Here's another classic DC Message Boards thread from two years ago. I'll repost it without any sig lines as close as possible to the original without resorting to the dreaded quotes function:

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Michael Bise
posted July 18, 2002 02:46 PM
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I was just re-reading ARMAGEDDON: THE ALIEN AGENDA this past weekend, and at the end of issue #4, they announced the "coming soon!" second volume of the Captain Atom series. Well, of course, this never happened.
What happened in 1992? Both the HYBRID series and the NIGHTWING series (with pencils by Art Thibert) never came to be then, despite the announcements and publicity in NEW TITANS.

Aside from the DC "Implosion" of 1978, what are other big eras where series were announced and never happened? I also remember art from Kein McGuire in 1992 showing his line-up from future issues of TEAM TITANS (many different characters), but he left the title with issue #3.

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Starsky_Hutch76
posted July 18, 2002 03:10 PM
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There was supposed to be a Helix spin-off from Infinity Inc. that never happened.

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Michael Bise
posted July 18, 2002 03:26 PM
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Forgot about that one!
Of course, there's Joe Kubert's THE REDEEMER from 1983.

And the Early Nineties TITANS graphic Novel by Wolfan/Perez... And the Roy Thomas/Jerry Ordway SPECTRE graphic novel.

Thank God that trashy SHAZAM! series by Roy Thomas never came to be.... whoosh!

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superboymddjr
posted July 18, 2002 03:30 PM
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the Titans novel called "GAMES" is what I really want to see in print !!!!
Vixen, the Deserter, Harlequin by Bob Rozakis, and few others never materialized, so much chagrin to DC Implosions.

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datalore
posted July 18, 2002 03:32 PM
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We were suppose to get many a spin-off mini or one-shot on various Suicide Squad members (or that's what they said in the last few letters pages of the John Ostrander run)...I know there was suppose to have been a Nightshade mini here and there before the Suicide Squad ended...

We also were promised specials of the Secret Origins (there is a John Ostrander/Tom Mandrake story sitting in an archive somewhere, I hope....as well as a few more Golden Age origins from Roy Thomas...)

Mark Millar was suppose to have given us a Secret Society of Super-Villains mini (believe it or not, PRESTIGE FORMAT, not so much on the SSOSV as we saw, but on villainy in the DCU in general...)

We were suppose to have gotten a 15th issue of Stars & S.T.R.I.P.E. (the plot for 15 was put into 14, and we lost an adventure of the 2 Star-Spangled Kids because of it...)

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Michael Bise
posted July 18, 2002 03:44 PM
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Wonder if this stuff would have been cool, or crap (like ARMAGEDDON: THE ALIEN AGENDA)....

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Xanadude
posted July 18, 2002 04:40 PM
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Michael -
I have five or six issues of the Amazing Heroes Preview Specials - the amount of stuff that DC announced and never published in the late 80s and early 90s was kinda staggering, as well as series that went in radically different directions than planned.

For example - Neal Pozner's Aquaman 2 miniseries sounded GREAT, but never appeared, as did the female Flash series that was supposed to come out after Crisis - no superspeed, but light manipulation, like in the Tangent book.

When I get home tonight Ill post some more.

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casselmm47
posted July 18, 2002 04:51 PM
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No mention yet of the 'Blue and the Gold'/Blue Beetle/Booster Gold mniseries? That one's been promised forever (FKAJL notwithstanding...)
The Man Named Neverwhere, a Martian Manhunter backup series, a Strange Adventures revival, Demand Classics and Western Classics were also lost in the DC Implosion.

Cass

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Michael Bise
posted July 18, 2002 05:04 PM
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Do tell, Roy!!!

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Gilligan!!
posted July 18, 2002 05:24 PM
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In the mid-'80s, Wolfman and Perez were planning on creating a new Titans West spin-off, but it never came to be. At Donna Troy's wedding, Golden Eagle and Flamebird were shown suggesting a new Titans West and were trying to recruit old members.
Another Titans West revival(Titans "L.A.") was supposed to happen about a year or two ago, by Geoff Johns and Ben Raab. It was meant to be spun-off from the Beast Boy mini-series Johns had done, and the Secret Files story he and Raab did together. But since the regular Titans book wasn't selling enough, DC figured that the spin-off wouldn't do any better. I still think, though, that the Titans L.A. book would've done really well, and would probably outlive the ongoing Titans that we have now.

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JericHO
posted July 18, 2002 05:37 PM
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Although not a DC series, Colleen Doran was suppossed to draw a second Fallen Angels mini-series circa 1989. She even illustrated the character bios for the 1989 update to the Handbook to the Marvel Universe.
As a teenager at the time, I really enjoyed the original 1987 mini (and the New Mutants) and was looking forward to the follow-up.

BTW, I remember the Amazing Heroes Preview Specials, too. The anticipation they created for me . . . The immediate gratification of the Internet has taken away some of the "fun" of comics.

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JericHO
posted July 18, 2002 05:50 PM
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Gilligan,
The mid-80s Titans West was actually aborted when Perez returned to the series in 1988. In 1988 ( circa Feb/March), Amazing Heroes interviewed Marv Wolfman and he provided details of the team. DC, which was still behind the Titans (unlike now), was basically pushing for the spin-off.

