History TroubledProduction / ComicBooks

** ''newuniversal'' suffered an equally crushing blow when the files on Creator/WarrenEllis' laptop were lost when his hard drive failed. Marvel shuffled him on to other projects and ''newuniversal'' died an inglorious death.

* DC's ComicBook/New52 was troubled from the start.
** Most of the creators were only given notice 3-4 months in advance prior to {{ComicBook/Flashpoint}}, the event that launched the New 52. Many of their stories had rushed endings or were outright CutShort.

** Because of communication issues, it was hard for creators to set things straight with others - George Perez, for example, was unable to find out if Superman's parents were still alive from Grant Morrison.

** Gail Simone was fired in an email for no reason, despite the book she was working on selling well and receiving good reviews, then promptly hired back over an email.
** Joshua Hale Fialkov was hired to write ''Green Lantern'', but quit the book when he was told to kill off John Stewart.

** Most of the creators were only given notice 3-4 months in advance prior to {{ComicBook/Flashpoint}}, the event that launched the New 52. Many of their stories had rushed endings or were outright {{CutShort}}.

* ''ComicBook/TheCloneSaga'', the infamous storyline that would have temporarily shunted Peter Parker from his role as ComicBook/SpiderMan and giving it to his once-thought-dead clone Ben Reilly, went wildly out of control when the story became mired in {{Writer Revolt}}s, ExecutiveMeddling, {{Padding}}, and [[CashCowFranchise old-fashioned greed]], expanding a story that would have only lasted a few months into a story that lasted ''years''. When the KudzuPlot ran rampant, EndingFatigue set in, and fans started to leave the titles in annoyance, Marvel was forced to figure out a way to set things back to Status Quo.

** Most of the creators were only given notice 3-4 months in advance prior to {{ComicBook/Flashpoint}}, the event that launched the New 52. Many of their stories had rushed endings or were outright Cut Short.

** Most of the creators were only given notice 3-4 months in advance prior to ComicBook/Flashpoint, the event that launched the New 52. Many of their stories had rushed endings or were outright Cut Short.

%% NOTE: Real life examples only. In-universe examples go on TroubledProduction/FictionalExamples.
->''"I wouldn't exactly call "Maximum Clonage" the apex of the clone saga -- it was more like the nadir. Just as "ComicBook/MaximumCarnage" came to be known around the {{Creator/Marvel}} offices (in somewhat hushed tones) as "Maximum Garbage," this magnum opus "Maximum Clonage" would come to be known as "Maximum Bonage."''

* David Herbert apparently attracts this kind of production with all his works except [[http://www.livingwithinsanity.com/index/ Living With Insanity]]. [[http://www.tnemrot.com/ Tnemrot]] was supposed to be a print comic and was written in late 2008, going through seven artists before Tatiana Lepikhina joined and is now a webcomic. [[http://www.indyplanet.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=3429 Gemini Storm]] was also written at the same time, came out in March 2010 and the second issue is still expected to take another month or two before being released. He has also mentioned other projects that haven't gone anywhere due to artists dropping out or simply disappearing.
* ComicBook/TheCloneSaga, the infamous storyline that would have temporarily shunted Peter Parker from his role as ComicBook/SpiderMan and giving it to his once-thought dead clone Ben Reilly, went wildly out of control when the story became mired in {{Writer Revolt}}s, ExecutiveMeddling, {{Padding}}, and [[CashCowFranchise old-fashioned greed]], expanding a story that would have only lasted a few months into a story that lasted ''years''. When the KudzuPlot ran rampant, EndingFatigue set in, and fans started to leave the titles in annoyance, Marvel was forced to figure out a way to set things back to Status Quo.
** The non-Cliff Notes description: The story was meant to be a three act event to herald the arrival of ''Amazing Spider-Man'' #400. However, no one seemed to have an idea on what to do before hand and went with the idea after it was given and championed. Things spiraled out of control because of the four aforementioned problems: Marvel, via Ronald Perelman[[note]]the man who would end up bringing Marvel to the brink of bankruptcy.[[/note]], wanted a storyline that would rival ''ComicBook/AgeOfApocalypse'' and, going with a "profit or die" mentality [[note]]meaning that if your title didn't bring in the money, it and you were given the axe[[/note]], the marketing department held a lot more clout than anyone else: instead of a set series of stories, marketing demanded that they stretch the story as long as possible. That meant one-shots, mini-series and extra long events. Bit by bit, creators got fed up and walked out as the story grew more and more convoluted.
* [[ComicBook/JLAAvengers The popular crossover]] between the Franchise/{{Justice League|OfAmerica}} and ComicBook/TheAvengers languished for 20 years because Creator/{{DC|Comics}} and Creator/{{Marvel|Comics}} couldn't decide on ''[[CavemenVsAstronautsDebate who would win in a fight]]''. The reason for this decision is now particularly clear: it was a major ExecutiveMeddling temper tantrum: Creator/JimShooter, who had just became head of Marvel prior, was incredibly pissed off that the ComicBook/XMen had teamed up with the ComicBook/TeenTitans and not with the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes, which was [[CreatorsPet something he held dearly]].

