10 Famous Comics You Won't Believe Were Cancelled

10. The Joker

It shouldn't surprise you that Batman's greatest enemy earned his own solo series. Many iconic villains like Harley Quinn, Thanos, and The Suicide Squad have their own comic so why wouldn't the Joker?

In 1975, DC Comics published the first volume of the Joker, allowing the mirthful menace to take centre stage for once, battling the likes of the Creeper, Green Arrow, and Sherlock Holmes (for some reason). Despite the fact the callous clown is insurmountably popular, the first volume only lasted nine issues!

Many reports state the comic was abandoned because of flagging sales or bad storylines. In reality, the stories were actually pretty decent. It wasn't a massive success but it certainly wasn't a failure.

The real reason it was abandoned was because the creative team didn't know what to do with the character! What makes the Clown Prince of Crime work as a supervillain is how mysterious he is. Because his past is so enigmatic, it doesn't make sense for the Joker to be the protagonist of a comic title.

The little experiment did prove one thing though: just because a character is popular doesn't meant they should get their own story.