Marv's plan was to have Cyborg move to San Francisco (following his girlfriend, Dr. Sarah Charles) and lead the new team. Red Star and Chris King (from Dial H) were also slated to be members. Marv went as far as to lay the foundation for the book: Dr. Charles accepted a position at STAR in San Francisco and both Red Star (issues 48-49) and Chris King returned (issues 46-47).

Perez, however, was a fan of Cyborg and wanted him to remain a member of the East coast team. IIRC, this fact, coupled with the general desire to the get the main book "back on track," killed any plans for a Titans West.

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Dave Cormier
posted July 18, 2002 06:45 PM
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Greg Rucka was supposed to write a Question backup strip in Detective, but left the book. That sucks because the Question's one of my all time favorites and I'd love to see him in action again!
The Demon strip in Action Comics Weekly ended on a cliffhanger, and wasn't finished (a half assed explanation did appear in the beginning of his ongoing some years later).

DC talked about doing an onoing Parallax series at one point.

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Xanadude
posted July 18, 2002 07:31 PM
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From the 1986 Amazing Heroes Previw Special:
"A last minute entry into the Preview Special, The Flash is shrouded in mystery. Created by Len Wein and Marv WOlfman, who at ehis point are scheduled to co-write teh series, The Flash is reported to bear absolutely no similarities to the long time DC star who met his end in Crisis. Editor Alan Gold assured AH that this new character won't even be a super-speedster, but will instead by ablee to manipulate various forms of energy-light, sound, and so forth-ikn order to defeat his foes.

In his secret identity of MacKenzie Ryan, the Flash will be a technician at STAR Labs in Metropolis, working side-by-side withJeanette Klyburn. Says Gold, "MacKenzie is more than just friendly with Jeanette. Whether or not they're lovers is still open for debate at this point, but he's definately the only non-work interest in her life. Mac is also a single parent, with a daughter somewhere between the ages of eight and 12.
The only other thing I can say right now is that there will be a new, major DC villain in the first issue. He has no name as of yet, but his origin and the FLash's origin will be inextricably connected."
The article goes on to say that no artist was yet chosen, but Chuck Patton was a likely front runner.


Wanna hear more? Tell me and Ill type some more in this thread --- like the 86 Metal Men series, Aquamans 2nd mini, and more.

And two aborted series, the Redeemer and Zero Man were covered in the Obscure DC Characters Thread. Check it out.

PS It's Ray, not Roy, Michael sweetie.

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Michael Bise
posted July 18, 2002 09:16 PM
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Sorry, Ray!!!! As David Gray says, "Please forgive me..."
All that sounds interesting... give us more!!!!

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TyphoidDave
posted July 18, 2002 09:36 PM
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Len Wein's Green Lantern in 1986 was supposed to have spun off a new character, The Image. They even gave the poor fellow who was supposed to be The Image a nasty accident, which I guess was intended to give him his powers.
Ostrander's Suicide Squad ended with the promise of a miniseries, which never evolved.

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bluedevil2002
posted July 18, 2002 10:53 PM
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Quote:

Originally posted by Dave Cormier:
Greg Rucka was supposed to write a Question backup strip in Detective, but left the book. That sucks because the Question's one of my all time favorites and I'd love to see him in action again!



Just because Rucka left Detective doesn't mean he won't be writing the Question backup. I believe it's still in the works.

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Xanadude
posted July 19, 2002 12:20 PM
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Here's a couple more interesting tidbits from the 1985 and 1986 Amazing Hereoes Previews:
1) The JLA, after #250, was supposed to include and and all heroes in the DCU, with Batman as the leader. Specific characters mentioned were Booster Gold and Blue Devil. Basically, the editors said that the recent lineup change (Remember JLDetroit?) didnt significantly effect sales in either direction. Also, the "A" in JLA was going to be minimalized. It seems this idea morphed into the restarted JL title, but without Vixen, Vibe, Gypsy, and Steel, who were still supposed to be the core team with The Martian Manhunter, Elongated Man, and Zatanna.

2) World's Finest was to become a team up book featuring different characters each issue. Instead, it got canceled outright.

Next up: the weirdness of Ambush Bug II (some of the ideas for this are REALLY weird), Aquaman II, and maybe a little somethin else

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matlock
posted July 19, 2002 12:55 PM
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The "Legionnaires" title was originally slated to retell the early days of the group within the existing continuity of the time, ie. inserting Valor and Laurel Gand into stories that had featured Superboy and Supergirl. There was even a entry in the Who's Who' loose leaf edition using this concept. Instead, we got the SW6 clone Legion, and the somewhat bizarre situation of the two Legions running around at the same time, until Zero Hour made the whole mess go away.

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Dave Cormier
posted July 19, 2002 01:35 PM
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Quote:

Originally posted by bluedevil2002:
Just because Rucka left Detective doesn't mean he won't be writing the Question backup. I believe it's still in the works.



have a hard time believing that this will ever get done, but if it does I'll be on it like white on rice!

I'd also heard that Denny O'Neil was tinkering with a Question novel, anyone know anything about this?

