"Whoa! That was almost cancelled??"

[tib2d2]

What were some of today's most popular titles or characters that were on the brink of cancellation at one point in their history? Focussing on titles or characters being cancelled that almost seem unthinkable these days.

Some examples are Detective Comics and Green Lantern in the 70s. Both went to bi monthly because of poor sales and were almost given the ax.

X-Men wasn't cancelled in the early 70s, but instead Marvel ran reprinted stories because of poor sales, and Daredevil was bi monthly and on the brink before Frank Miller came along.

Any others?

[FanboyStranger]

The best part about Detective Comics almost getting cancelled was that we got Goodwin and Simonson's Manhunter, perhaps the finest comic of the '70s. It didn't improve sales, but I think we can draw a line through it towards modern comics storytelling.

I miss the old days when editors would just let creators run wild with low-selling titles. We got so many classic runs out of that strategy.

[t hedge coke]

The best part about Detective Comics almost getting cancelled was that we got Goodwin and Simonson's Manhunter, perhaps the finest comic of the '70s. It didn't improve sales, but I think we can draw a line through it towards modern comics storytelling.

I miss the old days when editors would just let creators run wild with low-selling titles. We got so many classic runs out of that strategy.

That era had Simonson, Toth, Skrenes, O'Neil, and Chaykin on Detective. And, apparently, even the folks reading it weren't always happy with it. Nutty.

[Nathan Irwin]

The Hulk was cancelled after just six issues. But I guess Stan Lee liked the character enough to keep having him show up in other books, until he found an open slot in the publishing schedule (Tales to Astonish, if memory serves).

Also, Mike Grell has said that Warlord was briefly cancelled in the 1970s after just a few issues (six? eight? Can't recall). Newly-appointed publisher Jenette Kahn un-cancelled it, which explains why there's a several-month publication gap in those first few issues.

[tib2d2]

Wasn't Hulk in danger of being cancelled again in the late 90s until Bruce Jones started writing it? Or maybe it was on the brink before Peter David took over in the late 80s?

[Michael P]

I don't think Hulk was ever on the brink during those times. Pre-David, it was a book nobody really wanted to write, which was why they had no problem with Bob Harras giving it to that guy in sales who wants to write. Post-David, it wasn't doing great, but neither was much of anything else (those were the bankruptcy years), and its popularity started to pick up a bit after Paul Jenkins took over.