The third and final (for now) volume of Drawn + Quarterly's full-color hardcover Little Lulu books has been out for a bit. I'm sad that the series has been put on hiatus just as it was picking up some steam.
Alas, the current copyright holder of the Lulu entity, who has no plans to do anything with this property, declined to renew the license. Their reasons are unconvincing and a lot of hard work done on the fourth, fifth and sixth book has bitten the dust.
There's a chance the tide may turn back in our favor, but once a property is in the hands of a mega-corp owner who just regards it as a thing (like Charles Foster Kane with his warehouse of unseen art treasures) rather than something that makes the world a better place, like these classic Lulu stories, it's not looking too rosy that this series will continue.
If you've not picked up this third volume, please consider getting it. I think the story selection is outstanding, with some of my top favorites from the 14-year run of the John Stanley-written iteration. When and if said megacorp decides to allow the renewal of the license, we hope to finish the six-book series. If not, well, it's been fun and at least we got the original, un-traced versions of some of the best stories from the first six years of the title back into print.
