Strangest non-event-driven change in direction/chacterization in a title

[Air Wave]

Dick Grayson going to college and Bruce moving out of Wayne Manor?

[nx01a]

Definitely Alan Moore taking over Swamp Thing.

[The Darknight Detective]

Definitely Alan Moore taking over Swamp Thing.

It's funny reading something years ago and then finding out (like today) where part of it was inspired from:

[Jim Kelly]

Most of these make sense to me. The Blackhawks becoming the Junk Heap Heroes was a response to the Camp Super-Hero craze that took hold of all comics thanks to the 1966 BATMAN. Characters that weren't super-heroes were putting on masks and tights to cash in. The whole Archie gang were super-heroes. This boom was followed by a big bust as super-heroes rushed to burn their boots and trunks and go into action wearing civilian clothes--thus Diana Prince. This also explains why Dick Grayson suddenly aged enough to graduate--as they were trying to distance Batman from anything that smelled of the T.V. series.

Green Arrow giving up his old clothes and losing his fortune was a big change, but made sense as they tried to breathe life into the character. Likewise Alan Moore's idea for Swamp Thing doesn't seem so strange--it follows from what came before.

I think killing off little Arthur was a pretty hard turn. Aquaman had gone on a quest to find a member of the Aqua Family before. For him to find his son dead and at the hands of the Black Manta was a very dark development and an unheroic resolution. Granted, characters were being killed off left and right back then and super-villains were turning more vile. But killing off a little kid in a comic book? That just seems too heartless. It was strange as it seemed out of touch with most readers' values.

[LifeIsILL]

After a bit of thinking I would say for me the Harley Quinn title in 2000



Starts out like your typical Harley Quinn series and then around issue 26 I believe turns suddenly into Batman-type stories just with Harley Quinn in them.

Also this run has one of the best Martian Manhunter stories, I think issue 23 or something.

[Jon Clark]

I thought about it, but that was the relaunch of a title though ... would that qualify for this thread? Titles frequently change up when there's a new #1.

My thoughts was that it was more like a renumbering in that Levitz run ended one month and Giffen took over the next. It wasn't as if the book was cancelled for bad sales and was being retooled.

[K7P5V]

Definitely Alan Moore taking over Swamp Thing.
https://rootsoftheswampthing.files.w.../2016/06/2.jpg
https://rootsoftheswampthing.files.w...2016/06/12.jpg
https://rootsoftheswampthing.files.w...2016/06/16.jpg

[The Darknight Detective]

I think the first one I can recall was when Wonder Woman started publishing stories solely about the Earth-2 Diana during WWII (due to the success of the TV show).

[K7P5V]

Nightwing becoming a mob enforcer (I don't think that was event-driven)

OMG! Glad it counts!! Still love the artwork from that era (XD)