Here's a bit of unwelcome news: Just as I'm enjoying the first trade of It Girl & The Atomics, Jamie S. Rich announces the series is coming to a close with Issue 12, due out in July.

The special issue will feature art by It Girl regular Mike Norton (Battlepug) as well as Chynna Clugston Flores (who drew the stand-alone Issue 6) and Natalie Nourigat (who will also be contributing to Issue 10, out in May).

Here's how Rich broke the news on his blog:

Yes, you read that right. We're wrapping up the first It Girl and the Atomics series with #12. There were a number of factors contributing to the decision, but it was the right one to make and the right time to do it. Hopefully the twelve issues we did will stand strong as a complete series whether I ever make it back to do more or not. (I have a few ideas for stories, but it will all be a matter of timing.) I wrote #12 special to cap off everything that had come before, which is why I corralled all the artists from the series to give it one more go.

It Girl was a spinoff of Mike Allred's Madman Atomic Comics, which Rich edited (and therefore knew intimately). It stood well enough on its own, though, that I, a complete newcomer, was able to pick up the collected edition of It Girl & The Atomics and thoroughly enjoy it. And my colleague Michael May had some nice things to say about that standalone Issue 6 recently.

So what's next? Rich doesn't sit still for long, and in addition to his hint of more It Girl in the future, there's this: "Expect more collaborations between myself and Image in the future. This door is closed, but we're opening up a couple of windows." Hmmm.

And with It Girl & The Atomics #9 in stores this week, we still have a bit more Atomic goodness to enjoy.