"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.

[FanboyStranger]

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.

Well, Byrne leaving Marvel really left the book in a mess pre-David. I really liked the Mantlo/Buscema/Mignola stories that preceded the Byrne run. (Basically what happened was that the Hulk and Alpha Flight creative teams swapped books-- Byrne ended up on Incredible Hulk and Mantlo/Mignola ended up on AF.) Al Milgrom did a decent enough job in a tight spot before David came on, but just like Joe Casey stories that followed David's tenture, they seem ephemeral in hindsight. Classic runs have a tendency to do that to the runs that precede and follow them.

[ed2962]

This probably doesn't count as almost cancelled but Punisher didn't really become popular into the mid-80's. It's been a long time, but I remember some late 70's Spidey comics where they tried to soften him. He was shooting folks with rubber "mercy bullets" and swinging behind Spiderman on a his web line.

[ed2962]

It's pretty much an open secret that Wonder Woman came close to cancellation numbers a few times over the decades. DC didn't end the book though because they were still making money from merchandising.



I also think it's interesting that DC bought the rights to the Charlton heroes in the 80's and still have most of them, but let Thunderbolt lapse. It's like, "These other guys 9Beetle, Capt Atom) we're willing to work with, but Thunderbolt...bah!"

[SUPERECWFAN1]

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.

Byrne had a small run on it after its relaunch . And he basically had no plot and had the Hulk running around smashing **** for 6-8 issues lol.

What is weird is Bob Harras was just a guy who could seemingly walk back in the office and find guys to write these books outta nowhere. He did that years later with Scott Lobdell and X-Men.

[FanboyStranger]

Byrne had a small run on it after its relaunch . And he basically had no plot and had the Hulk running around smashing **** for 6-8 issues lol.

What is weird is Bob Harras was just a guy who could seemingly walk back in the office and find guys to write these books outta nowhere. He did that years later with Scott Lobdell and X-Men.

Peter David actually had a few things bought at that time, inventory stories and a run on a Spider-Man book. It was Jim Owlsley (Priest) who opened the door for him to write at Marvel. Before that, there was a clear separation between the people on the business and creative sides.

Lobdell is an interesting case as he was a struggling stand-up comedian who had friends at Marvel and would hang around the building. I'd imagine that he often talked about comics, and one day somebody asked him to try writing one. It was sorta a situation like the coffee room down the hall from Carmine Infantino's office at DC in the '70s-- all the artists would hang out there, and they'd eventually get assignments when they needed someone. People like Simonson, Chaykin, Kaluta, etc got most of their early work by hanging around.

[CSTowle]

Makes sense. A lot of the comedy/show business podcasts I listen to talk about having gotten into the business by being willing to hang around and be available, and working for free. Volunteering (or getting paid near enough not to matter), working hard, and eventually you gain trust for the big assignments.

[t hedge coke]

Makes sense. A lot of the comedy/show business podcasts I listen to talk about having gotten into the business by being willing to hang around and be available, and working for free. Volunteering (or getting paid near enough not to matter), working hard, and eventually you gain trust for the big assignments.

While it's been told like he just stumbled in, apparently he pitched hard and constantly for X-Men, at a time when almost no one wanted to touch it,for fear of being the followup. Claremont left big shoes there to step into, and Byrne had just jumped in and back out of them.

[CSTowle]

It is odd that the largest franchise in comics at that time was handed off to an unknown. I can't think of an equivalent in mainstream superhero comics. Not surprising people would have conspiracy theories. I liked the Lobdell era, a lot of good memories. Don't know what happened between those X-Men/Generation X comics and his Teen Titans.

[FanboyStranger]

It is odd that the largest franchise in comics at that time was handed off to an unknown. I can't think of an equivalent in mainstream superhero comics. Not surprising people would have conspiracy theories. I liked the Lobdell era, a lot of good memories. Don't know what happened between those X-Men/Generation X comics and his Teen Titans.

The truth is that Marvel was in its nadir as far as creator relations at the time. The brass had decreed that it was solely the characters that mattered, and talent was essentially interchangable and replacable. As a result, they were bleeding talent. Furthermore, the spectre of bankruptcy was looming, so established talent also questioned Marvel's stability-- not just in the sense of getting paid, but who might buy the company and make changes. This was the era when assistant editors were writing every other Marvel book. Lobdell had proven he could hit deadlines and write well enough to take on a major franchise book. (And people in the office liked him.) Fabian Nicieza, himself an assistant editor before going freelance, was given the other core X-book. This would have been standard operating procedure at Marvel in the '70s when the expectation was that an editorial position would lead to writing assignments to put more cash in your pocket, but it was becoming more frowned upon by creators in the late '80s-early '90s. DC even went so far as to officially prevent editors from writing books in the early '90s (with the exception of Denny O'Neil and the occasional special project), which lead to editors like Priest, Mark Waid, Tom Peyer, and Brian Augustyn going freelance.