** ''ComicBook/Marvel2099'', which depicted a futuristic Franchise/MarvelUniverse as a CyberPunk dystopia, wasn't the greatest, but when Marvel let go its editor-in-chief for that line as a cost-cutting measure thanks to its near-bankruptcy, many of its creators bailed due to their dislike of his replacement, leaving the series to limp to its end.
* The Creator/ImageComics[=/=]Creator/ValiantComics crossover ''ComicBook/{{Deathmate}}'' was the victim of both companies having conflicting philosophies on comic book production. Valiant created their half of the crossover with a tight editorial leash, but Image let their own artists and writers do whatever they wanted, contributing to the comics' disjointed feel. That neither company knew each other's characters, resulting in lots of {{out of character moment}}s, didn't help. Worst of all, however, Valiant's half came on time owing to their strict adherence to deadlines and shipping schedules, but Image's half, like much of their work, was [[ScheduleSlip infamously late]]. So late, in fact, that by the time their half was published, interest in the series had dried up, leaving comic shops that had pre-ordered the series with piles of unsellable comics, which helped set off UsefulNotes/TheGreatComicsCrashOf1996. It also served as a CreatorKiller for Valiant.
* Anything done by Creator/RobLiefeld, a master of the ScheduleSlip. During the making of ''ComicBook/{{Deathmate}}'', Liefeld's contributions had passed so many deadlines, that an editor from Valiant had to go to Liefeld's house and refuse to leave, just to make sure that his work wasn't ''over a year'' late.
* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'' always had a problem when it came to converting video game storylines into its largely different setting. However, two of the biggest screw ups came about via ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' and ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2''. For ''Sonic Adventure'', Sega gave Archie a copy of the game... untranslated, so they had to fudge a lot of the story. The original plan was to have the storyline run through then-all three titles - ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', ''Knuckles the Echidna'' and ''Sonic Super Special''. However, just before the storyline started, the ''Knuckles'' comic got cancelled, forcing Archie to cram all of the Knuckles stories into the Sonic issues as back stories.
** For ''Sonic Adventure 2'''s story, the big problem was that Sega was insistent on Archie creating a tie-in into the game. Archie's solution? Just do enough to whet people's appetite and go get the game. Still was enough to ruin a side-by-side storyline that had a cosmically-powered Knuckles altering Mobius drastically.
*** From ''Sonic Adventure 2'' onwards, most adaptation storylines ended up just usually being short teasers following the issues main story. The teaser game stories have boxes that clarify whether the game in question is to be taken as canon in the comic's universe or not.
** And then, there was the problem with Creator/KenPenders and Creator/KarlBollers. Around 1997-98, Karl Bollers took over the Sonic comic as Penders focused on the Knuckles comic. However, Ken would end up shuffling back over to Sonic due to the Knuckles comic getting cancelled. At first, things weren't too bad, as Penders could focus on the Knuckles back up stories. However, come #125, those were done away with and the two were working together. Suddenly, the two men were trying to pull rank over one another over story elements and which way they wanted the story to go. Ultimately, Bollers quit while Penders stayed on for a few issues longer before being let go, with newcomer Ian Flynn being asked to go from simple one-story back up writer to Head Writer. A few years down the line, Penders, upon learning of the existence of ''VideoGame/SonicChroniclesTheDarkBrotherhood''[[note]]which just so happened to use [[{{Expy}} Expies]] of his characters[[/note]], decided to reclaim his characters and storylines, copyrighting them all with Archie and Sega being notified of this. Archie sued Penders, claiming that the characters he created were Sega's, Penders counter-sued and we're off to the races.

