The history of comic books is a riveting one; from it’s early days and content to its
struggles with censorship and main stream controversies, there’s a lot that’s happened
in the medium’s past that has defined why it is the way it is nowadays.
A big part of that is thanks to comics that were cancelled or abandoned; there’s a lot
of comic concepts out there that arguably could have changed the way in which we read
comics, or at least changed the way in which stories are executed.
So today, we’re taking a closer look at this with our list of the top 10 cancelled
comics that would have changed the world.
This list consists of comics that never saw the light of day, cancelled before they actually
hit stands, and stories that did get a bit of a run, but were canned for whatever reason
by publishers, despite being revolutionary.
So with that in mind, let’s get to it!
10 Chase Chase was a series released in 1998 by Dan
Curtis Johnson and JH Williams III (a creator we’ll be revisiting a little later on).
It told the story of Cameron Chase, a woman who worked as an agent for the Department
of Extranormal Operations.
In other words, she basically worked for the DC version of Marvel’s SHIELD, keeping an
eye out for superhumans who were considered threats to national security.
Running only 10 issues, it was short lived for sure.
Described as a cross between SHIELD, X-Files and the department of paranormal activity,
many consider it to be ahead of it’s time thanks to it’s female protagonist, and its
more subversive take on superheroes (despite coming out after series the likes of Watchmen).
The character of Cameron Chase has lived on though, appearing as an agent of the DEO in
the likes of the new 52’s Batwoman, and in rebirth, she’s even the director, helping
supergirl out in exchange for the hero’s aid.
9 The Crew While Chase would have been revolutionary
for the depiction of women in comics in the 90s, The Crew would have been revolutionary
for superheroes of colour.
It followed Kasper Cole, a character who used to be an NYPD officer and had taken up the
mantle of Black Panther, eventually becoming White Tiger.
After this, he was given his own series in 2003, where he worked with James Rhodes, Josiah
X and Junta to take out a gang.
Despite having a talented creative team, it failed to pick up steam in popularity, and
was cancelled after 7 issues.
It got a second chance in 2017 when it was relaunched under the title of Black Panther
and the Crew, but that series floundered as well, being cancelled after only 5 issues
this time around.
8 Wonder woman: Bondage Once upon a time, Frank Miller wanted to retell
Wonder Woman’s origins.
Or rather, her origins with bondage; an activity that bled into her earlier stories thanks
to her creator’s fascination and adoration of BDSM.
Miller wanted to use this story to incorporate bondage into her origins, and rework her story
officially.
An image that was apparently drawn by Miller was leaked by a fan, with handwritten text
below it that read ‘wonder woman bondage written by Frank Miller’ beneath it, dated
from 2005.
It was described as being over the top.
According to rumours, the project never made it out of conceptual work, with Frank having
had broad strokes conversations about the project with then-DC editor Bob Schreck.
Can’t imagine why it was abandoned.
7 Morning Dragons Morning Dragons is a comic from Warren Ellis
that the creator was allegedly working on at the beginning of the 21st century.
According to the rumours and what has leaked, it told the story of a former priest who had
become a samurai, set in feudal Japan.
It gets wilder from there.
The protagonist would encounter the likes of Vikings, who travelled around on ships
that looked more dragon that boat.
According to Image Comics, Ellis’ pitch for Morning Dragons was one of the best they’ve
ever heard, but unfortunately, it never actually saw the light of day.
This was thanks to Ellis wanted to separate himself from Image due to financial issues
with the company and how they paid him.
In more recent years, the creator would acknowledge that Morning Dragons was basically a dead
project.
6 Jack Kirby’s New Gods Jack Kirby’s New Gods was groundbreaking.
Released in 1971, it’s by far had a massive impact on the shaping of the DC universe,
having spawned the likes of Apokolips, Darkseid and Highfather to name a few, along with a
bunch of compelling mythology and artwork that is still considered utterly genius.
Initially, it didn’t really have an audience, with a lot of the writing not resonating with
a large population of DC’s readership; it’s content tended to explore themes like religion
and mythology, submerged in sci fi lore, all while using a new pantheon of gods replacing
the old as a vessel for that.
It was conceptually new compared to other DC content.
After 11 issues, it was canned, but has managed to live on in legacy, and in a ton of reprints.
