

As far back as last November, vocal Manhunter fans began organizing to keep the book from cancellation. "The Manhunter 20K Challenge" was launched to boost sagging sales up to 20,000 by #20 (the first "One Year Later" story), with Andreyko even offering incentives to stores that ordered the issue. March's Issue 20 did see a sales spike -- up more than 3,000 over the previous month -- but still short of the goal.

But fans pushed on, with a "Save Manhunter!!" group on Myspace.com, followed by a letter-writing campaign when DC's August solicitations made it clear the series was ending.

Obviously, their pleas didn't fall on deaf ears.

DiDio told Newsarama the series will continue at least through Issue 30: "We're hoping that there will be a groundswell of excitement from the fan base that will help drive the sales and push them up, and help this book keep going from there."

Manhunter fans seem quick to seize the opportunity, with the webmaster of ManhunterComics.com announcing plans for miniposters to hang in comics shops, and others urging readers to buy extra copies to pass along to friends.

At Comic Bloc, writer Christos Gage (Law & Order: SVU, Legends of the Dark Knight) congratulated those behind the grass-roots campaign: "You guys did it! Didn't years of reading comics always tell you that 'one person can make a difference?' Well, here's proof that it's true!"

And back at Newsarama, Andreyko expressed similar sentiments: "Everyone said 'letter-writing campaigns never work' or 'don't waste your time,' but the Manhunter fans didn't listen to the naysayers. And fortunately, DC listened to the fans. Truthfully, I am humbled by the fans' love for the book. I still can't believe it's really happening. I'm sure I will when [editor] Joan Hilty starts calling me for pages though …"