** On the subject of Sonic-related works connected to Ken Penders, there's the exhausting story concerning what became ''The Lara-Su Chronicles''. The original story was initially called "Knuckles: 20 Years Later" and was meant to be an issue of ''Sonic Super Special''. However, ''SSS'' got cancelled with issue 15. The story was refined and rebranded as "Mobius: 25 Years Later", serving as back-up stories in the main title. However, Penders left the story on a cliffhanger and soon quit Archie due to ExecutiveMeddling (they wanted him to add more Sonic characters to it). He regained usage of the characters thanks to the lawsuit and promised to tell the tale he wanted to with a release date of July 2015. As of this writing, it hasn't been released with the excuse of "wanting to make it into an app and translate it to other languages" being the reason.
** The problems for Archie wouldn't end with the reboot. Mega Man's title was flagging sales again and Archie decided it was time for a second crossover. Enter ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogMegaManWorldsUnite'' and Archie decided to make it bigger - not only did they involve both main titles along with ''ComicBook/SonicBoom'' (though relegated to just Sticks the Badger, Fastidious Beaver and Comedy Chimp) and the main heroes of the ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' series, but a dozen other franchises from SEGA and Capcom, which cost Archie millions in licensing costs. Unlike ''Worlds Collide'', ''Worlds Unite'' was a mixed bag and given a lukewarm reception with Archie barely recouping the costs. This led to ''Sonic Boom'' and ''Mega Man'' to be shuttered afterwards as a cost-cutting measure (Though ''Boom'' was more due to the backlash from ''Rise of Lyric''[='s=] failure.) and the Sonic titles were hit hard as the crossover smashed into the ongoing [[VideoGame/SonicUnleashed Shattered World]] storyarc. The title would go into a brief hiatus soon after, a result of Archie [[ComicBook/ArchieComics2015 rebooting their entire main line]] and go on a second, much longer hiatus that would lead to the title's cancellation and the license being sent to Creator/IDWPublishing. The exact reasoning for Archie losing the license isn't known, but hints from various sources seem to hint that the Archie reboot drained them financially and their focus on ''Series/{{Riverdale}}'' led to Archie to be very lax on the idea of keeping the series despite it being one of their best-sellers.
* The wedding of [[ComicBook/{{Superman}} Clark Kent and Lois Lane]] was this. The original plan was for them to get hitched in ''Superman vol. 2'' #75. However, by this time, Creator/WarnerBros was making plans to make [[Series/LoisAndClark a new live-action Superman series]] and asked DC to wait until they did their own wedding to do theirs. DC complied, but they just lost a year's worth of stories. At one of their "Super Summits", writer Jerry Ordway made his usual joking suggestion of "Let's just kill 'em" and it gained traction. [[ComicBook/TheDeathOfSuperman We all know where that went]]. However, the wedding languished for four years while WB continued on with their series. At one point, DC actually ''separated'' Clark and Lois waiting for them and once the series ''FINALLY'' got to do their wedding - four years later - DC was quick to reconcile them and get them married. In a sick version of Russian Roulette, this ended up killing off the TV series, though not before airing a wedding episode which guest-starred an angel(!) who arrives on Earth to marry the couple off, and all but turns to the audience and [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall begs on hands and knees for forgiveness]].