5 Alan Moore’s Twilight of the Superheroes In the 80’s, comic book legend Alan Moore
pitched a concept to DC that would have revolutionized the publisher’s current multiverse.
He wanted to tell the story of the DC universe 20 years into the future, which would place
an older, surviving generation of superheroes against villains, embarking on an epic final
battle that would decide the fate of the planet and universe forever.
Conceptually, it was meant to explore themes of morality while providing DC with a way
to restore the multiverse after Crisis on Infinite Earths.
DC ultimately rejected the idea, but many of the concepts that Moore wanted to explore
were seemingly recycled into other stories, the likes of Kingdom Come.
Since, Moore’s notes were leaked online, and is often referred to as his lost work.
4 Frank Miller’s Jesus That’s a pretty self-explanatory title for
a number, isn’t it?
Miller, who is often known for playing with religious motifs in his work, wanted to create
a comic series that focused on Jesus; a series that he claimed would have been respectful
and serious, versus the kind of dark and gritty work he’s known for.
The reason why this story never got legs is thanks to the tragedy of 9/11, with Miller
citing the catastrophe as the reason why he had postponed working on it.
Nothing has happened since, and many believe the concept has bit the dust for good.
Similar to Miller’s abandoned Wonder Woman comic, it’s probably for the best.
3 Superman: The K-Metal from Krypton This one’s really neat.
K Metal from Krypton is a story by Jerry Siegel that had Superman first encountering kryptonite,
or rather, a substance called K-Metal, which forced him to reveal himself to Lois Lane
in order to have her assist on his adventures.
This was written back in 1940, and many consider it to be the most revolutionary comic never
to be published; it would have single handedly changed Superman’s origins from the get
go, forever altering how we see the man of steel, or how we understand his beginnings.
These days, the story script and design documents can be found in DC’s storage library, with
fans actively working to restore the story and have it published in some way, shape or
form.
So why was it never published?
No one has the slightest clue, but perhaps if it does get a second chance, we might eventually
learn why.
2 Batwoman Batwoman is a character with a fascinating
history.
Initially introduced after the comics code authority was implemented in order to make
Batman seem less gay (that’s not even an exaggeration), Batwoman would later be revamped
into Kate Kane, an open lesbian who once served in the military and had a dead sister.
Under the supervision of JH Williams III, Greg Rucka and eventually W Haden Blackman,
the character came into her own right as a complex and nuanced superhero who had distanced
herself from Batman, despite being his cousin in the New 52.
When the New 52 was announced, DC had stuck with this version of Batwoman, leading to
a very critically successful series spearheaded primarily by Williams and Blackman.
But all that came to an end after Williams and Blackman walked off the series after DC
editors denied them the ability to have her marry her partner, Maggie Sawyer.
Having DC’s biggest main stream queer character marry her partner would have been revolutionary
in the industry, one which historically severely lacks proper representation.
After their departure, the series floundered (and included a wildly problematic lesbian
vampire character), and eventually, it was cancelled altogether.
1 All of EC EC, which stands for Entertaining Comics,
is perhaps the most tragic of all our numbers on this list.
The publisher, who is survived only by MAD Magazine these days, was all but wiped out
thanks to the Comics Code Authority.
EC Comics, which first came to be as Education Comics in the golden age, was founded by Max
Gaines.
When he died in a boating accident in 1947, his son Bill inherited the company, and began
featuring new comic book lines that explored horror, suspense, science fiction, military
fiction and crime genres.
Often these comics were geared towards more mature readers, delving into socially conscious
and progressive themes the likes of racial equality, anti-war advocacy and environmentalism.
But because of the content containing in these comics, especially the horror and crime genres,
it became a big ol target for those who believed in Fredric Wertham and his Seduction of the
Innocent book, which claimed that comic books were ruining children’s brains and manipulating
them.
These claims had no scientific basis, might I add.
Anywho, by 1956, the company had gone defunct, forced to stop publishing its comics, except
for one, Mad Magazine, which still persists to this day.
It’s hard to imagine what the world of comics would be like had EC remained intact; perhaps
the face of mainstream comics would have looked very differently, with less of an emphasis
on superheroes.
There we have it friends!
What other cancelled comics or abandoned concepts do you think would have changed the way we
perceive the medium nowadays?
Which concepts are super cool and left you disappointed that you’ll never get the chance
to read them?
Give us a shout in those comments below and let us know!
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