10 Canceled Comic Strips Everyone Loved (& Why They Ended)

Comic strips, as readers know them today, have been a part of mass-produced media for nearly two centuries, and they aren't showing any signs of slowing down. Even with the advent of comic books and the general decline of newspaper sales around the world, traditional comic strips continue to captivate audiences of every age.

This is largely because most comic strips can be read and reread countless times by the audiences they win over. While that might not matter much to titles still seeing print, it goes a long way in preserving the popularity of beloved comics that have already reached the end of their road. Or, in the case of at least one classic comic strip that has foregone the road entirely for something more akin to an open pasture filled with bipedal cows and their various tools.

Little Orphan Annie's Cast Moved on to Other Comics After More Than 80 Years

Split image of The Far Side comic strips featuring dogs by Gary Larson

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Created by Harold Gray, who based the series on James Whitcomb Riley's 1885 poem "Little Orphant Annie," Little Orphan Annie first appeared in print in the August 5 edition of New York's Daily News all the way back in 1924. Like the radio shows, teleplays, feature films, and iconic stage musical it inspired, Little Orphan Annie followed its eponymous young protagonist as she adjusted to life as the ward of the wealthy Oliver "Daddy" Warbucks. Though Gray passed away in 1968, numerous artists and writers took the helm of Little Orphan Annie in the following years.

Thanks to its legacy status and occasional bouts of renewed popularity following the release of Annie and its subsequent remakes, Little Orphan Annie was able to amass a print run that most comic strips can only hope to achieve. At the same time, Little Orphan Annie was only in print in 20 individual papers by the time the series' final chapter was published on June 13, 2010, proving that not even a pop culture phenomenon like Annie could last forever. Thankfully, Little Orphan Annie just so happens to inhabit the same fictional universe as other Tribune Media Services comic strips. Chief among these is the still-ongoing Dick Tracy, which has hosted Annie and her associates multiple times since her own self-titled series came to a close.

Cathy Left Off on a Happy Ending Before Returning in an Entirely Different Format

Created by Cathy Guisewite, Cathy debuted on November 22, 1976, and quickly became a multimedia sensation. Initially loosely based on Guisewite's life and experiences, Cathy soon developed a life that extended far beyond newspaper comics sections. In 1987, a Cathy animated television special premiered on CBS. Critical reception to the special not only garnered Guisewite a Primetime Emmy, it also ensured the production of two sequels, 1988's Cathy's Last Resort and 1989's Cathy's Valentine.

After over thirty years of success and reaching a height of nearly 1,400 simultaneous appearances in newspapers, Cathy's retirement was officially announced in 2010, with the final strip coming on October 3. In the final multi-panel strip, Cathy announces that she is pregnant with a baby girl, to the delight of her parents. Nearly ten years later, Guisewite brought Cathy back as Cathy Commiserations, a singe-panel webcomic running since 2018, save for a five-month hiatus in 2021.

Buck Rogers' 25th Century Adventures Ended Because of Author/Publisher Relations

Created by Philip Francis Nowlan and first appearing in daily papers in early 1929, the titular hero of Buck Rogers and the 25th Century A.D. was one of the era's most iconic sci-fi action heroes. Though Buck Rogers may not currently be the household name he once was, his face still graced lunch boxes, comics, and even the silver screen for the better part of fifty years.

Unfortunately for the original comic strip, its time lasted less than forty of those years, all because of the deeply rooted disdain the series' artists had for publishers at United Feature Syndicate. In mid-1958, Buck Rogers and the 25th Century A.D. was left without any illustrators following a mass walkout, leaving United Feature scrambling for replacements. While one was found in the form of Murphy Anderson, his time with the Syndicate lasted barely a year before he was replaced with George Tuska, who carried the series through to its final installment on July 8, 1967.

The Far Side Faded Away Instead of Being Outright Canceled

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Gary Larson's The Far Side helped to popularize surrealist and absurdist humor in North America with its cast of anthropomorphic animals and literal depictions of logical inconsistencies. Between snide observations and iconic gags such as "Cow Tools," The Far Side found a fan in readers of every ilk, which certainly helped the series maintain its popularity from the day it launched in December 1979 to the day Larson announced a personal hiatus/professional retirement in 1995.

During the advent of the internet age, Larson was adamantly opposed to his work being circulated across the web. Therefore, The Far Side never appeared on Universal Press Syndicate's GoComics site nor the comic's homepage. Between 1995 and 2019, The Far Side was nowhere to be found in daily print media and online sources. When the official The Far Side website was overhauled, the comic finally made its way to the web, albeit in a slightly different format than what fans were used to. In the following years, Larson posted only sparsely, with the last The Far Side comic published on the series' official site on December 7, 2023.

Arnold Gave Its Titular Character the Perfect Mind-Bending Sendoff

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Calvin and Hobbes getting ready to race with comic strips in the background

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Kevin McCormick's Arnold ran for just over five years, and at its height, it was still only printed in less than five dozen newspapers. However, its placement in major papers such as the Los Angeles Times and Detroit Free Press garnered it the kind of attention that could genuinely make entire careers. Starring the young, quirky, occasionally explosive Arnold Melville, his hapless friend Tommy, and their schoolteacher Mr. Lester, Arnold skirted the line between observational and absurdist with every single panel.

