History ScheduleSlip / ComicBooks

** This is an ongoing issue with Johns' books. ''ComicBook/TheFlashRebirth'', his Barry Allen-centered mini, had multiple delays. So did Johns' Barry Allen ongoing, which was cancelled due to the New 52. Years later, Johns wrote an ongoing ''ComicBook/{{Shazam}}'' series, which he was working on while he did ''Doomsday Clock,'' and which also was delayed numerous times. At some point, it seemed as if Johns--who was Chief Creative Officer and then president of DC--was simply spreading himself too thin.

* The ''ComicBook/DarkMatter'' imprint spins out of the 2017 ''ComicBook/DarkKnightsMetal'' event. It was originally planned to launch in September 2017 with ''ComicBook/{{Sideways}}'' and ''ComicBook/TheSilencer'', but slipped to December 2017, launching with ''The Immortal Men'' and ''ComicBook/{{Damage|DCComics}}''. Then ''every'' Dark Matter title was resolicited in February 2018's solicitations... ''The Immortal Men'' #1 was ''then'' moved ''further'' back to ''March''.

* Creator/KevinSmith frequently has this problem. Various comics series of his have been met with ridiculous delays, with ''Spider-Man/Black Cat'' having a 40 month gap between issues 3 and 4 and ''Daredevil/Bullseye'' seeing a first issue in November 2002, with a second one still being unreleased more than two ''decades'' later. ''The Widening Gyre'', which was intended to have twelve issues with a long break at the halfway point after the sixth, also saw that long break extended far further than intended; a sequel, which would have consisted of releasing the other six issues under the name ''Batman: Bellicosity'', was announced in 2014 and has not been so much as hinted at since.

* ''ComicBook/CaveWoman'' is a rather notorious example. Originally began in the early 1990's by artist Budd Root, the comic was released quarterly, with art books and more adult material released in between issued. However, by the early [[TurnOfTheMillennium Aughts]] the comic ground to a near complete halt[[note]]Aside from near-annually released art books collecting said pin-ups.[[/note]], with years passing sometimes between issues. As of [[TheNewTens 2011]] the comic has been brought back with a string of one-shots and mini-series, but almost all writing and art duties for the comic have been picked up by other creators; Root's story output is essentially nil these days due to his massive backlog of pin-up commissions.

* ComicBook/UltimateMarvel: Several titles have fallen victim to this, including ''Ultimates'' during vol. 1, ''New Ultimates'', and ''Ultimate X''. ''Ultimate Wolverine Vs. Hulk'' takes the cake, with ''four years'' passing between issues 2 and 3.
* The ''ComicBook/AstonishingXMen'' ongoing series took full four years to complete a 25-issue storyline. As a result, [[ComicBook/KittyPryde Shadowcat]] being PutOnABus was spoiled by ''ComicBook/XMenMessiahComplex'': since its events couldn't take place before it, Kitty was nowhere in sight. The series is notoriously hard to fit into Marvel continuity, as it appears to take place over at most a few weeks, but the second arc is set prior to ''ComicBook/HouseOfM'' (Xavier and ComicBook/{{Magneto}} are hanging out on the ruined Genosha) and the final arc includes a dialogue reference to ''ComicBook/{{Civil War|2006}}'' having happened! The series was first written by Creator/JossWhedon and then Creator/WarrenEllis continued the trend. [[AttentionDeficitCreatorDisorder The reason is the same]].

* Creator/GeoffJohns, Richard Donner, and Adam Kubert's "Last Son" storyline in [[ComicBook/{{Superman}} Action Comics]]. It was five parts and took ''nineteen months'' to finish. Part of the reason was Kubert needing to take some time off because of health issues. Because of the delays, by the time it was finished not only had Johns and Donner finished their ''second'' arc before their first but Johns had already switched to collaborating with artist Gary Frank. In fact, DC had a huge problem regarding this around 2007, especially in all of their Superman books. The promised conclusions to several storylines wound up being delayed for either a future issue or a giant-sized annual, causing stories to get wrapped up months later than intended.

** This is an ongoing issue with Johns' books. ''The Flash: Rebirth'', his Barry Allen-centered mini, had multiple delays. So did Johns' Barry Allen ongoing, which was cancelled due to the New 52. Years later, Johns wrote an ongoing ''Shazam'' series, which he was working on while he did ''Doomsday Clock,'' and which also was delayed numerous times. At some point, it seemed as if Johns--who was Chief Creative Officer and then president of DC--was simply spreading himself too thin.

