Editing Eclipse Comics (section)

===Setbacks===
Eclipse's creator-owned ethos had commercial flaws; as the company owned few of its properties it was dependent on its freelancing creators to keep popular titles going as fill-in issues and spin-offs had to be cleared with the creators, who also had the rights to take their work to other publishers when contracts expired. After losing his lawsuit over ''Howard the Duck'', Gerber wound down ''Destroyer Duck'' to return to his former employers Marvel as a freelancer;<ref>{{cite journal|last = Shayer|first = Jason|title = Steve Gerber in the Marvel Universe|journal = Back Issue!|issue = #31|pages = 33–40|publisher = TwoMorrows Publishing|date = December 2008|location= Raleigh, North Carolina}}</ref> ''Aztec Ace'' was cancelled due to the inability to find satisfactory artists;<ref name=AH080NF>{{cite magazine|date=October 1, 1985|title=Newsflashes|magazine=[[Amazing Heroes]]|publisher=[[Fantagraphics Books]]|number=80}}</ref> Scott McCloud's work on the [[Creator's Bill of Rights]] caused delays on the award-winning ''[[Zot!]]'';<ref name=AH133Z>{{cite magazine|date=January 15, 1988|title=Zot!|author=[[Heidi MacDonald]]|magazine=[[Amazing Heroes]]|publisher=[[Fantagraphics Books]]|number=133/Preview Special 6}}</ref> Dave Stevens struck a deal with [[Comico: The Comic Company|Comico]] to serialise new ''Rocketeer'' material;<ref name="AH147TOTN" /> ''DNAgents'' and its spin-off ''Crossfire'' were abandoned when [[Mark Evanier]] took on work for [[DC Comics]];<ref name=AH142ETP/> [[Ty Templeton]] abandoned ''[[Stig's Inferno]]'' soon after transferring it to Eclipse when he received offers to work on ''[[Booster Gold]]'';<ref name=AH123NL>{{cite magazine|date=August 15, 1987|title=Newsline|magazine=[[Amazing Heroes]]|publisher=[[Fantagraphics Books]]|number=123}}</ref> and ''Miracleman'' slowed to a point where the bi-monthly title shipped three issues between April 1988 and December 1989 due to artist [[John Totleben]]'s health issues.<ref name=KMI>{{cite book |last=Khoury |first=George |author-link= |date=2001 |title=Kimota! The Miracleman Companion |location= |publisher=TwoMorrows Publishing |page= |isbn=9781605490274|chapter=Miracleman Index}}</ref>

While ''Airboy'' and ''Scout'' remained solid sellers for the company further attempts to expand into superhero comics, such as ''The New Wave'', [[Kurt Busiek]]'s ''[[The Liberty Project]]'', Tim Truman's ''[[Prowler (Eclipse Comics)|The Prowler]]'' and Chuck Dixon's ''[[Strike! (comic book)|Strike!]]'' encountered little long-term success. Between 1987 and 1988 Eclipse's share of the market fell from around 8%<ref name=AH125TOTN>{{cite magazine|date=September 15, 1987|title=Top of the News ''(advertisement)''|magazine=[[Amazing Heroes]]|publisher=[[Fantagraphics Books]]|number=125}}</ref> to 3.6% (also falling behind [[First Comics]].<ref name=AH161NL>{{cite magazine|date=March 15, 1989|title=Newsline|magazine=[[Amazing Heroes]]|publisher=[[Fantagraphics Books]]|number=161}}</ref> The successful emergence of [[Dark Horse Comics]] (who also took on ''Mr. Monster'') further ate into Eclipse's share. The company began to explore non-fiction; Yronwode and Robbins co-wrote ''Women and the Comics'', a volume on the history of female comic strip and comic book creators. As the first book on this subject, its publication was covered in the mainstream press in addition to the fan press.<ref>"Women in the Comics: Assertive and Independent Women Make a Comeback" [[Miami Herald]] (newspaper), December 1, 1988.</ref><ref>"Comic Books Are For Adults Too" by William Singleton, Scripps Howard News Service, Chronicle-Telegram (newspaper), January 7, 1988.</ref><ref>"Funny How Things Change" Daily Herald (newspaper), December 28, 1988.</ref>