Unresolved Issues: 5 Unfinished Comic Series We Want to Come Back

We demand closure from our funny books.

Cliffhangers are possibly the most annoying thing for fans of serialized fiction. For comic book fans, they’re an almost everyday occurrence. Sometimes, guys – brace yourselves for this – these cliffhangers never get resolved. The story arc just never finishes for one reason or another. And, often, we won’t ever find closure. This is not a new thing for comic books, but it’s still frustrating. Here are some of our favorite comic series that have never given us our final goodbye and you can find out what the future holds for them on Nerdist.com.

Battle Chasers by Joe Madureira – 9 out of 10 issues published. Battle Chasers was a series about a group of mismatched warriors who have to work together to capture four incredibly powerful villains who have escaped from a massive prison. It took place in a world where magic and science co-existed and sword-and-gunplay was not uncommon. We really took to the deep (and deeply flawed) characters, especially the former great swordsman, Garrison, and the nine-year-old girl, Gully, who was given magical gloves by her missing father. The story had a very well-defined quest format and it seemed like it knew where it was going. We caught up with Joe recently and asked him when we might get to see more Battle Chasers.

Blue Monday: Thieves Like Us by Chynna Clugston – 1 issue published. On the complete other end of the publication-problems spectrum is Thieves Like Us, the miniseries-turned-theoretical-graphic-novel within the Blue Monday title published by Oni Press. The book is the story of several hip and mod teenagers going to high school in the early ‘90s, the lead character being the blue-haired Bleu Finnegan. After the first issue in January 2009, the series went cold. After awhile, it was announced that it would become a graphic novel, but as of December 2012, no definite word has been uttered (until now). See what the future holds for the kids of Jefferson High straight from Chynna Clugston on Nerdist.com.

Wildsiderz by J. Scott Campbell & Andy Hartnell – 2 out of 5 issues published. Hot on the heels of their first series, Danger Girl, Campbell and Hartnell created a superhero team book about young people who get the abilities of animals via an advanced holographic technology called Wildsiderz. We were just getting excited to see what would happen next when the series stopped after two proper issues. There was word that #3 would drop in April of 2006, but that never materialized and Campbell and Hartnell moved on to different projects. DC has taken it off of the Wildstorm list of titles, which definitely does not bode well for further touches with our wild sidez.

Mage by Matt Wagner – 30 out of 45 issues published. Talk about waiting with bated breath; creator Matt Wagner’s Mage has been around for nearly 30 years and doesn’t seem to have a third act to wrap it up yet. Telling the story of Kevin Matchstick, who gets wrapped up with the wizard Mirth and has a magic and powerful baseball bat, Mage was designed as a set of three, 15-issue volumes. The first was published in the ’80s, the second in the ’90s, and the proposed third volume, which would round out the saga, has not been published and, it seems, does not have a definitive timetable. We long for closure!!! Help us move on!!!

Batman: The Widening Gyre by Kevin Smith – 6 out of 12 issues published. Filmmaker/podcaster/comic writer Kevin Smith teamed up with his childhood friend, Walt Flanagan, in 2008 for the three-issue miniseries, Cacophony, which saw the return of Onomatopoeia, the villain Smith had introduced during his Green Arrow run. By the end of the year, Smith and Flanagan were back with the Caped Crusader for the more ambitious miniseries, The Widening Gyre, where Bruce Wayne begins seeing Silver St. Cloud again and Batman takes on a mysterious new partner, Baphomet. After only half of its proposed run, it went on hiatus, something not uncommon to people familiar with Smith’s comic book output. Read what Kevin’s plans are for The Widening Gyre on Nerdist.com.

For more on the what fate has in store for these books, plus what the authors themselves have to say, read our full article on Nerdist.com!

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