title: Combining two MySQL queries from the same table
body: <p>I have a table set up currently as such:</p>
  
  <pre><code>issue|total   | series
  -----|--------|---------
  1    | 1      | Series A
  2    | 2      | Series A
  1    | 3      | Series B
  3    | 4      | Series A
  2    | 5      | Series B
  1    | 6      | Series C
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>It tracks series (series), along with the issue number (issue) within each series. As well as that, I have a running total (total) of the entire number of entries in this table.</p>
  
  <p>What I would like to do is combine two queries, the first used to locate the last issue number within a given series, the second to always locate the last total number within the table. Presumably the two queries I need to use are as follows, I just don't see how would be best to combine them into one select query:</p>
  
  <p>To locate last issue of a given series:</p>
  
  <pre><code>SELECT issue FROM seriesTable WHERE series = 'Series A|Series B|Series C' ORDER BY issue DESC LIMIT 1
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>To locate total number of entries:</p>
  
  <pre><code>SELECT total FROM seriesTable ORDER BY total DESC LIMIT 1
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>So, if I wanted to reference the last issue of Series A and the total number of entries (3, 6), what would be the best way to do this? I've tried <code>INNER JOIN</code> and <code>UNION</code> neither of which seem to work, however I think I'm on the right track, just using the syntax incorrectly.</p>
  
  <p>I guess the other alternative is to run the queries separately, add to an array and have PHP give me the result, however I would rather avoid this if possible.</p>