A great series that’s been cancelled too soon…
I don’t know if you’ve heard, but DC’s immensely entertaining, wildly fun Metamorpho series by Al Ewing, Steve Lieber and Lee Loughridge has been cancelled, as of Issue #6, which is out now.
I can’t say I’m completely surprised. Metamorpho as a character is inherently a tough sell as an ongoing — even if he is going to be in the new Superman movie — and I did raise an eyebrow when the title was first announced as such. But at least the creative team did get to complete the initial arc, even though it ends on something of a kinda-sorta-but-not-really cliffhanger (which will be resolved somewhere, I’m sure).
Here’s the thing, though. If you read 13th Dimension with any regularity, you should have been reading Metamorpho because it’s precisely the kind of book Silver and Bronze Age fans say they wish still existed. I spelled it out here, back in January.
Now if that piece didn’t sell you, maybe this message at the end of Metamorpho #6 will get the point across:
So, “if there’s a glimmer of justice under the vault of heaven,” you can play a role. How?
Well, nobody writes letters anymore (although that plays into the series’ entire schtick) but here’s the address anyway: DC Comics, 4000 Warner Blvd., Burbank, CA 91522. You can also message them through your social media platform of choice.
Best of all, go out and buy the issues. Even though they’ve already been sold to the retailer, said store owners would communicate up the line that there’s all of a sudden, a new, word-of-mouth demand. Even better, pre-order the trade paperback through your shop or an online retailer, if you must.
The trade is scheduled to be released Sept. 23, but initial orders through your shop are due June 26, with a final order cutoff of July 14. The ISBN is 9781799505600 and the product code is 0625DC233.
If there’s enough of a groundswell, perhaps the book will return, at least as a mini. Stranger things have happened.
Now, if you still need reasons to do this, here are 13:
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1. If you like 13th Dimension, you will love Metamorpho.
Issue #2 variant by Guillem March
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2. If you like Back Issue magazine, you will love Metamorpho.
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3. If you like Alter Ego magazine, you will love Metamorpho.
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4. If you love Ramona Fradon, you will dig Metamorpho.
Out June 17
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5. If you dig Bob Haney, you will go absolutely bananas for Metamorpho.
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6. Don’t YOU want to see the return of Super Son Batman Jr.?
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7. The Mad Mod shows up. So does Prince Ra-Man!
Issue #1
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8. Java gets to play James Bond.
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9. The splash pages alone.
Splash pages for Metamorpho #1 — 2024 and 1965 versions
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10. THE THUNDERER RETURNS!
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11. It’s the best comic book I’ve been reading over the past six months.
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12. It’s a love letter to the comics you love.
13. Put your money where you mouth is. If you regularly shake your fist at clouds and say things like, “They don’t make comics like they used to!” Well, they did. So go and buy it. You’ll thank me, I promise. And maybe, just maybe, DC will hear you.
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MORE
— If You Love Classic Comics, Then You Must Read DC’s New METAMORPHO. Click here.
— DC Dips Into the SILVER and BRONZE AGES for Three New Projects. Click here.
June 4, 2025
I will admit I gave this title a try after Dan recommended it. I enjoyed the writing very much and really enjoyed the Silver Age feel to it. The artwork is still a little “too clean” for me.
I had stopped picking it up after the 4th issue however. My thought was I’d just pick up the trade paperback (TPB). Seems now it will be easier to get the remaining issues I missed.
DC seems to push their company wide non-stopped events, endless alternative covers on every issue….. I can understand how a decent comic gets lost in all the noise. Sadly I also understand how us “old” fans aren’t their targeted market.
June 4, 2025
Oddly enough, I had JUST finished reading METAMORPHO before I saw this post! Agreed on all counts, it was one of the best DC comics I’ve read in ages!
June 4, 2025
Well said, Dan. I loved this series and would definitely buy more. Feels like DC is feeling the energy from Waid’s Superman/Batman World’s Finest and looking for other ways to channel it.
June 4, 2025
I had a feeling this series wouldn’t last.
June 4, 2025
Nailed it on across the board, Dan. And even a homage to Fletcher Hanks! I’m putting my postcard in the mail tomorrow.
June 4, 2025
This sounds fun. I’m just a tad too young to have missed Metamorpho’s heyday, but I remember seeing his Lon Cheney-esque face in house ads in comics I read at the barber shop. I’d like to see what they’re doing with him.
I’ve been rereading Alan Moore’s and Chris Sprouse’s Tom Strong comics, which combine Silver Age appeal with nods to Doc Savage and even Jules Verne. I just got through back-up story called “Too Many Teslas?” that might have inspired (or shared inspiration with?) the “Too Many Metamorphos?” tale cited in Reason #10 above.
The titular Tesla isn’t a Musk-mobile, but rather Tom’s teen daughter, who meddles with her dad’s interdimensional “searchboard” (a nod to DC’s Cosmic Treadmill), only to confront a bunch of alternate-world analogs of herself.
June 5, 2025
#6 was the best of an amazing series – anyone who still hasn’t read it should pick it up right now. Anyone who thinks the comic deserves to be cancelled needs to be exiled to the Nebula of Skeletons. It’s got hilarious moment after hilarious moment, and in true silver age style a real story in there too, with typical silver-age-plotting cleverness!
Bob Haney’s 100th birthday is March next year, and Ramona Fradon’s in October. There really needs to be a Metamorpho comic on the shelves to celebrate!
June 9, 2025
“Muttamorpho?” Oh LOL!!!”