And I really want to hear more about that second Ponzer Aquaman mini series! The first one is very underrated, and I really think DC should've stuck with that Aquaman costume!

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Kamandi2
posted July 19, 2002 01:44 PM
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Another was the Len Wein/Ross Andru Pandora Pann ongoing series. It was supposed to start as a 16- page bonus book thing in an issue of Saga of the Swamp Thing with the ongoing series starting the next month. Swamp Thing was even solicited featuring it but the contents changed and the series never happened.
It was a Tomb Radier type series about a woman named Pandora Pann who accidentally found Pandora's Box and once again freed all the evils. Each issue would be her tracking them down.

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Carbon Freeze
posted July 19, 2002 01:59 PM
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Byrne was working on a new Captain Marvel/Shazam series for a long time before he gave it up and Jerry Ordway stepped in.

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Hack
posted July 19, 2002 03:33 PM
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Quote:

Originally posted by Dave Cormier:
Greg Rucka was supposed to write a Question backup strip in Detective, but left the book. That sucks because the Question's one of my all time favorites and I'd love to see him in action again!



If memory serves, Rucka was originally going to write a Question/Huntress mini and in a recent interview said that DC was not interested; he suspected that they simply don't know what to do with the character because he's costume-less. That DC wouldn't be interested in any Rucka project is beyond me...

And as far as I've heard, the Question/Huntress storyline will still appear in the back of 'TEC. My fingers and a couple toes are crossed; BATMAN/HUNTRESS: CRY FOR BLOOD will long remain one of my all-time favorite reads (although I wasn't crazy about the conclusion).

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?
posted July 19, 2002 06:44 PM
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There's also the aborted Firestorm graphic novel, which was to be called "Corona". Art was to be by Pat Broderick.
And the Captain Atom graphic novel. Art was to be by Pat Broderick.

What is it with Pat and cancelled graphic novels about atomic-age heroes?

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Michael Bise
posted July 19, 2002 07:50 PM
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And, then of course, there's John Byrne's FREAKS...

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FreedomFighter
posted July 19, 2002 10:18 PM
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Keep the previews stuff coming guys. I'm totally diggin' this thread.
I hope one of these days DC publishes a compendium of stories that The Implosion tossed into the filing cabinets instead of into print.

Don't get me started. Maybe I'll bump an old thread of mine, if its still around here.

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N3
posted July 19, 2002 10:25 PM
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There was suppose to be ongoing Dhamphire and Brother Power series as well as a Lobo mini involving a biker death race.

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Koppy McFad
posted July 20, 2002 02:30 AM
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DC was originally planning to re-launch several of the !mpact titles after "the Crucible" mini- series.
However someone up there changed his mind and they dropped !mpact completely, even before the license from Archie comics had lapsed.

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REKLEN
posted July 20, 2002 02:42 AM
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What about the much hyped
"Valda the Iron Maiden", with art by Todd Mcfarlane,

Or the Arak tradepaperbacks?

DC Double Comics with Superboy and Supergirl

Reklen

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David
posted July 20, 2002 03:19 AM
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There was supposed to be a Jim Sherman drawn Adam Strange backup in Star hunters that was killed by the implosion. Anybody know if one of more of those got published in some other book?

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bigdaddycaz
posted July 20, 2002 04:03 AM
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Roy Thomas was suppost to do a Shazam series in the late 80s, long before Jerry Ordway's. It even had a preview in Action Comics Weekly.

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Koppy McFad
posted July 20, 2002 04:29 AM
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One story of the Sherman-drawn Adam Strange later appeared in World's Finest when it became a dollar book.

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Michael Bise
posted July 20, 2002 08:17 AM
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I wonder if DC has any of these pages still?

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Hack
posted July 20, 2002 03:34 PM
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Quote:

Originally posted by Michael Bise:
And, then of course, there's John Byrne's FREAKS...



Now THERE'S a good memory for ya! Did you know DC even wasted a B&W "poster" (roughly 24"x12") on these geeks in a "poster book" released post-CRISIS and HISTORY OF THE DCU? I can't recall what it was called and it wasn't actually a book because all pics were unbound, but I think it may have been called History of the DCU something-or-other and included a Sienkiewicz-drawn holder that was pretty much the only decent work in the entire project. IMO it was very disappointing; and I had so looked forward to it that I picked up TWO copies upon its release! Coulda done without both...

Anyway, great memory, Michael!

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Hack
posted July 20, 2002 03:37 PM
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Quote:

Originally posted by Hack:
...and I had so looked forward to it that I picked up TWO copies upon its release! Coulda done without both...



And near 20 years later they're still taking up valuable space somewhere in my closet!

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Michael Bise
posted July 20, 2002 05:48 PM
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Quote:

Originally posted by Hack:
Now THERE'S a good memory for ya! Did you know DC even wasted a B&W "poster" (roughly 24"x12") on these geeks in a "poster book" released post-CRISIS and HISTORY OF THE DCU? I can't recall what it was called and it wasn't actually a book because all pics were unbound, but I think it may have been called History of the DCU something-or-other and included a Sienkiewicz-drawn holder that was pretty much the only decent work in the entire project. IMO it was very disappointing; and I had so looked forward to it that I picked up TWO copies upon its release! Coulda done without both...
Anyway, great memory, Michael!



