You won’t have Image Comics’s Local Man to kick around anymore! The critically acclaimed series by Tony Fleecs and Tim Seeley comes a surprise end with today’s Local Man #25… At least for now.
If you haven’t been keeping up with the series, the Image Comics parody/tribute follows a disgraced superhero named Crossjack who is forced to move back to his hometown. While grappling with the general loathing of the townspeople and the shame of living with his parents, he discovers vast conspiracies tying back throughout Image Comics’ history. So he dons a ski mask and fights crime as the not-so-anonymous Local Man.
The final issue jumps forward a year from issue #13 to issue #25, in a riff on an old Image Comics event “Images of Tomorrow.” There we get to see Crossjack and company finally realize what life is all about, and reach a new place of happiness as an art teacher. The issue ends with our hero as the stand-in for the authors, essentially speaking the mission statement for the whole series.
“What you use is less important than why you make it. I make things because I want to give part of myself to everyone else. I’m trying to show people my world. I want to invite them in, even just for a little while… Into my universe.”
Though there’s also a ‘90s Image riff as the backup story, the main story ends with Crossjack’s immortal dog flying over a page showing an array of Image Comics. And to drive the point home, it ends with “The End.”
To further drive the point home, Fleecs breaks down the decision on what led to taking a break from the series in the end note. And in a surprising bit of transparency, Fleecs notes that while both he and Seeley are proud of what they did, financially they couldn’t make it work.
“It’s gross to talk about the money part,” Fleecs writes. “That’s not the reason we made this book. MOST comics don’t even break even. But the reality of being a freelance comic creator is— You can only do books that don’t make money if you have some other money coming in. And I’m making several books right now. FERAL sells well, but Local Man takes me 3+ weeks every month and then everything else has to get done in 7 to 10 days between issues. And I’m just not talented enough to keep making good books at that pace.
“I guess what I’m saying is, this book was born out of fear of failure and loss, the book where we put all our feelings and pain from divorces and rejection… We just couldn’t make it work.”
Fleecs continues to explain that he and Seeley are working on a new mini-series, and if they have more ideas for Local Man they’ll return when the time is right. But he cheekily ends the note stating, “Until then, what could be more ‘90s Image than an unexpected, extended hiatus?”
Speaking as a fan of the series, it’s a real bummer (to use some ‘90s parlance) they have to end this fantastic, funny, often heart-breaking, and structurally creative series. But as is, they’re going out on their own terms — and ending with an issue that stays true to the story they’ve been telling while tying things up in with a bow in a way that’s satisfying for readers (it’s me, I am readers).
So congrats to Seeley and Fleecs on an incredible run. And like Fleecs says, they can always come back. If Liefeld can return to Youngblood after all this time, there’s room for more Local Man, too.
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