10 Famous Comics You Won't Believe Were Cancelled

The world of superheroes is fun and fantastical but we have to remember how cutthroat the comic book industry is. If the first few issues don't do well, a given series will often be put out of its misery without a second thought.

However, there are some superheroes that are so popular, their series have never been out of circulation. Batman, Superman, and Spider-Man were a hit from the get-go and their series have continued mostly uninterrupted for decades. Could you imagine if DC Comics just... stopped publishing Batman comics?

And yet, some of the most famous stories ended far sooner than you would believe. The Incredible Hulk's original saga took a hiatus after less than a year. The X-Men sold so poorly, the mutant team had to sit it out for half a decade.

But bad sales or stories aren't the only reasons these comics were abruptly cancelled. Some of the most impactful and influential comic stories ever got the boot due to licensing issues, mismanagement, or behind-the-scene dramas.

These characters may be legendary and have played a part in some of the most iconic stories in comics but that didn't stop them from getting cancelled.

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.