* The ''Dark Matter'' imprint spins out of the 2017 ''Dark Knights: Metal'' event. It was originally planned to launch in September 2017 with ''Sideways'' and ''The Silencer'', but slipped to December 2017, launching with ''The Immortal Men'' and ''Damage''. Then ''every'' Dark Matter title was resolicited in February 2018's solicitations... ''The Immortal Men'' #1 was ''then'' moved ''further'' back to ''March''.
* Every issue of the Creator/YoungAnimal ''Doom Patrol'' series by Gerard Way after the second issue. It's reached ''memetic'' status, even! It's so bad that they had some issues oversized just to make up for it! It eventually got so bad that the first part of ''Milk Wars'' spoiled part of the ending of the second ''Doom Patrol'' arc, which was so late that ''Milk Wars'' '''ended before said Doom Patrol arc, which was leading into the event itself!''' Because they also pushed back ''Milk Wars'' to ''try'' to accommodate ''Doom Patrol'', and because every other Young Animal series was waiting for the event to be over so they could relaunch, the lateness of ''Doom Patrol'' had the side-effect of '''delaying an entire imprint.'''

* Jonathan Hickman's ''New Mutants'' issues can suffer this, so solicitations can sometimes be outdated when Marvel swap out one of his planned issues for one of Ed Brisson's (the two essentially write separate storylines that alternate). Hickman acknowledges this ''in-universe'' when Sunspot mentions that Hickman was late thus the Earth story got two issues in a row to accommodate.
* In late 2010, David Finch was given his own series ''Batman: The Dark Knight'' to write and draw. Solicitations at the time show it was supposed to be a monthly series – the first three issues came out over more than six months. Issues #4 and #5 did come out very quickly after that, but with Finch replaced as penciller by Jason Fabok: with the ComicBook/New52 reboot coming up, DC really needed to finish up the story arc as quickly as it could.

** Liefeld's original flagship series ''ComicBook/{{Youngblood}}'' was supposed to be a monthly series, believe it or not. There was a three-month delay between issues #1 and #2. Issue #3 did come out on time... but then four months went by before the next issue, which was a [[EpisodeZeroTheBeginning flashback issue #0]], and another two months before #4 came out. Then it took another five months before #5 finally came out and ended the first story arc – drawn by a different artist, with a shortened page count, attached to the [[DoubleSidedBook flip-side]] of ''Brigade'' #4.

* Creator/MattFraction and David Aja's run on ''ComicBook/{{Hawkeye}}'' suffered from repeated delays to the point that an additional artist, Annie Wu, was brought in to help with art duties, and some issues were published out of order. Hell, Marvel solicited an omnibus for a May 2015 release, meaning the last issue would also be collected, but the issue missed another deadline, and thus the omnibus was also put on hold.

* ''[[ComicBook/SHIELD2010 S.H.I.E.L.D.]]'' by Jonathan Hickman and Dustin Weaver. The second volume started in 2011, and four issues were published, bi-monthy. But Hickman had been so busy as one of the architects of the MarvelUniverse, he didn't have time to write #5. Then Weaver had medical issues that killed his productivity. In mid-2012, they decided to create #5 together, Marvel method. It was completed in 2013, but Marvel understandably decided to hold off on publishing until #6 was ready. Meanwhile, Hickman's role as linchpin of Marvel events was getting bigger, and he wasn't able to write #6 until he'd finished the ''ComicBook/{{Infinity}}'' crossover. In January 2014, the script was complete, and Weaver was working on it. In October 2014, Weaver reported he'd completed the art. Finally, in February of 2018, issues 5 and 6 were solicited for a release in May, along with a special that collects the first four issues. That's about '''seven years late.'''

* The ''Astonishing ComicBook/XMen'' ongoing series took full four years to complete a 25-issue storyline. As a result, [[ComicBook/KittyPryde Shadowcat]] being PutOnABus was spoiled by ''Messiah Complex'': since its events couldn't take place before it, Kitty was nowhere in sight. The series is notoriously hard to fit into Marvel continuity, as it appears to take place over at most a few weeks, but the second arc is set prior to ''ComicBook/HouseOfM'' (Xavier and ComicBook/{{Magneto}} are hanging out on the ruined Genosha) and the final arc includes a dialogue reference to ''ComicBook/CivilWar'' having happened! The series was first written by Creator/JossWhedon and then Creator/WarrenEllis continued the trend. [[AttentionDeficitCreatorDisorder The reason is the same]].