I recall it was in the HISTORY OF THE DCU deluxe edition (which I've never seen). It was mentioned in one of those DC text pages of the time as an "upcoming monthly from John Byrne!".

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N3
posted July 20, 2002 07:39 PM
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1. Mike Grell was supposedly working on a prestige format mini called Swamp Angel.
2. When John Byrne was writing Wonder Woman there was a Wondergirl mini that was in the works.

3. Steve Englehart is said to have done a Mad Hatter mini series that never got published.

4. Steve Grant was working on a monthly called Salvo that was decribed as the Punisher meets Desi and Lucy. It never saw the light of day.

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Michael Bise
posted July 20, 2002 07:48 PM
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I even think they showed part of that Steven Grant thing in Wizard, right?

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Michael Bise
posted July 20, 2002 09:51 PM
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WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Remember the Lords of Chaos/Order battle that was mentioned in the WHO'S WHO 1988 Updates?????? Obviously a mega-crossover that never happened...

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N3
posted July 21, 2002 05:04 PM
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I never saw Salvo in Wizard, but it's entirely possible.
There was also suppose to be a Space Ranger mini or ongoing by Micheal Freidman that never saw the light of day.

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Triplicate Boy
posted July 21, 2002 11:23 PM
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Can't believe no one mentioned the grand daddy of all aborted crossovers, the oft-mentioned CRISIS ON CAPTIVE EARTH.

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Spangles
posted July 22, 2002 02:41 AM
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Quote:

Originally posted by Hack:
Now THERE'S a good memory for ya! Did you know DC even wasted a B&W "poster" (roughly 24"x12") on these geeks in a "poster book" released post-CRISIS and HISTORY OF THE DCU? I can't recall what it was called and it wasn't actually a book because all pics were unbound, but I think it may have been called History of the DCU something-or-other and included a Sienkiewicz-drawn holder that was pretty much the only decent work in the entire project. IMO it was very disappointing; and I had so looked forward to it that I picked up TWO copies upon its release! Coulda done without both...
Anyway, great memory, Michael!



You're thinking of the HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE PORTFOLIO, and oversized set of prints which sported the excellent Sienkiewicz cover (which was originally used on the hardcover's slipcase.)

At first I didn't remember what you were talking about, because I was remembering the wasted 'ad' print by Byrne was for an "Outsiders" revival (in name only.)

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Spangles
posted July 22, 2002 02:47 AM
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Oh, and Michael;
regarding the Lords of Chaos & Order;

Wow, did they EVER drop the ball on that!

That story had been worked into SOOOOO many titles and characters for YEARS in the 1980s, building up to....absolutely nothing. Cuz it just fizzled out and was abandoned. Sheesh.

Among some of the many books it was running through;

PHANTOM STRANGER mini
AMETHYST
POWER GIRL mini
JL EUROPE
HAWK & DOVE
off the top of my head!

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Mikishawm
posted July 22, 2002 05:05 AM
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And here's a link to some info on untold Aquaman stories:

http://www.silverbulletcomicbooks.com/bobro/index.htm

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Hellst0ne
posted July 22, 2002 05:24 AM
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In the early 90s, DC promised us a SPACE RANGER miniseries that I looked forward too.
And Ostrander's KALIBAN definitely sounded interesting.

How about the "Minutemen" spinoff from WATCHMEN? Was it ever slated, or was there just informal talk about it?


/ola

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Michael Bise
posted July 22, 2002 05:29 AM
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Yea, Spangles I was excited to read about that Lords of Chaos & Order thing back then, only to never see it materialize...

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Hack
posted July 22, 2002 07:20 AM
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Quote:

Originally posted by Spangles:
You're thinking of the HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE PORTFOLIO, and oversized set of prints which sported the excellent Sienkiewicz cover (which was originally used on the hardcover's slipcase.)




Yep--that's it!

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boy from earth-2
posted July 22, 2002 04:59 PM
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There was supposed to be a Vertigo Books of Faerie series, spinning off from Books of Magic and from the various mini-series. Someone posted about this on the Vertigo other topics board -- DC dragged its feet, the artist lost interest, etc...

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darkowl
posted July 22, 2002 05:57 PM
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Anyone remember the LORDS OF THE ULTRAREALM maxi-series?
I know there was supposed to be a follow-up to it but I can't recall if it ever came out.

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JLAJRC
posted July 22, 2002 06:23 PM
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I believe there was supposed to be a series called Magog or something based on the Kingdom miniseries.
The Ultramarines were introduced in a early JLA story (sort of an updated Global Guardians) I thought they had plans for. They never returned.

Wasn't there supposed to be a Sentinels of Magic series based on their magic characters? They show up once in awhile but otherwise nothing else.

What about the Blue Devil? They brought him back in Days of Judgement and killed the Enchantress. That was quickly undone in a JLA mini a year or so ago.

Sonic Disruptors was never finished.

Are they ever planning on doing ANYTHING with their Planetary characters they introduced in their annuals a couple of years ago. The only one I've seen since was that chick in the JSA annual.

