The cover to Monarchy #11.

The Monarchy has fallen.

One of the spin-offs from DC/Wildstorm's "The Authority" appears to be taking a bit of a break. "The Monarchy," written by Doselle Young with art by John McCrea and Garry Leach, was the first spin-off book from "The Authority," which itself was spun out of an earlier Wildstorm title, "Stormwatch."

On Thursday Doselle Young delivered the bad news to fans on the official DC Comics Message Boards. According to Young, issue #12 will be the final issue of the series.

"'Monarchy 1-12' along with 'Authority 21' will form the story of the Monarchy as it stands at present," said Young on the message board. "The book is set up in such a way as it can return, though that has not been planned at this juncture.

"When launching a new book we always hope for optimal conditions. In order for optimal conditions to exist, a certain amount of synergy has to take place on a variety of levels.

"I think it's fair to say that that was not the case in and around the time of 'Monarchy's' launch. For any number of reasons. Issues #1 and #2 particularly, were affected by this lack of synergy. Unfortunately. (The two month delay is only one example of this). Many retailers were ordering issue #5 and #6 around the time that #2 came out. Which contributed to a drop in sales.

"However. I think it's safe to say, that the book found its voice and feet quite clearly after that time. It has its own audience, and its own way of doing things.

"Next month, the solicitation for #12 will read '12 of 12.' Signaling the end of the book for the moment. However, the TPB seems to be selling well. So, this may only a temporary situation.

"My desire is to revisit these characters quite soon. Particularly, little Mr. Bendix as issue #12 sets up the next step in the evolution of Jackson's team."