Spec Alert: Supercrooks #1

BY MATT TUCK

Well, that didn’t take long. In less than a month since Jupiter’s Legacy’s premiere, Netflix is cancelling the series and replacing it with another Millarworld property, Supercrooks. The good part is it gives you more key issues to target.

Jupiter’s Legacy, I hardly knew ye. I barely get time to finish watching the show and posting a review, and already it has gone to the wayside.

After Netflix released the full first season of JL on May 7, it took only 26 days for the streaming service to give it the axe. Since the streaming service does not release its viewership data, there’s really no precise answer as to why JL was suddenly cancelled. My guess is that it simply came down to cost. Despite the low-quality effects and prosthetics, it was probably an expensive show to make all the same, and the numbers simply didn’t justify continuing into a second season.

While it is not likely that we’ll see another full-fledged season of Jupiter’s Legacy, creator Mark Millar left things open, telling Deadline, “We’re confident we’ll return to it later.” Considering Supercrooks is spawned from the JL universe, it is likely that some of the characters will make guest appearances on the upcoming series.

A stark contrast to JL, the title, Supercrooks, implies that Netflix is looking to cash in with the action-comedy fans in the way of Marvel Studios and Disney+. After all, the name “Supercrooks” sounds like a slapstick comedy. I had praised Jupiter’s Legacy for taking its subject matter seriously, but my inclination is that Netflix had a different idea. Let’s face it; a decision to cancel an entire series does not happen on a whim, so JL was probably doomed from the start. My guess is someone at Netflix wanted something more comical.

The streaming service already had a Supercrooks anime series in development, though the JL replacement will be an entirely separate live-action show, the Hollywood Reporter noted.

I will miss JL, but Supercrooks could be the better way to go, especially since the special effects and makeup were laughable already. In fact, it may actually help a comedy show if it’s played for laughs.

Supercrooks is another Mark Millar comic that comes from his Millarworld publishing line. The story follows Johnny Bolt, a charismatic career super-criminal putting together a super-heist. Instead of being bent on world domination or bringing about the apocalypse, Bolt and his crew are more along the lines of thrillseekers. Who knows? Netflix could have the next The Boys on its hands.

THE KEYS YOU NEED

This is where the fun begins: the scavenger hunt before the prices swell.

All is not lost on those Jupiter’s Legacy keys in your collections since we’ll still see familiar faces in the new show, but now speculators are turning their attention toward the Supercrooks. You won’t find any slabs floating around eBay. This comic has flown so far under the radar that CGC has zero graded copies listed in its census data.

The original comics were part of a four-part limited series published in 2012. At the moment you can get the entire set for about $50. Of course, that is for the standard editions. There is a 1:25 ratio variant of Supercrooks #1 that sold for $50 on its own only yesterday, June 2 to be exact.

There’s also a second print sketch cover variant that is available. Raw copies are selling for around $10, and I highly advised getting one for such a low price. Those subsequent printings are big business in today’s market, and this one is so obscure that the print run couldn't have been much. 

NETFLIX’S CLOUDY FUTURE

Think of Netflix as the Game of Thrones of streaming services; nothing is safe, so don’t get too attached to any show.

The trouble with buying Netflix keys is that all their series seem to be on the chopping block at all times. Jupiter’s Legacy wasn’t the first nor will it be the last show that gets the axe virtually out of nowhere. Although the circumstances were different, fans were equally as shocked when Daredevil was cancelled. The axe is always poised to fall, it would seem, so be careful not to overpay for those Supercrooks keys.

Matt Tuck is the author of the novel, Lost Bones of the Dead. He is a former teacher, freelance writer, comic collector, and an international man of mystery. You can follow him on his Facebook page, The Comic Blog.