* For ''Franchise/XMen'', "Mutant Massacre" was the first big crossover between ''ComicBook/UncannyXMen'' and ''ComicBook/XFactor''. Also, ''ComicBook/TheMightyThor'', ''ComicBook/NewMutants'', ''ComicBook/PowerPack'', and ''ComicBook/{{Daredevil}}'' [[note]]Though this one's issue explicitly took place after the main storyline.[[/note]] took part for tie-in issues. It would make for 12 issues total. According to Walt Simonson, the idea was to craft the story in such a way that you follow along if you only read one of the given titles, but that you'd also be rewarded with a more complex tale if you read all of the issues. The average X-Fan would get a major story, while those who only read the other books wouldn't be bogged down. There was even a flow chart included in some issues telling readers how the various issues intersected. While the story was well-received, came out on time, and was the beginning of a trend of ''X-Men'' crossovers, ''X-Factor'' writer Louise Simonson described the required coordination to pull it off as a horrible experience. In order for the story to make sense, there were many lengthy phone calls, as well as many different scripts to go over and keep track of. It is perhaps no coincidence that the next major crossover ("Fall of the Mutants") did not see the participating titles intersect.
* By February 2020, Marvel was gearing up for two major events -- ''ComicBook/{{Empyre}}'', which saw the Avengers and Fantastic Four team up to stop an alien invasion, and ''ComicBook/{{Outlawed}}'', which saw Marvel's teen heroes deemed criminals due to a new law. However, the next month, the entire comic book industry came to a complete standstill due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When Marvel resumed production, it was at a staggered pace that saw certain tie-ins cancelled and many of the ''Outlawed'' story beats slowly being released.

** And then, there was the problem with Creator/KenPenders and Creator/KarlBollers. Around 1997-98, Karl Bollers took over the Sonic comic as Penders focused on the Knuckles comic. However, Ken would end up shuffling back over to Sonic due to the Knuckles comic getting cancelled. At first, things weren't too bad, as Penders could focus on the Knuckles back up stories. However, come #125, those were done away with and the two were working together. Suddenly, the two men were trying to pull rank over one another over story elements and which way they wanted the story to go. Ultimately, Bollers quit while Penders stayed on for a few issues longer before being let go, with newcomer Ian Flynn being asked to go from simple one-story back up writer to Head Writer. A few years down the line, Penders decided to reclaim his characters and storylines, copyrighting them all with Archie and Sega being notified of this. Archie sued Penders, claiming that the characters he created were Sega's, Penders counter-sued and we're off to the races.

* ''ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog'' always had a problem when it came to converting video game storylines into its largely different setting. However, two of the biggest screw ups came about via ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' and ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2''. For ''Sonic Adventure'', Sega gave Archie a copy of the game... untranslated, so they had to fudge a lot of the story. The original plan was to have the storyline run through then-all three titles - ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', ''Knuckles the Echidna'' and ''Sonic Super Special''. However, just before the storyline started, the ''Knuckles'' comic got cancelled, forcing Archie to cram all of the Knuckles stories into the Sonic issues as back stories.

** On the subject of Sonic-related works connected to Ken Penders, there's the exhausting story concerning what became ''The Lara-Su Chronicles''. The original story was initially called "Knuckles: 20 Years Later" and was meant to be an issue of ''Sonic Super Special''. However, ''SSS'' got cancelled with issue 15. The story was refined and rebranded as "Mobius: 25 Years Later", serving as back-up stories in the main title. However, Penders left the story on a cliffhanger and soon quit Archie due to ExecutiveMeddling (they wanted him to add more Sonic characters to it). He regained usage of the characters thanks to the lawsuit and promised to tell the tale he wanted to with a release date of July 2015. As of this writing, it hasn't been released with the excuse of "wanting to translate it to other languages" being the reason.

* ComicBook/TheCloneSaga, the infamous storyline that would have temporarily shunted Peter Parker from his role as SpiderMan and giving it to his once-thought dead clone Ben Reilly, went wildly out of control when the story became mired in {{Writer Revolt}}s, ExecutiveMeddling, {{Padding}}, and [[CashCowFranchise old-fashioned greed]], expanding a story that would have only lasted a few months into a story that lasted ''years''. When the KudzuPlot ran rampant, EndingFatigue set in, and fans started to leave the titles in annoyance, Marvel was forced to figure out a way to set things back to Status Quo.

* ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehog'' always had a problem when it came to converting video game storylines into its largely different setting. However, two of the biggest screw ups came about via ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' and ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure2''. For ''Sonic Adventure'', Sega gave Archie a copy of the game... untranslated, so they had to fudge a lot of the story. The original plan was to have the storyline run through then-all three titles - ''Sonic the Hedgehog'', ''Knuckles the Echidna'' and ''Sonic Super Special''. However, just before the storyline started, the ''Knuckles'' comic got cancelled, forcing Archie to cram all of the Knuckles stories into the Sonic issues as back stories.