I don't know the story but wasn't their supposed to be a Sword of the Atom series? I know they did a couple specials and mini's but thats about it.

Zauriel had a mini but he never got an actual series.

If the LAW and last Hawk & Dove mini weren't so bad I'm sure they would do sometthing with them.

I'm sure there's tons more that you guys know about.

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JericHO
posted July 22, 2002 06:43 PM
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Anyone remember the LORDS OF THE ULTRAREALM maxi-series?
I know there was supposed to be a follow-up to it but I can't recall if it ever came out.
IIRC, the was a LORDS one-shot special published in 1987/88. I remember picking-up the first issue of the mini. It reminded me of a testosterone version of Amethyst (a great character who's been missing too long!).

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darkowl
posted July 22, 2002 07:08 PM
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I don't remember if I purchased that or not, I was stationed in Italy at the time so I might have missed it in my orders.
I really liked the maxi-series, I thought it was pretty different for those times.

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Xanadude
posted July 22, 2002 07:10 PM
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Before Blue Devil was cancelled, there were plans to take him into a more mystical direction - kind of a non-adult version of Swamp Thing.
Crisis on Captive Earth was the early working title for Legends. Apparently they were going to keep the summer crossovers titled with "Crisis" in the title. (there was a thread about that a while back, actually, where we all named the subsequent crossover with Crisis in the title...)

Tomorrow, for Michael Bise......the Wonder Woman that wasn't, OR, what would've happened if we hadn't seen Diana shanghaied into space, working at Taco Whiz, and had Mike Deodato draw her....

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Xanadude
posted July 22, 2002 07:14 PM
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And back to Michael's original post, Kevin Maguire's Team Titans morphed into Strikeback! the independent greator owned series he put out through Bravura and Image. I have an article in which in talks about the Team Titans comic, and he mentioned ALL of the characters that eventually appeared in Strikeback!

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Michael Bise
posted July 22, 2002 07:49 PM
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Yeah, CRISIS OF THE SOUL was gonna be Wolfman's follow-up to CRISIS, I think I remember.

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MLLASH
posted July 23, 2002 12:06 AM
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I -LOVED- Nancy Collins' DHAMPIRE prestige one-shot. That was back in my whole Interview With The Vampire/Lestat/Queen of the Damned phase.
Anybody have any info on why the vertigo series never came about???

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DarqueGuy
posted July 23, 2002 01:02 AM
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Nobody's mentioned it yet, but Kieth Giffen was going to do a CREEPER series (can't remember off the top of my head if it was going to be a mini or an ongoing) right around the time Jack Ryder started showing up in the JLI books.

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supermanred2001
posted July 23, 2002 01:26 AM
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After the Byrne reboot, circa 1987, Superman was supposed to get a 3-D graphic novel one shot introducing a new villain called TANTRUM.
Firestorm was supposed to have gotten his own graphic novel.

A Superman Annual or Special had the ads for it but never came out, sometime between 1987 and 1991. Something about an old girlfriend of Clark's during his travels?

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Michael Bise
posted July 23, 2002 07:08 AM
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Oh, that was 1990, and it was by Chris Claremont & Michael Golden for ACTION COMICS! Ads for it and evrything,and never released. That same year the Walt Simonson Annual was solicited, but canceled, although it eventually got released as a Special in 1992.
Wonder what happened to the Claremont book...

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Spangles
posted July 23, 2002 08:41 AM
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Quote:

Originally posted by Hack:
Now THERE'S a good memory for ya! Did you know DC even wasted a B&W "poster" (roughly 24"x12") on these geeks in a "poster book" released post-CRISIS and HISTORY OF THE DCU? I can't recall what it was called and it wasn't actually a book because all pics were unbound, but I think it may have been called History of the DCU something-or-other and included a Sienkiewicz-drawn holder that was pretty much the only decent work in the entire project. IMO it was very disappointing; and I had so looked forward to it that I picked up TWO copies upon its release! Coulda done without both...
Anyway, great memory, Michael!



That comment about "the only decent artwork" had me scartching my head wondering if I had bought another portfolio....maybe the Bizarro Universe version. So I went a diggin'!

The HISTORY Portfolio includes such horrible art as;

George Perez' Wonder Woman
Jose' Luis Garcia Lopez' Jonah Hex
Dick Giordano's Batman
Curt Swan & Jery Ordway's Superman
Steve Lightle's Legion of Super Heroes
Joe Kubert's Sgt. Rock
Bissette & Totleben's Swamp Thing
Brian Bolland's "Arthurian era" (Demon, Viking Prince, Silent Knight, Shining Knight)

annnnnnnddd, two that stuck out like a sore thumb.

A truly horrible Keith Giffen Dr. Fate. (Yes, he's a visionary. Yes, he's a master artist. Yes, his style is unique. Yes, he is a chameleon. And in the late 1980s, he did some downright bad art; Dr. Fate mini, Legion circa # 306-314...his 'globule' period.)

John Byrne's FREAKS. In the midst of the great characters done (mostly) by artists most identified with them in their long and lush DC careers, we have this piece. A business man, a derelict, a super-vamp, a Jimi Hendrix rip-off and a pale skinny chick, the 'future' of DC, a series that would never see print. Nice touch.