* ''ComicBook/CivilWar''. Issue #4 was pushed back a month and #5 wasn't released until two months after that. Apparently this was to give Steve [=McNiven=] more time to finish the artwork. That doesn't seem so bad, but remember, this was a CrisisCrossover. A number of tie-in issues (either other minis or regular titles) that were completed on-time were held back so as not to spoil developments in the main mini-series.
* Creator/JMichaelStraczynski's run on ''[[ComicBook/TheAmazingSpiderManJMichaelStraczynski Amazing Spider-Man]]'' also suffered from a few delays due to JMS' involvement in other projects (such as the TV series ''Jeremiah''). In fact, during the period when Marvel had Spider-Man temporarily revert wearing the black costume to promote ''Film/SpiderMan3'', he actually went through this in the companion books first, while the main storyline in ''Amazing'' that had him adopt the new look had yet to be even released since it was still wrapping up the ComicBook/CivilWar tie-in that led to said story.

* In late 2010, David Finch was given his own series ''Batman: The Dark Knight'' to write and draw. Solicitations at the time show it was supposed to be a monthly series – the first three issues came out over more than six months. Issues #4 and #5 did come out very quickly after that, but with Finch replaced as penciller by Jason Fabok: with the ComicBook/New52 reboot coming up, DC really needed to finish up the story arc as quickly as it could.

* ''ComicBook/DangerGirl'' became somewhat infamous for this near the end of the original series, with several months passing between issues. Artist J. Scott Campbell would later take it a step further, seemingly abandoning ''ComicBook/{{Wildsiderz}}'', and really sequential art in general, after the second issue.

* This has been going on in comics almost since the comic book miniseries took off. ''ComicBook/{{Camelot 3000}}'', a series intended to be 12 monthly issues, started in December 1982 and ended in April ''1985'', with nine months between the last two issues.

* ''Comicbook/CaveWoman'' is a rather notorious example. Originally began in the early 1990's by artist Budd Root, the comic was released quarterly, with art books and more adult material released in between issued. However, by the early [[TurnOfTheMillennium Aughts]] the comic ground to a near complete halt[[note]]Aside from near-annually released art books collecting said pin-ups.[[/note]], with years passing sometimes between issues. As of [[TheNewTens 2011]] the comic has been brought back with a string of one-shots and mini-series, but almost all writing and art duties for the comic have been picked up by other creators; Root's story output is essentially nil these days due to his massive backlog of pin-up commissions.

* The ''Astonishing Comicbook/XMen'' ongoing series took full four years to complete a 25-issue storyline. As a result, [[Comicbook/KittyPryde Shadowcat]] being PutOnABus was spoiled by ''Messiah Complex'': since its events couldn't take place before it, Kitty was nowhere in sight. The series is notoriously hard to fit into Marvel continuity, as it appears to take place over at most a few weeks, but the second arc is set prior to ''ComicBook/HouseOfM'' (Xavier and Comicbook/{{Magneto}} are hanging out on the ruined Genosha) and the final arc includes a dialogue reference to ''ComicBook/CivilWar'' having happened! The series was first written by Creator/JossWhedon and then Creator/WarrenEllis continued the trend. [[AttentionDeficitCreatorDisorder The reason is the same]].

* ''Comicbook/TheLeagueOfExtraordinaryGentlemen'' has been prone to this at times. One issue included a rhymed "[[SpoofAesop Cautionary Tale]]" in the style of ''Literature/{{Struwwelpeter}}'', wherein a fan who continually complained about next issue's lateness is murdered by the authors.

* ''Comicbook/CivilWar''. Issue #4 was pushed back a month and #5 wasn't released until two months after that. Apparently this was to give Steve [=McNiven=] more time to finish the artwork. That doesn't seem so bad, but remember, this was a CrisisCrossover. A number of tie-in issues (either other minis or regular titles) that were completed on-time were held back so as not to spoil developments in the main mini-series.
* Creator/JMichaelStraczynski's run on ''[[ComicBook/JMSSpiderMan Amazing Spider-Man]]'' also suffered from a few delays due to JMS' involvement in other projects (such as the TV series ''Jeremiah''). In fact, during the period when Marvel had Spider-Man temporarily revert wearing the black costume to promote ''Film/SpiderMan3'', he actually went through this in the companion books first, while the main storyline in ''Amazing'' that had him adopt the new look had yet to be even released since it was still wrapping up the Comicbook/CivilWar tie-in that led to said story.

