Kieron Gillen has confirmed the rumour that S.W.O.R.D. has been cancelled by Marvel Comics.

S.W.O.R.D. debuted back in November, as a spin-off of Astonishing X-Men, focusing on the activities of S.W.O.R.D. (Sentient World Observation and Response Department), the counterterrorism and intelligence agency that defends the earth from extraterrestrial threats. The series was written by Kieron Gillen, and featured artwork by Steve Sanders.

The first two issues of the series have seen pretty low sales, with the first issue ranking at position #95 in Diamond’s Top 300 in November (see here), and issue #2 ranking at position #141 in December (see here).

In a statement on his site Gillen says:

Comics operate on a system of pre-ordering. As in, the first issue’s orders were in before anyone had even read a single page of the book. The numbers which people are reporting are low enough that the inevitable second issue dip - also ordered before anyone had read issue 1 - would move it into a clearly dangerously low sales for a book in the X-family. In other words, I actually don’t feel that bad about the cancellation. It was already on unsteady ground before anyone had even read the thing, and got annoyed over Sanders’ beast design or my over-verbal theatrics.

However, it’s worth noting that there are tons of Marvel titles that ran lower than this in the charts in December, for example: Doctor Voodoo #3, Deathlok #2, Torch #4, and many more. Can we expect to see these series cut short too?

This cancellation makes me really sad, as I’ve really been enjoying the series. Oh well, at least we got five issues!

Here’s the solicit for issue #5, the grand finale:

S.W.O.R.D. #5

Written by KIERON GILLEN
Penciled by STEVEN SANDERS
Cover by MIKE DEL MUNDO

With Agent Brand imprisoned, all hell breaks loose! Norman Osborn and the Dark Avengers set out to destroy a group peaceful aliens while a war-like race is about to unleash the most intelligent and dangerous being in the universe! Now Brand herself is about to walk in a trap that could spell the end of everything she’s worked for…and her life!

32 PGS./Rated A …$2.99

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3. A Sneak Peak Preview of S.W.O.R.D. #1
4. Revising the Pull List - Looking at New Stuff in the September Issue of Previews (Issue #252 for titles in shops beginning November 2009)
5. Spider-Man 4 Cancelled! Sam Raimi Out! Series Reboot Planned!