Simonson wasn't available to do a Metal Men and Manhunter pic?

Anywho, this sorta also ties in with the earlier bit about the Lords of Chaos and Order;

DR. FATE!

I can't believe I forgot how integral that whole bit was! He was sort of "Ground Zero" for all of the other stuff going on, both in his Giffen illustrated 4 issue mini and in the ongoing when it came out.

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Ancient John
posted July 23, 2002 11:14 AM
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All well and good, but isn't it better that most of these series never saw print? It they would have, they would probably have been cancelled within a year. There is nothing I hate more than reading a great build-up for nine issues, to have the whole thing cleared up in a ridicullous way that ruines the nine preceeding issues. All this inside the space of 22 pages because of lagging sales....

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JericHO
posted July 23, 2002 11:57 AM
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I was always under the impression that Keith Giffen's Creeper mini-series morphed into The Heckler. I didn't read The Heckler, but the two characters seemed similar.

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Xanadude
posted July 23, 2002 01:26 PM
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Mikishawm beat me to the punch on Aquaman, so here's some of William Messner-Loebs unused Wonder Woman ideas (this is for you, Mr. Bise):
1) Diana was to get involved coaching Vanessa's softball team, leading to a murder-mystery involving the ghost of a Negro League baseball player

2) Diana would be involved with the Meals on Wheels program, which DC actively participated (do they still?) in. The story would follow her route and the effect she had on normal everyday people.

3) Diana would eat a hot dog for the first time. Apparently this was a big deal - he goes into several paragraphs on how people assume that Diana is a vegetarian, but she's not, and out concept of meat and how it's cooked would be different from hers, etc etc etc. This was briefly touched on at one point, but he made a HUGE deal of it in the interview/article.

4) The Viking Commando would be showing up. No big details were given, but Mr M-L apparently liked the idea of throwing in someone with a totally different mythological background into the Greek mythology of Diana's world.

5) Several supporting characters from the Flash were supposed to show up - including Mason Tollbridge, or whatever his last name is.

6) Etta and Steve's wedding. Diana was to be a bride's maid/Maid of Honor - this would be her first exposure to the Western/Christian wedding ritual, and she would reflect on the similarities and differences in similar rituals she had witnesses or heard about on Themyscira.

But, it all got dumped in favor of space, Taco Whiz, and Artemis. Of course, looking at it now, it seems most of the stories were introspecitve pieces with little action (not counting the Viking Commando story, of course) so I can see why they weren't used -however, they would have made some nice stories, perhaps between multi-part epics, or in an annual or something.

NEXT UP: Ambush Bug opens a restaurant...

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Michael Bise
posted July 23, 2002 03:30 PM
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Thanks, Ray.
I no longer make comments about Mr. Loebs' work on WONDER WOMAN (which I wasn't fond of) after hearing about his recent personal misfortune, but those little bits don't sound too enthralling to me.

I did, however, go out and buy TPBs of all of his WONDER WOMAN work (even though I have all of the issues), in hopes that some of the royalties make it to him & his wife.

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The Time Trust
posted July 23, 2002 07:52 PM
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Quote:

Supposedly posted by matlock:
The "Legionnaires" title was originally slated to retell the early days of the group within the existing continuity of the time, ie. inserting Valor and Laurel Gand into stories that had featured Superboy and Supergirl. There was even a entry in the Who's Who' loose leaf edition using this concept. Instead, we got the SW6 clone Legion, and the somewhat bizarre situation of the two Legions running around at the same time, until Zero Hour made the whole mess go away.



See, now THAT would have been cool (the retelling of the early days thing, not the SW6 clone thing -- *BARF*). Why didn't they give us that instead?!?

And why did they have to blow up the Moon and then the Earth?!? You KNEW the series would have to be cancelled soon afterwards after seeing that, didn't you?

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N3
posted July 23, 2002 08:07 PM
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I read an interview with Nancy Collins where she said she was all set to do a Dhamphie ongoing series when it got axed. She said there were a whole slew of Vertigo projects that got slashed/ imploded because of some cut backs and Dhamphire was one of them.

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FreedomFighter
posted July 24, 2002 12:02 AM
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the latest issue of Alter Ego has a run down of some Shazam/Captain Marvel series' stuff that never came to be.
A couple of pages on Roy Thomas' that tries to the set the record straight. A page is also devoted to another Captain Marvel series I had never heard of from Michael Eury (I don't know him) It looks like it might have been pretty good though.

Alter Ego #16 at your comic shop now.

Pretty cool Alex Ross Mary Marvel cover to boot!

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Mikel Midnight
posted July 27, 2002 12:42 PM
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Anyway we can see a scan of Brian Bolland's "Arthurian era" (Demon, Viking Prince, Silent Knight, Shining Knight) piece?

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Xanadude
posted July 28, 2002 10:13 PM
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Just a quick piece tonight (stop that juvenile snickering, Mr. Bise ) -
When the Superman books were rebooted, Braniac was originally supposed to look like his pre-Crisis counterpart from the beginning. "Visually, he'll be the same, but conceptually he'll be different. He'll be linked to Superman. He will have Superman's knowledge and be part of his mind. This direct psychic link between teh two of them will turn Braniac into a far more qualifying nightmare for SUperman," said Marv Wolfman in the 1987 Amazing Heroes Preview.