This was more apparent than ever in Arnold's final installment on April 17, 1988, which featured an exchange between Tommy and Arnold's mother. After calling to speak to Arnold, Tommy is told that the titular character was taken off into the sky by a massive bird of some kind. Tommy, dumbfounded, responds by asking what he is supposed to do, to which Arnold's mother simply replies, "Goodbye, Tommy," before ending the series with the sound of the phone hitting the receiver hook.

Canceling Beau Peep Nearly Ruined a Major Newspaper

Roger Kettle and Andrew Christine's classic British comic strip Beau Peep has been a fan favorite since its debut on November 2, 1978. The strip stars the titular Bert, or Beau, a completely inept and overtly cowardly figure who decides to embark upon a career within the French Foreign Legion to escape his overbearing wife, Doris. This lands Beau in the middle of the North African desert, where his comrades least appreciate his antics.

Even though Beau Peep was beloved by audiences, the Daily Star decided to drop the series in December of 1997, which the newspaper attributed to being part of a "cost-cutting exercise." Not only did outraged fans immediately demand that the series return, but the abrupt cancelation tanked the Daily Star's daily returns just as fast. For whatever reason, Beau Peep wouldn't return until March 1999, kicking off a second run that lasted more than seven years until the series was canceled a second and final time in December 2016.

The Death of Stan Lee Ushered in the End of The Amazing Spider-Man

Even though Peter Parker made his Marvel Comics debut as The Amazing Spider-Man more than a decade prior, it wasn't until 1977 that the wall-crawler made the leap to the funny pages. Written by Stan Lee and, later, Roy Thomas, who was uncredited for most of his tenure, and originally illustrated by John Romita Sr., The Amazing Spider-Man continued going strong for over forty years.

Following the tragic passing of Stan Lee in 2018, The Amazing Spider-Man comic strip continued to be printed with the late creator's name attached for nearly six months. In March 2019, the announcement was made that The Amazing Spider-Man would undergo a series of creative overhauls, which forced any new installments to be replaced with reprints. Rather than returning with a fresh set of foes or a new mystery for the Wall-Crawler to take on, The Amazing Spider-Man instead ended on March 23, 2019, after both Roy Thomas and artist Alex Saviuk left the series.

Charles Schulz Ended Peanuts Upon His Retirement from Comics

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On October 5, 1950, Charles Schulz introduced readers to the world of Peanuts with the first of thousands of installments in the long-running series of the same name. Starring a cast of iconic characters led by Charlie Brown, the series' humble beginnings as Li'l Folks, a weekly cartoon in Schulz's hometown paper, soon gave way to Peanuts' mass appeal and critical acclaim. Apart from becoming a multimedia empire unto itself, Peanuts helped to establish four-panel gag strips as the new standard in U.S. newspaper comics, further cementing its legacy within the industry.

When Schulz began his career in 1947, he was still in his twenties and doing things by himself, exactly the same as his career ended when the final Sunday edition of Peanuts was published. Schulz not only wrote and drew Peanuts on his own over more than fifty years, but he also provided his own lettering, colors, and rough edits. That alone stood as a testament to his dedication and skill as a writer and cartoonist, yet the timing of his retirement and Peanuts' ultimate end was unnervingly prescient. Citing his ailing health, Schulz announced his eventual retirement on December 14, 1999, with the last installment of Peanuts being published on February 13, 2000, less than 24 hours after its creator passed away.

Bloom County was Destroyed by the Character of a Future United States President

Berkeley Breathed's Bloom County is unlike anything else in the world of comic strips, not just because of its long-running stories or tendency to not pull any punches in tackling pressing topics. The first Bloom County strip debuted on August 6, 1989, introducing readers to the eponymous locale and its eclectic cast of characters such as Milo Bloom, Steve Dallas, Oliver Wendell Jones, and the iconic Bill the Cat.

It was Bill the Cat who was at the center of Bloom County's original ending, which came about following the demented feline's relationship with Donald Trump led to the former business magnate buying out Bloom County and sending its cast packing. This resulted in a series of strips that saw the main cast join other, entirely disconnected strips such as The Far Side and Prince Valiant, a story which came to a close with Bloom County's final installment on August 6, 1989. Thankfully, multiple characters continued to take center stage in their own spinoff series, while Bloom County would return over a decade later on July 13, 2015.

Calvin and Hobbes Ended on the Highest Note Possible for Bill Watterson

Of all the comic strips to attain critical success, there might be none so beloved as Calvin & Hobbes. The series, which launched on November 18, 1985, was crafted by Bill Watterson during his dissatisfying career in advertising. After workshopping the idea with United Feature Syndicate, Watterson was able to retool his previous strip, The Doghouse, into the series fans know and love today. Surprisingly, United Feature still turned Watterson down, although United Press was happy to hand him a contract in their competition's stead.

Calvin & Hobbes ran in more than 2,400 newspapers across the globe at the height of its popularity, with its strips being reprinted in a multitude of collections that had sold close to 45 million copies as of 2010. While Calvin & Hobbes made Watterson famous, he worked diligently to keep his life as private as possible and retain full creative control of the series. While this means that Calvin & Hobbes merchandise is all but non-existent compared to similarly popular strips, it also gave Watterson the final say in protecting the series' ultimate legacy. In 1995, Watterson announced that he had done everything he could have wanted with his time in comic strips. On December 31 of the same year, the final Calvin & Hobbes comic saw the pair sled down a snowy hill toward infinite possibilities.

Calvin on roller skates and Hobbes in a wagon fly off a pier into a lake in Calvin and Hobbes

Calvin and Hobbes

WriterBill WattersonPublisherAndrews McMeel PublishingArtistBill Watterson