* Creator/GeoffJohns, Richard Donner, and Adam Kubert's "Last Son" storyline in [[{{Superman}} Action Comics]]. It was five parts and took ''nineteen months'' to finish. Part of the reason was Kubert needing to take some time off because of health issues. Because of the delays, by the time it was finished not only had Johns and Donner finished their ''second'' arc before their first but Johns had already switched to collaborating with artist Gary Frank. In fact, DC had a huge problem regarding this around 2007, especially in all of their Superman books. The promised conclusions to several storylines wound up being delayed for either a future issue or a giant-sized annual, causing stories to get wrapped up months later than intended.

* Marvel's ''Comicbook/{{Inhumanity}}'' crossover got hit hard with this. The event's centerpiece, the ongoing series ''[[ComicBook/TheInhumans Inhuman]]'', was pushed from January 2014 to April 2014 after Creator/MattFraction left the project, causing a big gap where there were a bunch of tie-ins but no actual series carrying the bulk of the story.
* ''[[Comicbook/SHIELD2010 S.H.I.E.L.D.]]'' by Jonathan Hickman and Dustin Weaver. The second volume started in 2011, and four issues were published, bi-monthy. But Hickman had been so busy as one of the architects of the MarvelUniverse, he didn't have time to write #5. Then Weaver had medical issues that killed his productivity. In mid-2012, they decided to create #5 together, Marvel method. It was completed in 2013, but Marvel understandably decided to hold off on publishing until #6 was ready. Meanwhile, Hickman's role as linchpin of Marvel events was getting bigger, and he wasn't able to write #6 until he'd finished the ''Comicbook/{{Infinity}}'' crossover. In January 2014, the script was complete, and Weaver was working on it. In October 2014, Weaver reported he'd completed the art. Finally, in February of 2018, issues 5 and 6 were solicited for a release in May, along with a special that collects the first four issues. That's about '''seven years late.'''

* ''Comicbook/BorisTheBear'' suffered greatly from its creator doing all the chores - writing, pencils, inking, lettering, production, solicitation, etc.
* Creator/MattFraction and David Aja's run on ''Comicbook/{{Hawkeye}}'' suffered from repeated delays to the point that an additional artist, Annie Wu, was brought in to help with art duties, and some issues were published out of order. Hell, Marvel solicited an omnibus for a May 2015 release, meaning the last issue would also be collected, but the issue missed another deadline, and thus the omnibus was also put on hold.

* Creator/JoeQuesada's ''[[Comicbook/{{Daredevil}} Daredevil: Father]]'' is a six issue miniseries that got hit with it twice: after the first issue (16 months) and before the last (10 months).

* ''Comicbook/UsagiYojimbo'' took over a three year hiatus as the book's creator, StanSakai, took care of his ailing wife.

** To celebrate their 10th anniversary, Image created ''Image United'', intended to be illustrated by all of Image's founders and written by Robert Kirkman. As of 2012, close to two years later, they're at issue 3, with the next two issues being about 60% complete. There were many, many jokes about this being very appropriate for the company's anniversary.

* In the now-canceled ''Star Wars: Rebellion'' comic series, the very first arc was plagued by a number of schedule slips. Issue four was released in late July, ending on a cliffhanger going into the final issue of the story arc. The conclusion to the arc was released in December of that year.

* Creator/KevinSmith frequently has this problem. Various comics series of his have been met with ridiculous delays, with ''Spider-Man/Black Cat'' having a 40 month gap between issues 3 and 4 and ''Daredevil/Bullseye'' seeing a first issue in November 2002, with a second one still being unreleased more than two ''decades'' later. ''The Widening Gyre'', which was intended to have twelve issues with a long break at the halfway point after the sixth, also saw that long break extended far further than intended

* In TheNineties, Creator/ImageComics was known primarily for four things: {{Schedule Slip}}s, Creator/RobLiefeld's inability to draw figures even remotely approximating human anatomy, nearly every team having a [[CaptainErsatz Wolverine duplicate]], and {{Schedule Slip}}s. Did we mention [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Schedule Slips]]?