Marvel and DC have the biggest sales figures dominating the comic book market, but the cost of such success is that they offer a product that must remain consistent, so any changes which are made to the characters almost always return to the status quo. For truly original groundbreaking storytelling, most creators turn to indie publishers where they can invent their own characters and stories without the same restrictions.

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Some truly amazing indie comics that have come out these past years. Many of the plot twists and big reveals in these comics have rocked the comics world. However, not all of the changes stuck. These are the ten biggest changes in indie comics from the past decade that didn't last (and yes, there will be spoilers ahead):

9 Hellboy: His Stay in Hell

Hellboy is one of the most famous comic characters around. The main Hellboy comics came to a close as Mike Mignola finished the series Hellboy in Hell in 2016 with the title character accepting his destiny to forever reign in Hell rather than serve an endless existence of drama in the world above.

Other titles in the Hellboy universe continued to be made, exploring his past, the adventures of the BPRD, and the various spinoff characters getting their own focus such as in the cases of Witchfinder and Rasputin. However, as the title of the book BPRD: The Devil You Know probably makes clear, Hellboy did in fact return to the main continuity.

8 Sunstone: The Breakup

Sunstone is a romance comic by Stjepan Sejic that has become one of the most popular indie comics of recent years (and possibly the most popular romance comic of the decade). It follows the story of Ally and Lisa, two friends who enter into a BDSM relationship together.

Beyond Sejic's breathtaking distinct art style, he has proven himself one of the great character writers of modern comics. That is what made it so tragic when the couple broke up at the end of volume 4. Thanfully, while Ally and Lisa's hearts might've been tied up in knots for a bit, the two were bound to get back together.

7 Fearscape: Death of the Muse

Vault Comics is a new indie publisher that was founded in 2016. They have released some truly remarkable stories, many of which have a focus on dark fantasy. One of the most revolutionary comics of the last decade of Vault's title Fearscape, written by Ryan O'Sullivan and penciled by Andrea Motti.

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This groundbreaking series opens by confronting the past traditions of comics and prose literature as it strives to forge ahead and boldly explore new storytelling feats. This is one of the darkest and most punishing comics one can read and he series protagonist commits his fair share of villainous acts, among them killing the legendary Muse. However, in a twist that explores the magic of the world while increasing dramatic tension, she is resurrected shortly thereafter.

Top Cow Universe: The Future Timeline

The Top Cow imprint of Image Comics has several fan favorite series, among them Sunstone, but the company earned its reputation when it famously produced such hit dark fantasy titles as Witchblade and The Darkness in the 90s. These two books were part of a shared universe - a universe that got rebooted in 2012 as the Artifacts story built to its climax.

The new continuity built the fantasy elements into a cyberpunk world, all of which was building toward the post-apocalyptic far future seen in titles like Aphrodite IX. However, the story The Darkness: Hope introduces another possible future, while a third was prophecied in Phil Hester's pre-reboot Darkness continuity.

6 The Wicked + The Divine: Heads of the Dead

The Wicked + The Divine is a  love letter to pop culture written in neon ink on the scrolls of ancient lore. In this sensational series, the pagan gods of old manifest as music gods in the 21st Century. One of the character is Lucifer, better known as Luci, a pansexual David Bowie-inspired hedonist who literally makes heads explodes.

She is the first of the pantheon to die, a tragic incident which ends the first story arc, even as it propels the story forward with the mystery of who killed her looming over events. Eventually, she and several other characters are revealed to be alive - or at least their heads are.

5 Rat Queens: Series End

When Rat Queens first released, it was the indie darling that the comics world had been waiting for and it was met by eager fans ready to devour this story about a sassy, snarky D&D adventuring party: a goth cleric who is her own higher power, a mushroom-loving Sapphic hippie rogue, a mage on bad terms with her parents, and a dwarven fighter hipster who was shaving her beard before everyone else started to.

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The series ended prematurely after only three volumes. Thankfully, it was uncancelled later on, but it was never quite the same after that.

4 Saga: The Will and Sophie

Brian Vaughan and Fiona Staples took the comic world by storm with the release of Saga in 2012. The ongoing series manages to combine fantasy and sci-fi elements in a powerful family drama set against the backdrop of war. One of the major characters is a bounty hunter, named The Will, who is tasked with bringing in the main family of characters.

In the fourth issue, The Will saves a young girl who has been trafficked and later adopts her, giving her the name Sophie. Later, he ends up in a relationship with a Wreath-born woman named Gwendolyn and the three form a family. However, Gwendolyn and Sophie both end up leaving The Will, ending this family dynamic.

3 Bloodshot: Powers Deactivated

The Valiant Universe returned to comics in 2012 after many years of being out of business. One of their four opening titles followed the anti-hero Bloodshot, a man with nanites in his body that make him the perfect killer with the ability to heal, change his appearance, and heal from damage.

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Several times through the series, he was depowered, either having his nanites shut down or having them leave his body (sometimes being taken by others). All he wants is peace, but time and again, his powers reactivate and he is sucked into endless wa.

2 Valiant: Character Deaths

It is now considered a cliché in comics that when a superhero dies, they are expected to just come back to life eventually. Superman, Hulk, Flash, Spider-Man, Green Arrow, half the Robins, and just about every major X-Man has been resurrected from the dead.

As the third biggest superhero universe, Valiant has also been guilty of bringing back dead characters. Eternal Warrior, the geomancer Kay McHenry, Master Darque, Shadowman, and the all-powerful laser-eyed goat that is Quantum and Woody's father are some major characters for whom death proved a temporary inconvenience.

1 Trees: Zhen's End

Trees is a series by Warren Ellis and Jason Howard with a huge multinational ensemble cast that explores what would happen if aliens invaded but they were so large and strange they gave no more thoughts to humans than humans gave to ants.

One of the stories in Trees follows a young Chinese man named Chenglei who moves to the City of Shu, an artist's colony erected in the shadow of an alien "Tree." He ends up in a relationship with a transwoman named Zhen. When the Chines military decides to destroy the city and everyone within, it seems like they both are killed. However, it is later revealed at the end of the second volume that Zhen survived and is a refugee seeking international asylum - a dark twist, but at least she's able to live to see another day.

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