** And then, there was the problem with Ken Penders and Karl Bollers. Around 1997-98, Karl Bollers took over the Sonic comic as Penders focused on the Knuckles comic. However, Ken would end up shuffling back over to Sonic due to the Knuckles comic getting cancelled. At first, things weren't too bad, as Penders could focus on the Knuckles back up stories. However, come #125, those were done away with and the two were working together. Suddenly, the two men were trying to pull rank over one another over story elements and which way they wanted the story to go. Ultimately, Bollers quit while Penders stayed on for a few issues longer before being let go, with newcomer Ian Flynn being asked to go from simple one-story back up writer to Head Writer. A few years down the line, Penders decided to reclaim his characters and storylines, copyrighting them all with Archie and Sega being notified of this. Archie sued Penders, claiming that the characters he created were Sega's, Penders counter-sued and we're off to the races.

** The problems for Archie wouldn't end with the reboot. Mega Man's title was flagging sales again and Archie decided it was time for a second crossover. Enter ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogMegaManWorldsUnite'' and Archie decided to make it bigger - not only did they involve both main titles along with ''ComicBook/SonicBoom'' (though relegated to just Sticks the Badger, Fastidious Beaver and Comedy Chimp) and the main heroes of the ''VideoGame/MegaManX'' series, but a dozen other franchises from SEGA and Capcom, which cost Archie millions in licensing costs. Unlike ''Worlds Collide'', ''Worlds Unite'' was a mixed bag and given a lukewarm reception with Archie barely recouping the costs. This lead to ''Sonic Boom'' and ''Mega Man'' to be shuttered afterwards as a cost-cutting measure (Though ''Boom'' was more due to the backlash from ''Rise of Lyric''[='s=] failure.) and the Sonic titles were hit hard as the crossover smashed into the ongoing [[VideoGame/SonicUnleashed Shattered World]] storyarc. The title would go into a brief hiatus soon after, a result of Archie [[ComicBook/ArchieComics2015 rebooting their entire main line]] and go on a second, much longer hiatus that would lead to the title's cancellation and the license being sent to Creator/IDWPublishing. The exact reasoning for Archie losing the license isn't known, but hints from various sources seem to hint that the Archie reboot drained them financially and their focus on ''Series/{{Riverdale}}'' lead to Archie to be very lax on the idea of keeping the series despite it being one of their best-sellers.

*** From Sonic Adventure 2 onwards, most adaptation storylines ended up just usually being short teasers following the issues main story. The teaser game stories have boxes that clarify whether the game in question is to be taken as canon in the comic's universe or not.
** And then, there was the problem with Ken Penders and Karl Bollers. around 1997-98, Karl Bollers took over the Sonic comic as Penders focused on the Knuckles comic. However, Ken would end up shuffling back over to Sonic due to the Knuckles comic getting cancelled. At first, things weren't too bad, as Penders could focus on the Knuckles back up stories. However, come #125, those were done away with and the two were working together. Suddenly, the two men were trying to pull rank over one another over story elements and which way they wanted the story to go. Ultimately, Bollers quit while Penders stayed on for a few issues longer before being let go, with newcomer Ian Flynn being asked to go from simple one-story back up writer to Head Writer. A few years down the line, Penders decided to reclaim his characters and storylines, copyrighting them all with Archie and Sega being notified of this. Archie sued Penders, claiming that the characters he created were Sega's, Penders counter-sued and we're off to the races.

-->''"I wouldn't exactly call "Maximum Clonage" the apex of the clone saga -- it was more like the nadir. Just as "ComicBook/MaximumCarnage" came to be known around the {{Creator/Marvel}} offices (in somewhat hushed tones) as "Maximum Garbage," this magnum opus "Maximum Clonage" would come to be known as "Maximum Bonage."''