Instead, we got Milton Fine, the mentalist, and a far more convoluted Brainiac history.

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MLLASH
posted July 29, 2002 12:02 AM
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Quote:

Originally posted by N3:
I read an interview with Nancy Collins where she said she was all set to do a Dhamphire ongoing series when it got axed. She said there were a whole slew of Vertigo projects that got slashed/ imploded because of some cut backs and Dhamphire was one of them.



Well THAT sucks monkey butt! DHAMPHIRE was a *great* one-shot, and this is coming from someone who was NOT a fan of Vertigo stuff. I only bought the 1-shot because it was vampire-related and the cover was wicked cool. I was sure glad I DID buy it and I remember being all excited about the ongoing. *sigh*

And I'm still waiting to find out more about AMBUSH BUG and his restaurant!

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Morgan the Raider
posted July 29, 2002 10:14 AM
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There was supposed to be a Firestorm graphic novel in the mid 80's, which to the best of my knowledge never saw print anywhere else.

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Xanadude
posted July 29, 2002 08:18 PM
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From the Amazing Heroes Preview Special 1986:
"How to succedd in business without really trying: early in his new mini-sereies, teh Bug establishes his first big time secret headquarters - a restaurant. 'He does everything he can to make his new headquarters a secret, 'says Robert Loren Fleming, ' and the fact that it's a restaurant is only a cover to throw off villains. It's out on the docks, in a real seedy area of the harbor where there are muggers and cutthroats and killers everywhere, because he does not want it to go. He even names it 'Hamster Haven," and that's all he serves -hamsters on a stick, hamster au gratin, bacn chessehamster, hamssters flambee, and so on - all purposely so there will be no clientele, because he wants a secret headquarters.
So naturally, the hamters catch on as the biggest craze since sushi, and peoplle are lined up around the block. They're being mugged and murdered, they don't care - they're still coming.
Of course, this is going to cause all kinds of problems for him, because he has to decide whether to franchise or not. Corporations are trying to buy him out. He even has to start hiring help, though Cheeks will be taking the phone reservations.'"
Later in the article, Bob goes on to tell us that "there's always the upcoming battle with Banal, who is what Fleming describes as a 'triviakiller. He talks. A lot. About nothing. He's so boring that, depending on what subject he picks, he can put you to sleep, knock you down, kill you, whatever - mostly people throw money and jewels at him just to get rid of him."
'We also have the Legion of Substitute Hereoes now.' says Fleming. 'Paul Levitz said essentially 'take em and go away from me.' What we've got in mind right now is for a bunch of them to take on the Uh-Oh Squad. We want to do one of those old JLA-JSA type covers showing the Uh-Oh Squad and the Legion running full-tilt at one another, with AMbush Bug in the middle with maybe a whistle.'"

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Xanadude
posted July 29, 2002 08:25 PM
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And, oh yeah, if it's not apparent, the above was supposed to have been the "Son of Ambush Bug" mini series

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MLLASH
posted July 30, 2002 12:35 AM
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O-M-G!!!!!
Though I loved the SON OF AMBUSH BUG that *did* see print, I think Flem's script is the perfect vehicle to bring back AMBUSH BUG!!!

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Xanadude
posted July 30, 2002 07:54 PM
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I LOVED Ambush Bug as well, but the "Son of" series really blew. It seemed like every bit of enthusiasm the creators had for the characters just went out the door.....

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erdmann
posted August 01, 2002 02:38 AM
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The latest Wizard actually has an article that fits this thread. It focuses on things like Swamp Thing meets Jesus and the 1940 Superman story in which Lois learns the truth and even includes ( unfortunately small) pix of a couple pages of that story (seems the entire thing still exists and was discovered by Mark Waid).
It also mentions Geoff Johns proposal for Firestorm, Moore's Twilight of the Super-Heroes, Shooter's Korvac Saga 2, the original JLA/Avengers crossover, foiled plans for the Authority and a Preacher follow up.

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erdmann
posted August 01, 2002 01:11 PM
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In 1971, DC toyed with the idea of launching a line of glossy magazines. Among them were three Kibry titles "In the Days of the Mob," "True Divorce Cases" and a romance comic aimed at black readers. Only one issue of "Mob" was published. For more information on the book, check out: http ://twomorrows.com/kirby/articles/16mob.html
Also under consideration was a magazine-format "House of Mystery" and a pulp-style "Batman."
And speaking of Kirby, he once worked on a "Prisoner" comic for Marvel after Steve Englehart and Gil Kane were bounced from the project. See: http://twomorrows.com/kirby/articles/11prisoner.html
Oh, and while we're working the other side of the tracks, does anyone remember Englehart's three attempts to launch a Silver Surfer comic? Supposedly Stan Lee nixed the first one (back in the days when Englehart was penning "The Avengers"). The second try got as far as a completed first issue with art by John Buscema (which finally saw print in an issue of "Marvel Fanfare"). His third try actually succeeded.
And finally, there is Roy Thomas. Does anyone else remember when he announced a "Thor" spinoff? I think it was supposed to be set in the American west before the arrival of Europeans.

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bwboy
posted August 01, 2002 03:10 PM
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I can't believe no one has mentioned the many-times promised Huntress mini-series- virtually every letter column in Wonder Woman would have an 'update' from editor Alan Gold about the status. . . even information about who would be writing and drawing it and what the general plot was. Then a month later she was killed by a wall in Crisis #12. But for years, that mini-series was promised.

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Michael Bise
posted August 01, 2002 03:21 PM
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Quote:

Originally posted by bwboy:
I can't believe no one has mentioned the many-times promised Huntress mini-series- virtually every letter column in Wonder Woman would have an 'update' from editor Alan Gold about the status. . . even information about who would be writing and drawing it and what the general plot was. Then a month later she was killed by a wall in Crisis #12. But for years, that mini-series was promised .



OH, I remember that well!!!

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Rusty Shackleford
posted August 01, 2002 03:31 PM
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New Warriors II.
No, I don't mean the Jay Faerber version. There was supposed to be a spin off NW series to run with the original one featuring the characters who popped up in the Time and Time Again story. Didn't happen because sales for NW dropped suddenly. That was a spin-off crazy time for comics anyhow.

Quote:

Originally posted by MLLASH:
Well THAT sucks monkey butt! DHAMPHIRE was a *great* one-shot, and this is coming from someone who was NOT a fan of Vertigo stuff. I only bought the 1-shot because it was vampire-related and the cover was wicked cool. I was sure glad I DID buy it and I remember being all excited about the ongoing. *sigh*



Agreed, Lash. I picked up Dhampire at a con a few years ago, just on a whim. Was going through the stack when the cover caught my girlfriend's eye. First comic I was able to get her to read.

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Xanadude
posted August 01, 2002 03:43 PM
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I remember in the first issue of the Huntress ongoing series, the lettercolumn mentioned some of the ideas for the Pre-Crisis Huntress Miniseries, including Helena Wayne getting kidnapped by gypsies.

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Avenger
posted August 01, 2002 04:19 PM
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There was the proposed Crisis Nine by Warren Ellis which would have been a JLA/Authority crossover. DC sat on it too long & Ellis moved on to other things. He eventually posted the shortened proposal to his e-mail subscribers. It's a shame this story will never see print (especially the way he described it).
He also proposed a Major DC crossover in which the timeline gets split & all the heroes are propelled into a utopian timeline in which they have secured world freedom & peace. They then discover the "true" timeline which is a living hell due to the loss of its heroes. The DC heroes travel back in time to set things right, even knowing that they will have to give up their utopia. Ellis finally decided it wasn't worth the effort to do.

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erdmann
posted August 02, 2002 07:00 PM
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This thread has sent me digging in the darkest recesses of long closed up closets in search of my long lost collection of Amazing Heroes. I'm still looking, but in the meantime, I've unearthed an old issue of "Young All-Stars" with a tidbit on the letter page that fits here.
In an answer to a letter, Roy Thomas confirmed that there was supposed to be an on-going, monthly follow up to his "Shazam: The New Beginning" and the four-parter in "Action Comics Weekly." He said the first issue was in the process of being drawn by a "surprise" artist.
Ok, "Alter Ego" readers: Who was the artist? How much, if any, of the art was actually completed?
And now, the search continues....

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erdmann
posted August 04, 2002 12:45 AM
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Hmmm. No takers on Roy the Boy's Shazam? Maybe Walt, Lon or Marvelozzo over at the Cap boards will know.
Any way, I found my AH collection. Man, what a great magazine. And so full of great (and probably not so great) stuff that never came to be.
Case in point: Issue 34, featuring a long cover story on one of the great lost comics projects — Joe Kubert's "Redeemer."
Peter Sanderson's article detailed the series' overall plot about a man destined to be reborn time and time again to, unknowingly, battle the schemes of "the Infernal One." It also details Kubert's career and his ideas about the future of comics (he foresaw more diversity and an increasing adult audience). It is accompanied by some great Kubert art from the first issue.
It was mentioned that "Redeemer" did not occur in the DC "multiuniverse" and Kubert made some interesting comments about mixing "realistic" characters such as Sgt. Rock with the likes of Batman. I suspect he is NOT a fan of the current "Suicide Squad."
(Off the topic for a moment: Sanderson lists other non-multiverse titles such as "Ronin." "Camelot 3000," "Arak" and "The Warlord." Now, we know "Warlord" is part of the post-Crisis DCU. Was "Arak" ever officially made part of it?)
Many months later, in the 1995 Preview issue, it was announced that the series had been cut from 12 issues to six and that it would be published as soon as Kubert had it completed.
So, what the heck happened?

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Spangles
posted August 04, 2002 05:52 AM
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Arak was made/maintained part of the 'regular' DC Universe, in roundabout fashion.
Windwalker (forget what his full name was) from Helix (that fought Infinity, Inc) was revealed to be a descendant of Arak's.

Of course there was the Valda appearance in A.S.S., but that was during Crisis, so it coulda been retconned out as 'alternative.' Don't have the issue handy to see if the historical figures were coming to WWII time after the merged Earths or not.