* The Creator/ImageComics[=/=]Creator/ValiantComics crossover ''ComicBook/{{Deathmate}}'' was the victim of both companies having conflicting philosophies on comic book production. Valiant created their half of the crossover with a tight editorial leash, but Image let their own artists and writers do whatever they wanted, contributing to the comics' disjointed feel. That neither company knew each other's characters, resulting in lots of CharacterDerailment, didn't help. Worst of all, however, Valiant's half came on time owing to their strict adherence to deadlines and shipping schedules, but Image's half, like much of their work, was [[ScheduleSlip infamously late]]. So late, in fact, that by the time their half was published, interest in the series had dried up, leaving comic shops that had pre-ordered the series with piles of unsellable comics, which helped set off UsefulNotes/TheGreatComicsCrashOf1996. It also served as a CreatorKiller for Valiant.
** And while we're on that subject, anything done by Creator/RobLiefeld, a master of the ScheduleSlip. During the making of ''ComicBook/{{Deathmate}}'', Liefeld's contributions had passed so many deadlines, that an editor from Valiant had to go to Liefeld's house and refuse to leave, just to make sure that his work wasn't ''over a year'' late.

-->''"I wouldn't exactly call "Maximum Clonage" the apex of the clone saga -- it was more like the nadir. Just as "ComicBook/MaximumCarnage" came to be known around the {{Marvel}} offices (in somewhat hushed tones) as "Maximum Garbage," this magnum opus "Maximum Clonage" would come to be known as "Maximum Bonage."''

* The Creator/ImageComics[=/=]Creator/ValiantComics crossover ''ComicBook/{{Deathmate}}'' was the victim of both companies having conflicting philosophies on comic book production. Valiant created their half of the crossover with a tight editorial leash, but Image let their own artists and writers do whatever they wanted, contributing to the comics' disjointed feel. That neither company knew each other's characters, resulting in lots of CharacterDerailment, didn't help. Worst of all, however, Valiant were strict about shipping schedules and deadlines and thus turned in their half on time, but Image's half, like much of their work, was [[ScheduleSlip infamously late]]. So late, in fact, that by the time their half was published, interest in the series had dried up, leaving comic shops that had pre-ordered the series with piles of unsellable comics, which helped set off UsefulNotes/TheGreatComicsCrashOf1996. It also served as a CreatorKiller for Valiant.

* The Creator/ImageComics[=/=]Creator/ValiantComics crossover ''ComicBook/{{Deathmate}}''. Neither company knew each other's characters, resulting in lots of CharacterDerailment. Valiant were super-strict about shipping schedules and deadlines and thus turned in their half of the crossover on time, but Image's half, like much of their work, was [[ScheduleSlip infamously late]]. So late, in fact, that by the time their half was published, interest in the series had dried up and comic shops that had pre-ordered the series were left with piles of unsellable comics, contributing to UsefulNotes/TheGreatComicsCrashOf1996 more than any other product. It also served as a CreatorKiller for Valiant.
* And while we're on that subject, anything done by Creator/RobLiefeld, a master of the ScheduleSlip. During the aforementioned ''ComicBook/{{Deathmate}}'', Liefeld's contributions had passed so many deadlines, that an editor from Valiant had to go to Liefeld's house and refuse to leave, just to make sure that his work wasn't ''over a year'' late.

* The Creator/ImageComics[=/=]Creator/ValiantComics crossover ''ComicBook/{{Deathmate}}''. On top of neither company knowing each other's characters and both operating on opposite ends of editorial strictness, the Image Comics half of the crossover was so late that by the time it was turned in and published, interest in the series had dried up and comic shops were left with tons of comics they pre-ordered but could no longer sell, contributing to UsefulNotes/TheGreatComicsCrashOf1996 more than any other product. It also served as a CreatorKiller for Valiant.

-->''"I wouldn't exactly call "Maximum Clonage" the apex of the clone saga--it was more like the nadir. Just as "ComicBook/MaximumCarnage" came to be known around the {{Marvel}} offices (in somewhat hushed tones) as "Maximum Garbage," this magnum opus "Maximum Clonage" would come to be known as "Maximum Bonage."''

* [[ComicBook/JLAAvengers The popular crossover]] between the {{Justice League|OfAmerica}} and ComicBook/TheAvengers languished for 20 years because Creator/{{DC|Comics}} and Creator/{{Marvel|Comics}} couldn't decide on ''[[CavemenVsAstronautsDebate who would win in a fight]]''. The reason for this decision is now particularly clear: it was a major ExecutiveMeddling temper tantrum: Creator/JimShooter, who had just became head of Marvel prior, was incredibly pissed off that the ComicBook/XMen had teamed up with the ComicBook/TeenTitans and not with the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes, which was [[CreatorsPet something he held dearly]].

** ''ComicBook/{{Marvel 2099}}'', which depicted a futuristic Franchise/MarvelUniverse as a CyberPunk dystopia, wasn't the greatest, but when Marvel let go its editor-in-chief for that line as a cost-cutting measure thanks to its near-bankruptcy, many of its creators bailed due to their dislike of his replacement, leaving the series to limp to its end.

* [[ComicBook/JLAAvengers The popular crossover]] between the {{Justice League|OfAmerica}} and ComicBook/TheAvengers languished for 20 years because Creator/{{DC|Comics}} and Creator/{{Marvel|Comics}} couldn't decide on ''[[CavemenVsAstronautsDebate who would win in a fight]]''. The reason for this decision is now particularly clear: it was a major ExecutiveMeddling temper tantrum: Jim Shooter, who had just became head of Marvel prior, was incredibly pissed off that the ComicBook/XMen had teamed up with the ComicBook/TeenTitans and not with the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes, which was [[CreatorsPet something he held dearly]].

* ComicBook/TheCloneSaga, the infamous storyline that would have temporarily shunted Peter Parker from his role as SpiderMan and giving it to his once-thought dead clone Ben Reilly, went wildly out of control when the story became mired in {{Writer Revolt}}s, ExecutiveMeddling, {{Padding}}, and [[CashCowFranchise old-fashioned greed]], expanding a story that would have only lasted a few months into a story that lasted ''years''. When the KudzuPlot ran rampant, EndingFatigue set in, and fans started to leave the titles in annoyance, Marvel was forced to figure out a way to set things back to StatusQuo.

* Anything that isn't part of the mainstream Creator/MarvelComics tends to suffer from this. One of the more documented ones was ComicBook/TheNewUniverse. Touted as "The World Outside Your Window", the franchise fell apart from the beginning - writers tossed in 616-type elements (aliens, powered armors, etc.), financial backers pulled out before it even started, and people were too engrossed by that slogan. Despite canceling half of the franchise and starting a massive storyline that started with the destruction of UsefulNotes/{{Pittsburgh}}, it never got off its feet and died nearly three years later.

* Anything that isn't part of the mainstream Creator/MarvelComics tends to suffer from this. One of the more documented ones was ComicBook/TheNewUniverse. Touted as "The World Outside Your Window", the franchise fell apart from the beginning - writers tossed in 616-type elements (aliens, powered armors, etc.), financial backers pulled out before it even started, and people were too engrossed by that slogan. Despite canceling half of the franchise and starting a massive storyline that started with the destruction of Pittsburgh, it never got off its feet and died nearly three years later.
** ''newuniversal'' suffered an equally crushing blow when the files on WarrenEllis' laptop were lost when his hard drive failed. Marvel shuffled him on to other projects and ''newuniversal'' died an inglorious death.
** ''ComicBook/{{Marvel 2099}}'', which depicted a futuristic MarvelUniverse as a CyberPunk dystopia, wasn't the greatest, but when Marvel let go its editor-in-chief for that line as a cost-cutting measure thanks to its near-bankruptcy, many of its creators bailed due to their dislike of his replacement, leaving the series to limp to its end.

* [[ComicBook/JLAAvengers The popular crossover]] between the {{Justice League|OfAmerica}} and ComicBook/TheAvengers languished for 20 years because {{DC|Comics}} and {{Marvel|Comics}} couldn't decide on ''[[CavemenVsAstronautsDebate who would win in a fight]]''. The reason for this decision is now particularly clear: it was a major ExecutiveMeddling temper tantrum: Jim Shooter, who had just became head of Marvel prior, was incredibly pissed off that the ComicBook/XMen had teamed up with the ComicBook/TeenTitans and not with the ComicBook/LegionOfSuperHeroes, which was [[CreatorsPet something he held dearly]].